Of Fire & Ice: Catching Fire and Frozen!

Please note: if you're reading this on Friday, you might have noticed that I posted nothing for Monday. I am sorry I missed a usual posting date! So in lieu of that, I'm making this movie-centred post for today, with a game-centred one that will be on Monday. My "normal" schedule should resume after that. Anyways...

Alright! So! As part of my ongoing plan to catch up on recent movies, I have, finally, seen both The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, as well as Disney's Frozen. But, the thing is, I feel like most people have already seen one or the other. Or both. So this will not be a "review" in the usual sense, ie. no Spectrum today. Instead, my approach is far more simple: I'm just going to give you my general thoughts about each one! Hooray! That sounds so incredibly boring! But you're hear for an opinion, no? Well rest assured, my humble Emporium patron, you shall receive just that! And not just one, but TWO opinions from yours truly! Oh isn't it simply delightful? However, perhaps I can offer something else in the case of Catching Fire...

A disclaimer: my opinion of Catching Fire, as well as its predecessor The Hunger Games, is from that of a person who has never read the books. I am reminded of how well the books are received, do not get me wrong, but I felt like for a unique perspective, I can look at this movie (and THG) with a fresh state of mind. So all that being said, I can say this: Catching Fire is really good! Taking place some time after Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) together won the 74th Hunger Games, the movie picks up with Katniss now having angered the President of Panem's Capitol, President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Having played the part of lovers to appeal to the masses, Katniss and Peeta have instead ignited the fires of revolution and uprising within the other Districts, and now must heed Snow's warnings, or pay the price in blood. But on the eve of the 75th Hunger Games, Snow, along with new Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) devise a way to quiet Katniss for good, with the next Hunger Games to feature the previous victors.

The crux of the movie is divided up primarily into two halves: the first part dealing with the continued aftermath of the previous Game, and the latter half featuring the 75th game. In retrospect, the structure of it all is kind of unusual, in that "big" moments happen more naturally, and in a spontaneous and unpredictable manner -- that is, of course, if you don't already know what's going to happen. It subsequently makes the smaller, more subtle moments a lot more memorable, and it also makes the movie as a whole better at conveying exposition and plot in chunks, rather than continuously over the entire course of the movie. That's something that is much more relevant to Catching Fire than The Hunger Games, largely because the overarching narrative of Panem, the Districts, and of course, the symbol of the Mockingjay, is far more prevalent and imbued than the Games themselves. There's a tension present throughout the film that manifests itself in some really good and heightened scenes early on, especially those that involve the other Districts.

That is something I wish there was more of though: extended looks at the other Districts. It's cool to see glimpses of each individual District on the platforms, and in the people and contestants, but it would still be really cool to see some other contrasts. And I still think seeing more of the Capitol itself would be neat, but much like its predecessor, many locations outside the Game Room, talk-show stage, and training ground are left out. My thinking is that this is the result of how Katniss herself perceives and interacts with the Capitol, from her point of view, but in movie form that method doesn't payoff as much as it could. That's not to say what we do get isn't notable. In fact, it's most certainly spectacular! The people and locations have vibrant and eclectic looks and personalities that really bring the feel of the movie to life, and to also contrast quite distinctly from the more low-rung Districts. There's a subtle eagerness of getting to see the next set-piece, or the next suit that Effie Trinket appears in. The nature of it all is very stylish and extravagant. Compared to, of course, the actual Games, which take a far more down-to-earth and rugged approach of their own (it's also a nice touch (in both movies) to have events happening in the Game to be shown in the Capitol and Districts, with each respective group of people weighing in). But an easy fear to have in this case is that the Game featured in Catching Fire might feel to similar to that of the one featured in The Hunger Games. Thankfully, it's clear there were numerous attempts made to distinguish the two.

To that end, effort is put in to the 75th Game as to not make it a carbon copy of the previous one, and this is done both within the movie, and from the point of production. The most notable distinction of the first Game was likely the fact that it was young kids being sent to kill each other, but here, that's no longer the case, since the victors participating greatly range in age. As such, the tone and feel is noticeably different this time around, and that's not just due to the welcome absence of "shaky-cam" that kind of unhinged the previous movie. There's a greater emphasis on teamwork and navigation, as well as a little bit of puzzle-solving, but also an undertone of mystery that is largely due to the unusual actions from some of the contestants. This puts a unique spin on things, as discerning friend from foe gets increasingly interesting, and it gets tense and even a bit complex when the action cuts between Katniss and Heavensbee (these names, man!) in the Game Room. It also helps that the acting from basically everybody involved is excellent. Jennifer Lawrence continues to be the most badass heroine around, and outside the action you've got Stanley Tucci being ridiculously fun as Caesar Flickerman, and even Woody Harrelson playing the charming, drunken mentor and former victor Haymitch Abernathy (seriously, these names! I love 'em!). And of course, the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman as Heavensbee. Always awesome.

So coming from someone who has not read the books, and also quite liked the previous film, I found a lot to like in the movie! It also improved on a lot from The Hunger Games, with just overall better directing. Great acting. Great setting. Great action. And, yeah, Catching Fire! I found it quite enjoyable indeed!

Now, on to the opposite side of the thermometer, with Frozen!

Now WHAT do I have to offer you in regards to new opinions or proclamations about Frozen, arguably one of Disney's best non-Pixar animated films in years? Nothing! Ha ha, well, almost absolutely nothing! Just about everybody's probably seen this by now, judging from the numbers this movie brought in, and continues to bring in, and I would be just shouting its praises like everybody else. But that's exactly what I'm going to do!

Frozen. Wow! In terms of Disney Animations, Frozen is proof positive that Disney's finally learning to progress beyond the classic, and let's be honest, sometimes archaic, tropes that have snuck into the entries that have come after the wonderful Disney Renaissance from the 80's's to the early 2000's. Frozen is that wonderful, classic Disney awesomeness for a new age, and a new generation.

