Monday, April 21, 2014

I Hate This Album

I Hate This Album
For my review I want to look at Kid Cudi’s second studio album Man on the Moon 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager. First off I want to note that normally I enjoy Kid Cudi, and I think his unique approach to rapping allows his music to really stand on its own, but this album was the exception. I felt very mislead, after hearing the first single Erase me featuring Kanye West, I was intrigued enough to continue listening to the entire album, I was very disappointed. The entire album felt very rushed. After initial success of his most popular album, Man on the Moon, Kid Cudi was brought to instant fame. Often what I think happens is when an artist becomes suddenly famous they are pressured into making and releasing music as quickly as possible, so that they can stay at the height of the popularity. This is exactly what Kid Cudi did. Every song on the album had a very emotional sense to it, by that I mean he sounded like a combination of crying and whining in each of his songs. The one upside to this album is it is Cudi being Cudi; he is experimenting with new sounds and rhythms, which will eventually lead to great success because he does have the talent and work ethic to become a staple in popular music. If I could give one piece of advice to Kid Cudi it would be: take your time, and make sure you have something that you are confident with, and are not just releasing it to stay relevant. Overall this is just a small hiccup in a great career, and I cannot wait to see what Kid Cudi has in store for us next.

This album would be a 5/10

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Bio-Pic idea

Who would I choose to write a bio-pic about?

Bio-Pic Me
My Grandfather, Jerry Hackman

When it comes to a biopic I could not think of a better person to write about then my grandfather. Born in 1926 my grandfather has pretty much seen it all. Before being drafted to the navy during World War Two he had the opportunity to letter on The Ohio State University Track team, but decided drinking with his friends at his fraternity was a better idea. He was stationed in the pacific for most of his time during the war, when it was time to go home he had the opportunity to go through Thailand, which he refused because he thought island hopping would be faster. The boys who went to Thailand had the time of their lives and still managed to beat him back to the states. After he got home he helped build a large portion of the homes on the east side of Columbus with his father. After that he took up a job at Borden Company where he worked his way up to head marketing chief. He is a father to five. His children include a professional writer, a multi-millionaire, and a professor a Georgia Tech. Throughout his life he has had many ups and downs, when Borden closed its doors he was left without a job, but he bounced back and started up in the industrial real estate business, and today with he has helped his son Michael become one of the largest industrial real estate giants in the country. He is a proud Jew who has been going to the same Synagogue his whole life. There is not a single person that has spent time with my grandpa that has not eventually been able to call him a friend. A prime example of this is his golf group has an age difference of almost forty years. He is a fried to all.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Your life the screenplay

Your life the screenplay
Fade in, camera shows man looking out of a door then pans across face to show obvious distress. Man checks his phone to look at weather.
MIKE
I don’t need my umbrella
Casually strolls out door, the sun actually seems to get brighter as he comes out of his dorm. It is quite the nice day slightly cloudy, not very cold, but a jacket is required. Mike spots the dreads of one of his friends and hollers to him.
MIKE
Mark, what’s up man?
Mark
It’s going to rain man
MIKE
I like my chances; I got to go to class text me later?
The walk to the RTV building was nothing special a few gusts of wind but nothing to get worked up about, class is short and not important. He is back to the beginning although this time he is staring outside the RTV building.
MIKE
Fuck (he mumbles to himself)
The sky is ominous and cracks of thunder fill the air, he picks his pace up. He manages to reach the top of Richland before all hell breaks loose it is a tremendous downpour. He now is scrambling back to his dorm. By the time he gets there he is soaking wet. He sits down on his chair and slowly begins the tedious process of removing his soaked cloths once he put fresh ones on he decides to call it a day. He climbs in bed.
MIKE
Should have brought and umbrella
It is only 4:15


What is this sorcery?

What is this sorcery?
I really like the idea of interactive storytelling games; I think it offers a unique perspective on a traditionally non-interactive genre. My idea would be quite simple; the premise of the game is the main character is charged with returning a prince from one end of the game to the other. The setting would be medieval Europe. I find that people really enjoy knights and kings and anything that goes along with a medieval concept. I would also like to add a sort of fantasy concept to the story by that I mean there would be some use of magic and there would also be a few mystical creatures involved, with Game of Thrones being as big as it is people will really dive in for this sort of game.
The gamer first gets to decide if he or she wants to be a male or female character once that is chosen some back story will be provided and that is he or she is a disgraced knight in an English kingdom and has one chance of redemption he or she has to battle his or her way through difficult wilderness to rescue the prince of the kingdom who had been captured after a battle in Germany. Getting to the prince will be the easy part because no one will have any idea who you are, but once you have broken into the German castle and rescued the prince that is when all hell breaks loose. Through the use of whatever tools and tricks you learned while on your way will be needed to get back to your homeland.
On the way one must learn skills that will be useful to help rescue the prince, these skills can include archery, swordsmanship and sorcery. It is also important to complete side missions, these missions would be like helping a local farmer fight some local raiders who are stealing his or her crop and in return this farmer would let you stay the night on your way back with the prince.

There would also be a free play mode once one has completed the main objective this mode would include a multitude of things ranging from raiding villages to become the ultimate bad guy or quite the opposite by completing tasks that the king has entrusted you with to become a famous knight. Throughout the game there will be a helpful narration that will lead you back on path if one is getting lost.

