Make sure it's got a big trunk



Sin City kicked my ass. I followed every step of the film's production -- gobbling up every last leaked frame and teaser trailer -- but on opening night I was still floored by how accurately it captured the style of Miller's comics.



Unsurprisingly, some critics are having the same sort of struggles with the film that others had with the original books. And sure, if you're in the habit of looking for messages in films, the unapologetic violence and amorality of this one is probably pretty disturbing. But Sin City is a tribute to a genre and nothing more. There is no message, no connection to to the real world, no moment that is intended to tell us anything about ourselves. It's entertainment because it is so alien. A perversely fascinating place to visit, maybe, but no one wants to live there.



The new Reel Big Fish album lands tomorrow. Finally!



Sam Logan

The business end will turn every friend to an enemy



I hope no one is terribly disappointed that I didn't do an April Fools Day joke this year. By the time I remembered what day it was, it was too late to come up with anything that could top what I did last year. So, no joking this time! I'm afraid that the mood at Sam and Fuzzy today is the same as it always is: absolute deadpan seriousness.



Here's a telling annecdote. After Wednesday's rant, I did not recieve a single complaining about my characterization of Sony's Playstation consoles as shoddily built and frequently defective. I did, however, recieve multiple emails from people whose brand new PSPs are broken. The legacy continues!



Speaking of Sony, it looks like a 24 videogame is headed for the PS2. Is it too much to ask for a television-liscence-based game that doesn't suck? At least it looks nice. I swear, that 3D model of Jack is only a hacksaw away from the real deal.



Sam Logan





Visit the scenic #samandfuzzy IRC channel on CADNet

No one shows up, and your songs all suck



A friend of mine once had an original Playstation that caused FMV to skip whenever it was played. The problem could be corrected by turning the Playstation upside down. It worked, but it was still stupid. And that kind of sums up how I feel about Sony's videogame hardware in general. Sure, most people will not experience these kinds of problems with their systems. But if we put a PS2, an Xbox and a Gamecube in a room, I think we all know which one we'd bet on as being the first to stop reading discs properly. Or catch fire.



But I've got to admit: from what I hear, the PSP looks like one solid piece of machinery. The software lineup at launch smokes the poor DS in both gameplay and graphics, the screen is fabulous, and the multimedia support is surprisingly robust. If it wasn't for the high price and disappointing battery life, it'd be just about perfect!



And look at this! One Sam and Fuzzy reader uploaded the entire comic archive onto his. That is pretty cool!