Signaling the triumphant return of the Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast to uploading new content, we kick off the migration to the new hosting service with three movie reviews for the price of none!

Click here or click the picture above to download a podcast that examines Crank, Crank 2: High Voltage, and Gamer.

WARNING:  This podcast contains dangerous levels of bleeped-out words and Daryl Surat.

Reviews in a Nutshell:  Jason Statham drives a car and kills people.  Gerard Butler does, too.

Click here if you wish to see the image that encapsulates the entirety of the Crank mythos. 

This image is spoiler-iffic and not very polite.  Viewer discretion is advised.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Rated: R for frenetic sequences of strong brutal violence throughout, sexual content, nudity and language.

Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:Sep 4, 2009 Wide

GAMER is a high-concept action thriller set in a near future when gaming and entertainment have evolved into a terrifying new hybrid. Humans control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online games: people play people…for keeps. Mind-control technology is widespread, and at the heart of the controversial games is its creator, reclusive billionaire Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall). His latest brainchild, the first-person shooter game “Slayers,” allows millions to act out their most savage fantasies online in front of a global audience, using real prisoners as avatars with whom they fight to the death.

Kable (300’s Gerard Butler) is the superstar and cult hero of the ultraviolent “Slayers.” Kable is controlled by Simon, a young gamer with rock star status who continues to defy all odds by guiding Kable to victory each week. Taken from his family, imprisoned and forced to fight against his will, the modern day gladiator must survive long enough to escape the game to free his family, regain his identity and to save mankind from Castle’s ruthless technology.

GAMER stars Gerard Butler (300, THE UGLY TRUTH), Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”), Amber Valletta (TRANSPORTER 2), John Leguizamo (RIGHTEOUS KILL, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13), with Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, and Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”).

NOTA : 6

Download subtitrare Gamer

Trailer Gamer :

While the relationship between sport and television is typically a reciprocal one, it is the broadcast networks that usually wear the pants.

Sporting bodies around the world are pressured into scheduling games at the behest of their broadcast partner’s demands, with the lure of rights fees and advertising exposure usurping the convenience of those who still like to sit in the stands.

In the National Basketball League’s case, the Wednesday night timeslot on Fox Sports has been a necessary evil. Necessary because it allows the league to escape the competition of other summer sports such as soccer, evil because a mid-week clash is hardly family-friendly during the chunk of the season before and after school holidays.

It’s also particularly evil for those in Queensland, who have been expected to be in their seats by 6.30pm so Fox can maintain its regular 7.30pm timeslot in New South Wales and Victoria. The effect that this can have on attendances was evident in the Round Eight meeting between Cairns and Townsville. While no official crowd figure was given, the number of empty seats was embarrassing for a FNQ Derby which could have sold out the convention centre had it been played on a weekend.

It is appears, however, that common sense has prevailed. Just weeks after the Gold Coast Blaze happily announced that Fox had agreed to push back their remaining Wednesday night games to 7.30pm local time, the Townsville Crocs have struck a similar deal. This is a win-win situation. Fans now have ample opportunity to be in their seats by tip-off, while a larger crowd makes for an enhanced atmosphere and television product for the broadcaster.

This decision bucks the aforementioned trend of networks wielding their power to the detriment of fans, and symbolises a gradual turning point in Fox’s treatment of the NBL. The number of games being shown this year is a significant improvement on last season’s coverage, which didn’t commence until Round Six and included just one live game each week.

There has also been the introduction of regular “every second counts” promos filmed during the pre-season tournament in Darwin, and the decision to replace Steve Carfino with football commentators Brian Taylor and Dwayne Russell has assisted the league in its efforts to “Australianise” the product. Taylor’s wittiness has proven incredibly popular in the AFL and will attract the curiosity of mainstream viewers, although his lack of research and occasional inaccuracies must make some purists cringe.

Fox’s relationship with the NBL still has plenty of room for improvement, however, as all basketball fans will realise on Saturday 5 December. That’s when Melbourne Tigers recruit Julius Hodge makes his much-anticipated return to the Distinctive Homes Dome after walking out on Adelaide last season due to a pay dispute. Sixers fans are known for their passion and hostility at the best of times, meaning Hodge’s reception will make for a compelling spectacle in front of what will surely be a near-capacity crowd.

Compelling for those that can see it, at least.

As it stands now, the clash will only be shown on Rivus TV, a pay-per-view streaming service marred by technical difficulties.

The NBL should have done everything in its power to ensure this game would be accessible to the masses. If Fox refused to increase its broadcast schedule on economic grounds, the league could have asked to swap a future Saturday night broadcast for next week’s showdown. For example, the January 16 clash between Perth and Cairns is hardly going to have fans salivating in their living rooms and could have been sacrificed for the good of the game.

Instead, the only thing being sacrificed is another opportunity to showcase the best the NBL has to offer to a national audience.

Despite Fox’s improvements, it remains an all-too familiar story of neglect for Australian hoops fans.

Fox Sports' improved coverage has been a pleasant surprise, unlike the surprise Shane Heal received when he commentated a recent Snakes game.

