Category Archives: Arts

Steins gate, or how to mix anime, time travel, and world conspiration

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What if our current view of reality was wrong ? What if what we call reality was only one of the infinite lines that « time » could offer ? It’s an example of the type of question you will ask yourselves after watching Steins Gate, an artwork mixing time travel, conspiration, and appealing characters, that will keep you hooked, and in whose complexity you will certainly lose yourselves.

But what is Steins Gate ? It’s a visual journey as well as an audio journey, from the beginning till the end, in which we will follow Okabe Rintaro, a young student of the Tokyo Denki University, self-proclaimed « Mad Scientist, Houyinn Kyouma » and his « future gadget laboratory ». It’s an adaptation of a Japanese visual novel, produced by White Fox, which released a first season in 2011, then a movie in 2013 and finally a second season in 2018. How can you produce this amount of content, without falling into the trap of repetitiveness and fan service ? The answer is simple. The story is so well directed that it gives them various possibilities to exploit. In fact, we follow Okabe Rintarou, a extravagant character, who loves to be called by his self-invented second identity, Houyinn Kyouma, who is surrounded in mystery, and his crew, composed of Itaru, one of his university friends, a experienced hacker, and Mayuri, a childhood friend of Rintarou. After a slow start, presenting a usual « slice of life » artwork, the spectator will be taken by surprise by a unexpected series of events. That will mark the beginning of the plot and the mystery and rhythm will greatly increase. This plot will continuously be rhythmed by unexpected and surprising events, mixed with other funnier scenes, the goals of which are to light up the series of all this drama. This great mix with also time travel, romance, and the Houyin Kyouma presence will keep you captivated throughout the series.

Besides the story, it’s also with its Character Design that Steins gate differentiate itself from the others, with the development of most of the characters in a way that we are bound to feel connected with them, and in a certain way starting to understand how they react and feel. But the closer you get to them, the harder it will be to let them go. Although the graphism paints a luminous world, it will be the dark and creepy path that Okabe take that we will follow, in which we will see, beside his strong character, how human he is.

As we are talking about graphics, it might be a topic on which Steins Gate is lacking. In fact the saga didn’t have much financing at the beginning which explains why the overall quality of its graphism is less spectacular than most of the anime that are released today. Although the financing was limited, I can assure you that every Yen was used properly. The overall art level is not jaw-dropping compared to other artwork of the same kind but the drawing and colorization fit the overall ambience focusing more on a realistic and detailed representation of our society today, making it different to the anime that we see the most.

A last point that I didn’t talk about is the soundtrack. It has a well rythmed opening and ending, perfectly fitted to the images. The background music is incredibly fitting to the scene, and, like the graphics, it also gives some weight to the accompanying scene.

To conclude, I enjoyed the series overall, as well as the way time travel is tackled, and all the theory related to the « butterfly effect ». It’s also interesting to observe the effect of these time travels on our main and favorite character Okabe. Despite the slow start, I started to be hooked after a triggering event that occurs in the sixth episode and by the way the events were going on. It’s also the infinite possibilities of development that the story offer that surprised me. For the film, Steins gate movie : Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu, as well as for the second season : Steins Gate 0, I found that these sequels perfectly continue the story started in the first season. To me, there is a lot to experience/discover watching this story. There is a lot of mystery to solve clue by clue, at the same time as the main character does, but you will also have to go a little further, like making your own theory or finding it on the internet. You will also learn how much endearing and captivating Okabe is. I have done my best not to spoil any moments of this amazing anime, and I will let you discover the series by youself, and lose yourself in this amazing colored, animated, and auditory journey.

El Psy Kongroo

Cosplay : a brief introduction

Arts, Lifestyle, The Geek Corner, , , , ,

Hyrule warriors’ group : Joshua Yip, Carol Fairbanks, Kaarowl,Zach Wood,Puns and Needles Cosplay, and Caroline L. Clutterbuck, by Mineralblu – PAX South Convention, San Antonio, Texas, USA

  • What is “cosplay” ?

Cosplay is a Japanese word コスプレ (kosupure) coming from the contraction of two English terms : costume and role-play. This is a hobby in which participants called “cosplayers” wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character. Those characters could come from manga, anime, comics, films, video-games and so more.