The tale of Princesses' Elsa and Anna is somewhat based around the story of The Snow Queen, which Disney himself once tried to produce into an animation decades ago. The attempts were unsuccessful at the time, with Disney and the company encountering difficulty in adapting it for a perceived modern audience. Now however, comes a new adaptation that is less darker than its original source material might have presented. In the Kingdom of Arendelle, the young Princess Elsa develops the ability to manipulate and create ice and snow. With her sister Anna, the two play around inside the castle using Elsa's powers to create their own little winter wonderland. When Anna is accidentally injured, however, Anna's mind is wiped of Elsa's powers and Elsa seals herself away, straining their relationship for the years to come. When an adult Elsa is due to ascend the throne, her powers are revealed to the people, and she runs away from their fear and anger. Her actions, however, leave Arendelle in a perpetual winter, and Anna sets out to find her with the help of Kristoff, an ice worker, and his loyal reindeer Sven.

By the time Anna sets out, there have already been several very high-quality musical numbers that, in usual Disney fashion, demonstrate character and relationship building in a timely but no less memorable and important manner, and Anna's journey to find and help her sister feels genuine and strong. The circumstances in which causes Elsa to leave though are surprisingly un-Disney, by which I mean that the event, and song, involving Anna and Hans is something akin to a "whoa...already?" moment. But the best part is that the film knows it, and acknowledges it, and it's subsequently the cause for a good amount of surprise and fascination later on. Meanwhile though, Elsa has isolated herself away in her own castle of ice, in which she can be free from her confines and the fear of the people, and all of this is brought on by the musical number Let It Go.

And frickin' hell man, Let It Go! It's just so good! One of the best Disney musical numbers in a long, long time. Idina Menzel just brings down the house! It's an incredibly liberating and satisfying song and animation, that adds just a little twist into the mix. It's at this point where Elsa almost straddles the line between heroine and villain, but wisely doesn't fall for it. What makes the character of Elsa, and by extension the film as well, so great is that Elsa becomes a character more misunderstood, and conflicted, rather than ignorant or childish. It's a conflict that is relatable to many people, and also one that the movie reaches and confronts just about halfway in, changing the direction, but not the great pace, of the movie. What follows is equally invigorating and fantastic as Frozen adapts by throwing convention out the window, and heading towards a wonderful finale that, while I won't spoil it here, is the perfect culmination of the movie that echoes beyond itself. It demonstrates that Disney's learning, and they're showing how far they've come.

That is of course, the movie primarily at a glance. The bulk of the film is made up of delightful characters and excellent music, as well as a great and modern sense of humour. Kristen Bell voices Anna as young and whimsical, but also strong and able. Idina Menzel is excellent as Elsa, with a strong and fantastic speaking and singing voice. Elsa's slightly reserved demeanour is conveyed admirably through her speech. Olaf, the funny and almost-deadpan magical snowman is played by Josh Gad, and Olaf is definitely portrayed in a surprisingly strong way in the film, more so than I would have thought. It's easy for someone like Olaf to become another annoying side character with little to offer outside one-liners, but Gad gives Olaf a life and personality of his own that really stands out. Jonathan Groff and Santino Fontana as Kristoff and Hans respectively don't give quite as memorable a performance as the ladies do, but both exceed at their respective roles, with Kristoff's humble practicality, and Hans' underlying tenacity. There is also Alan Tudyk, who plays the Duke of Weaseltown, er, Weselton, I mean. I think that speaks for itself. Just awesome!

The humour is relevant, but also spot-on and funny. There's a strong amount of charm that doesn't ever feel overdone, something I was honestly pleasantly surprised by, and similarly the wit of the movie never feels stretched or oversaturated by a certain gag. It's more than appropriate when put in to alleviate the more dramatic, and sometimes darker, moments that come as the movie progresses. But I think more importantly, the humour is just overall, well, better than usual. Much of how this movie relates to more than just the younger crowd is in how the wit and charm is conveyed, and here it feels strong and associates well with likely every age group.

Though it feels like there could have been maybe one more song, and maybe a little more of Arendelle itself, Frozen is nonetheless a wonderful movie, and another hallmark for Disney. It's the definition of a modern Disney classic, and folks both young and old will be humming/singing the songs here for a long time to come (I know I am). The animation and setting is great, with hints of almost Scandinavian influences, and fantastic and gorgeous ice effects. And more than that, its narrative is strong and even mildly revolutionary. Frozen has a charm and warmth (odd, considering, you know....ice. Sorry. I'm not that funny) that make it great, but a unique plot and characters that really make it stand out. Oh, and the awesome songs help too. I'd tell you to see Frozen, but my guess is that you've already have. Ah well, see it again! 

I usually talk about Cosmos now, since I've kind of been doing that for the past couple weeks. Well...for now I'm just going to put this picture from Cosmos of a baby blissfully gazing up into the night sky. Aw. How cute.

Stop This Nonsense!

It had to happen. It never freaking fails. Not a week after I wrote about how awesome RollerCoaster Tycoon is, a surprise announcement came way in the form of a new game in the series. It was a dreadful message. The new game would be RollerCoaster Tycoon 4.......Mobile.

No. No no no no no no no no. This is wrong. This is oh so wrong.

To the chagrin of all who heard, it was announced that the next instalment in the RCT series will be for your mobile devices, such as your iPhone and iPad. Here's the thing: an optimist might say that this could be alright. Because, hey, it's your own little roller coaster park on the go! Cool, right? Well sadly, the games industry doesn't usually work like that. What we can expect instead is a microtransaction filled, free-to-play/fee-to-pay infested, ham-fisted socially ingrained, dishonourable and undignified mess of crap and metal.
Yeah. It's disgraceful, and borderline insulting that this is going to be a thing. My god. And as if to make it worse, the Twitter handle for Atari said that there would be a PC "experience" later this year.

Well what the hell does that mean?!?

"Experience?" Are you kidding me? Not game. "Experience." What could this be, a Facebook game that demands the same amount of nickel-and-diming that the mobile one does?
"Pay $2.99 to receive this really cool exclusive park sign."
"What's that? You want to extend your roller coaster another square? Oh that'll be 99 cents."
Or, hell, maybe it'll be an "experience" like the abomination that EA's SimCity was last year. Jesus I shudder at the thought. Like can you imagine? An always-online, dumbed-down mess that demands you "get connected" or you can't play the full-priced game. No. No. NO.
And you know what the sad thing is? All of what I just said is entirely possible, given the history of mobile/Facebook gaming and certain publishers.

