Mass Effect: The Halo Effect?

Greetings, blog-readers!

I apologize for all the time that has passed between this post and my last one. Writers block! (Hopefully) I am back and ready for action, starting with today's post: Mass Effect, the movie.

What's that? You didn't know? Check it out:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/05/25/mass-effect-movie/

Crazy, isn't it? But I don't know what is more crazy: That they are considering making a Mass Effect movie in the first place, or that no one has brought up the mess Peter Jackson and Co. had in making a Halo movie. Is a Halo movie still even in the works...?

Anyway, so the writer of the above magazine makes a good point: While I have not completed any Mass Effect games (I know...) I have played a few hours of it, and the moral ambiguity is a MUST. For those who are unaware, literally any choice you make has its consequences.

So in my opinion, the best way to make a movie like that is this: Take one scene, film it. Take the exact same scene, change it up a bit (like, instead of saying "Yes, I would like mustard on my hotdog" say, "No, but I would like pickles") and insert both scenes into the movie. Edit them, whatever, but make the second scene different-looking. You'd have to talk with the cinematographer about that -- I'm talking about making the second scene look like a "blink." While the first scene is what really happens, that little snippet of a second, changed scene will make the viewers wonder what would've happened if you chose pickles over mustard. Get it?

And about casting.... There have been a lot of comments on EW.com that a certain Matthew Fox should play Commander Shepard. Listen, guys & girls: Mass Effect's main Commander can be male or female. How in the world are the producers going to tackle that issue? Here is how I see it:

Choose male, you are sexist and going with the possibly easier, popular vote.

Choose female, you are upsetting a large amount of video game players (because, let's be honest, more guys play video games than girls) and you are allowing yourself the possibility of adding Mass Effect to the list of "Awful Movies with a Female Heroine" (I found this list somewhere on the Internet, but sadly I cannot remember where. I do, however, remember some movies listed: Aeon Flux, Elektra, Catwoman, Domino, just to name a few.)

Now, playing the Devil's Advocate: A male character would probably draw a larger crowd, thus generating more profit for the movie's box office sum. Plus, I like to think that Matthew Fox is a great choice for Shepard, and since he's done with LOST, I say, "Why not?"

A female character would most likely also draw a large crowd, and since Mass Effect is not totally wrapped up in its main character's gender, I'd say the plot might not be so much effected.

But still, I really hope these people know what they're doing. Or else they're going to upset a whole community of gamers, me included.

What do you think? Matthew Fox as Commander Shepard? Is Seth Green an automatic Joker? Would Yvonne Strahovski play Miranda, since her body and face really were modeled after her? (Y.S. plays Sarah, currently on the NBC show Chuck.) More importantly, who would do the music? And what is your opinion on the story line? How would you film all the choices?

I just hope it's not in freaking 3D. I'm getting tired of that letter-number combination.

*P.S. Tomorrow is the reveal of my Netflix choices! Look out for them!

**P.P.S. I'm not saying all female main characters are weak. There's Lara Croft, Ellen Ripley, The Bride (from the Kill Bill movies), Sarah Conner... I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton.

Anyway, Happy Tuesday-Almost Wednesday! --Claire