Crank: High Voltage (2009)
★★ / ★★★★

At this point, I can enjoy just about any movie that Jason Statham stars in because even though most of them are mindless, they’re fun to watch. Statham is as charismatic as ever for his return as Chev Chelios, a hitman who gets caught up with gangsters who (literally) stole his heart. In order to survive, he must constantly charge his artificial heart which only lasts for about an hour. Half of the fun about this picture was the lead character trying to look for ways to charge his life force. The film is lewd, crude and downright crazy because even rubbing up against people could create enough electricity for him to survive. However, even I have to admit that I enjoyed this sequel less than the original for a few reasons. Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the writers and directors, brought back certain characters from the original only to kill them off almost instantly. When a character did come back and survived, the character was not utilized in such a way that they could push the film forward. Therefore, there were many points in the film when it felt stuck even though the characters were kinetic in purpose and movement. I liked the campiness of the film but there were also times when it was too campy. In fact, there was a scene when it tried to summon Godzilla parodies. As adventurous as it was, it was dead on arrival for me because the violence that was being portrayed on screen was not funny, which was unlike the rest of the movie when everything else was cartoonish. In fact, that fighting sequence should have been quite epic, in my opinion, despite Johnny Vang (Art Hsu) being a simple-minded henchmen, because Statham’s character spent more than half of the film trying to chase him. Other actors that returned were Amy Smart as the girlfriend, Dwight Yoakam as Doc Miles, Efren Ramirez as Venus (who played Kaylo in the first), and Keone Young as Don Kim. I enjoyed this film’s enthusiasm to entertain but I ultimately have to give it a mediocre rating because it needed to have more focus instead of just aiming to be all over the place. Even though the first one was crazy, it tried to tell a story. On the other hand, “Crank: High Voltage” just felt like a series of random scenes pasted together which did not make sense as a whole.

By ASHLEY BROWNE

Only in Melbourne can the news about who will be calling the football create as much interest as in the game itself.

But Tuesday’s shake-up at both 3AW and Triple M is notable on a few fronts.

Brian Taylor crosses from Triple M to head up AW’s Friday night and Saturday afternoon team, replacing Rex Hunt, who in turn will join Triple M on Saturday afternoons.

Hunt leaves AW after 20 years as the lead caller on the Friday, Saturday afternoon and Sunday calls. Sunday afternoons were still his on AW if he wanted, but having sniffed the wind, he decided to move on altogether.

Hunt had plenty of fans, but also plenty of detractors, with a colorful call in which his idea of humour often took priority over mundane, but important matters such as the score, the time and roughly where the ball was on the ground.

Colour and humour are also part of Taylor’s calling arsenal but the important stuff – time, score and where the ball is – is never forgotten.

Longevity has always been a feature at AW. Norman Banks was the chief caller for more than a quarter of a century, Harry Beitzel chalked up 17 years, while Hunt was in the chair for 20 years. But with football being such a key part of the station’s DNA, AW has never been afraid to pull the trigger and institute some sort of generational change with respect to its calling team.

And it has certainly done that, replacing Hunt with Taylor in the hope he will bring with him some of the younger, blokier Triple M audience.

Indeed, AW’s Saturday line-up sounds most appealing with Taylor and Denis Cometti calling the play, Leigh Matthews on special comments and Mike Sheahan part of the pre-game coverage.

Triple M has also enjoyed a harder edge to its pre-game show with plenty of news, but that’s never been Hunt’s shtick and how that all plays out will be a challenge for its footy department. It is also interesting to note that Eddie McGuire, Triple M’s new breakfast host, has so far not been mentioned in any discussion about the station’s 2010 football plans.

Nor has SEN talked much about its plans for next season, although The Age says it might make a play for Tim Lane, which is a smart move. The all-sport station might be the place for us tragics to get their 24-hour footy fix during the week, but when it comes to weekend match commentary, it still runs a distant fourth, which in some respects is a shame. SEN’s 11am Saturday show, Crunch Time, might be the best footy radio show of them all.

There are plenty of ad dollars at stake in the battle between AW and Triple M hence the news on Tuesday, but both stations need to lift their games to regain the title as Melbourne’s no.1 footy station, which by the end of 2009 belonged to the ABC.

And in our opinion, most deservedly so.

(click images for info – photos by wjzo.com)

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

By Nellie Andreeva – HollywoodReporter.com

The feature writing-directing team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are venturing into television with a one-hour project for NBC.

“Zeroes,” from Universal Media Studios and BermanBraun, is described as a high-intensity drama chronicling the last hour of a crisis situation.

BermanBraun approached Neveldine and Taylor with the idea to do “a crisis show that doesn’t bore you with all of the buildup leading to the crisis,” Taylor said.

“We want to drop right into it and sustain the absolute most berserk state of crisis, when all of the options have been exhausted,” he said. “We want to take that last 60 minutes and sustain it for the entire show.”

“Zeroes” refers to a fictional team of guys called in as a last resort who are “absolutely ruthless” in their use of force, Taylor said.

Neveldine and Taylor are writing the script. The two also are on board to direct the potential pilot.

In doing so, they plan to use their film experience.

“We came out of guerrilla filmmaking,” Taylor said. “We learned how to work superfast under pressure, generating a lot footage on a small budget.”

