Some may say realism in film is something to be strived for.  Contrarily, I believe film can achieve something greater than what real life can offer. A suspension from reality is at the core of the entertainment of a film. This pertains to a certain range of films, from science fiction to action/adventure, or even romantic comedies. This notion excludes films dealing directly with human emotion as the theme or main drive, such as hard dramas, or obviously documentary.
The goal, especially of action films, is to maintain just enough realism to anchor the viewer in the story while simultaneously creating an almost impossible scenario of death defiance, and adventure.
This conclusion is what makes the term “Cinematic Realism” so interesting, and it is also why I am supremely excited for Max Payne 3.
Rockstar Strives with Max Payne to harness the pure feeling that a good action film can give the viewer and amplify it by putting them in direct control of the hero.  The action scenes, full of narrowly escaped deaths at the hands of vicious gun wielding drug dealers and gangsters, are stitched together seamlessly by more cinematic editing techniques during cut scenes that segue directly into more gunplay.
From the gameplay shown already, the final product looks to be a Tony Scott aesthetic over John Woo movement, but with control, and direct satisfaction. While it’s not a bold departure from what videogames have tried to do in the past, it has the potential to perfect the melding of two mediums into a magnificent concoction of “Digital Cinematic Realism,” and give the player a novel sensation of living out an action film. 


-Sir Chancelot

Frank Miller, as with his former works, brilliantly conveys a subtext so clearly it should be considered co-text.  As with normal literature, text on page is used in graphic novels to deliver character lines and internal monologue, as well as mood and feeling through syntax and word choice.  The added visual aspect graphic novels introduces, can further express that mood or feeling, but also show an image converse to the moral trajectory of the text, therefore expanding its meaning. The convergence of text and image techniques fans out the normal paper medium dimension into a deep, clearly understood subplot working concurrently with the main story of a broken super hero dealing with the infinite struggle of obsession and age. Batman’s villains are dealt with the same method.  Two-Face, though clearly cured both physically and mentally on text through his psychologist’s word bubbles, is still split by the absolute framing of his face.  Frank Miller chose to contain Two–Face’s bandaged head within two frames separated by a white bar, concluding his still rampant illness and fixation with his other half.  This is one of the many accomplishments of this spectacularly dark and thrilling work of literature.



-Sir Chancelot

It's the final day of this WONDERful (I'm so Sorry, I couldn't resist) Convention. We had a very hard time yesterday, trying to occupy the same space as thousands of other cold, wet, and starving fans. It seems as though ComicCon International hasn't had to deal with weather, like we experienced yesterday. So EVERYONE stayed inside the Convention Center, that also happened to hold a Cheerleading/Volleyball tournament. We'er going to try to get some small press, and unique booths for this final day. 
So keep that finger on the Read More link!