Weekend: movies, games, and persistent coughing

This fucking cough won't go away. So I have been forced to break out the big guns. I hope this will alleviate the post-nasal drip or whatever the hell it is. I want this to be over by the time I start the new job.

Movies.

SOAP: In a word, excellent. It was everything I hoped for, and more. Saw it on Friday night with a rowdy (though thankfully not obnoxiously so) crowd in a pretty full theatre. Sam Jackson rules, completely and absolutely. It's too bad all the internet buzz didn't translate into BO.

The "worst" thing about the movie is that when people ask me about it, there really isn't much to say other than "It's about snakes. On a plane." Therein lies the genius of the title - it's truth in advertising at its most pure. Now if we could only get Radiohead to collectively re-name their last three albums "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle", we'd really have something.

I decided against Accepted - if I really feel the urge to see it... well, that's what Netflix is for, ja?
I went to see The Illusionist instead. And it was pretty fantastic. Edward Norton didn't bug as much as usual, and I thought the beard suited him (it almost made me want to grow one myself). And I was rather shocked to learn that Jessica Biel can actually sorta-kinda act. And now I'm filled with the urge to jet off to Vienna, or at least Prague (where the movie was shot).

So, two movies, and thumbs up for both.

I also finally got around to watching Akira, which was extremely well-done as far as anime goes. I know a lot of people love anime (some way too much) - I'm generally not one of them. I know it's potentially damaging to my nerd-cred, but anime has just never gotten its hooks into me; I think a big part of that is due to the fact that most anime makes no sense whatsoever. Akira does, to a certain extent, and in any event is beautifully executed. I can see why it's so highly regarded.

Looking ahead, there is a shit-ton of movies coming out this fall I can't wait to see (most of them are smaller, indie-type pictures). This weekend I might go see Invincible, pending the reviews; I love a good football movie (though perhaps not enough to see anything starring "The Rock"), but I'm worried that since it's a Walt Disney movie, I might choke to death on schmaltz. Well, if I don't go see it, I'm not too worried, as there is plenty of football, both real and fictional, to slake my thirst.

And with that brilliantly constructed segue, let's talk Madden. It's the big gaming story this week, as it inevitably is every August. People take off work on the day of release to play. It is akin to religion for some. Despite my love of both football and games, I'm not one of them. My allegiances lie elsewhere.

Madden is the source of no small amount of controversy. First, the argument that gets repeated every year is that EA should stop producing the game on an annual basis; rather they should provide roster updates for an "off year" and come back every two years with some substantial improvements to the game engine. There is some merit to this, but unfortunately it falls apart due to economic reality - there is no reason for EA to let the franchise lay fallow when it's guaranteed to move millions of units no matter what.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, is the issue of exclusivity. A few years ago EA cut a deal with the NFL and players' assocation, granting them exclusive rights to use the team names, stadiums, and players' names and likenesses in a game. This left other franchises, like 2K Sports' ESPN NFL 2K series (which many considered to be superior to Madden, especially the 2k5 edition) out in the cold. Again, this argument stems from the concern that the lack of competition will breed complacence and result in a failure to innovate. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done on this point, either.

I suppose the one good thing about this year's Madden is that EA seems to be partnering with Microsoft to push the Xbox 360 version of the game, which can only be good for my chosen console.