UTA-repped Neveldine and Taylor wrote and directed “Gamer,” “Crank” and “Crank: High Voltage.” They most recently wrote the screenplay for “Jonah Hex,” which is being directed by Jimmy Hayward.

Amazon Specials!

El dúo formado por Mark Neveldine y Brian Taylor se pasa a la televisión Zeroes, show de una hora cuyo piloto ya ha sido adquirido por la cadena NBC. La nueva idea de esta pareja de guionistas y directores es un drama de gran intensidad que nos sitúa en el último momento de una grave crisis. La intención de Neveldine / Taylor no es la de aburrirnos contándonos cómo se ha llegado a esa situación, sino directamente lanzarnos a la acción sin previo aviso, en un momento límite cuando todas las demás opciones han sido agotadas. Ahí es cuando entra en acción Zeroes, un grupo ficticio de “héroes” a los que se llama únicamente en situaciones desesperadas, ya que son conocidos por su desproporcionado uso de la fuerza. Por supuesto este sería el toque de la casa Neveldine / Taylor. Ambos ya preparan el guión y apuntan también a la dirección del piloto. Anteriormente hemos visto junto al dúo en las dos partes de Crank, Gamer, el guión de Pathology y el de Jonah Hex.

I understand only too well why I’ve never been comfortable blogging. Firstly, I don’t like many blogs… I do enjoy reading a couple of journo’s scribbles -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2009/10/bnps_hang_gener.htm and http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/briantaylor/ make for informed and good reading, much like their work, but more conversational.

As for reading blogs about what people had for breakfast, the best thing about their weekend, what reminded them of an past lover and other, if not mundane, but all to often very personal pulp then thanks, but no thanks.

Maybe that’s me being shallow or cold but I can’t get my head round it, and I cringe when people ask me to read their blogs. Even blogs by writers. Good writers too. However, speaking of good writers I do miss http://iworkinashop.blogspot.com/

Secondly, I used to rattle out hundreds of thousands of words on www.jagsforum.net but those days are gone now, and in the past…

Anyway, that’s it. I’m in third year at Uni now and I have to blog, otherwise they chuck me out.

I will be mainly using this as some kind of rant-diary/experience hybrid relating to football, politics, media matters and local issues.

So, now My thoughts will be here. Feel free to chuck rotten fruit. I’ll try and update every week.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…

Je sors d’un coma ou je m’y dirige, gaiement.

Tout bascule sans jamais tomber.

Les pupilles dilatées, plus rien à télécharger, à zapper, à éteindre.

À bout de souffle, à bout de nerf, en bout de route, je cherche encore plus d’asphyxie, plus de haine, plus de bitume, de vertige en solde, d’adrénaline standard.

J’ai dans mes poings ce que ma tête n’a pas su dire avant le coup de pression et dans ma gorge ce que mon âme n’a pas su taire durant tous ces nuits de cauchemars.

La vitesse tue tout, même la mort, donc la violence ne peut-être que gratuite.

Alors ce qui sépare un coup de pied au cul bien placé d’un traumatisme crânien hasardeux, c’est mon appréciation du jour du mot « modération » sur ces bouteilles vendues en toute légalité par les pouvoirs publics chez mon receleur de mort le plus proche.

Il y a ceux qui brutalisent pour faire mal, pour gagner et ceux qui le font naturellement sans rien attendre en échange.

Gardez mon acte de naissance, rendez-vous utile et passez-moi les pansements, le mercurochrome et une bonne épitaphe en lettres capitales.

Tu ne peux en aucun cas jouer à la vie impunément et demander un remboursement de quoi que ce soit dans la même partie.

La sécurité, cela n’a jamais été une garantie durable, mais c’est une promesse éphémère. Perds le contrôle avant qu’on ne t’arrête sur le bas côté de la route.

Comme les phares d’une voiture devant les yeux d’un enfant à la sortie de l’école, je guette ma proie.

Au volant de ce qu’il me reste de temps à brûler, j’hésite entre le défibrillateur et la panne moteur, un verre de vitamine C et l’injection létale.

Mais lorsque le paysage ralentit lamentablement jusqu’au point mort, je scrute l’apathie de ma montre et la distance qui m’éloigne de ma prochaine victime, puis j’attends le prochain mur, le prochain platane, en face, en frontal, droit dans les yeux.

Il se peut qu’il me fasse un aveu ou que je fasse une overdose, avant le choc, le dernier.

…

J’ai pris la vie par les deux bouts sans jamais en voir la fin, ni en comprendre le début.

Et la même chanson psychédélique, assourdissante martèle son refrain à mes tempes, puis mes oreilles saignent de ce que mes tympans ne peuvent admettre.

Le monde fabrique ses révolutions en tournant sur lui-même. Je fais pareil, mais en mieux, je ne mens à personne et nul ne mourra en mon nom !

La mâchoire en kit et le cœur réduit en poudre, j’attends que reprennent les hostilités entre gens bien.

J’ai plus bandé par omission que je n’ai aimé par conviction, mais au moins je suis honnête ou en phase terminale.

Je vous laisse nettoyer en partant, je médite sur ce qui serait le mieux pour mon avenir entre un gâchis et une gâchette. Je change de vie comme je change de lit.

Prenez le temps durant mon oraison funèbre, après cette page de publicité, je n’existerais déjà plus.

