I Heart Huckabees
Directed by: David O. Russell
Written by: David O. Russell and Jeff Baena
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Naomi Watts

It seems like everyone’s making quirky comedies these days, and I can’t say it’s a trend I dislike. Maybe people have finally come to terms with the lameness of the formulaic Saturday Night Live vehicles and romantic comedies that have dominated the funny pictures for so many years. Maybe today’s cynical movie-going audiences actually thrive on originality and wit. Or maybe it’s just that making a dark comedy with a wacky edge is the only way for directors to be respected artistically for making people laugh.

Writer/director David O. Russell is no stranger to the concept of quirky comedy; his 1999 film Three Kings was an overlooked and misunderstood dark comic gem.However, what he seems to have overlooked himself with his latest film, I Heart Huckabees, is that simply making a movie weird doesn’t necessarily make it a masterpiece.The movie definitely has a lot of winning elements to it, but it doesn’t quite live up to its potential.

Billed as an “existential comedy”, the movie centers around a guy named Albert (Jason Schwartzmann), who experiences a series of strange coincidences in his life and wonders about their significance. When he finds a business card in the pocket of a suit jacket, he is lead to the office of a pair of so-called existential detectives (Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman) who investigate the life situations of their clients by following them around and taking notes on even their most mundane activities (yes, even in the bathroom).What are they hoping to find? Why, the answers to all the big questions of course.Through them, Albert also meets a fireman named Tommy (Mark Wahlberg) whose wife is leaving him because of his constant preoccupation with the deeper meaning of life (not to mention his obsession with the world’s petroleum crisis). Albert and Tommy ride their bicycles around in search of the ultimate truth (with Tommy outfitted in his big floppy fireman boots the whole time).

To say that I Heart Huckabees requires a second viewing to fully appreciate it is an understatement. It probably requires a lot more than that to really get your head around it. That is, if there’s really anything to get your head around in the first place. I’m all for cryptic and cerebral film experiences, but this one was so out in left field that it became hard to follow. The characters are shouting so much rapid-fire philosophy for the entire duration that it grows tiresome and nearly impossible to understand what’s happening. I’m sure this movie is going to inspire a lot of walk outs in just about every theatre that it plays, and normally that would be an indication that the movie is intelligent, challenging and potentially very rewarding. But for once I found myself almost envying the people who chose to abandon this film halfway through.

The main problem is that a lot of the time it feels like David O. Russell is occupying Charlie Kaufman or P.T. Anderson’s domain without letting his own voice shine through. He tries to conjure up weirdness out of thin air. He employs surreal imagery and effects that seem to be strange just for the sake of being strange. Does anyone really need to see a dream sequence of Jason Schwartzmann suckling milk from the teat of Jude Law with breasts?The off-kilter score by Jon Brion (Punch Drunk Love, Magnolia, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) definitely helps recreate the feel of these other chaotic films as well.

Part of me thinks that once again David O. Russell is being misunderstood. In James Berardinelli’s review of I Heart Huckabees, he claims that the movie is a satire of other pretentious, philosophical movies (perhaps like those of P.T. Anderson and Charlie Kaufman?). I admit that when taken from that angle, the movie seems a little more comprehendable, but I certainly didn’t pick up on it at the time and it’s a little disappointing to think that all the philosophical mumbo-jumbo is precisely that. In some ways it feels like a cop out… an easy way to make a quirky comedy without having a point.

Make no mistake, the characters are all very likeable in this movie. I laughed quite a bit, and in particular I was most happy to see Mark Wahlberg back in a comedic role — which is his strongest suit if you ask me. Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin are also unforgettable as they creep around spying on their clients and maintain straight faces in the most unlikeliest of circumstances. The casting is great and the performances are superb, but ultimately you don’t care what happens to these characters and you don’t really even know what you’re waiting to see happen. The movie leads you in search of answers only to leave you feeling more baffled than you were when it started.

Is everything really connected? Is there meaning or is it all just a void of nothingness? All I know is that I didn’t connect with this movie, and I didn’t get any real meaning out it either. On the surface it was a mostly entertaining experience full of bizarre characters and situations. And maybe that’s all it was supposed to be, but I can’t help but feel like the movie is trying to accomplish something more and never really gets there. If this movie’s sole purpose was to spoof surreal art-house flicks then David O. Russell is squandering some great acting and intriguing off-beat ideas so he can pull one over all of us and it just seems like a bit of a waste to me. — Sean

Jimmy Eat World - Futures
(Interscope)

Jimmy Eat World are one of those bands that you either hate to love or love to hate. For me, they’ve always been a bit of a guilty pleasure. I can listen to their albums on repeat for an entire day only to wake up the next morning feeling used and ashamed. As their commercial success continues and their songs start to overload airwaves and saturate media outlets everywhere, it is becoming harder and harder to call yourself a fan of Jimmy Eat World and still feel good about it.

