Random Film Of The Week: A Matter Of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven)

Posted on January 13, 2012 by geelw

I’d heard about this classic 1946 British film from a few people over the years (it was released in the US as “Stairway to Heaven”, a title disliked by the directors), but thanks to TCM, last night I finally got the chance to see this Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger gem and it’s about as perfect a movie as I can recommend to anyone. This isn’t a review at all, but more of a quick recommendation.

Check out the great sequence above and track down a copy somewhere, add it to your Netflix or other (LEGAL) film download queues and give it a look as soon as possible, I say. As with Powell and Pressburger’s other films for The Archers, the visual style, use of color (the amazing Technicolor work and scene transitions from color to black & white are flawless) and of course, the story and acting are all on point. Additionally, the stunning cinematography by Jack Cardiff makes for some memorable artistic moments where it counts.

(BTW, Powell’s The Red Shoes also comes highly recommended if you’ve never seen it and makes a stellar companion piece to Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, as both contain similar thematic elements)

F1 2011 Races Onto 3DS

Posted on January 13, 2012 by geelw

Nintendo 3DS owners looking for a quality racer that’s NOT packed with cartoon colors and flying go-karts now have Codemasters to thank for this super looking portable game. I like the overall look of what’s here and sure, while it’s not running on a more powerful platform, it’s hard to deny the dev team’s skills at getting some great detail AND solid 3D effects from the system. As solid as this looks, I can’t wait to see the Vita version in action as well as how the home console versions are coming along…

Gallery: PlayStation 3 Library

Posted on January 13, 2012 by geelw

Just like my Xbox 360 library, the amount of stuff I have here has gone up and down as I play through games and trade or sell them off. I’d say I’ve owned at least triple what’s here more or less since the console’s launch. As i noted earlier, a good deal of this generation’s titles across every platform are less appealing to me than some older games for other consoles I own. Maybe it’s too much focus on visuals over gameplay in some areas or too much DLC combined with lesser out of box experiences that seem lacking. I’m still figuring that out, as I do love seeing what different developers can do with the PS3 (or any other) hardware…