Evening Reading

by Garnett Lee, Feb 01, 2011 5:00pm PST

Over the weekend I started up a new game of Halo: Reach for a solo run. A post I read somewhere recently--I think in chatty but can't recall for sure--got me thinking. In it, the author proposed that compared to Call of Duty, Halo puts some players off because it requires more hits, and hence more skill, to get a kill. After a couple days of playing with this in mind I can see the argument. Getting into good tactical situations to win firefights takes some thought. I always know when I've gotten a kill, and likewise, almost always know when and from where I've been tagged when I go down.

I'm curious to see how I'll feel as I get later in the game. I played Reach co-op originally, so taking it on solo also brings a different perspective. But Cinematic as it may be, the chaos of Call of Duty seems to me like it would be every bit as potentially off-putting as any perceived difficulty in Halo.

Meanwhile, back at the Shack, here's today's video game news:

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By: sgtsanity x Show Full Post

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Rewatching Starship Troopers, and noticed for the first time that Jake Busey cracks up after the crazy surviving general in the fort is body-checked by the flying bug corpse.

http://d.pr/Dl7P

This movie is a goddamn national treasure.

Feb 01, 2011 6:14pm PST

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Rewatching Starship Troopers, and noticed for the first time that Jake Busey cracks up after the crazy su... : sgtsanity
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 112 replies.
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  Never seen it. Shack reception seems to be thoroughly mixed. : photonzach
  - Watch it, it's fantastic. : ColoradoCNC
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    It is not a good film, but it is a fun one. : byorn
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      It's like Independence Day in that regard. : riptyde
      
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      This has piqued my interest. I love ID4 : photonzach
      
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      You will love it. It is cheesy and lovable in all the same ways as ID4. Imagine the essence of Bill Pullm... : sgtsanity
      
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      Is it on Netflix instant? : photonzach
      
      Yes! : sgtsanity
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      It is an amazing film, anyone that disagrees should be deported to the sun : gmd
      
      I couldn't have said it better. : Matt Burris
    - It set out and accomplished the satirical aspect of war quite well, I thought. : ieGod
    - ^^^ : bolneze
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    The people who don't like it are bad at watching movies. It seriously is perfect as a deadpan fascist : sgtsanity
  - i suggest watching it, just for pop culture knowledge, but the film is pretty bad : Cheeziologist
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    It's not really a bad popcorny, cheesy sci fi flick. But what appalls me about it is just how perverte... : randomjgj
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      Yup, pretty much. It would have been a great movie on its own, I don't know why they bothered calling it... : Caoster007
      
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      Verhoeven did it specifically to fuck what Heinlein was saying with the book. : ughhhhhhh
      
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      'cept he didn't actually read the book... so more like fuck with what he thought Heinlein was saying. : miasma&!
      
      haha really? I don't know if I'd heard that before. I'm not sure if that makes it even worse or not... ... : ughhhhhhh
      
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      *the person who wrote the movie did read it. : lodit
      
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      the scriptwriters had virtually completed the movie (Bug Hunt) before coming across Starship Troopers and... : miasma&!
      
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      ..so..he read it? : lodit
      
      dunno about the writers, but verhoeven said in an interview he got part way in and stopped : MamiyaOtaru
      
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      But the writer did. Stop being so butthurt that they thought your beloved book is silly : Serpico74
      
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      Stop being so butthurt your pet movie isn't as clever as its creators make it out to be. excellent pop : miasma&!
      
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      You really, really hate this movie don't you? lol : ColoradoCNC
      
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      No... I hate the people who keep on trying to conflate the two, when they should be appreciated separatel... : miasma&!
      
      power armor goodness. LOL at your stupid posts : Serpico74
      
      y r u so rong : rasputinreborn
      
      Authorial intent (or a lack thereof) doesn't prevent it from being subversive. : Agrona
      
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      That silly book is an important, seminal work in science fiction the likes of which neither Verhoeven nor... : ughhhhhhh
      
      Seminal, yet very, very dated indeed. Massacre the sacred cows! : rasputinreborn
      
      (and the movie has aged much better than the book, regardless of their relative ages.) : rasputinreborn
      
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      Heinlen would have a better body of work if he left his tedious proto-fascist horseshit out and focused f... : SpaecKow
      
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      If you think the the book is pro fascism you fail at reading comprehension. : Caoster007
      
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      If you think heinlens woody for plutocratic authoritarian fantasies isn't exactly the sort of woody that ... : SpaecKow
      
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      http://www.kentaurus.com/troopers.htm I would cite why you are wrong from the text, but he's already d... : Caoster007
      
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      That's an awful rebuttal. Understand, the Italian or Spanish fascists, the German Nazis or their pupp : SpaecKow
      
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      Yah you pretty much missed the point of the author completely. All I see is a mess of words about the dan... : miasma&!
      
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      there's only handful of hard and fast takeaways i got from the book... - morality is something that mu... : miasma&!
      