 

Even if “cosplay” is a Japanese term, it originally was an American hobby called ‘costuming’ where the main subjects in 1908 were the Mr-Skygack-from-Mars ‘s character from Armundo Dreisbach -A.D. Condo’s science-fiction comic. But the first apparition of costuming dates back to the “futuristicostume” of Forest J Ackerman during the first World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) in 1939, New-York, USA. The word cosplay appears many years later during the 1984 WorldCon in Los Angeles. Japanese Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard who was impressed by the hall and the costumed fans, reported in the magazine My Anime where the two terms “costume” and “play” became コス (kosu) and プレ (pure). Cosplay was born.

 

  • Cosplay today

Today’s cosplay is more related to its Japanese “origin”. Since the 2000’s, cosplay’s popularity has increased with the spread of anime and manga worldwide and the multiplication of conventions. But the trends are also following the development of video-games and the international success of some films such as Star Wars, The Lord of the Ring or the Marvel’s films. This is why we can find cosplayers in all kinds of conventions.

 

Cosplay in Japan

In Japan, what actually matters in cosplay is ‘appearance’. Japanese often buy their costume. This subculture is a true business, with a lot of shops selling costumes, wigs, accessories…

That explains the complete lack of cosplay contest in the country. During conventions, cosplayers are not allowed to move around, except if they don’t stop for photos not to disturb non-cosplayer visitors. They are supposed to stay where they are told to.

The only cosplay contest in Japan is the World Cosplay Summit which is an international contest. As the other contests around the world, the cosplay must be totally hand-made, from the little accessory to the huge weapon without forgetting sewing the  dress.

Winners of World Cosplay Summit 2015 – Mexican team, Legend of Zelda : Majora’s Mask

Cosplay in Western culture

In North America and Europe, cosplay is more about performance and acting. One of the most significant things about it is the hand-made costume … Costumes which have been bought are completely banned from contests and the market of cosplay is mostly based on wigs and crafting materials such as fabrics, worbla, EVA foam, …

Contrary to Japan, western countries’ conventions welcome the cosplayers which are now a huge part of the animation. Visitors often come to take photos and to watch the numerous contests. In those contest, the cosplayers are judged according to their acting, the quality of their hand-made cosplay. As said before, bought costumes are banned, and the cosplayers wearing those are called hall-cosplayers and are definitely apart from classic cosplayers.

Brandon Sanderson’s MISTBORN TRILOGY

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Brandon Sanderson’s MISTBORN TRILOGY

 

A few months ago, I read the Mistborn Trilogy and I strongly advise you to give it a try if you’re looking for some great heroic-fantasy books. The author, Brandon Sanderson, has lately been recognized as one of the most famous authors of the genre and many of his books have turned into bestsellers. The guy has the particularity of inventing, creating stories which take place in a lot of different worlds, instead of just focusing on one as most authors do. But every single world of his is really unique, with its own magic, economic, political and religious systems, each influencing the others, eventually creating realistic worlds. For now, I’d like to talk about one of them, called Scadrial, where the Mistborn trilogy takes place.

The story focuses on one continent, called the Final Empire, which has been ruled for many centuries by Lord Ruler, a man considered a god because of his impressive longevity and his incredible strength. But many think this has lasted for too long. It’s time to take the power back. It’s time to defeat a god. This shortly sums up the plot, which seems very basic, but the characters’ deepness and the unexpected plot twists make these books unforgivable. I remember I thought I knew this world perfectly and then, something happened, forcing me to re-consider everything because I knew the author would never have introduced anything illogical. And it’s mostly by paying attention to little details that I could somehow anticipate some events.

Another uncommon thing with this writer is that he often gives very important roles to female characters, whereas they are often left behind in most other books of the genre (they are only used as an impotent and naive character and often kidnapped to trap the hero). In his universe, they are very independent, in need of freedom and add a lot to the story. In Mistborn, we follow the story of many characters, but the most important one is Vin, the girl you can see in the center of the picture below.

Mistborn

This world, just like the others he wrote, follows what’s called ‘Sanderson’s 3 laws of magic’. These 3 laws are, I think, what makes his books so interesting, allowing him to create such realistic worlds.

