As you have probably noticed...

... this blog has pretty much died. While I might make the occasional update, I'd just stick it in your RSS reader and not bother checking back too often.

That said, I am very active on my RedState Diary, so if you'd like to keep reading my writing, please do check in there!

French Pop Candies

Image obtained from Wikipedia, and released under the GNU Creative Commons license.

Yeah, yeah, I know; two music posts in a row? But, Sean! I thought this was supposed to be a review site for everything!

Well, I've been working on that. Hopefully a few reviews down the pipeline you'll be getting a comprehensive review of an excellent PS2 game, Persona 4. Why not now, you might ask? Well, I haven't finished it yet, and I've decided to make it my policy not to review games, books, movies, and albums that I haven't finished 100% for the sake of credibility.

So, in the meantime, I decided to put up a review of an album that I have, in fact finished: the quirky, weird, and pretty awesome French Pop Candies. It's worth noting here that this isn't a release by one group (there is, to my knowledge, not a band called French Pop Candies currently in existence); Candies is a sampling of music by various French artists.

Actually, I wouldn't have even taken a second glance at this album if it wasn't for the fact that Busy P, an excellent electro house DJ and owner of the record label (Ed Banger) that Justice belongs to, is featured on it. (Justice is too, for that matter, but I didn't even notice until I got to their song and thought, "Hmm. This sounds an awful lot like Justice." Bonus!) That song, Pedrophilia, is just as catchy as the preview made it sound, and, in my view, that and Justice's entry, a remix of ZZT's Lower State of Consciousness, make the purchase worth it alone.

The album isn't all electro house, though. It covers a wide swath of musical genres, if mostly because so many of the songs are... well, frankly, genre-blurring. The songs range from datA's Rapture, a catchy synth-pop number that hearkens back to the eighties, to Miniscule Hey's bizarre accoustic piece, Watch out! The Sillycats!, which is more like children's poetry set to music than anything (I'd link the Youtube video if there was one; you can stream it on their Myspace page), to Yelle's Les Femmes, a sexy, almost jazzy... uh, song. I'm not really even sure how to classify it, except to say that it's one of several of the CD's songs that I never would've found otherwise, but can't stop listening to now.

Unfortunately, the "why can't I stop listening to this" label doesn't apply to every song on the album. Naive New Beaters' Live Good is just sort of annoying (though the music video is awesome), as is Adam Kesher's Local Girl, even if, in the case of the latter, it's mostly due to the vocals. While those are the only two songs that really bother me, there are others that are just plain mediocre.

That said, I still think that French Pop Candies is an excellent sampling of modern French music. Even if you don't like some (or most) of it, I can guarantee that there's still something for everyone.

The Lowdown
8/10. A few disappointments don't stop this compilation from being a worthwhile investment for just about anyone.

• Addendum I: Yelle rocks.
• Addendum II: My opinion of Live Good has gone from "annoying and stupid" to "adorably rediculous," and now that I can appreciate the music a bit more I'm starting to warm up to it.
• Addendum III: Down Down Down by the Hushpuppies is pretty excellent. And it's not electro! It's rock, but kinda like a cross between Nirvana and Tommy James and the Shondells.
  

A Cross the Universe

Gaspard and Xavier, the guys themselves. Image taken from kweb.be without permission. If I am violating any copyright laws in the United States or France by hosting this image on my blog, which I don't get paid for, please let me know and I'll take it down posthaste.

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Justice. This album in particular is only their second, but I've listened to their first numerous times and can assure all of my readers (how many of you are left, anyway?) that it is filled with hard rock/electro house goodness.

If you're a fan too, then I guess you should know that this album doesn't really have any new releases; just remixes of songs they've already put out (and of songs that other groups have done, as well). What makes up for that is that A Cross the Universe is live: that's right; everything they're doing on this CD is all done with their absurd equipment set. If anybody had any doubts about Justice's ability to pull off a live show, put them to rest now because this show rocks.