For one thing, the vague and divisive emo trend has for the most part died out, to the point where no one dares utter the word anymore for fear of garnering strange looks from their peers. The upshot to this is that bands like Jimmy Eat World can no longer hide beneath the veil of being sensitive indie rock heroes.Instead they are exposed for what they really are: sugar-coated power pop pushers who sound equally at home on middle-of-the-road easy listening radio stations as they are on the hip modern rock stations.But the fact of the matter is, you can’t fault them for being so damn accessible, especially when they’ve never claimed to be anything else.They still sound exactly the same as they have since day one, only now they’re privileged enough to have slicker production and a lot more people listening.

If you haven’t yet heard Futures, it should come as no surprise that the album picks up pretty close to where Bleed American left off. It’s hard to imagine a Jimmy Eat World album without the same crunchy guitars, breathy, delicate vocals, and bubblegum choruses. As always, the lyrics are pretty cheesy and generic, but in typical J.E.W. fashion every song has a hook or riff that will make your forget that you ever questioned them in the first place. You wouldn’t even know that they changed producers on this album unless someone told you. Gil Norton replaces Mark Trombino behind the dials this time around — Norton being the man who recorded most of The Pixies’ discography, and, more appropriately, a bunch of Catherine Wheel and Foo Fighters stuff.

The first half of the album finds the band forgetting their gentler side and concentrating on the rock. From the chugging guitars of the title track and the straight-ahead scorcher “Jen”, to the jangly Liz Phair-backed “Work”, and the album’s addictive first single “Pain”, there is a lot of stand out material here. Some of the songs seem to be ushering in a new era of arena rock considering the abundance of fist-pumping choruses and prominent vocal harmonies. The album even has a lot of solid guitar solos, while “The World You Love” shamelessly cops a Lita Ford riff and turns it into an extended “woah-oh” sing along.

Strangely, the album’s least memorable moments come from the points when they turn down the guitars and get all sappy on us, which historically speaking has been a strong point for the band. With epic slow songs like “For Me This Is Heaven” and “Cautioners” on past albums, you have to wonder what caused them to stumble this time around. “Drugs For Me”, a 6 minute ballad about a strung-out friend, lacks the guitar sheen needed to blind listeners to the lyrical cheesiness, while the 7 minute closer “23″ incorporates string arrangements and dreamy guitars but seems to be missing that essential catchy refrain. It doesn’t help that all the slower songs are concentrated towards the latter half of the record, unbalancing the overall flow.

Truthfully, the only real problem I have with Futures is that it is an album we’re all going to hear over and over again — whether we buy it or not. Even though I certainly don’t have anything against accessible music in and of itself, the problem comes when a song gets rammed down your throat until you want to vomit. I could see almost all of these songs becoming radio singles at some point, and while Bleed American stood up well to repetition, only time will tell if Futures has the same intangible qualities. My early impression is that Futures is not nearly as indispensable, and yet it may see Jimmy Eat World reach an unwieldy level of exposure. Here’s to hoping things don’t get too out of hand… I really don’t want to hate this album because I like it too damn much. — Sean

Team America World Police
Directed by: Trey Parker
Written by: Pam Brady, Trey Parker, Matt Stone
Starring (the voices of): Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kristen Miller, Masasa, Daran Norris

Only the creators of South Park could come up with the terrifically twistedidea of spoofing a Hollywood action film using wooden marionnettes — and onlythey could actually pull it off. Their disdain for the movie industry’s overuse ofartificial computer-generated effects, combined with news of the live-action Thunderbirdsmovie in production inspired Trey Parker and Matt Stone to get back to basics. And Team America World Police was born.

I had high hopes for this movie as I totally loved the concept, but wouldthere be enough humour to carry an entire movie of puppets for 90 minutes?South Park has never been a favourite show of mine; despite the obviousintelligence and sharp wit of its creators I always felt it lost its edgewith too many crass jokes and easy shock value gags. Would Team America fallvictim to the same problem, or would Parker and Stone create the truemasterpiece that they were capable of? For me, Team America World Police hitthe nail on the head — it’s a clever comedy that works on multiple levelsand rarely has a dull moment.