So this is a message to you all who think that something like this is cool, or rather, that it's a good idea.

It's not.

But let me back up a bit. And you know what? I'm grabbing my soapbox while I'm at it. Oh yeah, you're goddamn right I'm doing this. I've had enough of this crap.
Stop This Nonsense!
No more shitty Facebook games!
No more half-assed mobile ports of good games!
NO MORE FREE-TO-PLAY, MICROTRANSACTION FILLED ABOMINATIONS!

Let me explain something first: none of this is exactly new. Certain "free-to-play" games have had what are called "in-app purchases" for quite some time. Most notably, FarmVille, which allows you to progress further or obtain rare items via paying with real currency. Now, however, the alarming increase in the amount of these games around makes many people, including myself, incredibly cynical when the words "mobile" or "free-to-play" appear in regards to games or series that we're familiar with. And in recent memory, more and more publishers and game developers have shifted their focus towards the mobile sphere. EA has continued certain franchises in both Facebook and mobile. Square Enix, has released ports of their older console RPG's. And then of course you have companies like King, the makers of Candy Crush Saga, who are scraping the bottom of the proverbial turd barrel.

EA is almost comically ridiculous with it's approach to the mobile market. The silly Sims Social on Facebook, for example, speaks for itself, but there's the particularly heinous case of Dungeon Keeper on Mobile. As one final insult to Bullfrog, the company EA bought and subsequently killed, they made one of their most well-known IP's, in this case Dungeon Keeper, into a mobile, free-to-play catastrophe.

The idea for Dungeon Keeper, at least in regards to the original games, is that you build out rooms and corridors of your underground lair, as the baddest of bad guys in the realm. You direct imps to destroy various blocks, of which you can then build various structures or areas that support your evil endeavours in either financial or helmet-bashing ways. The two original PC games are a lot of fun, mixing strategy with a tiny hint of city-building/management, and offering hours of entertainment. Now, EA, in their infinite wisdom, decided to make a new entry for mobile devices, with just a teensy-tiny itty-bitty caveot: that it be free-to-play. If you're familiar with other building games that are F2P, you'll know that the way it works is you begin construction or issue commands for different structures/areas/creatures/farms and must then adhere to a timer, which tells you when a job is completed, or when you may once again do something. Unless, of course, you pay a certain amount of real-world dollars to either "speed it up," or to purchase something akin to tokens, which can in turn be spent to hurry the timers. Well the new Dungeon Keeper decides to take that to it's most illogical extreme. What I said before about imps smashing blocks? That's on a timer. A long timer. A long timer that extends more and more the farther away the imps get from the centre. Understand what I'm saying: THE MOST BASIC COMMAND IN THE GAME IS ON A MONETARY-BASED TIMER. This is poop. Timers can extend from minutes, to hours, to even days, and you wouldn't have even completed one room. You are literally at the mercy of the game's (if you can even call it that) in-app purchases. Stop This Nonsense.

Now Square Enix, the company behind, most notably, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, has been moving into mobile gaming in particular more and more lately, for reasons that elude even me. Their earliest efforts involved porting over Final Fantasy I-V onto the iOS and Android platforms. Initially, the ports were serviceable, and at the least playable, but for the love of God I HATE playing an RPG on a touch screen. Perhaps on something like an iPad it may be more suitable, but while I was playing, I had only frustration. My needlessly interjected opinion aside, all seemed acceptable until they decided that the sixth entry should be ported over. What is often regarded as one of the best RPG's, and arguably one of the best games period, Final Fantasy VI (known also as Final Fantasy III on the SNES) is a loving piece of history, nostalgia, and fun for many people. It's graphics, music, story and gameplay are heralded as monuments to the genre. It's the definition of a masterpiece. Now, here it is in mobile form.

What we got was a glitch-ridden, graphically dumbed-down and washed-out, touch-screen infected heap that can't hold a candle to it's proper sprite-based counterpart. It makes me sick.
But Square Enix didn't just have this, oh no. May I regretfully present the ball-crunchingly outrageous, dry-heave inducing, piss boiling monstrosity that is Final Fantasy All the Bravest.

Okay. So what's the deal? Well, ATB essentially lives, breathes and shits microtransactions, and essentially requires them to even function as an entity. The actual premise sounds cool: you gather characters from across all the Final Fantasy games, 2D and 3D, and you do battle against the various enemies. So yeah, you can have Cecil, Squall, Terra, Zidane, Rosa, Cloud, and more doing battle against the biggest threats the series has ever seen! ....Is what I would like to say. Obtaining the characters requires, you guessed it, money money money. But that's not all: the selection is random. And then, when you finally do get into a "battle," you just swipe at the screen in no rhythmic manner whatsoever, and swipe, swipe, swipe some more, while your little currency-based character sprites hop around the screen making silly sounds and flashy lights. Same for the next battle, and the next, and the next, and the...oh, what? I need to pay MORE money to continue to swipe my finger across the screen? I might as well just throw my money into the ocean. In fact, the sight of such an event would be worth more than what this game purports to be. Man...I hate seeing this done to such a classic series. Frickin' hell. Square Enix...you need to stop man. Please. Stop This Nonsense.

And then finally, we have King, the company.

'The King who lives where none may dwell, in the festering swamps of putrid despair. O King, who hath brought such despicable titles from the ungrateful Candy Crush Saga, to the blatantly repugnant Papa Pear Saga. Thy King who stole from the humble, and sequestered the dissenters. O King who pillaged the lands of Facebook to make it His own, to which it became a barren wasteland of irrefutable plague and disease. O King whose most heinous crime came from within, as His greed spewed forth from his wretched desires, and sought to destroy and kill all who bore the name "Candy" or "Saga." Or maybe even "Crush," for His insatiable greed could not be ceased. The tale of The King is a woeful one indeed.'