Let me start off by saying that if anybody was instantly turned off when they saw the above techno labels, I think you'll be pleasantly suprised if you decide to give either this album or their debut a listen. It's hard to describe exactly what Justice sounds like in words. They're definitely a techno group, but they're not annoying, repetitive, or overly synthy. The closest I can come to their sound is some sort of odd cross between metal, funk, and house. Very energetic, explosive, and grating (in a good way, somehow), and probably like nothing most of my readers have ever heard before.

That said, A Cross the Universe makes all their old stuff seem tame in comparison. This is Justice unleashed, mashing together tracks and then ripping them to pieces with some sort of musical chainsaw. Your speakers (and eardrums) will be given the workout of a lifetime, but it's all so worth it just to hear what new element they're going to throw into the mix next.

What's particularly great about this recording is that, being live, there's an audience, and Justice is excellent at working the crowd. The entire first track, "Intro," is a 38-second recording of the audience cheering when (presumably) Gaspard and Xavier step on-stage, followed by a remix of "Genesis," my personal favorite song of theirs. Throughout the song, the noise of the crowd gradually fades away, until a sample of "Phantom," a crowd favorite, is subtly slipped in midway through, and suddenly the audience goes nuts again. There are too many moments like this to count throughout the album as the crowd recognizes each new song, and Justice is good enough at weaving them all together that I nearly caught myself cheering a few times.

Somehow, they've even managed to turn songs I didn't like at all into more-than-danceable mixes. "TTHHEE PPAARRTTYY," a collaboration with annoying label-mate Uffie, used to be the song I always skipped over when I was still obsessively listening to Justice's first outing. The remix on this CD, though, is a hard-driving, metal-style mix that makes even Uffie's wanna-be rapper lyrics bearable.

What it boils down to is this: if you're a fan of Justice, you'll love A Cross the Universe. If you're not a fan of Justice, start off with † and then give A Cross the Universe a try if you liked it. (If your musical tastes are anything like mine, though, I'm assuming you'll like it a lot.)

The Rundown

I can't actually think of categories for this, so I'm just gonna give it a blanket 10/10. Justice is an awesome group that needs more recognition, and hopefully you guys can give it to them.

News and a plea for help.

Two things:

1. You may have noticed that there is now a music playlist on the right-hand side of the site. It features a good deal of the music I like and currently listen to. Feel free to pause it if you want, but it really is good music for the most part. I made it using Deezer, which is a very cool music-streaming website.
   
2. I am rapidly losing motivation when it comes to coming up with topics to review on my own, hence the site being barren for the entire month of September. So, to the three or so people who read my blog: shoot me an e-mail at the address on the right with something-- anything-- to review, and I'll do it if I can. (I probably can.)

Thanks!

Final Fantasy IV DS

The usual disclaimer applies; if Square-Enix or any of its affiliates feel that my usage of this picture of FFIVDS's box art is in violation of their copywright or any other rights, they can feel free to contact me with a cease and desist notification, which I will immediately comply with.

I haven't done a video game review in quite some time. Or at least what feels like quite some time; God of War: Chains of Olympus certainly seems ages ago. Regardless, here's my review of a fairly new game, and one for the DS rather than the PSP: Final Fantasy IV.

As my reader(s) who know the history of the Final Fantasy franchise at all will be aware of, this is actually, unless I'm mistaken, the fourth version of Final Fantasy IV to be released Stateside. Originally billed as Final Fantasy II due to Square-Enix's decision not to release the actual Final Fantasy II or III outside of Japan, IV also saw Playstation and Game Boy Advance releases, with the GBA version adding extra features.

FFIVDS, on the other hand, is a fully-fledged, from-the-ground-up remake of the classic game, and is, in my opinion, easily the best version released so far, and while it might not be the best game that has been released on the DS, it's still probably the best RPG, a solid game with enough content and replay value to keep you busy for, well, probably more hours than you should be investing in a video game. (Then again, I've no room to talk-- my Monster Hunter Freedom 2 save file is approaching 200 hours. I am simultaneously proud and ashamed of this.)