Team America are a group of freedom fighters (seemingly unaffiliated withthe U.S. government), who jump into action whenever their supercomputerI.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E. warns them of impending terrorist attack. Assembledby the mysterious millionaire Spottswoode, the team consists of Chris (former starquarterback and sensitive leader), Sarah (the soft-spoken psychic), Lisa(the blonde bombshell) and Joe (the loose cannon with a chip on hisshoulder).An unexpected vacancy appears on the team’s roster when one of the teammembers is killed in action (right after popping the question to Lisa, no less) andSpottswoode approaches Broadway actor Gary Johnston to join the team.After overcoming some personal demons, Gary comes on board and Team America set out to stop a nefarious plot involving South Korea’s Kim Jong Il and the Film Actors’ Guild (F.A.G.), headed up by Alec Baldwin.

Not since the TV series Spitting Image have marionnettes been put to suchgood comedic use.They look great, very realistic at times, and many of the likenesses offamous people are hilarious in themselves. The puppet faces are also veryexpressive, and convey a lot of subtle emotions to the point where they really do seem real. I’m sure the irony of recreating Hollywood style overacting with wooden puppets is something that was not lost on Parker and Stone. A lot of the movie’s laughs come from poking fun of the marionnette’s limitations as well, often drawing attention to the fact that they are attached to strings (which were left in the final cut on purpose) and overemphasizing their inability to walk properly. There’s also a great gag towards the end of the film involving the use of real cats. Ingenius.

The use of original music in Team America World Police is definitely one ofthe movie’s most memorable elements; as we’ve seen in South Park or CannibalThe Musical, Stone and Parker can write some some priceless musical numbersincluding the de facto Team America theme song “America… Fuck yeah!”, “Pearl Harbour sucked (and I miss you)”, or Kim Jong Il’s heartfelt solo “Lonely”.

As you might expect from “those South Park guys”, there is a fair amount ofshock and gross out humour here, but it’s not overdone and doesn’t get inthe way of the fun. The profuse vomiting scene is one of the highlights, notto mention the ridiculous marionnette sex — which, even when toned down to avoid the NC-17 rating, still pushes the envelope. (I’m sure the unrated DVD is already in the works.) I don’t see how this movie is really offensive at all, as even the blatant middle eastern and asian stereotypes are so over the top that it’s obvious they are poking fun of American ignorance. I guess some of the actors that were portrayed in the film were upset (Sean Penn in particular) but I think they were just a little unsettled to see likenesses of themselves getting their heads chopped off and riddled with bullets.

Mostly though, it is the action movie send-ups that really got me hooked on this movie and had me giggling like a little schoolgirl. They succeeded in recreating so many of the Hollywood cliches to the point where the movie seemed better written and more Hollywood-esque than a lot of the blockbusters we’ve seen in recent years. Each of the characters have these ridiculous personality quirks and back stories that come out at the most inappropriate moments. What’s even more impressive is that they rarely had to stoop to lampooning specific scenes from popular movies either, with the exception of some references to Star Wars and the inevitable Matrix bullet time gag.

While there are a few lulls in the movie and a handful of jokes that fall flat (uh… Michael Moore is fat and eats a lot of hot dogs… haha) I still have to say this was the funniest movie I’ve seen this year. It’s not a laugh a minute, and if you come in expecting that kind of thing you might be disappointed, but the humour is more intelligent and more rewarding than say.. Scary Movie 1, 2 or 3. In fact, a lot of it just comes from playing the marionnette thing completely straight, and the jokes don’t always jump out and slap you in the face.

A lot has been said about the so-called “political statement” being madewith this film, but I don’t think it’s all that political. Sure, the story is based on current events, but as anyone can tell they aren’t playing sides here… anyone is fair game to Parker and Stone. Personally, I found the most poignant thing about the whole movie to be the blind patriotism and naive heroics of Team America themselves and the black and white view of the world that is so often presented in the media.