Je ne cherche pas à savoir. Une dépendance à un excès de lois pour les cons engendrera plus de crime légitime, plus de sang vengeur, plus d’honneur retrouvé, plus de répression homologuée, plus de liberté usurpée, plus de plus, mais en vain.

Un jour végétarien, l’autre cannibale, jamais satisfaits.

Je n’ai aucune explication à confesser en réalité, aucune excuse à fournir en vérité, pas de leçons à donner à la majorité ni de conseil mensonger pour te border.

Dis toi que je suis plus vrai que Dieu.

Depuis que le meurtre est à portée de main, on a crée des règles afin de prendre plus de plaisir à les enfreindre. Les X commandements ne sont qu’une arnaque à l’assurance.

On voudrait que la mémoire facultative et la sagesse populaire servent autant de bâton que de carotte. Mais je ne sens plus les coups et j’ai perdu l’appétit.

Je fais l’impasse sur l’Histoire, mes toilettes ne se souviennent déjà pas ce que j’ai bu ce matin, merci de m’épargner les détails sur la gueule de bois de ce soir.

J’ai plus pris mon pied que mon temps. Et pour cause, j’ai préféré crever plutôt que d’être en retard.

Game Over

Una de las cosas que más me sorprendió fué cuando Swanson me dijo que esta película había sido criticada por la extrema violencia que salpicaban sus imágenes. Pero no sólo la crítica lo decía, sino el público en general. Los comentarios en algunas páginas, foros o similares comentaban que “Gamer” ofrecía al espectador numerosas dosis de violencia gratuita. Con lo cual, tal y como me dijo mi compañera cinéfaga, “¿es que sólo han visto Blancanieves y los Siete Enanitos?”. Lo que comentamos era que la película de Gerard Butler no es mucho más violenta que otras similares ubicadas en el género de acción. Tanto Stallone como Schwarzenegger han hecho películas más violentas y la peña no ha puesto el grito en el cielo. ¿Por qué con “Gamer” han sido tan críticos? Ni idea. A mí personalmente no me ha impresionado. Es más, precisamente esas criticadas escenas violentas casi me aburrieron. Me interesó más la crítica que hacían a un futuro manipulado y a las redes sociales que tanto imperan. Osea, me quedo antes con el contenido que con los tiros.

Sin embargo, en Hollywood vuelven a adornar las cosas. A empanarlas de alguna manera. Hacen sus estudios de mercado y saber perfectamente que no pueden hacer una película donde la crítica impere sobre la acción al uso. Ya que dan por hecho que al adolescente de turno, al que juega a los videojuegos asiduamente, tendrá su dosis de violencia y acción y así quedará contento. De esa manera el trailer de rigor provocará la consiguiente venta de entradas. Protagonista de “300″. Estilo de batalla a lo “Call of Dutty” o “Gears of War” (con la de jugones que siguen ambas sagas consoleras). Y finalmente un viajecito al futuro donde nos muestran que podemos ser dominados de alguna manera por el oportunista de turno. De nuevo te encuentras con una idea que podía haberse desarrollado más. No es la culpa de la acción en sí misma, ya que hay muchas películas que combinan la acción y la ciencia-ficción con buenos resultados (véase “Terminator” o “Desafío Total” por poner sólo dos ejemplos). Es más bien el quedarse en lo que podemos decir “agua de borrajas”. La misma sensación que tuve al ver “Los Sustitutos”. Y precisamente la sensación contraria que tuve al ver “District 9″ (probablemente una de las mejores películas de ciencia-ficción de los ultimos tiempos).

Vamos a obviar la ensalada de tiros, puñetazos y patadas, ruido estruendoso de explosiones y sangre derivada de balas o cuchillos de rigor. Quedémonos con la ciencia-ficción que hay en “Gamer”, ya que lo anterior lo podemos ver en cualquier otra película de acción al uso. Sobre todo porque no hay mucha innovación al respecto. En la película dirigida por Mark Neveldine y Brian Taylor me interesó la visión futurista de los avatares vivientes. Esa red social virtual que existe en la actualidad (“Second Life” sería la más conocida) pero que podría metamorfosearse en un futuro no tan lejano hacia derroteros muy peliagudos.

En el ser humano hay muchas aristas por explorar. Pero hay dos de ellas que son claras. La violencia y el sexo. En “Gamer” muestran como los seres humanos pueden vender su cuerpo a cambio de dinero. Se convierten en esclavos de un dueño que paga por tenerte a su entera disposición. Perdiendo tu personalidad y siendo manipulado a su conveniencia. Me agradó ver como ponen a alguien gordo y seboso, sudoroso, repugnante por su apariencia pero que al mismo tiempo elegía a alguien de sexo contrario y cuerpo cuasi perfecto para sus fantasías sexuales. Eso que parece fantasía y de película, puede reflejar la realidad. La actual realidad.