Plotwise, the game is fairly similar to its previous itenerations. You take on the role of the dark knight Cecil, disgraced captain of the Red Wings, the airship fleet of the kingdom of Baron. The king, whose usual, peaceful ambitions have suddenly become greedy and heartless, has been sending Cecil out to bomb the world's other kingdoms and steal their elemental crystals. When Cecil finally confronts the king, he's demoted and sent out of Baron to deliver a package to a nearby town with his friend and companion, the dragoon Kain. What follows is an epic quest spanning multiple continents, which follows Cecil and his companions as they attempt to save their world from an increasingly-growing threat.

It's stated on Wikipedia that over 75% of the game's original script was left out of the SNES outing, and much of the script, including several new scenes, has been added in for the DS version. While the new bits of plot will certainly have series fans drooling, I daresay most will find that the game's story hasn't aged well. While I certainly didn't have trouble following the game's plot, I've always thought of FFIV as being one of the less exciting games in terms of what actually happens during the story, especially when compared with many of the Playstation Final Fantasy titles.

Fortunately, however, the development team has added plenty of things to keep the player motivated. My personal favorite, in terms of new additions, is the dungeon map system. Essentially, the bottom screen is used to display a map of wherever you are, and in the case of dungeons and caves, the map starts off blank. As you travel through it, it fills itself in, and once you've filled it in completely, you get a reward-- usually five of a recovery item, like potions or phoenix downs, though occasionally weapons or armor are also handed out. In previous versions of Final Fantasy IV, dungeon crawling was always a morale-draining, unmotivating experience, but the map system really helps me in that regard; not only do I now have a goal in each room, but I also know where the heck I'm going.

Another new feature is the augment system. Augments are essentially abilities that can be taught to the party member of your choice (think TMs and HMs from the Pokemon series). If one of your companions leaves your party, you're given a varying number of their augments, depending on how many you gave them, up to three. While I like the new system because I feel that it adds strategy and depth to a combat system that otherwise isn't as sophisticated as many of the systems featured in the game's sequels, I find that I'm often unwilling to teach certain abilities to certain characters for two reasons: if it's an ability I really like, I don't want to lose it; and I generally have no idea what abilities I'm going to get in return for teaching one of my departing party members a new ability.

A nice, aesthetic touch are the new, voice-acted cutscenes. The voice actors are actually pretty okay; they're not exactly incredible but they're certainly better than plenty of other RPG casts, and the cutscenes themselves definitely make the plot more interesting. Speaking also in terms of sound, the sound effects and music are both quite good; the effects are reminiscent of the SNES version but still updated in their own right, and the music, composed by series regular Nobuo Uematsu, is a showcase of some of his most memorable work.

Graphically, the game is very similar to the DS remake of Final Fantasy III, which makes sense because it's been done by the same development team using (I believe) the same engine. This is both a good and bad thing: while the graphics are well-done, they're also quite simple, and might be a turn-off to someone expecting, say, the incredible attention to detail of a Castlevania title, or the raw graphical prowess of a PSP game.

While I'm conflicted about some of the new things about IV DS, they did build the game on a solid, well-crafted skeleton. FFIV is a beloved title in the Final Fantasy series for a reason, and the game will certainly be enjoyed by old hats and newcomers alike.

The Rundown
Plot: 6/10. The new cutscenes and voice acting really help breathe life into the otherwise-dry story.
Gameplay: 9/10. The simple battle system is helped along with some new features and a few changes.
Graphics: 8/10. Simplistic, but well-done. I like the new character designs.
Sound: 10/10. Sound effects are updated but still pleasingly retro, and Uematsu's score is as good now as it's ever been.
Overall: 8.25/10. A solid, entertaining DS outing that will appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers, FFIVDS shouldn't be missed.

Mamma Mia!

Image obtained from IceTheSite.com without permission; any cease and desist orders should be forwarded to me via e-mail. My address is listed on this page, and I will immediately comply with any legitimate orders to remove the image from this page.

Until just a few hours ago, I'd had a very good day. They do these cool boat tours up in Sarasota (I say 'up' because I'm in Venice, south of Tampa, for the summer, rather than in college) where you get to see all kinds of bay area animals; dolphins, birds, fish and the like. It really made me appreciate Florida, since I often take living here for granted. It can be a fun state sometimes.