To be honest, even if the humour didn’t work, I was prepared to like this movie… I mean, come on, they have made a Hollywood action flick using marionnettes for Pete’s sake! How can you not give them props for that? But it turns out that the movie blew away my expectations. I want to see it again and again. Will Team America World Police inspire a marionnette movie trend in the near future? I seriously doubt it. Will it strike box office gold? Uhh… I think that possibility’s already been shot after the decidedly lukewarm opening weekend. But regardless, this one is destined to be a true cult classic for years to come, so catch it on the screen while you can. — Sean

ESPN NBA 2K5 (PS2)
Developed by: Visual Concepts
Published by: Sega

The Bad

1. Isomotion is more like slowmotion… takes way too long to respond.
2. Graphics weak at times, such as the aliasing of the key and 3 point markings all jagged.
3. 24/7 Streetball mode is okay… too Tony Hawk-ish, but not very exciting. For some reason my 6′5″ player cant even dunk. They spent too much time on this part and not the real game. You can keep scoring on the same simple move.
4. The action with little spin shots and hop steps looks like a real game on replay, but half the time these little extras arent controlled by you. It’s annoying when you go to cut, and your guy is doing a cross-over you didn’t tell him to.
5. Lack of defensive crouch, and protect ball dribble on offense.
6. Impossible to steal even with steal slider cranked up. It’s ridiculous, you sit there hammering the button, and the ball is right in front of your nose, unprotected, but you never get the steal.
7. New post up moves are okay, but you can’t back someone down and spin, dribbling to the basket for some reason. You always just turn to face the defender instead.
8. Why hasn’t anyone since NBA Courtside on the N64 introduced the ability to switch dribbling hands quickly, without fancy crap, and without using up turbo?
9. Sometimes when the crowd gets too loud, the sound gets all distorted and scratchy.
10. Really cheesy looking animated player heads with the stats bar during the game, making strange angry faces. It looks like Super Nintendo.
11. Annoying hiphop soundtrack to everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Good

1. You can’t argue with the $30 price.
2. A lot more plays to call on offense.
3. The ability to lead a player with a pass.
4. Pretty decent animations.
5. The hop step is a sweet move and alley-oops off the backboard.
6. Apparently the franchise mode is insanely in depth now… haven’t tried it yet though.
7. You get rewarded a lot more for executing plays, like if you use a screen, you usually hit the open shot.
8. You get to control how you want to change your shot in midair.
9. A.I. seems pretty decent.
10. Dunks are more realistic looking and harder to get, which makes them rewarding. And you actually dunk when you’re standing still under the basket, unlike the usual weird shot you get because you aren’t running to the hoop.

Rating: 7/10 blings
Overall impression: Bit of a letdown compared to 2K3

– Kube

THX 1138 (DVD)
Directed by: George Lucas
Written by: George Lucas and Walter Murch
Starring: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Maggie McOmie

For years I knew only about George Lucas’ first movie through obscurereferences and passing mentions. As the namesake of his patented sound technology, the inspiration for theMisfits song “We Are 138″, or the licence plate on a car in the early Lucasarts game Maniac Mansion,but I really had no clue what the movie was actually about. And it’s really no wonder, considering that themovie has been out of print on video for years and even during its theatrical run was relegated only to ahandful of b-movie theatres.

Now, just before releasing the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD, GeorgeLucas saw the perfect opportunity to revisit his neglected first born child and make it available on DVD aswell. But who are we kidding… this is George Lucas, and he can’t re-release a movie without trying to tweak it insome way or incorporate new technology into it. So what he has given us is a brand spankin’ newnever-before-seen Director’s Cut of THX-1138. Despite the well-rounded two-disc DVD package it comes with,however, I have to wonder if maybe this movie was better left as the long-forgotten legend after all.

THX 1138 is an attempt at dystopian future science-fiction in the vein of1984 and Brave New World. While a lot of the specifics of the world’s day to day operations are left unclear, what is clear is that human workers aren’t given names rather they are assigned letter/number codes and they are supplied with regular doses of sedatives to keep them emotionless and numb to their daily routines. THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) is just your average drone worker, but he has a problem. His sedatives aren’t working and he’s beginning to feel weird. It turns out that his mate LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie) is replacing his sedatives with stimulants in order to fulfill her urges for intimacy… intimacy which is forbidden by law. When THX begins to act strangely during a work shift, he is investigated and eventually imprisoned for his drug violation. This all leads him to the realization that he must escape at all costs.

Visually, the movie is quite arresting at points, and you have to give Lucas credit on that front. You can see how this movie hinted at the special effects empire he would eventually build over the years, even if most of the futuristic sets were actually just clever use of interesting real-world locations. His imagination and creativity are very apparent in the movie, and you can also understand why he was regarded as a filmmaking prodigy at a young age. The minimalist design works for the most part, and there are some neat camera tricks used here. The motorcycle chase sequence at the end of the film is pretty spectacular.

Personally I found it hard to distinguish what additions were made to the movie, but that is probably a good thing as it means George Lucas hasn’t tinkered too much. Some of the futuristic backdrops and robot factory elements look computer generated and I’m sure were enhanced to make the environments look a little less sparse… but then again, wasn’t that sparseness part of the movie’s theme?