Por otra parte tenemos el “juego”. Si antes podíamos ver como la gente interactuaba entre sí, pudiendo satisfacer sus deseos relativos al sexo, ahora pueden hacer lo mismo con la violencia. Llegados a un punto donde un ser virtual hecho de pixeles ha debido de quedarse anticuado y ha muerto dejando paso a la más cruda realidad. Nada mejor que controlar a un ser vivo. Tú no sufrirás si mueres en el campo de batalla, pero tu avatar, otro humano condenado a muerte y con una ínfima oportunidad de salvarse, sí lo hará. Hablamos de un paso más allá en el mundo de lo virtual. Habiendo visto los guionistas (que a la par son los directores de la película) que la tecnología de la que tanto dependemos puede llegar a dejar en entredicho la integridad del ser humano.

Gerard Butler vuelve a ser el héroe de acción. Sin el carisma que tenía como “Leónidas” eso sí. Pero más importante es la labor que hace Michael C. Hall. Un Bill Gates (en la película comentan que supera ampliamente la fortuna del dueño de Microsoft) que considera a las personas como simples herramientas para utilizar a su antojo. Hall tiene la lección bien aprendida a raiz de su personaje en “Dexter”. Jugando con las expresiones y la locura como muestra de sus dotes interpretativas. Controlador y manipulador, seguro de sí mismo. Es el villano de la película que crees que no podrán con él debido a su ego extremo y la falta de debilidades. Evidentemente que nadie se lleve a engaño, todos sabemos como acaban estas cosas. Imposible desviarnos del típico enfrentamiento entre héroe y villano y su consiguiente climax.

Tal y como he expresado, me quedaría antes con lo que nos han querido contar que con lo que acaban mostrando en su totalidad. La violencia es necesaria para enseñar parte de la crítica que quieren hacer, pero hubiese preferido algo como “Gattaca” (donde la acción era nula). Aquí parece que han querido satisfacer a demasiada gente y se han perdido por el camino.

Para leer la ficha de la película, pincha aqui.

Fdo: Snake

Da realidade científica atual à tecnologia do filme “GAMER” (2009, dirigido por Mark Noveldine e Brian Taylor) falta pouco tempo. Veja com seus próprios olhos e perceberá que o que falo é a mais pura verdade. É um filme que se passa num futuro próximo vivenciando a facilidade da internet e conectividades afins a todas as pessoas que tem acesso a ela. Não chega a ser surreal devido a evolução tecnológica que torna possível a trama do filme.

Em GAMER, você vê a história de Castle (Michael C.Hall), um ricaço que cria uma tecnologia de nanocélulas para deixar os programas e jogos de computador ainda mais reais. Isso porque você poderá controlar pessoas pelo seu computador. O principal do filme é um videogame online, que fica popular em todo o mundo por trazer a luta de presidiários condenados à pena de morte para sobreviver, como se fossem personagens virtuais em um videogame, controlados por pessoas, em batalhas reais. Fazendo um parêntese sobre isso, o que você pensaria em colocar uma porção de condenados à morte num galpão e “brincar” de tiro ao alvo com eles sendo a mira? Bom, inicialmente grande parte pensa “ah, já que são detentos, eles tem mais é que morrer mesmo”, mas no filme você vê que também há o lado humano nesses presidiários, é claro que tem muitos que tem mais é que apodrecer mesmo. É bom refletir sobre isso…

O filme é também uma crítica aos jogos no estilo ‘Second Life’, onde as pessoas vivem através de seus personagens e se esquecem do mundo real. Esse tipo de transposição da vida, onde há uma fuga da realidade por parte dos jogadores, cria um universo libidinoso e libertino onde você pode ser outra pessoa, e tudo é possível.

Eu não vou contar mais sobre o filme, porque cabe a cada um assistir e tirar suas conclusões. Só deixo bem claro que é um ótimo filme. Tanto pela filmagens, fotografia espetacular, cenas, personagens, quanto pela história.

“Assim que surgir o Game Over na tela, você deve esquecê-lo”

Num futuro próximo, as pessoas terão acesso a uma nova modalidade de jogo, onde de forma online poderão controlar outras pessoas. Existem dois tipos de jogos virtuais, o Slayers – algo como um counter striker da vida onde jovens controlam condenados no corredor da morte numa arena sangrenta, e o Sociedade – não menos indecente onde pessoas de forma perversa, controlam outras pessoas numa mistura de The Sims com Second Life. O que diferencia e que, os controladores do Slayer buscam emoção, tensão e violência, já os do Sociedade, não passam de sádicos em busca de perversão e promiscuidade. Ambas obras criadas pelo maligno Ken Castle (C. Hall), um engenheiro bem sucedido que em pouco tempo superou a fama e a fortuna do top-ranking Bill Gates.

Mas espera…Kable, Kable, Kable – todos só falam no cara, o jogador mais bem sucedido do Slayers (Butler) precisa apenas sobreviver em mais 4 batalhas para ganhar a liberdade.

Este futuro promíscuo e caótico foi escrito e dirigido por Mark Neveldine e Brian Taylor, responsáveis por também Adrenalina – o que não é de se estranhar já que toda freneticidade da câmera nervosa e das cenas de ação também estão presentes aqui em um tom mais dark.