The first one is: “An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic”. It’s really easy to see in his books as his magic system is perfectly described and we know what a character can do on nearly any given situation. I think that’s a good thing because some authors are using it too easily and we don’t really understand what’s going on, or the limits of one character’s power, creating Deus Ex Machina events that could be disturbing sometimes. For example, in Mistborn, the magic system is based on metals. 16 of them can be “absorbed”, each one granting a different power. Using steel allows you to push on nearby metals lighter than you are (coins can be used as throwing weapons this way) otherwise you’ll be pushed in the other way. Iron is basically the opposite as it allows you to pull lighter metalic items.

The second law is: “Limitations > Powers”. This law can easily be understood with the example of Superman. Indeed, what’s interesting about this character is what happens when he his facing someone using kryptonite. Were he always strong as hell, the comic would be pretty boring. In Mistborn, the limitations can be seen as the need of metals to have powers, and with the limitations linked with every single one of them. This forces characters to work harder to achieve their goals as they can’t just destroy everything in front of them throwing fireballs.

While the first 2 laws are mostly about characters, the final one is totally different but is definitely my favourite. The third law is: “Expand what you already have before adding something new”. It’s a huge problem with many new authors that try to add too many things to their universe, making it too hard to understand for the reader. This law can be easily observec in Mistborn very. Indeed, the power of absorbing metals is at the center of everything in this world. As only the nobles can use this power (it’s transmitted genetically), it reinforces their powers, adding a social dimension to this problem. This is exacerbated by atium, a very rare and expensive metal, which grants the ability of seeing the near future. This metal is the source of most of the struggles between the great houses as its gathering is controlled by Lord Ruler himself. Therefore, we can see that one power involves, in this trilogy, an economic and a social system. This law improves the realistic side of the worlds Sanderson created.

If you’re looking for an epic story that will keep you short-breathing until the end, just go for it.

 

Mattotti’s “Fires” : full colours

Arts

 

    This is not an article: this is a proposition. What I’m suggesting to do here is simple. I suppose that you work or study at INSA. Then you may sometimes have to go to the library, to borrow a book. Simple indeed, isn’t it? Especially because in a few days, this book will be available, if I don’t forget to take it back. But you should know that I’m talking about a quite special book. In fact, it’s a comic, a “graphic novel”, and one of the greatest you’ll see around. Its author is named Lorenzo Mattotti. The book is composed of two novels: Fires and Murmur. And by the end of the article, I hope you will want to read them.

 

”The story became my own travel, where I learned the techniques that allow to truly express an emotion without having to narrate it.”

"Fires", between Impressionism and Expressionism
“Fires”, between Impressionism and Expressionism


Lorenzo Mattotti was born in Brescia (Italy) in 1954 – and is not dead yet. Quickly in his childhood he becomes fascinated by comics. During college, he meets Kramsky (his true name is Fabrizio Ostiani), the script writer of Murmur, with whom he begins to create some comic strips. Together they go to Venice to study architecture, but not in a school of art, due to their high-school scientific background. There he discovers painting and architecture which has helped him ever since to structure his frames and create his? settings. In 1980, he co-creates the collective Valvoline, which gathers some Italians authors that want like him to modernize comic books’ language. His goal was to mix “rock and Robert Crumb (a famous underground cartoonist), Hugo Pratt (Corto Maltese’s creator) and Nick Drake, Francis Bacon (Google is your friend) and fanzines”; or more modestly to “bring about revolution in comic books”. Yet,that’s when he decides to split from the group that he starts drawing more personal albums, such as Fires in 1984.

The cover of "Fires"
The cover of “Fires”

    It’s the story of young lieutenant Absinthe, travelling on a battleship, the Anselm, to a mysterious island, Saint-Agatha, from where nobody returns, or if returning, then totally insane . Absinthe and his crew decide to go and to explore this mysterious island… but I’m not going to tell you the whole story. And the interest of the comic is definitely not only in the story. Now, what does Mattotti himself say about it (and I couldn’t agree more): “It’s a novel based on the strength of emotions. The fascination is for me, in the colour, in the expressiveness of the line, in the energy. Here the drawing is always at the limit of abstraction, and that is why he creates such emotions. But there is also a strong narrative tension between speeches and drawings: it’s not a drawing simply supporting the text, but a mysterious matching between the picture and the text where all becomes impalpable.”, and believe me, that is totally true. But how the hell can he do that?

