A bad time for everyone

 

Well, the you-know-what has hit the fan.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing is suing Activision-Blizzard for to quote BBC News “unequal pay, promoting men over women, and widespread sexual harassment”.

This story has exploded all over the internet, and I'll link a few articles below. In a nutshell, women at Blizzard have been sexually harassed, they have been refused promotion because “You could get pregnant”, they have been saddled with extra work some of their male colleagues were supposed to do, but they were too busy playing games or drinking to do it. They have also been subject to tighter scrutiny while asking for time off, something their male colleagues seemed to just get.

Some of these male employees have also been cubicle crawling (as in pub crawl) where they apparently drink heavily at work and go from cubicle to cubicle behaving like swine. There is even a suicide linked to this, but I don't even want to type out what led to that.

The list goes on, and it is at best a long term case of extremely unprofessional behavior, or as seems to be more likely, a widespread culture of harassment, abuse, intimidation and discrimination. You can read more yourself if you want to know more.

For me personally, I am disgusted, plain and simple. In situations like these it is always difficult to discern who is being 100% honest, who is embellishing a little, and who is outright lying, on both sides of the fence. Seeing that this is such a sensitive case, I have no choice but to believe the accusers. In response, I have canceled my World of Warcraft account, at least until the case is over and done with, and it's pissing me off. I wasn't done playing this lovely game, but I don't want my money to go towards someone who's more interested in getting wasted at work and harassing women, instead of working. If the situation is rectified I'll be happy to subscribe again, but as it stands, I'm out. This doesn't mean others can't keep playing, however. A choice like this has to be personal and it is not okay to give anyone a hard time for choosing to play. A game like WoW means many things to many people and some might only get through the day because they know that they can play when they get home.

This disaster also goes, in my opinion, a long way towards explaining the lackluster quality of recent WoW content. If people are too stressed, to distracted or just too plain drunk to do any work, then it's no wonder the game is going slowly down the drain. Don't get me wrong, I still love WoW, but the latest content has been extremely weak, and since some employees brag about being hung over at work, it is no wonder.

Time will tell what kind of ramifications this will have. The company's response so far seems to have been a case of “This may have been true once, but it isn't any more, and your mean for suing us” (my phrasing obviously). Meanwhile former Blizzard President and CEO Mike Morhaime and former senior vice president of story and franchise development, Chris Metzen have publicly apologized for not seeing and stopping this from happening. Whether they are sincere or just covering their asses, I can't say. Blizzard's current President, J Allen Brack has circulated an email company wide claiming that he reveres Gloria Steinem and is against all forms of harassment and “bro-culture”. No one seems so far to believe a single word he wrote. After all, as the top man in the company it is his job to know what is going on and put a stop to things like this. The fact that he hasn't, pretty much indicates that he is either incompetent or okay with it.

We'll see what the investors think about this, especially if the company looses the lawsuit and gets slammed with a brutal fine. Either way time as always, will tell.

PCGamer articles:

https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-alleges-discrimination-sexual-harassment-and-frat-boy-culture/

https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-blizzard-employees-denounce-corporate-statements-we-are-here-angry-and-not-so-easily-silenced/

BBC News article:

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57929543

You can easily find more if you want, just Google it.

That's that and all that. I was hoping to have something more entertaining for you, but it is what it is. Please join me again next time, and until then, have a great and safe week!

Arrows vs. Armor

 Hello and welcome to Eccentric Spheres!

I've been a bit slammed recently so we are keeping it short and sweet this week. 

It's no secret that movie makers take liberties with reality and medieval warfare is no exception. The following video is from Tod's Workshop and examines how effective plate armor is against period arrows. 

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!

Direct Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBxdTkddHaE

The Boss

 

To no ones great surprise, I'm sure, I watched the third part of Fernando Di Leo's crime trilogy, The Boss (1973).

The Boss is the odd man out in the trilogy, for a variety of reasons. First off, it's set in Palermo, Sicily instead of Milan. Secondly Mario Adorf is not in this movie, but the main character is played by Henry Silva who was in The Italian Connection. Thirdly, The Boss is considerably more brutal and violent than the other two. It also lacks any of the humor the previous two movies had, which makes it pretty dark in tone.