A ideia e sem dúvidas boa, porem mostrar o futuro revolucionário dos games poderia ser muito melhor explorado aqui – ate porque este parecia ser a única forma de entretenimento da maior parte da população do mundo todo. Mas não deixa de ser interessante ver a forma como os roteiristas abordaram a interatividade de seus ‘controladores’ com seus ‘controlados’. Inovador então seria a melhor palavra para descrever Gamer, mesmo que este ainda mame do clichê ‘ valentão fodão’ (sem sentido) que acaba com 10 grandões de uma só vez, esperto e tal que sempre está a frente de todos e tem de salvar a donzela desamparada que precisa da mão do macho dominante. Gamer não é um filme para ser levado a sério, tão pouco para ser guardado na mente – é um puta blockbuster cheio de tiroteios, explosões, violência e mulheres semi nuas, coisa que deve chamar a atenção de muitos adolescentes e jovens, mas de forma bem passageira.

Ficha do filme com informações, trailers, críticas, curiosidades e etc : www.xcine.com.br/filme_gamer.html

Essa dica é pra quem gosta de filmes de ação e é claro, videogames!

Num futuro próximo, os avanços tecnológicos estão por toda a parte, principalmente nos jogos de videogame. E é neste universo que o egocêntrico Ken Castle conquista sua fortuna e se torna o homem mais rico do mundo, ao criar Society, um programa em que jogadores podem controlar seres humanos reais, através de um chip instalado em seus corpos.

Com o sucesso do jogo em que qualquer um pode realizar suas maiores fantasias sem se expor, Castle parte para um plano ainda mais ambicioso, com o Slayers, um jogo de guerra, em que os personagens são prisioneiros do corredor da morte. Neste programa, os criminosos têm uma chance única de serem postos em liberdade, mas apenas se conseguirem terminar todas as 30 etapas com vida, sendo que a maioria morre antes da décima. Apenas um deles, Kable (Gerard Butler), conseguiu com a ajuda do jogador Simon, de 17 anos, chegar à 28ª fase. Sem qualquer controle sobre seu próprio corpo durante as missões, Kable sabe que será quase impossível vencer o jogo.

Sabendo disso também, um grupo de rebeldes auto-intitulados Humanz dá a Simon a escolha de liberar Kable, deixando que ele jogue por sua própria conta. Querendo apenas voltar para sua casa e reencontrar a esposa e a filha, Kable percebe que Castle irá fazer de tudo para que ele morra antes de conseguir a sonhada liberdade. Ainda mais por não ser um prisioneiro comum, mas por estar ali justamente por saber demais sobre planos secretos do multimilionário. Após fugir, Kable conta com a ajuda do Humanz para salvar sua esposa e descobrir o paradeiro de sua filha. Porém, para conseguir a liberdade, agora ele precisa mostrar para todo o mundo quem Castle é de verdade.

Gamer é escrito e dirigido pela dupla Mark Neveldine e Brian Taylor. Os cineastas são os mesmos que fizeram Adrenalina e Adrenalina 2: Alta Voltagem, com Jason Statham. Após assistirem 300, os dois tiveram a certeza de que Gerard Butler era perfeito para o personagem. Também estão no elenco Amber Valletta, Kyra Sedgwick e John Leguizamo.

INFORMAÇÕES

Censura: 18 anos
Diretor: Mark Neveldine e Brian Taylor
Elenco: Gerard Butler (300), John Leguizamo, Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes)
Nome Original: Gamer
Ano: 2009
País: EUA
Duração: 95 minutos

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Imaginaos un futuro cercano en el que el juego y el entretenimiento han evolucionado hasta convertirse en un nuevo y aterrador híbrido. Los seres humanos controlan a otros seres humanos a escala masiva en juegos online con jugadores múltiples que juegan con personas…hasta el final. La tecnología para el control de la mente está a la orden del día y en el centro de los controvertidos juegos está su creador, un multimillonario solitario llamado Ken Castle, que viene a ser una suerte de nuevo Bill Gates. Su última creación, que obviamente es la sensación del momento, se trata de un videojuego llamado “Slayers,” que permite a millones de personas realizar sus fantasías más violentas online ante una audiencia global, utilizando a prisioneros reales como avatares con quienes pelean hasta la muerte.

Su protagonista Kable es controlado por un joven jugador legendario llamado Simon, que a pesar de las escasas probabilidades, consigue mantener con vida a Kable cada semana, que fue apartado contra su voluntad de su familia, encarcelado y obligado a luchar, convirtiéndose en un moderno gladiador que debe sobrevivir lo suficiente para poder escapar del juego y liberar a su familia, atrapada en otro juego llamado “Society”, y recuperar su identidad para así poder salvar a la humanidad de la despiadada tecnología de Castle.

Pues por una vez y sin que sirva de precedente, he de decir que Cotu  tenía razón, este largometraje es malo hasta la saciedad. Juega a ser un thriller de acción ambientado en un futuro pero que se queda en un pretexto. A Mark Neveldine y Brian Taylor creadores de este producto hay que reconocerles que ideas tienen, pero lo malo es que no saben desarrollarlas en el papel y menos en los fotogramas. Crean un guión con un par de ideas más trascendentes y personajes supuestamente complejos, pero que en el desarrollo se diluyen en una más de tiros y bombas por doquier. Con efectos especiales abrumadores. Cuando acaba la proyección te quedas sentado en la butaca y te dices, es un largometraje hueco, carece de sentido algunas cosas, y en lugar de criticar caen en el juego. Desaprovechando lo que podría haber sido un producto ciertamente novedoso.