      And another thing: - morality is something that must be taught. it is not inborn. Something we k... : SpaecKow
      
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      It was essentially a very hole-y thought experiment trying to define citizenship and a citizens' rights a : SpaecKow
      
      ^^^ gets it : Serpico74
      
      make em say ughhhh, na na na naaah : moe6
      
      haha seminal indeed : sgtsanity
      
      Seriously. : lodit
  - Its the cheesiest fucking alien shooter movie ever made, and I love it!! : furiouschuck
  - Also, it has boobs in it. : Masem
  - It's a great movie. It's cliche and satirical on purpose. It helps to understand if you've read the boo... : twifosp
  - Some people "get it", some people don't. : watcherxp
  - Read the book. Movie was decent. But the book was phenomenal. : Freon
  - It's a great movie, just way different from the book. : ZombieAcademy
  - Don't take it seriously and you'll be fine. : surround
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    It's AMAZING. It's not only a great action movie but it's so incredibly subversive as well. I think it's ... : NastyJack
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      I agree : Serpico74
      
      The only thing working against it is Casper Van Dien. He's so goddamn awful. : action wombmate
  - It's the best worst movie ever. : phate81
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    It's really a parody of the borderline fascist politics in Heinlein's book. That's not a cheeky interpre... : Lone Swordsman
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      I defy you to find a single incident of fascism or fascist politics in Heinlein's Starship Troopers, bord... : randomjgj
      
      http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wAxDMfEGhoY/TI6y4IuY8aI/AAAAAAAAAS8/NCjMIHtSW0E/s1600/Not+Sure+if+serious.jpg : Morgin
  - Drop whatever you're doing and watch it right now. : thetangent
  - It's deliberately campy. I think it's super creative and ahead of its time. Great flick. : phipple
  - Would you like to know more? : Herman Toothrot
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    By: photonzach x Show Full Post
    
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    Alright, guys. I'm about to put it on the big screen right now.
    
    Feb 01, 2011 9:44pm PST
    
    Alright, guys. I'm about to put it on the big screen right now. : photonzach
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  I was just watching it too and noticed Timothy Omundson (Lassie from Psych) made a brief appearance in on... : byorn
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    The Wire fans will freak out when they recognize someone they know starting (about) halfway through the f... : sgtsanity
    - I had to pull up the Oracle of Bacon to figure out what you were referring to. I guess I never caught th... : riptyde
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      Sugar Watkins was such a great name http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xk9mzYLcTs : Dave-A
      
      i met him randomly in the streets of Cambridge, MA one late night this summer. : ibrokn
  - The Kurgan from Highlander is also the Drill Sargent! : Duffman8369
- It seems to still be on Netflix through Starz Play. Wasn't that kaput? : BeowolfSchaefer
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  I don't know what d.pr is but I'm not clicking that : Slowtreme
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    It is just a quickie-dropbox thing to upload an image and let me link it. : sgtsanity
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      http://droplr.com/hello : sgtsanity
      
      http://min.us : aurealis
- Something I noticed for the first time in a movie recently: In Finding Nemo, when the Pelican slams into... : riptyde
- I re-watched this last weekend. It was entertaining, but I wouldn't say "great". : xylopagus
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  sgtsanity i just want you to know i didn't miss the fact that you casually mentioned your fiancee on twit... : electroly
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    because I know what the first reply will be to any relationship thread : sgtsanity
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      WAIT BACK THE FUCK UP YOU KNOW A CHICK!?! : Dave-A
      
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      what are they like?!? : Dave-A
      
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      pax + daleks?!? : Dave-A
      
      A period of peace with emperors in tin cans? Sounds alright to me. : ColoradoCNC
      
      What makes you think it's a chick? : surround
      
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      How much does it cost to marry a hooker? : Matt Burris
      
      I dunno, how much does it cost to buy an ATM? : Wikus Van De Merwe
    - p.s. congratulations and sorry for spoiling what was surely going to be a big announcement moment on shac... : electroly
- love that movie. It's a shame the sequel sucked big time. I heard the third one was alright but never g... : grabbie
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  1997. What a fucking great year for sci fi, action, and popcorn flicks: Starship Troopers Fifth Eleme : laidback
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    Holy shit, this is a good point. Most of those movies range from good to great! :D : thetangent
    - the mid-90's were a mini-golden age. I can't believe how it's fallen back to total shit territory. : Borzoi
  - 1997 is probably my favorite year for movies...so much good : sparkly
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    Devil's Advocate came out twice? : Herman Toothrot
    - what about devil's advocate? : skryte
  - Gattica never gets enough love : riptyde
- haha, indeed : Foxhawk
- that movie was ahead of it's time. A true great akin to Total Recall : lord_omega
- This movie has been discussed many times on the Shack in the last couple of months. Not that I'm compl... : thetangent
- One of many great parts of a great movie : Serpico74
- he is just as funny in person haha. met him in cozmel : rbjester
- Quake 2 the movie... Would you like to know more? : Tech T
- The theme song gets me pumped to kill things. : NFXFSX
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  I so wanted to have sex with Denise Richards when I was 17. : voodooraze
  - I blame this movie for making me think she was incredibly hot. Know she just seems funky looking. : DonkeyPopsicle

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