The core of the movie hasn’t changed though, and the problem I had is that there’s not really much of a story going on here. The movie drags for a good chunk of its running time. It has that artsy film school feel to it, where nothing is explained clearly and everything is deliberately slow-paced. Think of movies like Solaris and Blade Runner on a smaller scale with weaker stories and you’ll have an idea of the tone of THX 1138. In one of the supplementary interviews they explain that Lucas wanted the world to have all these arbitrary, unexplained rituals to add authenticity but a lot of them just seemed too staged.

Coming from someone who really digs this kind of science-fiction, the movie struggled to hold my attention for the entire 90 minutes. I think if it wasn’t George Lucas’ first movie, it wouldn’t be all that noteworthy. In other words, film nerds need only apply here. You need to have an appreciation for the ways in which the movie broke new ground, and of course the time period in which it was released. It is pretty crazy to think it was released over 30 years ago. THX 1138 is certainly nowhere near the mainstream appeal of Lucas’ other creations like Star Wars, and I can see why there was such a struggle with Warner Brothers to release it.

The extra features in this DVD set do make up for much of the film’s shortcomings however. There is a running commentary with George Lucas and the co-writer/sound designer Walter Murch a number of featurettes, the highlight of which is an hour long documentary on American Zoetrope, the studio Francis Ford Coppola started. It’s also neat to have Lucas’ original student film on here as well, to get a sense of where Lucas really came from.

THX 1138 is an interesting film but more for historical and technical reasons than for its sheer brilliance. If you’re not a George Lucas fan, you may want to steer clear. However, if nothing else, it offers a fascinating look at the roots of one of the most influential filmmakers of our time. — Sean

Fire The Saddle - Four Feet Off The Ground
(Debauchery)

When I received this Fire The Saddle CD for review I didn’t really know what to expect, but when I popped it in my CD player all I found myself saying was, “What in tarnation? It looks like bluegrass, it sounds like bluegrass… but it’s not quite bluegrass!”

Based out of Louisville, Kentucky, these guys have taken a lot of their local influences and molded it into a sound that is somewhat unique. They have the southern twang and quirky instrumentation you would find on a Modest Mouse album, but they are full-fledged country afficionados. There’s banjo, mandolin, piano, violin, accordion and more — all instruments that can really fill out a band’s sound when used appropriately. What they don’t have is the awful drawling and crooning you would find in most modern country acts. Lead singers Mick and Tory have a distinct male/female vocal combination that is gentle and appealing.

As you can probably tell, bluegrass and country are about as far outside of my realm of musical expertise as you can get. It’s never been my cup of tea, and this album hasn’t changed that. Still, I find that I can tolerate this album much more than I would most other music in the genre, and I think folk and indie rock fans could probably get into this band too.

The opening track “Too Cold To Dance” makes you want to shake off the frost and get those legs moving, and a good number of other songs like “Faith In Me” and “Contact” have a steady strumming rhythm and an infectious energy about them. It’s also perhaps inevitable that a newbie like myself would find the song “In The Dark” reminiscent of the Dukes of Hazzard theme, but is there anything wrong with that? However, there are also some delicate ballads on this album that showcase a whole other dimension to the band. In fact, there are more mellow songs on the record than upbeat ones, which is not a bad thing. Although some of the slow songs are a little too subdued for my taste, others are high points of the album. “Silk and Oil” is one of the strongest songs, with its stripped down acoustic sound and wistful chorus, and “Apartment” is a simple but catchy ode to the life of a starving musician.

Four Feet Off The Ground is an impressive debut album from a band that has managed to meld together country influences with folk and rock to make a pretty unique sound overall. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you like a little bit of southern flavour with your indie rock, this is what you’ve been waiting for. — Sean

Metallica w/ Godsmack
Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004 @ Air Canada Centre, Toronto

Metallica is back in Toronto at the ACC for another sold out performance with opener Godsmack.

22 years of rocking will generate a massive fan base that will consist of people like Old biker farts, 11 year old stoner kids, to the typical mullet clad metal heads. 22 years of rocking and these dudes are still some how head banging to the bank. With that all said, was the show worth the big ticket prices the band is charging?