Silva plays Nick Lanzetta, a highly trusted hitman in the employ of Don D'Aniello. D'Aniello is at war with a Calabrian gang, who are tougher and more resourceful than expected. D'aniello also answers to the big boss Don Corrasco. By the way, Corrasco is played by Richard Conte who played Don Barzini in The Godfather. The war escalates, lots of people get killed and the tension ramps up as powerful influences demand an end to the chaos. Betrayal follows betrayals and Lanzetta is right in the middle, poised to take it all or get removed by a competitor. No one is untouchable.

Again, no spoilers. Watch it to find out how it ends.

What The Boss gets right is first of all the twisted world of the Mafia. Even the big dogs answer to someone else and the only way up is over the bodies of those who stand in your way, and you also stand in the way of someone else. The general atmosphere is truly excellent, the acting is good and the soundtrack is probably the best in the trilogy.

The script is a bit loose, however. Not so much as to really matter, but the story is a bit back and forth. Although The Boss is 100 minutes long, it would really benefit from even more time. A six part mini series would be perfect as even with the runtime it has, you don't have time to get to know the characters all that much and that is truly a shame. This goes double for the political elements between the different mafia groups.

As I mentioned this is a very violent movie. Most of the shooting is bloodless falling over, but there are a couple of scenes that warms the heart of an old gore-hound. There is also some scenes that could well cause discomfort in sensitive people, so keep that in mind.

There is one scene that really made my eyebrows go up. A car T-bones another and the hit car falls apart, neatly bisected down the middle. This was so weirdly out of place I had to rewind and double check I wasn't hallucinating. In an otherwise gritty and grim movie, it is a real mistake to have a scene that clumsy.

Without going into spoiler trilogy I can say that The Boss was a joy to watch. It can stand amongst the greats in the crime/mafia genre with its head high. Sure Goodfellas beats it handily, but that isn't really a criticism, Goodfellas beats everyone. The Boss is a bit low budget and it has its flaws but overall it is a standout gangster movie.

In a way that isn't so weird. Apparently Di Leo was sued over allegations presented in this film, though the suit was dropped. He apparently also got threatened by some very scary people due to the realism of The Boss. Make of that what you will.

Do I recommend The Boss? Absolutely! Any fan of crime fiction should watch The Boss at least once. Other movie lovers can also enjoy it, but perhaps not quite as much. I say, give it a shot.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have yourself a great and safe week!

The Italian Connection

 

Last week I talked about Caliber 9 and this week's feature is The Italian Connection (1972), not to be confused with The French Connection or the Italian Job which I've talked about previously. Both films are directed by Fernando Di Leo and form two thirds of his poliziottesco (essentially spaghetti crime drama) trilogy together with The Boss (1973) which I've yet to watch.

The Italian Connection is about two American hitmen, Dave Catania (Henry Silvia) and Frank Webster (Woody Strode). They are sent to Milan to make an example of small time pimp Luca Canali (Mario Adorf, who played Rocco in Caliber 9). The big boss in New York thinks Canali has stolen a huge shipment of heroin, because the Milanese boss Don Vito told him so. Therefore Canali needs to die messily to send a message to anyone who thinks they can steal from the mob. What follows is a desperate struggle for poor Canali to remain ahead of the killers and to find out which of his friends he can still trust.

Obviously I'm not spoiling the ending.

Compared to Caliber 9, The Italian Connection is a far darker and grittier movie. Caliber 9 was by no means a pleasant stroll in the park, but The Italian Connection has more violence, particularly towards women and even children. There is a very bleak tone to this film, almost depressing. It also has more nudity if that is a problem for you.

Connection, like Caliber, keeps up with the fast moving close-ups, which I hate, but many scenes are more ambitious than Caliber, particularly the chase scene towards the end. Otherwise the cinematography is a solid product of its time.

The actors are good, the soundtrack is very 70's, and the plot is simple but interesting. I never got bored, but I was also never really surprised. Connection is solid but perhaps not that inspired. It amused me that Mario Adorf looks exactly the same in both Caliber and Connection,yet his characters couldn't be more different. Rocco is vicious and brutal, and Luca is friendly, affable and a doting father. He's also a complete badass, but that's a different story. What is also interesting is how several characters make really bad mistakes with severe consequences, which is something one usually don't see. It's actually nice to see some genuine screw-ups from time to time.