Monday, April 7, 2014

How does it feel to be a rolling stone?
Chance the Rapper
Acid Rap
5/5
Along with Kendrick Lamar, Chicago native Chance the Rapper had one of the best rap albums of the year. Acid Rap is his first breakout album. To understand Acid Rap one must take a look at Chance himself he grew up in very tough neighborhood in Chicago, but is not a product of his environment. Like Kendrick he is writing about what he has seen and what friends have participated in. Chance has made it common knowledge that when he writes his music he is on LSD, which is often said to open people’s minds to their inner selves.
He does not rap about being a drug dealing gangster as many popular artists do in this day an age, but more of his personal thoughts and feelings towards society while on LSD.  What makes Chance unique is his use of voice inflections in his songs and he always presents a new perspective on current issues.
In his song Paranoia he talks about the lack of attention towards the inner cities from the media and the government, with lyrics like, “where the fuck is Matt Laurer at somebody get Katie Couric in here.” It is clear that he is upset at current situations and how they are being handled and through his music he hopes to change that.

No amount of praise can do Chance justice I strongly recommend listening to this album to fully understand his contribution to music.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

That Movie Rocked


Tragic Entertainment
SCRIPT COVERAGE
Title: Goodfellas                                                Setting: Brooklyn, New York
Author: Martin Scorsese                         Period: 1955-1980
Producer:                                                            Elements Attached:
Submitted by:                                                Submitted to:
Read by: Michael Herwald                        Genre: Crime:
Coverage Date: 4-16-14                                    Submission date:


Excellent
Very Good
Good
So-So
Not Good
Plot

X



Characters
X




Dialogue

X



Structure

X



Commercial
Appeal

X




Log Line: A young man fulfils his life long dream, but then has to betray all that he loves to save the one’s he loves.

Summary: Set in 1950s mob heavy New York we follow young Henry Hill from boyhood to manhood as he tries to fulfill his life long dream of becoming a mobster. The story starts out showing how young Henry becomes acquainted with mobsters who in turn introduce him to a life of crime, money, and women. Henry goes through many tribulations that test his character and morals. There is never a dull moment. The screenplay contains one of the best plot twists in modern movie history. Goodfellas is the downward spiral of Henry Hill’s life.

Comments:  Movies that have to do with the mafia will always have a place in the cinematic world. People love to see the mob world romanticized and in movie form because it allows everyone to experience the “fast” life without actually committing a crime.

The story is absolutely solid. The objectives and plot are made clear right from the beginning and are very easy to follow. Henry the protagonist is a very likeable character and the audience will have no trouble commiserating with him. The script keeps one on edge up until the climax where the reader is left flabbergasted by the plot twist. After reading I cannot help but to feel like I want more to read.

One of the strongest parts of the script is the development of all the side characters, for instance the character Stacks the reader only meets him once but through a few short scenes the reader feels like he or she really knows this character and is actually upset when he is later killed.

This is a very different movie from The Godfather, which I think will help it in the end. It has a much faster pace and has a much more loose feeling to it. But the same audience who enjoyed The Godfather will also enjoy this script.

What is very unique about this movie is the antagonists are people we are rooting for up until the very end. Henry is faced with a choice, either is family or his lifestyle and he chooses family which in turns ruins his lifestyle and that is all he ever wanted to be.

Overall, the current draft of the script has reached max potential and is ready to be transformed into a movie. 

Sunday, February 16, 2014

TV 2 Game


The show I would pick would be The Sopranos
For those who are not aware of The Sopranos, the show follows a New Jersey crime boss in his everyday life.
Design a free game for the Internet that will draw people to the series:
I think a fun and easy game for the Internet would be creating your very own gangster. One could start at the bottom and work himself or herself up to the very top of the organization, but not able to become the boss. Becoming the boss would be a later version of a game or a new game entirely.
Design a stand-alone game for Nintendo that spins off from the series:
Here is where the real fun can start. After playing the last game one would have worked himself or herself up to second in command. This new game would be the story of the second in command person not happy with being second in command so he or she leaves The Soprano gang and starts his or her own. The game would encompass many missions from recruiting people to his or her gang to fighting with The Sopranos for dominance of North Jersey.
Design a simple game for the TV Show’s Website that would be a fun way for people to remember the show:
A simple way to have people remember the show would be to create a simple game for them to play on the website. My game would be something as simple as the player is trying to pickup money from people and return it to the boss, but there is a time limit, and one receives high scores for the more money he or she delivers to the boss.

A more detailed look at idea #2
I want to take a closer look at the technology and aesthetics used for this game. I would want it to be and Xbox or Playstation game; those two consoles have the best graphics and game play. I would model the game very similarly to the latest Grand Theft Auto game. For those who have not played GTA5 it is a very visually intense game, which totally immerses the gamer into the world of Grand Theft Auto.
The mechanics of the game will be quite simple. The player is allowed to roam around the city and sort of free play if he or she chooses, but one cannot advance in the game with out completing certain missions first. For instance one cannot have an AK-47 in free play unless he or she completes the mission with the Ukrainians to set up an illegal arms trade. Basically the more missions the player does the better free play becomes.
The Story
All your life you wanted to work for The Soprano family in the previous game that got you hooked to the series you got to do just that. You had the time of your life cracking skulls and collecting money. You do such a good job, and through a series of unfortunate events you work your way up to second in command under Mr. Soprano himself. After a few years of earning Mr. Soprano a great deal of money Mr. Soprano has a heart attack and dies. You are passed up for promotion to become head of the family, instead that position goes to Mr. Soprano’s son, who you think is worthless, but you cannot question majority rule of the captains. Upset with this decision you decide to leave The Soprano crew and start your very own rival gang. This is where the game picks up, you are just starting to build your crew. The beginning missions will focus on recruiting people to join you. As the game progresses your crew gets bigger and bigger till finally you are forced to deal with The Sopranos this final conflict will be the last and hardest mission. The last mission will be to kill all of the 7 heavily guarded captains of The Soprano crew without dying. Each captain will make you use a skill previously learned in earlier parts of the game. Once the game is beaten there will be an option for free play where you can roam free and create chaos just like in a Grand Theft Auto game.