The Next Great Time-Waster...

...is on the horizon. And I can't WAIT!!!

As some of you are aware (and for those of you who aren't aware, you SHOULD be) this last week, Blizzard Entertainment had me on the edge of my seat, waiting as they announced a new game they had in development. On Saturday morning, I rushed to the computer, signed on, and was greeted with words that were music to my eyes.

"STARCRAFT II: HELL, IT'S ABOUT TIME."

The original Starcraft is probably the only video or computer game I've ever been 100% addicted too (except for perhaps Guitar Hero), and with good reason. I've always been drawn to strategy games, but Starcraft blew all others of its kind out of the water, with its balanced, dynamic gameplay that was different every time. Each race had its own strengths and weaknesses, and the Protoss, Terrans, and Zerg were all entirely unique from one another. And it took place in SPACE!!! What more could you ask for?

How about this? The campaign missions also had an awesome space opera storyline that was easy to get sucked into. To a large degree, I was playing the game simply because I wanted to find out what was going to happen to Zeratul, Raynor, Kerrigan, and co. Even after beating both "Starcraft", AND "Starcraft: Brood War" twice, I still couldn't get the images of Mar Sara, Aiur, Shakuras, etc out of my mind. So I went and wrote two seriously epic screenplays based on both games. I continuously go back and reread these over and over, constantly tweaking them. Maybe someday I can see these pipe dreams of movies come to fruition, but it won't be for a while.

For now, "Starcraft II" is on the rise, and it looks pretty awesome. Here is a list of some things I'd like to see happen (SPOILERS for those who haven't played the game):
1) Raynor must kill Kerrigan--he vowed to do so in Brood War, and she needs to take her fall.
2) Raynor ought to use some Protoss technology himself. Imagine Raynor in a zealot suit! He's been hanging with the Protoss long enough, it's time he borrowed a bit from them.
3) Zeratul should find the spirit of Tassadar, and merge with him, creating a superpowerful blended archon (which Raynor could nickname "Tassatul").
4) The hybrids Zeratul found on that small moon need to impact the Starcraft universe in a HUGE way, as does Duran, whom I suspect is a Xel'Naga. The Xel'Naga need to make their frightening return, trying to claim the old races they created eons ago, and maybe trying to claim humanity in the process.
5) Maybe something could happen that could cause Raynor and Zeratul to turn against each other. THAT would be cool and unexpected. Perhaps Zeratul needs to keep Kerrigan alive for some reason (she is all that can stop the hybrids?), but Raynor wants her dead.
6) Artanis needs to develop into a stronger leader and more of a badass.
7) Dual warp blades for elite members of the dark templar. That would be WICKED AWEZUM!!!

I'll think of more later. I also plan on writing a bit about my triumphant return to Santa Barbara, but that can come later. For now...

"Waitress" is a cute movie that is worth seeing, but doesn't deserve the hype it's been getting. I've heard some people claim it's the next "Little Miss Sunshine" but this is definitely NOT true. With the screenplay for "Little Miss Sunshine," more and more depth is discovered the more you ruminate about the movie or watch it again. With "Waitress," I've just been discovering plot-holes or poor character motivations the more I think about it. It's a movie far more simplistic and amateurish that LMS. Much of the reason "Waitress" has been hyped so much is because of the tragedy that befell the director/screenwriter/actress before the movie was released. And this is very sad. But does that make us obligated to like her movie more than it deserves? Sure, "Waitress" is good, well-acted, and a lot of fun, but it's got some things that rubbed me the wrong way or didn't piece together as they should (I sarcastically joked after the movie was over that the moral was, "Babies make women not love men anymore").

I also just saw "Match Point" with my parents and didn't like it much at all. I'm trying...I really am...to appreciate Woody Allen. But I have a hard time finding a movie of his I like a whole lot. I picked this one up because it had got high praise from the majority of critics, but it was BORRRRING. Who would have thought a movie that consists of a lot of sex with Scarlett Johannsen could be so yawn-inducing??? I was bored out of my mind for the first hour and a half. (SPOILER!) I thought that things got interesting in the last half hour AFTER Jonathon Rhys-Meyers killed Scarlett Johannsen, but at that point, the movie was nearly over! And honestly, I didn't even feel that it was a movie that didn't respond to my tastes, yet was still masterfully done. I don't think Woody Allen did anything too exciting or dynamic with his cameras or visuals, the script was too talky, and the acting was fairly stale.
Blah...maybe British dramas just aren't for me.

Ta.