From Top to Bottom : "La Chute d'Icare" (1943) by Henri Matisse and "Fires"
From Top to Bottom : “La Chute d’Icare” (1943) by Henri Matisse and “Fires”

    First of all: the colour. It’s the most gripping thing about it. Pick up any page, and keep your eyes open : the incredible strength of the colours, their texture, their eloquence. And colours are truly eloquent because they are the reflection of the characters’ emotions, or role in the story; or just maybe because the colours are true characters here. The story couldn’t exist or make sense without them . At the beginning, the novel has no texts. But the author has discovered that the text has the power to slow down the reading, to make the reader meditate on the whole frame, and to create new matches, new sensations.

The First Page of "Fires" (sorry for odd colours)
The First Page of “Fires” (sorry for odd colours)

    Let’s focus on the very first page of the comic: a deeply blue sea; a green island, huge; and the warship, small and purple that seems so incompatible, so strange in this scenery! Here we have two worlds that can’t understand each other: one quiet and mysterious, and the other brutal and terribly rational. Those worlds are going to destroy each other. Colour has the role of a narrator : we have here the perfect reflection of the instability of Absinthe, our main character : “How many times had I found myself on a diving board with the blue sea below and never dived in?” he says.

    You see, firstly it’s that deep blue that attracted him, and now it’s the green of the island. And, at night, a bright red joins the attack against the warship and its degenerated and morbid violet. It’s far later that Absinthe finds a new balance, on the island : sweet green, light yellow, orange. And in the following page, he’s back into the madness of men and war, still with this clumsy violet. The battle continues. Black, red. And at the end, quietness , again. Pastel colours: “This is perhaps why I only paint windows and rooms full of light : out of self-defense. I’ve had enough of that fire illuminating the night. In my head, I want the day-light.”, ultimate confession as beautiful as disconcerting of Absinthe, or could it be the author? You think so?

From Top to Bottom : "Fires" and "The Revolt" (1911) by Luigi Russolo
From Top to Bottom : “Fires” and “The Revolt” (1911) by Luigi Russolo


But colour is just one of the technical devices that Mattotti resorts to to achieve this precision, this true emotion : the numerous and recurrent references to other painters also contribute to make this album what it is. During an interview, Mattotti was talking about Francis Bacon as a source of inspiration, but also about Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Dennis. The book itself is continuing the work of expressionists : shapes and colours have to express their subject through the prism of the artist’s and character’s emotions: in the book , colors of the environment change with the evolution of Absinthe’s thoughts. We can also see references to the ‘collages’ of Matisse; the stunning colours of Paul Sérusier; the movement you can find in the art of futurism, diving sometimes into the most incredible abstraction, especially when Mattotti draws the final battle and all of these explosions.

    So each frame is a painting, but it’s not only about giving his book more prestige thanks to famous painters; this album is a journey for the author, and he uses what artistically stroke him during his life and what helps him understand and express an emotion, maybe his own emotions. And this album everything but a succession of paintings : each frame is linked to the next, emotionally, but also through a very articulate narrative, and this is simply why it’s a comic book, and such a great one.

murmur_mattotti-540x492
A frame of “Murmur”

Because I’m a cool guy, I give you a secret link to read Fires for free, on the internet; but I can only advise you to borrow it and see by yourself its great colours.

Furthermore, in interviews of Mattotti I read, he speaks a lot about music, and how it was important during the creation of the comic books. I think it’s also very important when you’re reading. So if you read Murmur, I think you should listen to Nick Drake’s Pink Moon.

Black Mirror

Arts

“Black Mirror? Best TV series ever!”