EA is often regarded as a terrible company, but I find them more guilty of ignorance and stupidity rather than pure greed. But King, on the other hand, is just sheer evil greed. Having the gall to rip-off known franchises like Bejeweled and Peggle, and even the ideas of aspiring developers, is one thing, but to have the nerve to go after names, trademarks, and even individuals is some serious nonsense. You may or may not know, but earlier this year King went on a tirade of sorts as the company sought to trademark the words both "Candy" and "Saga." Think about that for a second. Candy. And Saga. You have got to be kidding me. Of course, this directly affected the development of original games by other studios, such as The Banner Saga, and even independent games like CandySwipe, which had released a full two years before King went on the hunt.

It shall be said that, for various instances, King retracted the trademark(s). But having said that, my opinion of King has not changed. The fact of the matter is that all of this did happen. Whose to say it might not happen again? They need to Stop This Nonsense.

If you play a King game, fine. If you enjoy a King game, that's fine too! I won't judge you. But think for a minute who you're supporting. And I respectfully ask that, if you're reading this, please just don't send me invites for any King game. I look at that the same way I look at spam. And, though not directly related, while you're at it, no more FarmVille invites either. Okay, how about NO FACEBOOK GAMES, period. I, Donlevy, humbly thank you.


Well, that was a rant. Although I do hope it was more than that; in fact, I hope you were at least a little educated or at the very least entertained, by my thoughts on the nonsense that is mobile and Facebook gaming. Please remember that I am a consumer, like you, and I want to know where my money is going, should I choose to spend it. Be mindful of what you buy. Be mindful of who you support. Be a smart consumer.

That's all.

True Detective, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Other Bits of TV Stuff.

I'm eating my own words right now as I'm about to mention a bunch of TV stuff on a Monday that is usually, as I tend to say, reserved for movies. Ah well, my enigmatic motives shall remain ever unclear! My sanity-testing ramblings aside, The Emporium would like to sing praise on a couple TV shows in particular for two rather different reasons. One is rightfully praised, while one I think could do for a bit of defence. Oh and uh, hey I might as well mention Cosmos again. Cuz, you know, it's still pretty rad.

I don't really watch that much TV, at least in regards to current and weekly episodic shows. I catch Community all the time because it's awesome, as well as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, which I'll get to shortly, but other than those two, not much else. Other TV I watch is restricted to Netflix, and in particular cases, past big shows (Breaking Bad) on channels like AMC, or in our next case, HBO. Game of Thrones kicks so much ass that it's yearly wait becomes an increasing test in one's patience, before one bites the bullet and looks up the plot if they don't already know it. Thankfully, HBO is home to other great shows as well, and probably chief among these now is the recent first season of True Detective. If any show could come close to the ratings that GoT brings in for HBO, True Detective would be the one right on it's heels.

Starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as the two main detectives Martin "Marty" Hart and Rustin "Rust" Cohle, True Detective's first season follows the two as they investigate a murder in 1995 that spirals into a web of cover-ups and serial killings, over the course of 17 years. It's a hard-boiled detective drama for a modern age, and incredibly engrossing and satisfying in it's 8 episode run. The first season wraps up everything by the end, and the inevitable future seasons are planned as an anthology. Hart and Cohle are initially introduced as unlikable and unusual partners tasked with solving a strange murder, Hart being the procedural and by-the-books detective with monogamist problems, and Cohle as the quiet, brooding, and depressing, yet highly intelligent counter-part. Harrelson and McConaughey are fantastic as the development of their characters grows to the closest point of redemption by the end. It's a great arc that contains the main story almost wholly in 2012, with the two, now older, reciting their respective sides of the case to two other detectives over the course of the many episodes. It's also an arc that has a much more powerful effect that pays off when taking into account the somewhat slower first two episodes, of which both serve to establish the necessary bits of character and scope that, eventually, all comes together before the end.

True Detective also has some excellent camera shots and compositions, from sweeping pans of the Louisiana countryside, to close-ups of the decaying and sometimes unnerving secrets hidden away in the locales best forgotten. There is a particularly fan-freaking-tastic scene in the fourth episode that I won't spoil, but you'll know it when you see it. One of the best scenes in recent memory.
A running theme of the show is found in the use of religious and pagan symbolism and theology that serves to present, on the surface at least, a slight supernatural element that echoes throughout the various run-ins the detectives have with the increasing number of links to the murder. The shot composition presents some chilling thematic representations when it needs to, but never over-does or over-saturates the effect. And much like the shots, the actual narrative also skirts into the territory of the supernatural and super strange, and almost in a way that might throw a viewer off just enough to make them second-guess future events. It adds an unpredictability to the entire story, and each episode reveals something special that, while seemingly minor, amounts to Hart and Cohle's story in a significant way, and all of this results in an incredibly satisfying culmination and resolution by the end that not only feels proper, but well-deserved.

So yes, True Detective is awesome.

Now then, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., hereafter referred to as AoS, because I hate typing out the whole name. Part of the ongoing and developing Marvel Cinematic Universe, this show follows Agent Coulson from the movies, back from the dead as he leads a team of specialists to investigate mysteries in a post-Avengers world, and from within S.H.I.E.L.D itself. I've been watching this series since it debuted last September, and since then I've heard a range of opinions concerning the show, both negative and positive. While I think quite a few of the episodes so far are hit or miss, I think the show's actually pretty decent, and even really cool at times, and it's entirely watchable.

The thing with AoS is that, initially, the supporting cast (i.e. the Agents) aren't that memorable or exciting. Later episodes give the Agents much needed character building episodes, and thankfully there's one early on that kept me pretty involved. Plus, the mystery of Coulson's survival is actually a large part of the first season, and without spoiling it much, it's a great arc with some cool surprises, and a HUGE recent development that is sure to nullify any fears of lacking Marvel association. In fact, that's the one stipulation for watching the show: it does get better. At least, if you marginally liked the earlier episodes. If you did, than the show delivers. There's a lot less talking about things like "after New York" (referring to The Avengers), and "the Asgardians," and more actually showing, and it begins to improve the feel of the show truly being a part of the well-known Marvel canon. There's rumours that AoS will connect in an important way to the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If a good enough connection is made, it could be a big hit for AoS, and it's an exciting thought, considering recent events in AoS. Right now though, I'm enjoying AoS, and I'm excited, and cautiously hopeful, for it's future.

