The power of a voice

Voice actors. They make a good game great and a great game, epic.

But many of them still work in relative anonymity, despite their amazing talents and the invaluable work they do bringing our favorite characters to life. Some, like the great Jennifer Hale are well known, but many toil in relative obscurity.

Then there are those who are also full on actors, and who mostly do voice work on the side. It's broad spectrum of people.

The first game that really made me sit up and take notice when it came to voice work, was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The main character (you) is voiced by none other than Ray Liotta. This alone makes the game amazing. It's like playing Miami Vice and Goodfellas all rolled into one. But he wasn't the only big name to voice that game. Oh no, I bet there will never again be a cast list for voice-over work that is as star studded as GTA:VC.

Apart from Ray Liotta we have William Fichtner, Tom Sizemore, Dennis Hopper, Burt Reynolds, Luis Guzmán, Philip Michael Thomas, Robert Davi, Danny Trejo, Gary Busey, Lee Majors, Fairuza Balk, Danny Dyer, Kevin McKidd and Debbie Harry. And that's just the first page on IMDB.

If someone was to produce a film with a cast list like this, every magazine, blog and entertainment channel in the world would be following the production like crazy.

Then we have talent like Mark Hamill. You may know him better as Luke Skywalker, but he has done sterling work as none other than The Joker. Both in the long running animation show and the recent video games. In fact, his resume has more voice work than face work. And it makes sense. Unlike Harrison Ford, Hamill couldn't get out from under the shadow of Star Wars, at least not in the same way. But as a voice-over actor, your face is irrelevant. Your voice, (obviously) is what counts. And just to be clear, I'm not saying voice work is easy or that it doesn't take talent, alright? It's hard work.

A talented voice-over artist can make you care about an otherwise unimportant character, or likewise make you hate her. Quests that might be a bit lackluster can shine if the voice-over people are allowed to do their thing. But since speech is one of the most, if not the most, important way we communicate, we also tend to take it a bit for granted. Unless you are mute, you talk every day. And to somehow make that exceptional, isn't easy.

An interesting note, is the fact that our brains tend to “save” voices. Some years ago, my wife and I used to watch morning TV before going to work. It was something to rest the eyes on while drinking coffee. One certain weekdays, we were shown The Powerpuff Girls, a silly cartoon about a trio of sisters in kindergarten who happened to be superheros. The episodes we watched were expertly dubbed to Finnish, but when we tried watching it in English, we couldn't. It sounded all wrong. That's the power of a voice. It's arguably worse than when a “regular” actor is changed. A new face automatically means a new voice, but when the face is the same and the character sounds all wrong, it's unbearable. It's the same problem when a band gets a new vocalist. Right sound – wrong voice.

If you care to find out more, I found a Youtube channel, that's all about this, at least who plays who. I only found it an hour ago, so I don't know much about it, but I'll link it anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TeddyKGaming/playlists

That's that. Until next time, have a lovely week!

Oscar (not the statue)

Back in 1991 a movie was made that well, wasn't that successful. In fact, it bombed in the box office and it has since been largely forgotten, except by a small fan-base that includes me.

The movie in question is Oscar (1991), starring Sylvester Stallone, Peter Riegert, Chazz Palminteri, Don Ameche, Kurtwood Smith, Marisa Tomei, Harry Shearer, Tim Curry and many more. It is in fact an amazing cast for any film, but this happens to be a comedy.

I guess the timing wasn't all that good, after all '91 was a good year for film. The biggest hits were Beauty and the Beast, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Silence of the Lambs and City Slickers.

Up against that kind of heavy hitters, a comedy starring Rocky the Rambo wasn't going to have much of a chance, and that is a travesty.

To begin with, Stallone really has (or had) comedy chops, no doubt about it. Oscar is also a far better comedy than City Slickers, at least in this writers opinion.

Okay, so what's the whole thing about? The year in 1931 and feared mob boss Angelo “Snaps” Provolone visits his dying father (Kirk Douglas) who makes Snaps go on the straight and narrow. Then everything gets complicated, and I do mean complicated.

With the exception of the first and last scenes, the whole film takes place during one morning from about 8.30 to just after noon. This gives the script a tight pace that keeps the rhythm going, and rhythm is a really important part of Oscar. If you only watch this movie with half an eye, you're going to miss how good it is. Everything is important, from how the actors move in unison to the looks they give each other. The score also matches this perfectly. Timing is everything, and the pretty convoluted plot can get lost if you don't pay attention. This can of course lead to people not liking this movie, and that's a real shame, because it's so good.

And the dialogue... it's amazing! It's an incredibly quotable film. The sets are immaculate, the costumes perfect, I could go on gushing, but I think you get the point by now. Oscar is a wonderful movie, a film that really deserves a lot more than it got. Particularly when you compare it to all the “idiot-comedies” that have came along since. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, just take Adam Sandler as an example and move on from there. Oscar is witty, charming and genuinely funny.

So go watch this film if you haven't already. In fact, watch it again even if you have seen it. Don't let the idea that it's a Sly comedy put you off.

Well, that's that. Until next time, have a wonderful week!

Moving Violations

Every now and then, completely without warning, a movie that I watched a long time ago will suddenly pop into my head and demand attention.

One such film is Moving Violations (1985).

Moving Violations is an archetypical 80's comedy. The good guys are sassy and nice, and the bad guys are mean and unpleasant. Standard fare, no doubt about it, but there is more.

The writing is excellent, and not just the jokes, but the whole affair.