What?! You guys don’t agree with me? Okay, maybe not as good as Game of Thrones, but still pretty awesome. I just finished watching it, and I just wanted to share about it because so far, I haven’t seen anyone who has actually seen it. That surprised me, because even if it’s not really a major production, it’s definitely better than most major TV series I have seen. Do you want to know why it’s so great? Read on…

blck1

Okay then, let’s get to the point and talk about content (no worries, no spoilers)! Roughly speaking, Charlie Brooker’s Black mirror is kind of a short-term satirical science-fiction anthology series… Yeah right, I agree with you it’s not very clear so far, but let me explain: Satirical-science fiction? Well, it’s like a 2nd degree humoristic criticism of our system and the way it could go wrong if we don’t take care. Anthology means that the story and the casting are completely different from one episode to the other, and that they are just theme related. What’s Black Mirror’s gathering theme? Well black mirrors of course! A black mirror is actually a poetic way of designating a screen.

This leads us to the argument of the series. It deals with our addiction to screens, and more generally with the devious impacts technology and hyper-connected society have on us. Right now you might be thinking: “oh yeah this guy is in an engineering school but he is only about criticizing technological advance, WTF is he doing here?!…” But I think it’s exactly the opposite: as future engineers, we should be the first ones concerned about technological breakthroughs and the way they can deeply influence our hobbies, reorganize how society works, and even affect our freewill.

And that’s exactly where Black Mirror is so powerful: each episode comes with a different story, a different point of view, and a different point is made. But the questions implied are always relevant: Until what point can politicians’ actions be dictated by surveys? Are social networks a source socialization, or isolation? Can we really learn out of television?… Anyway, there wasn’t a single time where I ended an episode without wondering about it for ages… Definitely the type of series you want to avoid if you have had too much thinking during the day. But if TV watching doesn’t rhyme with brainwashing for you, then go for it!

blck2

In case you happen to be interested in this series I am going to give you some useful tips. So far, only 7 episodes have been screened: 3 for each of the two seasons, plus one bonus for Christmas (don’t ask me why, it’s like that, period). Length varies from one episode to the other, but it’s generally about 1 hour long. In 2012, Black mirror won the Emmy award of the best mini-series (see? I told you it’s good :p). This might, for a part, explain why 12 other episodes are being produced by Netflix, and will eventually be broadcasted by summer of 2016. Hopefully the spirit will have stayed unchanged…

 

Machinae Supremacy: when metal meets video games

Arts

It is not a rare thing for people to link metal with satanism, blood rituals and the like… Videogames merely have a slightly better reputation. Thus, when Machinae Supremacy claims to make video game metal on their website, you can expect people to picture Satan-worshipping nerds. However, the truth is utterly different.

 

Machinae Supremacy — or MaSu, for short — is a Swedish metal band born in 2000. You could describe their music as being either heavy metal or power metal, but then this would be missing a major element of what  Machinae Supremacy is: the chiptunes. Indeed, most of their songs feature an unusual instrument: the SidStation. It uses the SID chip of the Commodore 64, a console from the 80s (other bands such as Depeche Mode have used it, though in far less extensive ways). This is the reason why they define their music as SID metal, a genre played only by…MaSu. Since 2000, they have released a dozen albums including two game soundtracks.

 

 

Machinae Supremacy is also strongly linked to the Internet. Indeed, they accept and encourage file-sharing of their songs to increase their fan base, and have even made most of their albums freely available for download on their website. In fact, their first “albums” are compilations of webography tracks, meaning these tracks were previously released on the Internet. But this goes even further, as they strive to involve their fans in their music. With this in mind, they maintain a forum to keep in touch with their fans. Pretty common, you might say. Well, the official video for Rise of a Digital Nation is made entirely with bits and pieces from fanmade videos:

 

 

Website: machinaesupremacy.com

Youtube Channel: youtube.com/user/MachinaeSupremacy

( youtube.com/user/SpinefarmRec )

 

Stand fast and proud.

Hawkwind, the forgotten child of prog rock

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With the recent release of Pink Floyd’s new album The Endless River, fans around the globe were delighted to hear the progressive, analog sound of the 70s once again. As older people among us will undoubtedly recall, the 70s were deeply rooted in the psychedelic experience and were instrumental in refining rock music through electronic effects and highly conceptual lyrics. This article will focus on Hawkwind, a lesser-known band from this distinctive and sonically creative era.