Lo peor del reparto es  Gerard Butler que parece sacado de film “300”, poniendo las típicas caritas y morritos de Leónidas. Lo mejor sin duda son tanto John Leguizamo, que posee un papel muy cortito pero consigue que al final de la proyección te acuerdes de él, como Kyra Sedgwick, a la que podéis ver en la serie “The Closer”, y que aquí interpreta a una presentadora de televisión un tanto particular.

Mención aparte merece el actor Michael C. Hall, al que todos conocéis de la serie “Dexter”, aquí da vida al villano creador, y que posee un momento estelar, de los antológicos. Hablo del número musical cantando “under my skin”, que viene muy a cuento en ese momento del film, y que juega a ser un homenaje de “La naranja mecánica”. Pero no será este el único que veréis, ya que hacen otros a “Blade Runner” o “Matrix”.

Lo mejor de esta película es su banda sonora, no la original, sino del uso que hace de canciones como la versión de “Sweet dreams” de Marilyn Manson o del único hit de la banda Blodhoungang. Lo peor del film es que carece de vida propia, intenta jugar bazas pero no las aprovecha, Neveldine y Taylor pretenden anclar el film a una firme base en la realidad presente sobre la que sustentar su crítica, pero lo más irónico es que les ha quedado un largometraje cercano a lo que pretenden criticar, pan y circo para todos, y no hay nada inteligente detrás. No sé si llego tarde, y ya algunos habéis caído en la trampa del marketing y la habéis visto, en caso contrario huid mientras las fuerzas os aguanten.

Sci Fi thriller written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Starring Gerard Butler who is controlled by humans in a bizarre game.
Should appeal to XBox gamers, but others? – depends on your mood and if you can stay awake.

With: Gerard Butler, Zoe Bell, Alison Lohman, Milo Ventimiglia, Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

No matter how mad Terry Crews gets, Gerard Butler just won't share his candy.

(Lionsgate) Gerard Butler, Amber Valetta, Michael C. Hall, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Kyra Sedgwick, Ludacris, John Leguizamo, Zoe Bell, Terry Crews, Ramsey Moore, Aaron Yoo, Jonathan Chase, Brighid Fleming. Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

Almost since the advent of Pong, certain parental groups have decried the violence in videogames. Once you’ve fragged enough aliens, monsters or opposing soldiers, what’s left to do?

In the near future, gaming has evolved to the next level. Instead of controlling pixels on a television or computer screen, technology developed by techno-genius Ken Castle (Hall) enables gamers to control actual human beings. At first, it’s fairly benign in the social networking game “Society,” in which paid actors act out the fantasy of their controllers, thanks to a nanochip embedded in the brains of the actors that allow the gamers to broadcast instructions directly into the brains of the actors, who then perform any action the gamers wish like a marionette on a string. Apparently what most gamers wish in this dystopian future is softcore porn and raves.

The next step in this process is Slayers, a game featuring death row convicts who battle it out in a gritty urban arena with automatic weapons and grenades. Should the convict survive 30 battles, they are given their release, inspiring a wealth of potential slayers.

The best slayer is Kable (Butler), who has come as close as anyone to achieving freedom. However, he knows a little bit too much about the nanotech developed by Castle, so the multi-billionaire has set Kable up to fall, using a very angry avatar named Hackman (Crews) who has no player, which allows Hackman to act independently without any lag time, a huge advantage over the other slayers who have a several second lag between gamer command and slayer action. Fortunately, Kable’s gamer Simon (Lerman) is very, very good at what he does.

Not everyone thinks this is a perfect world. A group of techno-terrorists who call themselves Humanz are led by Brother (Ludacris), who hack into the game feed, much to the annoyance of Castle and cause all sorts of havoc. A popular interviewer/journalist named Gina Parker Smith (Sedgwick) is also suspicious of what Castle is doing and wants to know more about the Humanz.

Kable doesn’t care about any of this. He’s more concerned about getting back to his wife Angie (Valletta) and daughter (Fleming). Angie is working as one of the actresses in the Society milieu, controlled by an astoundingly obese gamer named Gorge (Moore). Kable soon begins to understand that there is no winning the game, only escaping – and once he escapes, can he save his family from the slavery that Castle intends to unleash upon the world?

Neveldine and Taylor are best known for their movie Crank which was like a videogame on steroids, and was one of the most entertaining action movies of the past few years. They do have the action thing in the bag, as the Slayer action sequences are plenty cool. What happens in between is a little bit less copacetic. I can see where they’re going with this – a commentary on the desensitizing of society and the gaming culture in general. Still, it’s hard to believe that anyone would ever allow another human being complete control of their body, no matter how desperate they were.

Butler is becoming one of my favorite actors working, but this won’t be remembered as a role he nailed. Kable has pretty much no personality whatsoever and while you’re ostensibly rooting for him, the fact of the matter is that you don’t really have much reason to care for him. Hall is actually kind of entertaining as the nerdy but arrogant tech whiz who performs a lip-synch dance to the Sammy Davis Jr. chestnut “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” with his lackeys (every good villain’s gotta have lackeys) doing a dance number along with him. That’s one of the better moments in the movie and shows the kind of flair, humor and imagination that the Neveldine/Taylor duo has at their best.