There isn't that much more I can talk about. The Italian Connection is not about the destination but the journey. Apparently the hitmen Catania and Webster were the inspiration for Vincent and Jules in Pulp Fiction. Tarantino is a complete cinephile and it's no surprise that he has seen this movie.

Do I recommend this movie? Like I said with Caliber 9, if you like older crime dramas, then yes, I do recommend it. I had a good time, but it is not in my opinion as good as Caliber 9. It is good, and it is worth watching, but I don't think most casual movie watchers are going find it to their taste.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great and safe week!

Caliber 9

 

After having a discussion about cinema with a friend, I sat down and watched Caliber 9, aka Milano calibro 9, aka The Contract, an Italian crime thriller from 1972.

Caliber 9 is all about Ugo Piazza, a gangster who is suspected of stealing $300.000 from his boss, L'Americano. Shortly after the money ends up missing, Ugo is sent to prison for a botched robbery, and the movie kicks off as he is released two years later. In case you're wondering why everyone is so keen on a mere 300K, that is almost $2 million is today's money.

There is a strange subplot concerning two senior cops, one who has fascist leanings and one with communist sympathies. Their arguments, while interesting in and of themselves, lead absolutely nowhere and are essentially pointless. The director even said so, but he liked them too much to leave on the cutting room floor.

So Ugo is released and immediately lands in hot water because of the money, but no one can kill him until they know whether he is innocent or if guilty, where the money is. Ugo swears he is innocent and plays a dangerous game to find the real thief. No spoilers here, so you'll have to watch it yourself to discover the truth.

The acting is mostly very good. Ugo is played by Gastone Moschin, perhaps best known to modern audiences for playing Don Fanucchi in The Godfather: Part II. His girlfriend Nelly is played by Barbara Bouchet and the movie also stars Mario Adorf, Frank Wolff and many more. It is directed by Fernando Di Leo and is based on three short stories from the short story collection Milano calibro 9.

I should point out that the character Rocco Musco is pretty over the top. Very entertaining, but Adorf chews the scenery every time he shows up, which is a lot.

The cinematography is mostly good. Milan is lovely to see and the scenes are tight and interesting. Caliber 9 has the strange tendency one sometimes see in movies from that era to zoom the camera in and move it around violently. This is a technique I'm not a fan of as it just makes the scene confusing instead of interesting.

Caliber 9 is not Goodfellas, it is by no means a masterpiece, but I was glued to the screen the entire time. It is incredibly compelling from start to finish, but I really feel that the story needs to be a short TV series. This would make sense on many levels. It would have time to validate the police characters and their politics in the fractured Italian climate of the early 70's. It would give the gangsters more time to be characters and not just tough looking goons, particularly with the mystery of who took the money. It would give us an opportunity to experience and understand the relationship between Ugo and Chino, a tough as nails hit man, and his boss Don Vincenzo. This is all important to the story but we barely get to know any details in the 90 minute run time.

I absolutely recommend Caliber 9 if you like crime dramas. I watched the subtitled version in the original Italian but there is a dubbed version out there if you prefer. I don't like to give movies ratings, but if I did I would rate it quite high, even though I can't put the finger on exactly why. IMDB gives it 7.5 stars. I say give it a shot.

 

That's that and all that. Join me again next time for more Eccentric Spheres and until then, have a great and safe week!

Midsommar

Every once in a while a movie comes along that, if not everyone is talking about, than most people are. One such movie is Midsommar (2019). Seeing that it is almost midsummer it's even appropriate to talk about it.

To illustrate the statement above, my wife even wanted to see it based on the hype, and she doesn't care for horror at all.

Yes, Midsommar is a horror movie, written and directed by Ari Aster, who is most famous for writing and directing Hereditary, which I haven't seen.

Anyway, we sat down and watched Midsommar a couple of days ago, and I was both surprised and delighted. It wasn't at all what I expected but I'm not the least disappointed.

In a nutshell, the movie is about a small group of American college students who accept an invitation from a Swedish friend to visit his home village for midsummer. I'm struggling with how much to tell since I do not want to spoil anything, but I mentioned it's a horror movie so it's no shock that bad things start to happen, right?