Hawkwind is a UK « space rock » band born in the early 70s and whose contribution to psychedelic music in general is considerable. If you’re thinking Saucerful of Secrets-era Pink Floyd on steroids, then you’re not far from the Hawkwind sound. Generally harsher and more experimental than Pink Floyd in nature, Hawkwind has gained a cult following throughout the years and remains active to this day, even after countless lineup changes. It’s worth mentioning at this point that the band released a huge number of albums (not to mention bootlegs) and that this article spans mainly the 1970 to 1975 period where, in my opinion, Hawkwind had reached the pinnacle of its creativity.

It all starts with the elusive Hawkwind, their debut album which is sometimes considered alien and rather unfocused when compared to the rest of the group’s discography. One of the tracks on this album is actually a cover of a Pink Floyd song, highlighting Hawkwind’s early influences. The rest is a sparse patchwork of bizarre analog atmospheres, among which the Paranoia suite is the most memorable. Apparently people would either pass out or freak out completely when this track was played live back in 1969. Although Hawkwind is a rather mixed album, it already showcases a primitive expression of the patterns that would later establish the Hawkwind sound proper: crazy sax, sci-fi themes and long, atmospheric tracks. Their second album In Search of Space is where the spaceship Hawkwind obviously departs from the earth and the group defines itself as a space rock band. Space themes are all over the lyrics and the sound no longer has the folksiness of the previous album. The music also acquires a stronger character bordering on heavy metal sometimes (proto-metal actually, we’re in 1971). This is especially noticeable on the track Master of the Universe.

The next three albums, Doremi Fasol Latido, Space Ritual and Hall of the Mountain Grill all feature bassist and vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, who would later be kicked out of the group to eventually form Motörhead, which everyone knows about. Lemmy’s bass further developed Hawkwind’s raw edge, this kind of sound culminating in 1973 on the live, double-album Space Ritual which remains Hawkwind’s most widely known and arguably best performance to date.

Their last studio album in the “raw space rock” period is Warrior on the Edge of Time. This album is more progressive in nature as it incorporates majestic synth leads and adopts slower, more epic compositions. The cover imagery, a dreamy landscape featuring a knight on his horse standing on a mountain top, as well as the clean, chorus-like vocals are reminiscent of The Moody Blues albums from the late 60s (Days of the Future Passed, In Search of the Lost Chord…). This glorious prog-rock album was recently remastered in high definition by Atomhenge and was repackaged in a huge box-set featuring a DVD with high quality 5.1 surround sound, a poster, photos and even a replica from an original Warrior on the Edge of Time tour ticket.

The rest of Hawkwind’s discography encompasses multiple periods and musical styles too diverse to enumerate. But you should hopefully have an idea of what the original Hawkwind sound is about. If any of what I said in this article rang a bell, you should definitely check out this incredible and prolific band.

Tetris: the movie

Arts, The Geek Corner

Movies such as Prince of Persia, Resident Evil and Need for Speed have been doing extremely well lately, making hundreds of millions of dollars at the box-office. That’s the smartest way Hollywood has found to make big hits, and of course big money. And movies based on video games have almost become a new genre.

Actually, for movie companies it’s easier to sell a movie with pre-existing characters and stories that  audiences are already familiar with. But what about a completely abstract game without characters and without a plot? Threshold Entertainment Group, the production company that turned the Mortal Kombat video-game into films, recently came with a strange idea and annouced plans to make a new movie based on the legendary puzzle game ‘Tetris’. This is a marketing ploy as Tetris celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this year.

Tetris’ importance is undeniable as a video game but the idea it could function as a movie is not obvious. “Everyone knows that Tetris is one of the best known, most beloved brands in the world,” said Threshold chairman Larry Kasanoff, producer of the movie. “What everyone doesn’t know yet is this epic sci-­fi story that we’re going to tell. That’s what’s really exciting.”

So it will be a sci-fi movie, but no more information has been leaking for the moment. This raises some questions: Will the famous shapes, called “Tetriminos” be really featured on screen? If so, will they be a danger ? Or is the story based on Tetris geek players ? The people at Tetris remain purposedly mysterious: the release has to be a surprise. According to Kasanoff “This isn’t a movie with a bunch of lines running around the page. We’re not giving feet to the geometric shapes.”