And before I saunter off, how about that recent of episode of Cosmos? Wasn't that something! The second episode looked at the most relevant topic to date: life itself, and how it evolved. Featured for a great deal of the part was the Tree of Life, a metaphorical representation of all life on Earth, with the many branches of the tree being all the species that have evolved from common ancestors, represented by the trunk. There was a great deal of in-depth info that this episode brought in regards to the molecular level of DNA. How evolution worked, and how it shaped all life on Earth, including humans, was told with another slick animation. Of particular interest was a really cool analysis of how the eye developed from an underwater environment, and the reaction to the eye when subjected to the surface above. Tyson points out, however, that on the Tree of Life there are a few broken branches, and takes us to the Hall of Extinction, which features five corridors that each showcase a cataclysmic event in Earth's history that wiped out most, but not all, life on Earth. It's a grim reminder of the frailty of life, and before Tyson departs he ominously points to an unmarked sixth corridor, which he says "is for another time." Journeying to Saturn's largest moon, Titan, Tyson points out how life as we know it could not live in such conditions, but also teases that the possibility of life outside of our own on Titan could have the potential to exist. The episode ends with a tribute to Carl Sagan's Cosmos with an animation showing the evolution of humans, and finally, the late Carl Sagan himself speaking over the image of the Tree of Life: "Those are some of the things that molecules do, given four billion years of evolution."

Donlevy Likes to Play God

Is it the human condition that forms within us a God complex?

Nah I dunno, I'm only here to talk about games! And in particular, those games that have you take on a God-like persona, whether that means sending your delightfully ignorant peons to a certain death, or guiding them to fun and excitement! These are of course sim games, short for simulation. There's a ton of them out there, some more popular than others, but they all stem from the common theme of control and observation. It's much like watching your own little mad science experiment come to life.
It's both enlightening and frightening how much amusement one can have from such games, but I tend not to think much into it as I watch my loyal subjects do my bidding at the slightest whim, and praise my name as Mayor/Park Manager/God/etc. No, I don't have a God complex.

Yes, probably the most famous of these types of games is undoubtedly The Sims. I've talked about the series at different lengths, and I don't have much else to add, since it's still the best-selling game series on PC. It's The Sims. No matter which game you play, or which device/console/peripheral you play it on, The Sims remains largely the same: you create your Sims, build a house for them, and watch them live out their day to day lives with either extreme or minimal input at your behest. Give them six-figure jobs and let them drink away their riches? Or take away their pool ladder in protest, and regret your decision as you beg with Death not to take them. Ah Sims. What a marvellous series. Will Wright, the creator and designer, called it something along the lines of a "doll-house-simulator," and it's a fitting description, although with more of a general appeal, and not one restricted by either age or gender. It's truly a game series for anyone.

SIMilarly, there's SimCity (I'm sorry), around since 1989, and also designed by Will Wright. Across all the SimCity games, you are the mayor of a city (duh), and must construct roads, zones, police stations, hospitals, and power plants to make your city the best that ever was, and ever will be. The original version of SimCity had several different versions released, along with five sequels, including the notorious recent release in 2013. First however, a confession. I am terrible at the SimCity games. I can never really construct a city and have it run wonderfully indefinitely, and I usually end up calling in a disaster in frustration. Yes, a hallmark of the series are disasters that can occur either randomly or by your own will, and these range from floods, to riots and to UFO's. I suppose there's something to be said for watching your bright and brimming city build up, only to have it destroyed by a giant robot. In fact, in the case of the awesome Super Nintendo version you see in the picture above, you can call in freaking BOWSER to come and wreck your city. That's so cool! All those finicky and ungrateful citizens demanding their taxes be lowered? Send in the Koopa King himself to instill fear and terror!

The thing about SimCity, and to a lesser extent The Sims, is that the games are actually part of a (far) larger series of Sim games, developed by Maxis. Yeah, Maxis pretty much ruled the simulation genre with an iron fist for the longest time. I'm woefully ignorant of most of these games, sadly, but I know that a great many of them exist, such as SimEarth, SimAnt, SimTower, SimHealth (really), and more. It's insane.

A personal favourite of mine though is definitely the RollerCoaster Tycoon games. Wow! I'll say right away that I'm far more versed in the first two than I am with the 3-D third entry, but many of the main mechanics stay the same throughout, and they make up some fantastic games! As the name implies, you construct roller coasters, among other things, for your amusement park as you build up from either a pre-made entry park, or from scratch. You raise and lower prices of items and fees, direct the flow of the park with pathways, and punish those ungrateful little twerps who only come to your park to mock it, laugh at it, and throw trash all around the park, sometimes vomiting along the way. Ah, when it comes to these special people, my parks have a simply policy: put them in the Pit of Shame (sometimes the Fence of Shame, if I can't lower land). Since you can pick up any park guest via a convenient "tweezers" icon, I simply pick them up and place them in their respective Pit or Fence, where they can contemplate on their actions in their helpless state. Oh, this game is so much fun. Of course designing the roller coasters is a definite highlight, of which they can also break down unintentionally (or morbidly intentionally), with sometimes fatal consequences. You must adapt to these events, and how you handle the overall management of the park is the biggest and most satisfying draw of the game. Seeing your small park grow and flourish with the ebb and flow of the many guests is a great pleasure.

There are other cool sim-like games too! Take for example, ActRaiser on the SNES, shown above! A launch title for the SNES developed by Quintet (responsible for Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma -- collectively known as the Soul Blazer trilogy on the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo) and published by Enix (now part of Square Enix), ActRaiser is part city-builder, and part sidescrolling action! As The Master, you reconstruct civilizations that have been thwarted by Tanzra, and you do this by first entering a sidescrolling action segment in which you control an animated idol/statue, defeating enemies and a boss on each level. After doing so, you enter the city-building mode, where you construct buildings, pathways, and flora to better the civilization.

Donlevy Side Note: The previously mentioned, and awesome, Soul Blazer actually plays like ActRaiser in some respects, with a hero that acts out the will of a God-like deity, and reconstructs villages via releasing souls sealed away in labyrinths. Excellent game. Recommend. 

