The latest from The Totally Rad Show: Episode 81 - Drawer - Blindness, Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Nintendo DSi, Punch Out, The Mentalist, Life & Times of Tim, Heroes.

If you own an XBOX 360 Core or Arcade (i.e. it has no hard drive), see if you're elligible for a free/cheap upgrade:

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Wes

Am I the only one watching this show? I freaking love it for some reason and I dont know why. I dont watch any other legal shows so its not like im a Legal Show sucker...but I really am feeling it. Anyone else?!?!

sorry, I'm not a 360 owner so I could be wrong here, but aren't there some alternate cooling options that might fix the issue? I mean if it's not overheating enough to redring then shouldn't you address the issue with a good old fashioned fan attachment?

First of all, wedding anniversaries are not rad.

You can't just SAY something is rad when its actually lame.



Also, those shirts are rad.

El Camino

El Camino is the story of two Nicaraguan children who set out to cross the border into Costa Rica in order to find their mother who left them with abusive grandfather eight years ago. Skillfully directed by Ishtar Yasin, El Camino examines the reasons behind people’s migration and the lengths they will go to obtain it. Although the reason for twelve-year-old Saslaya (Sherilyn Paola Velásquez) journey makes sense, her life consists of picking through a garbage dumb for scarps and being sexually abused by her grandfather, her journey also mimics those around her which ultimately seems like the realization of the grass-is-always-greener dream. Whether this is Yasin’s overriding metaphor or not is up for debate, but the fact that it is gently weaved through the film gives testament to his strong directorial vision. Darkly shot, this sometimes poignantly funny film was an enlightening experience to watch.

Good Cats

Good Cats is a difficult film to watch. It is not a film I particularly enjoyed watching while it was playing, and had I not been reviewing it I probably would have left the theatre before it was over. Oddly enough however, every time I think back on the film I begin to like it more to the point where it now feels like a fond memory. Good Cats is the story of Luo Liang, a soon to be 30 middle school educated chauffeur trying to make a name for himself in the semi corrupt Chinese economy. Shot entirely as long master shots the film refuses to let the audience close to Luo Liang as the action plays out on screen much as if you were watching a stage play. This forced removal is fitting however, as it reflects societies view towards Luo Liang’s status in the world: a purposeful distance and blind eye turned to the plight of the under educated working class. Director Ying Liang pushes this idea even further by having sudden breaks in action where a rock band appears similar to a Greek chorus. All of this purposeful destruction of the audience’s suspension of disbelief makes the film hard to enjoy on an emotional level but it also invites the viewer to look deeper into film and view it as a social commentary on contemporary Chinese society.


Throw Down Your Heart

Throw Down Your Heart is director Sascha Paladino’s light hearted film about banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck's journey to bring the banjo back to its African routes. The film is really nothing more than a series of jam sessions between Béla Fleck and an assortment of incredible African musicians so if you love music then this film is for you. Throw Down Your Heart is probably best enjoyed by simply closing your eyes in the theatre and listening to the wonderful music that is created. If you are looking for any real documentary work however, there isn’t much in this film about the actual history of the banjo, and even from an ethnographic point of simply seeing the African people the film falls short. Still, Béla Fleck seems genuinely moved by the people he meets so the film does warm the heart. In the end however, Throw Down Your Heart really is just about the music which is hard to complain about as the music is outstanding.

24 City

24 City is the story of Factory 420, an aeronautical plant utilized during the Korean War that is now being turned into a luxury housing complex, and the people connected to it. In its heyday factory 420 was a top-secret factory that manufactured planes for the war effort and was a bustling city providing a good living for everyone involved. After the war its usefulness faded and with it the good lives that many people connected to it.

While this documentary feels like it is trying to point out that progress comes at a cost, its point is never fully realized as the film in structured in such a way that you never really connect with the people telling it. The opposite message actual comes through clearer as you realize that the only reason people had a good life was at the expense of the war. Regardless of the actual intent of director Jia Zhangke, the entire film feels like pure information that would be better suited for a 20-minute news special than a documentary film. Apparently Zhangke even created some of the interviews as a sort of meta comment but this to also falls far short as there is no real evidence of this in the film. It’s not that the film is horrible or hard to watch; its message has simply been done better many times before.

The Longwang Chronicles

The Longwang Chronicles are director Li Yifan’s year in the life of the poor Chinese farming village Longwang. Structured according to the traditional Chinese almanac, Yifan captures the events his film with surprising fly on the way freedom and detail. Although there is absolutely nothing flashy about this film my interest was held the entire time by the honesty of the events portrayed on screen. Some of the highlights of the film include the uncensored castration of a pig, attempts to extinguish cult religious groups, a fraudulent civic election, and various displays of Communist Party rhetoric. As a Westerner with very little direct knowledge about what is happening in rural China, The Longwang Chronicles provides a thoughtful and compassionate insight into the daily lives of a large group of people I would otherwise have no knowledge about.

Paruthiveeran

Paruthiveeran is a complex story that interweaves love, murder, humour, and the Indian caste system almost effortlessly. Paruthiveeran, the male lead, is a drunk who resists the tender Muthazhagu’s love, instead choosing a life of mischief and hookers. Muthazhagu knows a different Paruthiveeran however, and has sworn that he will be the only man to see her naked after he saved her life as a child. Beautifully shot, writer / director Ameer seems to have been inspired by Shakespeare as he tries to probe the complexities of family relationships and social expectations.

Unfortunately Paruthiveeran had a couple major flaws, the main one being I could not read a good number of the subtitles. Because of the way it was shot or colour timed, the white subtitles often got lost, especially in the flashbacks where much of the exposition needed to understand the story takes place. If the film had been as deep most of what is going on could have been ascertained by just the action, but because the film was so complex I just felt lost. The editing was also not that strong as the film often utilized jump cuts for seemingly no other reason than to cut down on overall run time. While these two flaws inevitably made the film unwatchable for me, if you can understand Tamil you are in for a wonderful filmic experience.

Charly

Something screened before Charly. It might have been a mix-up, or a purposeful pairing of short films, but they made me want to leave the theatre and things only got worse from there. Charly is touted as a quirky coming of age story set somewhere in the French country side. It is about a fourteen year old boy who whimsically sets out in the middle of the night for beach he saw on a postcard, and winds up being taken in by a young obsessive compulsive prostitute played by the director Isild le Besco. One positive thing I can say about the movie is Isild le Besco’s performance is actually quite good and her sparse use of dialogue is an interesting cinematic experiment. It is not enough of a saving grace however, as on a whole the film simply isn’t good which was proved by the fact that a decent amount of people got up and left the theatre.

My advice, get the Rock Band 2: SE. Everything's made just a little better there. It's really simple, since you don't have preferences of guitars, or pre-existing equipment. Just get it and go.

Also, Rock Band pwns Guitar Hero, simply because they are releasing songs every week, and nine times out of ten there is at least a couple good ones. If Rock Band cannot sate your rhythm based desires, then get GH, but Rock Band (2) is all you really need.

I always thought Nate from Uncharted looked like Jeff.

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It's uncanny, really.

My bad. I looked through the first couple of pages and didn't see anything.

Bummer looks like a good book. Have to put it on my read list since its not on audio yet. Though by the time i get through my current list i bet it will be lol.

Looks surprisingly good. I have been a fan since "Bloodsport".