Chazzmatazz

These jackholes were actually trying to rob a place barehanded (threatened having a gun but not showing one = lying)? Freakin' morons. They are lucky they didn't get shanked. If I was there, they would have bled. Leatherman ftw.

Condolences to you and Michael's. Though the loss hurts deeply, try and focus on the good times shared with Michael and to carry the best traits of his forward in yourself. At least that is how I try to honor those who have been taken from my life.

They should eliminate ALL looping sounds period. I haven't met a person yet who likes them (waits for first ever looping sounds fan to post.)

Good lord. The whiniest 1% are going to get annoyance put BACK into the game. Hey while you're at it, can we get the looping sounds put back in. I miss the "atmosphere". And the rooting in Unyielding. I miss that too.

Criminy, you people are insufferable.

Man, 500 Days of Summer annoyed me. I'm actually a sucker for romances, but watching that movie was like having a root canal. There was one creative thing in the movie, where it showed the scene in split screen with the "Planned" version on one side and the "Actual" version on the other side. That was clever, but it couldn't save it. Both lead characters were intolerable to me.

Hated Requiem for a Dream. It was just train wreck after train wreck. Well made, definitely and Aronofsky is definitely a solid film-maker, but I felt like I had been mentally mugged after watching it (much like Magnolia, another soul-scabbing film).

Throwing in another "final" pair of suggestions for The Fisher King -starring Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams in Terry Gilliam's most effective human drama. Gilliam occasionally busts loose with his requisite surreal visuals, but mostly keeps the story rooted in a touching human reality. It wasn't what I was looking for when I saw it, but it was better.

And second, Zero Effect featuring Bill Pullman as Daryl Zero, "the greatest detective who ever lived", who is also a complete basket case, with nearly non-existent social skills. Ben Stiller plays against type as the straight man agent for Mr. Zero.

Also endorsements for several previously recommended films, including Brick, Chocolate, Dexter, Black Snake Moan, Bubba Ho-Tep, and El Mariachi (though not so much for its value as stand-alone entertainment, but more for the fact that it was made by essentially a San Antonio film student on a $7000 budget. That film student was Robert Rodriguez, who has done some impressive stuff since.)

This thread goes to eleven.

I'm assuming you have seen Gattacca. An excellent thinking sci-fi film exploring the journey of a man striving to achieve beyond his genetic 'station'.

Freaking love that movie. Amazing musical score.

Ooh, one last one.

6. A Fish Called Wanda - In my opinion about the funniest movie of the 80's (1988 to be specific), Python members John Cleese and Michael Palin are joined by a riotous Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis in a hilarious story of a diamond heist gone slightly wrong.

Ok Here are a few.

1. Defendor - Think Kick-*** but without the snark, and with Woody Harrelson playing a mentally slow (not comically so), but highly principled wanna-be superhero. Not the fastest, most intense, actiony film out there, but a patient movie that takes time to develop its characters. I was surprisingly moved by it.

2. Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. - Another film about justice (in a roundabout way) and honor (in a very straightforward way), featuring Forest Whitaker, as a eccentric, samurai-obsessed mafia hit-man. Again a movie that implies action, but that is in fact very patient and cerebral, with moments of quirky humor, especially from the excellent mafia cast members. Great musical score by the RZA.

3. House of Flying Daggers. - Simply the most beautiful and moving wuxia film I have ever seen. A compelling love story interwoven with some of the most audacious and gorgeous action set pieces. Director Zhang Yimou strikes all the right notes. Fantastic musical score.

4. In the Mood for Love - A sumptuous masterpiece from Wong Kar Wai, set in 1962 Hong Kong, an unconventional love story featuring a stunning Maggie Cheung and brilliant Tony Leung Chiu Wai. One of my top 5 movies ever. Soundtrack features Nat King Cole, singing in Portuguese (Spanish?).

5. I.Q. - A great 1994 romantic comedy featuring Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins, and Walter Matthau as Albert Einstein. All three turn in great performances, with likable characterizations. Directed by Fred Schepisi, who also directed the similarly pleasant Roxanne and Six Degrees of Separation.

I'll be there for at least a couple runs. I really like the revamp of the Posi TF.

Great looking pic! Looks like my scrapper Lil' Sizzler ended up on the cutting room floor in the Demo edit version.

Ok I am currently running on a GeForce 6600, on a 3.0 GHz Pentium 4 (not dual-core or anything like that) with 3GB RAM, and I'm not in position be upgrading anything in the next year. I'm assuming I'm not going to be able to run any UM features and am ok with that.

My question is: Will my machine still be able to run I17 (and subsequently GR) with current performance on current settings without any UM gfx feature enabled?

In general, I just want a team of good players (or mostly good), but sometimes it does help to shift one player from primarily DPS to primarily support when going against tough stuff (ie. +3 Vanguard or Longbow on an 8-man team in RWZ).

Example: Last night my 4 blaster (I was one, SK'd on a pre-Shiver DP/ice), 1spines/reg scrapper, 1 Rad/rad def, 1 Nightwidow, 1 SD/FM tank was fighting just such a +3 (mostly Longbow) mission. We had a couple wipes, despite being mostly rather solid players, usually from ambushes. Now we didn't NEED for someone to swap chars to complete the mission. We could easily have shifted tactics to not be facing full spawns at once (via pulls etc.), but that would have changed the rapid pace that many of us very much prefer to play.

I decided that I would switch from my lvl 26 DP/ice blaster to my fairly IO'd Ice/FF troller, and the Nightwidow switched to her Merc/Pain MM. Well, as many of you would expect, things went much more smoothly (and rapidly) after those two swaps. A big part of it was getting mezz protection (from Dispersion bubble) which was absent on 5/8 previously, so the Longbow Nullifiers stun-fest was less of an issue (every-spawn Ice Slick and Shiver didn't hurt either and the agro spreading and support from the MM). We didn't mind making the switches, and the team benefited.

My advice to the OP, is to play what you like to play. That said, try and develop a variety of different ATs to a relatively high level, get them fine-tuned with some IOs (or pick combos that still perform at a high level without them) and have a diverse toolbox of fun available. Most good players/leaders don't care what you bring to the party, though they may suggest 1 volunteer to swap chars, if the team makeup looks particularly vulnerable/low-damage. Almost always a 1 character swap can solve any team tactical issue, and most of the time even that is not necessary.

Bottom line, have fun.

We can do eeet!

Maybe after the Striga TFs on Sunday. I can bring whatever.

Next Sunday...the Shard! Or maybe Striga (Moonfire/Hess)...