UPDATE

Okay, so, I totally forgot about one of the more unique God-like games out there. I was reminded of the peculiar Spore by my good friend Booth, and I can't resist the urge to mention it here.

What is Spore? It is, in principle, around five different games that make up one whole experience. Spore is highly customizable, in that at each stage you have the opportunity to create or edit your creature, buildings, vehicles, and eventually even spaceships, as you recreate life from it's earliest beginnings, to the search for the stars. You begin by controlling a little amoeba-like cell as you click around to direct your little friend to find food in the form of protein cells, and eventually, other amoeba creatures. When you have reached a certain millennium, your creature sprouts legs, and you then control them individually as they procreate and form packs, and you must protect them and others from other enemy creatures that are not your allies. After you have developed a brain, you enter a Tribal stage, which plays out like a rudimentary strategy game. You control groups of your creature as you conquer other local tribes with either savoury or unsavoury means. How you shape your creature's tribe will influence your creatures society later on. They can be peace-loving pacifists, or you can make them a bunch of freeloading assholes. The next evolutionary stage is the Civilization stage, which plays a lot like...well, the game Civilization. It's a more expanded form of the tribal stage, with vehicles and buildings to customize to your hearts content. And then, finally, you reach the largest and most prominent stage in the game: the Space era. It look millions of years to reach this point, but your funny and awkward, and sometimes violent, amoeba has finally reached the stars. Here, you have the freedom to explore stars and their planets, of which you may find other creatures or Evil Empires of Doom, or you may terraform a barren (or not-so-barren, if you're evil) planet to be shaped by your will. So yes, if you are that immature, you may indeed make a planet with no defining feature save for a penis shaped ocean. But Spore is pretty rad, and while I think the space stage kinda steals the show, the game as a whole is really cool, and while it may not scream "simulation," I doubt I'll ever talk about this game in any other context. So there's that. Still, fun game! And really, really weird at times. Like, creepily weird. ("Does that creature have a leg as a nose?")

As always, there are a ton of other games worthy of playing God that I didn't get the chance to mention, like for example Populous!

Or how about Black & White?

Granted, a few of these games straddle the line between between "simulation" and "strategy game," but I think the overall premise of control and observation blends well into the strategy sphere of gaming. And obviously some games with simulation in their title, like Flight Simulator or Train Simulator don't exhibit gameplay found in God-like games.

But that's really all I wanted to say. I like God games. I like playing God. And I feel that there's an inherent enjoyment to be found in all of us when we see our creations come to life, be it in real life or in a capable videogame. Interactivity in gaming naturally lends itself well to that sort of gameplay and style, and you can be sure that as newer and more advanced games are released, our creations will evolve as well, and in new and exciting ways.

Donlevy Super Triple Monday! A Tribute to Harold Ramis, Cosmos and The Room...

I've got a SUUUUPER Special Monday for you all today! Well sort of, seeing as it's just three shorter segments comprised into one. So maybe not that special. But hey, The Emporium strives for content and variety, and today you shall have both! First though, I'd like to start off on a more sombre tone. Something that I neglected to talk about last week, and by now I'm assuming most of you have heard of, was the passing of one of the greats: Harold Ramis, on February 24, at the age of 69. Yeah, 2014 has not been a very happy year so far.

The news of Harold Ramis' passing struck me harder than I would've thought. Mostly because the movies he's directed or starred in are some of the most memorable films of my youth, and realistically speaking, of the past few decades. So in respect, here are a few of the notable movies that Ramis made better, and I think you definitely need to see if you have not already.

Stripes

Starring Bill Murray and Ramis, with writing credit from the latter, Stripes is a military-based comedy with some of the most memorable quotes and scenes I know of. Absolutely humorous, witty and charming, and not without some parody, Stripes is a must watch, if also to see a breakthrough performance by John Candy as well.

Caddyshack

Directed and co-written by Ramis, Caddyshack is goofy, crude and funny as hell. The first feature film directed by Harold Ramis, it stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and of course, Bill Murray. It's another movie with an endless stream of quotable lines, and one with a propensity for some slapstick humour thrown in. I recommend this movie for the gopher alone.
 
Groundhog Day

Speaking of rodents and Bill Murray...
Once again directed by Ramis, Groundhog Day is awesome. Bill Murray is at the top of his game in an endless cycle of Groundhog Day in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. There's never a dull moment in this movie, and it's pace and writing are fantastic. I won't spoil this movie at all. A must see.


Ghostbusters

You're goddamn right. The legacy of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, and Ramis' Egon Spengler is the definition of timeless and memorable. I don't have anything else to say about freaking Ghostbusters, other than...nope, got nothing. It's Ghostbusters. It's amazing. It's a part of many people's childhood that never really leaves them. Losing a Ghostbuster is like losing an old friend, and to that I say: Farewell Egon. Your proton pack shall remain always at the ready.

Rest in Peace, Harold Ramis.

Right, on to something else now. And actually, it's time for something a little different! This Emporium on Mondays is mostly for movies and such, so I've been reluctant to get into anything TV-related because it's so vast, and there's already lots to mention. But, last night was a special occasion that I can't really pass up! The first part of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey aired, and given it's precedent, hell yeah it's worth talking about!

Hosted by the awesome astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and produced by Seth MacFarlane, this iteration of Cosmos is the successor to Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, and as such, has quite a bit to live up to. The original Cosmos is a wonderful and significant journey to the stars for people of all ages, and made even more memorable thanks to the incredibly influential Carl Sagan as the host. Sagan brought the mysteries of space and time into the lives of people everywhere, and his legacy is still at the forefront today. A Spacetime Odyssey, and Tyson himself, make mention of Sagan's journey and Voyage in a heartfelt and honourable manner, and there is a great amount of respect and admiration found throughout Odyssey for him and his legacy.