What’s interesting here is the way cinema has become a business beyond simply selling movies. Kasanoff has understood it, “Brands are the new stars of Hollywood”. All is about marketing. Latest example, the Lego movie has been a success because children knew the building game. And lots of movie companies make contracts to place products, even though it doesn’t yield so much to the production. Movies are becoming products. It’s becoming more and more common to buy children by-products of their favorite characters. So much that some fiction characters become actual brands. Mickey Mouse is now a major selling brand.

So we can say the concept of a Tetris movie follows the trend of product placement. Of course, nowadays this video game is more than a brand, it’s a part of our collective knowledge. As Tetris company’s Henk Rogers said : “What started as a simple, computer puzzle game 30 years ago, today is part of our global consciousness, connecting people of all ages and backgrounds and feeding our innate desire to create order out of chaos” . But cinema is a mirror, a media that talks to us about our world and our time. So what to think of this movie project ? Are we now living in a time when brands, such as Tetris, are the true main characters ? For now it’s hard to know if that movie is an original idea or a simple marketing trick. But time will probably tell.

 

Kitchen – Band Overview

Arts

Kitchen is a Canadian band started in 2012, often recording all instruments live. Its music is generally ambient tinted with a melancholic vibe, giving an impression of a landscape going through its usual, daily routine. However, the chords used typically sound alien, eery, as if the landscape was from another planet altogether. The pattern tends to be a series of slowly rising tensions, followed by climaxes, then back to peace – cycling back to rising tension. This creates a relatively light, but interesting, flow of music.

I love lamp is a very calm, soothing piece, typical of Kitchen. The repetiveness of the main chords serves to give a swaying feeling to the music, and stays interesting due to minor variations put upon it. The adding of the melancholic, almost whimpering guitar gives a feeling of a person reflecting on a hopeless situation. This feeling is kept even during and after the climax of the piece, underlying a feeling of rage and then resignation.

T.V. Eyes is a much more fast paced, atypical track. It starts off with a rapid set of guitar chords that are quickly joined by cymbals, then another guitar, with a much more alien theme. This surreal theme then gives way to a much more rock-ish one, that goes through several cycles of rise and fall, before climaxing into a set of simple piano notes, giving a calm but eerie feeling. This is then followed by cycles of tense, yet almost silent, music and bouts of much stronger music, giving the impression of running from some alien being. This rises in another strong rock set, rich with variations, which ends the song.

There are many more interesting tracks on their website, which I highly recommend.

Gone Girl

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Last week, David Fincher released his latest movie, Gone Girl, based on the novel by Gillian Flynn. The book was a huge success in 2012 and became a bestseller after 8.8 million copies were sold worldwide in 40 different languages. It’s a thriller, but also a reflection on what  modern marriage can be.

 

Gone-Girl

 

The movie begins with a man voice-off :

“When I think of my wife, I always think of her head. […] What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?”

Gone girl could have been a simple love story. Nick (Ben Affleck) meets Amy (Rosamund Pike) during a party. They are young, they are gorgeous, they both have a strong personality and of course…they fall in love. Finally after several years they will get married. But one day Amy disappears.

That’s precisely when you understand you’re watching a thriller that director David Fincher has meticulously structured. Suspicions turn to the husband. Neighborhood, media and police accuse him of murder. Doubts, lies, violence, infidelity … When the police find Amy’s diary, that apparently so perfect marriage reveals what it really is: hell. And obviously, her disappearance is a put-on act.

After a twist in the story, you understand that, if you thought the movie was about finding about “ Did Nick kill his wife ? ”, the real question David Fincher wants to ask us is :“ Do you really know who you’re living with ? ”. The characters reveal all their fragile psychology under the pressure of family, media and police. This definitely makes us wonder about how resentments can progressively invade a couple’s  life . How long will it take before love turns into hatred and violence?

Gone girl is a real success. The story is truly captivating and what’s more, David Fincher has perfectly adapted it to the big screen. It’s been top of the US box office since its opening week and has made more than $78 million so far.