In a nutshell the plot is this; a motley group of people are sentenced to attend a week of traffic school or they loose their drivers licenses for ever. Between a corrupt judge and a sadistic macho cop, the task becomes a lot harder, shenanigans ensue. As I said, 80's comedy.

One if the things that exemplify the good writing is that everything that goes wrong with the macho cops life is his own fault. Sure he get's goaded from time to time, but his problems are all his own fault. He's the villain not a victim, and this makes the whole affair a lot more enjoyable.

Since this is a comedy, there are a lot of happenings that make little sense or are just glossed over, but the overall humor and cleverness of the film makes it so that you don't really care.

The characters themselves aren't anything groundbreaking. Standard fare, except the lovable little granny who's practically blind. And I mean mistake a passenger jet for a bus levels of blind. She's in fact a good example of the comedy-logic the movie employs. In her case, no amount of traffic school should save her license, when her eyesight is so abysmal. Still it doesn't matter, the ride is much too fun to care.

As for the actors, some became big, some didn't, all do a decent job. The most interesting name in the cast list is John Murray, brother of Bill Murray. You immediately see the resemblance, and I'd say it's shame John hasn't done much acting, but their styles are pretty similar, so we haven't actually lost that much.

As I write this, I'm trying to analyze the best and the worst, but it's hard. Moving Violations isn't one of the greats, it's not even one of the overlooked greats, but it is solid and it just works. Sure, if you don't like 80's comedies or you're just not in the mood, you're not going to have a good time, but that's more on you than on the film.

I can't really find any faults worth mentioning. It's a silly, at time dumb, but thoroughly enjoyable comedy. Enough said.

I recommend it.

That's all for now, so until next we meet, have a great week!

Rumors & Scandals

History is full of famous people, and famous people attract rumors.

Along with rumors comes scandal and mystery. Today we'll look at some of these and try to dismiss some of these unfounded rumors and replace them with facts.

Jane Austen, celebrated author of Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park and others, died in 1817 at only 41 years of age. Some people have speculated that she died from cancer, others say that she was murdered, but the most logical explanation is accidental arsenic poisoning. In her letters, she often complained of rheumatism, which was commonly treated with Fowler's Solution, which contained large amounts of arsenic. The Jane Austen Society claims to have tested a lock of her hair and found traces of the poison. We'll never know for sure, but considering how even mercury was used as a medicine, it's not far fetched at all to believe she poisoned herself by accident.

The year is 1963. John F. Kennedy is in Berlin, giving a speech. He utters the line “Ich bin ein Berliner.” People think the President called himself a doughnut, right?

Wrong.

People never thought that. Not only is context important, and they certainly knew what he meant, but the delicious deep fried treat known as a Berliner isn't called that in Berlin. In Berlin, Brandenburg, Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony it is called Pfannkuche, or pancake. What we know as a pancake is in turn called Eierkuche, or egg-cake. Go figure, but in any case, no one thought Kennedy was calling himself a deep fried, jam-filled doughnut.

Players of trivia games and pub-quizzes have probably been asked the question: Who discovered Australia? And the answer is invariably: Captain James Cook.

Yeah, that's not true either. Cook mapped out and explored Australia more than anyone else had up to that point, but the continent was well known at that time. It's not know for certain, but the likeliest candidate for discovering Australia is the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon.

Walt Disney wasn't frozen after his death, he was cremated. Says so on his death certificate.

Julius Caesar wasn't born through a caesarian. His mother lived a long life, and that was not possible after a c-section in those days. The name comes from Lex Caesarea, and states that the baby's life must be saved if the mother is dead or dying.

Catherine the Great, also know as Catherine II of Russia, did not die from having sex with a horse. This is a malicious rumor spread by her enemies, possibly her own son (they didn't get along). She was found dead on her bathroom floor, probably from a stroke, and there were no horses anywhere to be found. Anyone who gets to legitimately call themselves “the Great” will have jealous enemies, and that's how these rumor start.

Finally, Queen Victoria. One of the few people in history who have an age named after them. Contrary to popular belief, she was not a prude, she just knew what to do in public and what to do in private. Her marriage to Prince Albert was indeed passionate, after all they had nine children. She owned a rather large collection of artful nudes, some of which she gave to Albert on his birthday to loosen him up a bit. Her diaries were essentially censored to preserve the image of the prim and proper queen. That's not a prude...

Amusing extra: During WWI, the German Kaiser said, “If grandmother was alive, she never would have allowed this.” He was referring to the war, and since the King of England, the Russian Tzar and the Kaiser were all cousins and grandchildren to Victoria, I'm sure she would have had some stern words for the rowdy grandkids.

That's it for today, folks. I'll see you next time, and until then, have a great week!

Happy New Year, dear readers!

It's 2018 now and we all have to get used to writing that. It's the same thing every year of course, the fingers automatically write what they are used to.

Now, I was up way too late last night, and chances are you were too. On days like this, a bit of entertainment is usually welcome. That's what I have for you today. Three documentaries with wildly different subject matters.

First up, a look at the creation of one of the most popular and celebrated horror game series of all time: Silent Hill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCyR5yw6Vq8

If you're not in the mood for games, my second offering is a look at the deepest place on earth: The Mariana Trench.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8NtP8CxrCc

Finally, a novel look at what wrestling is and isn't, created by Max Landis, son of director John Landis. This is crammed full of cameos and is genuinely funny and insightful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMOf3hsGA

That's just under two hours of entertainment for your viewing pleasure. So sit back, enjoy, and have yourself a relaxing start on the new year.

Until next time, have a wonderful week!