Midsommar is 148 minutes long which is pretty long for a horror movie, and that always makes me a bit apprehensive. In the case of Midsommar however, it needs the length. From the initial setup, to the story itself to the conclusion, nothing is wasted. It's the slow burn of slow burns, but for having said that, it isn't boring at any time. It's all bout the journey rather than the destination.

This is also the kind of movie that contains a lot of small clues and hints of things to come. In many ways it is pretty predictable, in fact if you have seen The Wicker Man (1973), you are probably going to figure out what's going to happen. It isn't so much what happens that is impressive but how it is done.

I paid a lot of attention to the Swedish dialog, as I speak Swedish, in order to see if they were going to give away anything important, like the start of The Thing (1982), but I found nothing. The script is very tight and little is left to chance.

The ending was missing some details I wish they would have included, but there is a directors cut that may answer some of those questions. I don't actually know what is contains, but I thought I'd mention it. I had to go read the IMDB trivia to get some final answers. It's nothing that ruins the movie but I like getting all the details.

If the Swedish makes you worried about understanding the movie, don't be. Almost the entire thing is in English which is actually my main gripe. It wasn't weird that some of the isolated Swedes could speak flawless English, but they could explain their archaic traditions in flawless English and that felt strange. It's not a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.

The actors are great, the cinematography is beautiful and the sound design reminded me of Chernobyl (2019). I have no technical complaints. The gore when it comes is shocking and suitably gross, but it doesn't dwell on it. It appears and moves on, and I think it's in showing such restraint that the movie really shines.

Do I recommend Midsommar? Yes, I do. I'm really glad I saw it, but I probably won't watch it again. It is an experience as much as a story and having had both, I'm satisfied.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week.

New Games

 

I just finished the Bethesda and Xbox showcase at E3 2021 and as always it was a massive overload to the senses.

I also watched the Summer Game Fest the other day, but the only game that grabbed my attention there was Elden Ring. This incredibly anticipated game by From Software (Dark Souls, Demon Soul, Bloodborne etc.) in collaboration with George R R Martin finally has a release date: January 21, 2022. I am interested in finally coming to grips with one of these games, but I'm far from committed to playing. I will at the very least enjoy watching lets plays.

So, back to the Bethesda/Xbox thing.

The first thing that struck me is that this truly is the season of the sequel. There was a small handful of original games, but I can't even remember them anymore, with one exception. We'll get to that later.

Another thing that struck me is how popular snarky, cutesy and quirky has become. Between the Summer Fest and the Xbox presentation, there was a ridiculous amount of games what lean heavily on one or more of those three. I guess it is a change from the ever present gray and brown military shooters with their overly dramatic machismo, but it grates on the nerves after a while. Does everyone have to have a quippy comeback? Does every team need someone to trip and pratfall in an exaggerated way? Well, no. But it has become pretty common and as with all forced comedy, it's rarely funny. I hope they pull it back a bit going forward.

I'm not going to list all the games, there were 27 of them, but some of them were Stalker 2, Psychonauts 2, Age of Empires... sequel, the new Halo game, The Outer Worlds 2, a Pirates of the Caribbean add on to Sea of Thieves, Far Cry 6... the list goes on and on and on.

They cleverly started off with presenting a small teaser for Starfield, Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG. It is the first original setting they've done in over 20 years but I still have no idea what you're supposed to do in it. Seriously, no clue except you are in space and you seem to be an astronaut of some kind. Apparently it launches next year so hopefully we'll find out more before then.

They also showed a pretty little movie for RedFall by Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Prey). This was the original mentioned above. It shows a colorful group of vampire hunters in a sci-fi near future. But again I have no clue of the game play. They did say that you can play solo or in co-op which is nice. So many games insist on multiplayer only, probably in order to sell micro-transactions.

The absolute stand out however, was Forza Horizon 5. Set in Mexico this time, the game is near photo realistic. The skybox is in fact photographed and it all looks incredible. No, scratch that, it looks impossible. I'm saying that as a dude who doesn't even care that much about cars or motor sports. I really urge you to watch that trailer/showcase as it is just that beautiful.

So far, this is the first E3 in years that haven't shown me a single game that has made me sit up an go “Whoah, I need to play that”. That's alright though, as a patient gamer I have no shortage of games to play in the near future.

 

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!