A Spacetime Odyssey is keen to make one point clear right away: Earth, and particularly it's inhabitants, are microscopically small and almost insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe. Yet, it does not shy away from how important an introspective look at humanity is to how we perceive and think about the cosmos. Understandably, the first part of the series focuses on our Cosmic Address, and how the solar system and humans came into being. Using a "Spaceship of Imagination," Tyson guides us through the reaches of our local space, in a visually stunning and magnificent display of scope and grandeur. Returning to Earth, Tyson presents us with a Cosmic Calendar, which details and highlights the time in which the universe and it's contents formed, by using a scaled Calendar for a point of reference. What results is a fantastic and slightly overwhelming look at how we got to where we are, as we stand on midnight of December 31, with the Big Bang having been January 1st. As Tyson describes,  humanity only evolved in the last few minutes of the final hour of the Cosmic Calendar. The perspective is monumental.

A portion of the first part focuses on the life of one Giordano Bruno, a man from the 16th century whose vision of the stars far from Earth spurned the wrath of colleagues and the Church. This is all told in a unique animation that doesn't shy away from expressing the thoughts and brutality of the people of the time. It's very interesting, and even though it seems maybe a little out of place when compared to the scope of it all, the lesson and history that it provides is hugely important to how we view the cosmos today. And that's where the first part ends, though not before Tyson shares a bit of personal history with Sagan, which makes for a really good end that connects and establishes both the scope and personal links that bind the shows and the viewers together. It's ultimately a very, very well done episode for what is sure to be an awesome series, so look forward to Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey in the near future!

And lastly....(yes I'm just jumping all over the place today. I have a lot I want to talk about!)

 

Okay I know what you're all thinking, but no, I am NOT reviewing The Room. No. I will not. I can't. 

"But Donlevy, why are you even mentioning The Room? Why in the name of Wiseau are you bringing this up so suddenly and randomly?"

Well since you may or may not have asked, I am bringing up The Room because I recently had an experience with it. An experience I can describe as...an out of body experience, mixed with audience participation involving good friends, plus a couple of beers.

See I'm not "reviewing" The Room because, one, I literally do not have words to describe it other than that it's "The Room," and secondly, because it's an event unto itself that is better witnessed firsthand than described.

The Room is often regarded as the worst film ever made. I have no comment on this, other than that this...whatever it is...exhibits signs of not really being a movie at all. And yet, it is also possibly the greatest achievement in our history. It is so much not a movie that it becomes something else entirely. A reflection of why we do things. Why lovers cheat. Why pictures of spoons exist, and why....
WHY IS DENNY DOING DRUGS?
WHY IS HE NOW IN A PILLOW FIGHT?
WHY IS HE HERE!?!
HI DENNY!!
BYE DENNY!

My god that must have been a quick walk to the police station.
Breast cancer? No, that's not something to worry about at all.
Hey, why not just enter through the front door! I mean, you apparently don't have a kitchen. Do you get your various food and beverages from across the street?
Oh hai Mark.

I apologize, I lost my mind there for a second. Really though, The Room is something else. It's also entirely hysterical with the right group of people. I witnessed The Room in a theatre setting, with spoon throwing and football tossing included. Together, we all became a part of the movie, chanting a pan shot of the Golden Gate Bridge, waving bye to Denny, and gleefully mocking the re-used shots and strange logistics of the love scenes.

Did any of that make sense? No? Than you're in the right mindset to see this movie. A few drinks couldn't hurt either.

And lest I injure myself passing a football around for less than a minute, I will see you all Friday.

Old Computer Games Rock!

Hello fellow people! Sorta kinda continuing with the theme of gaming memories from last week, I have some PC-centric ones that I'd thought I would share with you! I was reminded of a bunch of these games recently, courtesy of the totally awesome YouTube channel Lazy Game Reviews, so go check him out!
My earliest memories of console gaming were absolutely similar to the ones I mentioned last week, but my earliest memories of gaming in general were actually found on the computer! I remember seeing the most basic of nonsensical bits as early as I can remember, and I definitely have a few memories of some totally unique and awesome games that were found there. My history doesn't stretch as far back as say the Amiga or Commodore 64, but hey, DOS and Windows man!

When my Dad bought a family computer for the first time around when I was born, it came with a version of the then revolutionary Wolfenstein 3D. It's a first-person shooter, one of the granddad's of the genre, to be precise, and had you take the role of B.J. Blazkowicz (yeah...), as you infiltrate the many lairs and dungeons of the Nazi regime. Your goal is simple: Kill Hitler. End the Nazis. Okay! Sounds good to me! You move around simple enough, opening doors and finding various guards to shoot and relics to gather for points, which when a certain amount is acquired, you are given an extra life. You have a simple knife, a Luger pistol, an MP40, and a chain-gun to find and use against the Nazi soldiers. Different soldiers can take different amounts of hits before they're downed, and this is most realized in the area bosses, one of which is indeed Hitler, albeit in a huge Mech-suit, and featuring some strange sorcerer powers to boot. The game was incredible for it's time, and I think, still a blast to play! It's incredibly simple and almost rudimentary, but the secrets and progression found in the gameplay are still trying to be matched today.


According to my parents, when I was still crawling around on the floor, my Dad would actually hoist me up onto his lap and let me control around the game. I'm sure I had no idea what I was even doing, but I was still technically playing the game. And indeed, this makes Wolfenstein 3D the very first game I ever played. Pretty cool, huh?

So yes, as it happens, I was indeed killing Nazi's before I could walk.

Of course, it didn't stop there, oh no. id Software, the developer of Wolfenstein 3D, went on to create the ultimate successor to Wolfenstein; one to surpass it in nearly ever way. Oh yeah, you may have heard of it. Released just a year later, I am of course referring to the one and only...

DOOM.

Oh yeah. I have a little more of a memory playing this one, to be sure. Once again courtesy of my Father, I'd get the chance to participate in the slaughtering of demonic hordes every so often when I'd go to his office and watch him play. I can never really forget the sound of those hell-spawn as they prowl around looking for you, and I'll also never forget the audible grunts that occurred if you were hit, and the picture of your face on the HUD that would slowly deteriorate with each hit. Ah, good times.