The stage was on a slowly rotating platform and rigged with everything from lights to smoke, and 12 foot flames. Above the stage, there were screens and suspended people in chairs operating lights and cameras. The pyrotechnics were done well, although at some points it just seemed like they had leftovers so they just chucked it in here and there. The sound was good, except for some of the minor screw ups, an example would be the part when they tried to syncing audio over top when the little girl recites the prayer during the song Enter Sandman. At one point Hetfield yells to the audience something like “who here bought our new album?” The audience obviously cheers back, but I was hoping everyone would yell out “WE ALL DOWNLOADED IT!” just to see how pissed off Lars gets.

Needless to say the whole place was booming, before, during, and after the show. Lots of stage presence and the band didn’t seem to want to leave. They played 3 encores and the show spanned to about 3 hours long. There was a good mixture of old and new songs in the set list. One of the highlights for me was when they played the song One and how the strobes kicked in during the last half of the song.

Too tell you the truth, I haven’t listened to Metallica since high school and currently don’t really have a lot of respect for them anymore, from current events. I only went because a friend offered to pay for everything because he didn’t want to look like a school girl wetting his panties over a rock band by himself. However it was an entertaining stage show and everyone had a blast. Now I can’t seem to hear very good.

7.4 out of 10 on my ass kick meter.

– Chian

Star Wars Battlefront (X-Box)
Developed by: Pandemic Studios
Published by: Lucasarts

There are so many Star Wars games out there nowadays that it’s next to impossible to keep track of which ones are good and which ones are crap… and there is plenty of crap, believe me.Personally I find it hard to understand how you can make a crappy Star Wars game in the first place, because when you think about it, just about any game can be improved just by adding a Star Wars theme.First person shooters, racing games, flight sims, RPGs… hell I bet you could even make a decent Star Wars football game if you really wanted to.

Star Wars Battlefront takes the addictive WWII multiplayer shooter Battlefield 1942 and improves it by adapting it to the Star Wars universe. Hardcore Battlefield fans will claim that the game needs no improvement, but I think this takes the concept a step further. Star Wars has such a plethora of cool weapons, vehicles and settings that it translates extremely well to the large scale combat style. After all, the movies are called Star WARS and the key battles are a huge part of the experience that, up until now, haven’t been fully realized in a videogame.

This is what Star Wars Battlefront does best, it puts you right in the middle of all the epic battles from the Star Wars movies. You’ve got the battle on the ice planet Hoth from the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, with Imperial AT-ATs and AT-STs wreaking havoc on Rebel ground troops on Tauntauns and Snowspeeders. You’ve got the battle on Endor from Return Of The Jedi, with the Rebels trying to destroy a shield generator while Ewoks lend a hand by setting their primitive traps in the trees. You’ve even got battles from the new Star Wars movies where the Clone Army takes on waves and waves of Droids, or the battle on Naboo where the Gungans fight alongside (or against) you.

For those who have never played Battlefield 1942 before, the game is very simple, and set up to maximize fun for continuous multiplayer combat. It is a third person shooter (or first person, if that is your preference) where two opposing armies attempt to take control of their enemy’s bases and/or eliminate all their reinforcements. Whenever you die in combat, you can restart from any of the bases under your team’s control as part of the next reinforcement wave (a maximum 15 second wait). That’s really all there is to it. Whichever team can capture and hold all the bases on a map or exhaust the reinforcements of its opponent first wins. There is no story involved, the game is simply set up to offer up many different combat scenarios following these rules, all based on the Star Wars movies.

One of the key elements that adds depth to the game is the number of different soldier types you can choose to be. There are 4 or 5 classes of soldier (depending on which team you ally yourself with), each with different weapons, equipment and abilities. Every time you die and respawn you can choose to enter the game as a different class, which prevents boredom and repetitiveness especially during longer battles. In addition to your standard infantry trooper, each side has a sniper class (usually equipped with a sniper rifle and a recon droid), and some sort of heavy ammunition class like a Rebel Vanguard or Imperial Shock Trooper (who both come prepared with missile launchers). There is also a pilot class, who serve as medics and engineers by having the ability to dispense health and ammo packs, as well as repair destroyed gun turrets. Some of the more unique classes include the Rebel Wookiees (armed with a bowcaster and a timebomb), the Imperial Dark Troopers (equipped with short burst jet packs), and the uber-cool Droideka/Destroyer Droid who roll around in a ball and then set up shields and unload with heavy blaster fire. You can’t be a Jedi unfortunately, but armies are occasionally joined in battle by a CPU-controlled Jedi hero depending on the setting and/or team bonuses. These include Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Count Dooku and Obi-Wan, all of whom are essentially invincible, deflecting all blaster fire with their lightsabers.