After that, I went to my aunt's condo and had pizza; Dominoes is hardly Claudio's or Ray's, but they're probably the best national pizza franchise at the very least. So that was good too.

Then, I saw Mamma Mia! (the movie) and my good day was ruined.

I'm not actually sure why I went to see it. I saw the touring production a few years ago and it was horrible. Maybe I was expecting this to be better? Maybe I just like seeing movies, and figured it couldn't be so bad that I wouldn't have a good time? Maybe I just missed Pierce Brosnan, since he isn't James Bond anymore?

In the end, who knows. The only thing I know for certain is that this is one of the worst pieces of trash to grace the silver screen in a very, very long time, and might be one of the worst movies in the history of cinema. (Think of it this way: I haven't reviewed something in how long? Months? This movie was so bad that I want to rip it to shreds more than I want to talk about the joys of New York City.)

I can't really pin the failure on any one thing because there was something wrong with everything. The casting, for instance was very strange. Meryl Streep, as my mother pointed out after the movie was over, is about twenty years too old for the part she played. Pierce Brosnan is a cool guy and a great actor, but he can't really sing, and it was painful to watch him try. I didn't care about Amanda Seyfried's Sophie (of course the part is quite shallow to begin with, so that's not entirely her fault). Everyone else was either just having fun or collecting a paycheck, but in the end, no one was truly emotionally invested in the film. Then again, the script is so terrible that I doubt anyone could be.

Ah, yes, the script. Of all the possible stories to weave around ABBA's numerous songs, why this one? The entirely depthless, Cinderella plot details valley girl wanna-be Sophie's quest to find out who her father is before her wedding to cliche'd dream-guy Sky (Dominic Cooper); her choices include Sam (Brosnan) and his comic-foil sidekicks Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgård). The incredibly predictable plot surpasses the so-bad-it's-good mark and just becomes bad all over again, which wouldn't be such a terrible thing if the cast (see above) had been, um, good.

The failings of this film, however, go far beyond the actors and the writing. Actually, my biggest issue was with Haris Zambarloukos' cinematography. I got more seasick watching Mamma Mia! than I did on the aforementioned boat tour. It seemed that every shot involved the camera spinning around, panning over, or doing some other incredibly distracting thing. Don't get me wrong-- Greece is a very beautiful place, but seeing it through Zambarloukos' vision was like watching it through the eyes of a stumbling drunkard.

Speaking of being drunk, the editors were on something when they were putting the movie together. The sloppy editing was a constant distraction, as if the camerwork and bad casting weren't distracting enough.

All right. Y'know what? I'm done with this. I don't have any more time to waste on this film. I'm gonna go do something more fun than think back on Mamma Mia!, like read the dictionary or paint my room with a toothbrush or something.

The Rundown
Cast: 1/10. There was one member of the ensemble who I thought was really funny. That was it.
Script: 0/10. It might've been of acceptable quality for, say, a Barbie direct-to-DVD film, but I can't imagine any other situation where that script would be considered good.
Cinematography: 0/10. Please, stop moving the camera! Just stop it!
Editing: 0/10. These guys didn't even care. Why should I?
Overall: .25/10. You probably won't even like it if you're an ABBA fan.

No review (sorry), but good news.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for my lack of activity. While I'm sure you five or six people that keep up with my blog are voraciously awaiting my next post, I'm afraid that I simply won't have the time to post anything until probably around the 23rd. I've taken a trip up north to New York City and Pennsylvania to go to my cousin's high school graduation (and eat lots of amazing food, and see a few Broadway shows, et cetera) so this is a rare moment for me, being on the computer like this.

What's the good news, you might ask? Well, this trip is giving me plenty of fodder for various reviews, since you guys don't really suggest anything too much. I've already been to the Met, seen Young Frankentstein, and I have two more shows lined up in addition to, I'm sure, several restaurants I'll be dining at as well. You can also expect a review of Delta Airlines, and, potentially, Penn Station's NY-Trenton line if I really start running out of stuff.

So, that's it for now. Check back during the week of the 23rd!