Monday, May 19, 2008

...they Believe in Halo 3!

I just read this in Impact mag yesterday. I wasn't even aware the One Shows were on, but the Halo 3 "Believe" campaign won a Best Of Show at this year's One Show.

“The ‘Believe’ campaign catapulted Halo 3 from an ordinary video game into a worldwide cultural phenomenon due to its ability to build an emotional rapport with the audience,” said Mary Warlick, CEO of The One Club. “The innovative stream of interactive TV, Web and cinema advertisements was an inspired approach that successfully attracted an audience beyond the typical gamer.”

View the "Believe" videos here - http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo3/believe/default.htm or do a YouTube search.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Movie Time: Go SPEED Racer!

The father of LSD may be dead, but the Wachowskis live!

My friend got passes for the Speed Racer premiere at PVR yesterday (thnxx Haritha!), and i was pretty kicked about seeing the movie two days before eveyone else. The clock stuck 8 and i was there at the theatre. The lobby outside wasn't as crowded as i'd thought it'd be. There were a whole lot of kids though, and some promotion was on, giving away cool Speed Racer stuff, including the Mach 5 replica. I was dying to win one of those for myself, but didn't wanna rob the kids (I'm kinda feeling stupid now). A bunch of minor celebs were getting interviewed, and i was getting quite fidgety. The cold panner-on-toast starters didn't help either, and unlike the Iron Man premiere, there wasn't any alcohol being served, courtesy all the kids. Anyway, about 45 minutes after it was supposed to start, the theatre doors opened, we rushed in, took our seats, and waited with bated breath. The theatre was surprisingly half-empty. Anyway, the movie started soon, and sucked me right in...

Speed Racer was like one long drugged-out psychadelic acid trip. I mean, the colors just bled off the screen in a way i've never seen before. They must have spent a bomb color-correcting this movie, because everything is bright and neon and solid primary. The race-track sequence the movie opens with is so exhilerating and dizzying, i almost got motion sickness just watching. I almost felt like throwing up, that's how excited i was.

I almost can't believe the Wachowskis made this movie. It's not a masterpiece by any standards of repute, but it's a labour of love quite possibly unlike anything before. They've put their heart, soul, and every other body part right into this movie, and it shows. Whatta rush!

Ofcourse, looking at it a little objectively, it does have some drawbacks. The pacing is off, for one. The races at time seem waaay to fast to discern what's happening. And the parts between races at times seem to drag. They could have chopped off about 30 minutes, because it does seem a bit like self-indulgance (not that i'm really complaining).

The story also unfold in a somewhat convulated manner. I never got all the details, but understood enough of it to not go "huh?". There is a solid message behind it all, - stand up for what you believe is right, and believe in your family.