The other thing that adds variety to the different levels are the various vehicles available. There are over 30 in the game, from X-wing Fighters and Speeder Bikes, to AT-ATs and spider droids. Some are harder to control than others, and some are more useful than others, but they all make the game distinctly a part of the Star Wars universe.

There are 3 game modes in Star Wars Battlefront: Historical Campaign, Galactic Conquest and Instant Action. Historical Campaign drops you into a particular era in Star Wars history and takes you through the battles in chronological order. You must achieve victory in each battle before you can progress. Galactic Conquest is a game mode where you vie for control of a number of planets, with the objective of eventually conquering them all. For each battle you win, you capture a planet and gain an associated planetary bonus which you can then activate in the next battle. These planetary bonuses range from Sabotage (enemy vehicles start partially damaged) and Regeneration (your soldiers regain health over time), to assistance from a Jedi Hero. Instant Action allows you to choose from any battle scenario you want, or queue up a number of them for play. All of the game modes support two-player split-screen gameplay, but I believe System Link and X-Box Live multiplayer games can only be in Instant Action mode.

It’s interesting to note that many of the scenarios also involve third party groups such as the Ewoks, Sandpeople or Jawas. These sides are not playable, but they do take part in the battles, sometimes helping you and sometimes getting in your way.

While the A.I. in Battlefront can best be described as “unintelligent”, the individual strategies of CPU-controlled soldiers are not as important in this game as they would be in something more strategic like Counterstrike. Battlefront gives you that feeling of being able to run in and take down tons of nameless infantry soldiers and really turn the tide of a battle. If the enemies were too smart this game would be way too difficult, although I have to admit, you can really fly through the single player campaigns. Sometimes it can be annoying when your teammates constantly take control of the vehicles near a spawn point or otherwise get in your way, but at least you can give them basic commands using the D-pad, to which they tend to respond well. Let’s face it, the game aims for a multiplayer experience, and that’s what it does best.

Now, you’d think that when a game that is so focused on a single style of gameplay, the developers would have time to really make the game solid and bug-free. Not so in this case, as there are some noticeable glitches in Battlefront, such as players vibrating awkwardly in mid-air when they stand on skiffs and certain platforms. The game also suffers from a lack of variety of animations. For example, when a soldier enters a gun turret or exposed vehicle of some sort, there is no animation for the transition — he simply disappears and then pops up in place in his seat. There are no seriously restrictive problems that get in the way of gameplay, but the game is far from perfect. Thankfully, the online connectivity is surprisingly robust and I have yet to encounter any network issues.

The best part about Star Wars Battlefront (and the original Battlefield 1942, for that matter) is that the game style is perfectly suited for casual gamers and for quick, non-committal game sessions. As much as I love story-based games, I have to admit that a big problem with them is that sometimes you just don’t have time for them. Star Wars Battlefront is an excellent and addictive game that requires no advance set up and no time investment. It may not have enough depth to hold your interest for months, but as a multiplayer game and an X-Box Live game, there’s not much else out there as fun as this. It’s definitely the best large scale X-Box Live game available right now, at least until Halo 2 comes out next month. You can take away points for lack of originality, but sometimes when it ain’t broke, you shouldn’t fix it. Lucasarts and Pandemic Studios stole an idea but implemented it well, and that’s what makes Star Wars Battlefront a winner. — Sean

Franz Ferdinand w/ Futurehead, The Delays
Friday, Oct. 1, 2004 @ The Docks, Toronto

Having never attended a concert at The Docks in Toronto, I was a little unsure how this thing was going to work. Any other concert that I had heard of there was outside, and that concerned me. On the water, a chilly day in October, would we really be outside freezing our asses off? Anyone that I talked to wasn’t exactly sure if there was an inside to this venue, but it turns out to be this pretty cool place on the inside. The set up there is good, the only thing that disappointed me was the size of the stage. I prefer a wider venue with a wider stage; this allows the crowd to be a little closer to the band and makes it all easier to see. Bottom line: Why go to the concert if you can’t actually see the band playing?

While the first band, Futurehead, was playing we were outside, getting familiar with the place. Their music was a good backdrop to our conversation. We went in to catch the last of their set, and it turned out to be their final song. The last song is definitely not the way to make a good judgment on a band, because they are either tired from playing so they suck, or they are really fired up on the energy they get from the crowd. Nonetheless, Futurehead’s last song rocked, and I would be interested in seeing them again.