Unfortunately, this isn’t their best. A good videogame has a storyline that you want to follow through to its conclusion; at the very least, you can’t wait to experience what comes next. In this case, what comes next is predictable to the point where you’re checking your watch to see if its time to go yet. It isn’t the worst movie that will be released this year, but there aren’t many compelling reasons to go out of your way to see it.

REASONS TO GO: Some decent action sequences, and that’s about it.

REASONS TO STAY: Butler sleepwalks through his poorly written part. Neveldine/Taylor make movies for adrenaline junkies and this won’t sate even the most hardcore of fans.

FAMILY VALUES: Violence, a whole bunch of it and nudity, as well as sexual situations plus lots of bad language; not for the kiddies.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Rather than using graphics that say “The End” at the conclusion of a film, directors Neveldine and Taylor use “GAME OVER INSERT COIN,” bringing to mind videogames from the ‘80s.

HOME OR THEATER: Skip it altogether, but if you must see it, you can wait for the home video release.

FINAL RATING: 4/10

TOMORROW: The Hunting Party

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Starring: Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C Hall, Kyra Sedgewick, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Terry Crews
Running Time: 95 Minutes

Score: 8 / 10

This excellent review by Robert De Nijman.

Going into this movie, I wasn’t really expecting a lot. I had only seen one short preview, which made it look like any other post-Running Man fight-your-way-out-of-trouble action flick that sees the protagonist trapped in a game show-like fantasy, going through army’s of bad guys like Pacman through so many of those little pills. I didn’t know however, that Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the writer/director duo that brought us Crank and Crank: High Voltage, were at the helm of Gamer. The first minutes of the movie made that distinctly clear, though, as high powered action and fast paced kinetic camera-work introduce us to the world of Slayer, a first-person shooter that has its inmate characters live and die at the control(s) of real world gamers. Movements of both players and camera and the feel of the game are right on the money if you’ve ever seen shooters like Counterstrike or Call of Duty.

The world of Gamer is a not too distant future where Castle, an overnight software giant shying the likes of Microsoft and Google, reigns supreme. Its young manager, media mogul Ken Castle, couldn’t be more offspring of Generation X or Michael C. Hall’s joyfully overacted and clearly Dexter-based part would be played by Coupland himself. The immense riches brought on by his revolutionary gaming technologies make him a have-it-all loner who has lost all contact with the everyday reality spawned by Taylor and Neveldine. The virtual world is slowly replacing the tangible one, as more and more people hook on to games like Society, where you get to control an actual human being in a more-or-less fictional setting, best described as Sims at a Mad Max-themed rave, dressed by Brüno. It is in these aspects that the directors are at their best, using internet and other digital references to portray these future playgrounds, hyper technological media and the next generation of adult entertainment. The kind of future not quite as dark as the one imagined by Orwell, but pretty scary nonetheless, like we’re all trapped in the Ministry of Virtual Reality.

If Castle’s virtual world Society laid the first bricks for his soon-to-be world dominating company, second invention Slayer certainly paved the rest of the way, captivating a loyal audience the world over. The hero of the game is Kable (a contemporary Ben Richards if you will), or John Tillman outside the map of the game, played by Gerard Butler. A prison inmate who gets a fighting chance for parole, if he successfully completes thirty missions in Slayer. Which means the seventeen-year-old professional gamer that controls him has to beat a world full of other gamers, most notably Terry Crews’ Hackman, an all-killing, all-dancing beast of man, whose impressive physique (neck), short singing routine (‘I haven’t got any strings’) and the fact there’s no-one in the real world controlling him make him more fierce than Dynamo, Fireball and Buzzsaw combined. Rich background casting is provided as well, seeing supporting parts for Ludicrous, John Leguizamo, Alison Lohman, Milo Ventimiglia and Keith David, among others (although some in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em capacity), but this is clearly an all-out Butler-show. Quite possibly due to the fact the makers intended to put moviegoers into the perspective of his character as well.

Tillman’s wife (Amber Valletta) and daughter on the outside are what keep him going, but we soon find out he hides an important secret as well; one that Castle would very much like to remain hidden. In the end, that gambit combined with the somewhat rushed climax are what amount to Gamer falling short of being a true original, but other than that I highly recommend you go see this movie. The extremely detailed look at a possible future makes it eerily clear we may be closer to an alternative 1984 than we are past it.

(2009, USA, 95m)

★★★½

A wrongly convicted death-row inmate who becomes a player in a real-life first person shooter video game to win his freedom. Frenetic action-thriller with style to burn that is worth watching for the ultra-violent action scenes and an amusing supporting performance by Dexter’s Michael C. Hall.

Starring Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Logan Lerman, Terry Crews, Ludacris, Ramsey Moore, Aaron Yoo, John de Lancie, Milo Ventimiglia, Zoe Bell, John Leguizamo. Directed by Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor; written by Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor; produced by Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg, Skip Williamson, Richard S. Wright; original music by Robb Williamson, Geoff Zanelli; cinematography by Ekkehart Pollack; film editing by Peter Amundson, Fernando Villena, Doobie White.