Up next was The Delays. Impressed by the end of the Futurehead set, I didn’t want to miss out seeing the Delays in action. We settled on a good spot, closer to the stage and in line of sight with the lead singer, who I think is named Greg Gilbert. A fellow concertgoer described him and his band as Bon Jovi with a keyboard and Brit Pop hair. I, on the other hand was more optimistic. I had heard an interview of the Delays on the radio earlier in the day and was looking forward to seeing them live. Here they are on stage, playing their instruments, and I’m feeling it. These guys are going to be good. That is until Greg Gilbert starts to sing. Maybe he thought he was performing with the Three Tenors as a soprano. Under normal circumstances, I don’t have a problem with males switching to their falsetto voice when necessary, but in reality there is no need for falsetto to dominate a song. Unless, of course, your name is Adam Sandler and you’re singing about a Jewish holiday. Bottom line, Greg, write your songs in a lower key or sing an octave lower. The thing that was most disappointing is that they had such potential to be good, or at least I think so. The guitarist, keyboardist, and drummer were really nothing to complain about. I think the biggest problem, aside from the lead singer, with The Delays, is their lack of passion, or at least their lack of ability to communicate this passion to their audience. No passion equals crappy concert as far as I’m concerned.

One thing that attracts me to a band like Franz Ferdinand is their energy and passion. I was hopeful that they would be able to deliver this energy and passion in a far greater way at a live performance, and I was not disappointed. Alex Kapranos has a great ability to interact with the crowd, and I think the band as a whole feed off the energy of their audience. Such an important factor at a live show. The whole time they were playing I was impressed with musical and vocal abilities. Many times it is easy to be displeased by the actual talent and skill of the live performer. Franz Ferdinand, however, were so fantastic live. They were tight, really tight. I didn’t hear any musical mistakes at all and they were all extremely good at what they were doing. I am pretty certain that they played every song on their CD, only better, and that was exactly what I was looking for.

It was a good show, all in all. You can’t expect every band to be great when there are three on the bill. I would see Franz Ferdinand again if I ever get the chance. Hopefully next time there will be a new CD with new songs to hear, a better opening band and a higher platform for the drummer. I hate it when you can’t see the drummer. — Andrea

The Dayglo Abortions
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2004 @ Red Square, St. Catharines

First of all it was a punk night from the start. We were on our way to St. Catharines to enjoy the fruits of the wine festival, a time when students of all walks of life can get shit faced in public together legally. We however were done school though and so it went that we never made it off of our friend’s rooftop deck off on St. Paul st. listening to Screeching Weasel all the while. We never made it to Montebello Park for wine tickets and free Black Diamond cheese but somehow we did end up at Red Square for Goth night.

The Mansion house was a bust because it was all asshole grad students and first years who somehow knew my name. We quickly drank our beers and got the hell out of the open air setting we were in and headed down the street looking for a better atmosphere. I had my heart set on Kaz’s bar because the crowd is usually good and I have solid roots in spending a lot of my parent’s money there. Somehow we passed by it and found ourselves standing along side the one constant in popular youth culture, Goth kids. There’s been skids, punks, metal heads, grundgers and emo’s but the Goths kids just never seem to die, although a lot of them do look like exhumed corpses. I thought it would be at least amusing to rub elbows with the living dead for last call but my Alien Sex Fiend dreams were crushed when I reached the bottom of the steep staircase and found that one of the top five worst bands of all time were playing. Speaking of exhumed corpses it was non other that Day-Glo Abortions.

I saw this crap punk band in 1999 at the Frat House when they were supported by the equally old and untalented Bunchoffuckingoofs. It was then that my extreme dislike for this band began. I walked in for just about the last song of the evening and before I even had a Molson Stock Ale in my hand (Red Square is probably the only bar without a dirt floor to actually serve this) the band was announcing it was the last song for the evening. Much like the Day-Glo’s career this was not to be the last time we heard from them. How many times has this band announced their retirement? I think the last time they announced their conclusion was in the spring of this year and yet there they were playing to a far less than sold out crowd in a basement again. Thumbs up guys! The only one as old as you who is still pulling “the last concert ever” routine is Cher. Nevertheless after they said that they announced their last song they played about seven more songs as the band somehow got increasingly louder, drunker and shittier. Don’t worry if you like this band and for whatever reason missed the show because you didn’t miss anything. The guitarist still looks like an old punk version of your disheveled, alcoholic grandfather and the ancient, fat lead singer acted like an immature 15 year old. At least it was free and it wasn’t crowded with other 40 year old, sweaty, Mohawk clad losers who haven’t moved on. My night would have been totally ruined by seeing this show but after I left the bar it was redeemed when I was hit by a car. — Jackson Main