Doom is definitely a big name in the first-person shooter genre, and even in gaming itself. While in no way the original FPS, it is undoubtedly the one with the most influence at the time, surpassing even it's predecessor Wolfenstein 3D. As an unnamed space marine, referred to in popular culture as  "Doom Guy," is tasked with eradicating the creatures that spawned from the pits of Hell on Mars, and putting a stop to their hellish invasion. You have a bunch of weapons at your disposal, with many memorable ones including the shotgun, chain-gun, chainsaw, and the BFG 9000 (Big Freaking Gun, if you were wondering). With these weapons you must maneuver the maze-like labyrinths and corridors, defeating enemies along the way, finding secrets, and making your way to the exit, sometimes collecting those naughty Key Cards while you're at it. It's no big secret: Doom freaking rocks! Even years after it's original release, the game is still just as awesome, with a passionate modding community, and it's own sequels and re-releases. Doom set the gold standard for FPS's at the time, and in my mind, is still at the top of the pedestal.

Now by this time I think my parents were starting to notice the fascination I had with annihilating the hordes of Evil, so my Dad probably had that in mind when he started showing me some of id Software's older games, and the most noteworthy of them all, Commander Keen. Released before both Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, Commander Keen was a series of platforming games divided into various "episodes," like "Aliens Ate My Babysitter" and "Goodbye Galaxy!" And holy crap. Talk about being drawn into a game. As Keen, you land on various worlds and progress through a 2D level, with plenty of bizarre creatures and environments to see, as well as some collectibles to find. You can jump, shoot, and hop on a pogo stick. I think the environments most of all are what got me. They were so unique and cool, and very "alien." It was the equivalent of reading a sci-fi novel and describing the colours and textures of the surroundings. I became fixated on Commander Keen after I was shown it, and I remember learning from my dad the use of cheat codes to mess around with. I got stuck a lot so, for me, using a pogo stick to out-jump the screen and practically fly around the screen and map was necessary, but also totally rad. So, yes, while I guess you could argue that I wasn't playing the game properly, I was playing it nonetheless. I don't know how much more I can about Keen, but the entire game with all the episodes is available on Steam, and for the price that it is, I DEFINITELY recommend a buy.

Along with Keen though, my Dad showed me what was kind of an oddity in retrospect: Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure. Now THIS game was weird! But just like Commander Keen, it's use of the environment and aliens to develop a sense of uniqueness and variety, not to mention being straight up cool, was something that definitely had a profound and positive impact on me. The game's story though was something I always had trouble wrapping my head around. Get this: you play as Cosmo, a little green alien boy, trying to find and rescue your parents after you find them missing while exploring a planet en route to, of all places, Disneyland. Yes, Disneyland. Anyways, like Keen, the story is split into several episodes, each with different locations and enemies. Cosmo himself can jump and use bombs on enemies, while also being able to climb and stick to walls via his suction-like hands. Once again, it is a 2D side-scroller platformer, with the objective of reaching the end, and, you know, not dying along the way. This game was loads of fun for me, but was also deceptively hard in certain parts. Of course, this could be both my nostalgia and childish mind at work here. I never actually remember beating this game, come to think of it, and that's probably because we were playing a shareware version, if I do recall. Shareware was a release method for older computer games that gave the consumer/player a morsel of the game, say, an episode or level, and leaving the rest up to purchase if you liked the game. For the time, I think that was a great model!

Which brings me a sad notion, however: I haven't beaten either Keen or Cosmo. The shareware model I mentioned above was likely the reason why I don't specifically remember completing either game, and that was mainly because I never got the chance to! Well, it is time to change that. My childhood demands it! I mentioned before how Keen is on Steam, which is a great way to pick it up, but Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure is a little more complex. It's practically abandonware at this point, meaning that if there's any download service that has it or the shareware version, a full version shouldn't (in theory) be hard to find. Granted, I actually am still searching, so if I find a way to obtain a copy, without having to locate a floppy disk, I will update this piece.

Now before I go, I have just one last game to mention... A few odd years after I played these games, my Dad (notice a pattern here? Thanks Dad, you're awesome!) found a particular FPS around the time of Quake. But I'm not talking about Quake, oh no, I'm talking about freaking Duke Nukem 3D.

Oh yeah. Balls of Steel. It's freaking DUKE NUKEM. A relic of the 90's if there ever was one. I'm probably not going to talk about this series any where else, at least not right away, so consider this your Duke Nukem fix. 3D is, shall we say, a crazy game. It is chalk-full of parodies, aliens, babes, weapons, and an ego the size of Uranus. The art alone should clue you in; notice the likeliness to Doom? Yeah, Duke Nukem man. He's got freeze guns, rocket launchers, a shrink-ray, and a jet-pack to boot. Much of what I said about Doom can actually be applied to 3D, so I won't repeat myself, but suffice to say that when I watched and played Duke Nukem 3D, and witnessed an alien soldier using a toilet, first-person shooters haven't really been the same. Mostly good level design, a kick'n soundtrack, and fast paced action make Duke Nukem 3D fantastic! So yeah, even though some of the pop-culture references are outdated, and the whole premise is just really weird and kind of misogynistic, it's a product of it's time, and I still think it can be appreciated as such.

Okay. That's it for now! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed another trip down memory lane with me, and I wonder if you remember any of these old games? What old PC games do you remember as a kid?

See y'all Monday!

MovieTalk with Donlevy! Gravity, The Oscars, Liam Neeson...

Happy Monday, fellow people! Today I'm here to ramble about some going-on's in the realm of movies! Sorry it's not a review or anything special! But hey, I'm sure many of you are aware of what was happening on TV last night. That's right, I'm of course talking about the 86th Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars! I'll get to some of those nominations in a sec, but what about the actual show? Sadly I missed quite a bit of the beginning live, but from what I did watch, the awards were pretty snazzy! Having Ellen DeGeneres as the host again was great, and I have to mention that FANTASTIC acceptance speech by Best Supporting Actress Winner Lupita Nyong'o! I'm not one of those people who likes to predict the awards or whatnot, but I don't recall there being any surprise upsets...save for, you know. Yes, I am addressing the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio still does not have an Oscar. Oh yeah, haha, something I found out about after the fact was when John Travolta tried to introduce singer Idina Menzel for "Let It Go," but ended up saying her name as something like "Adele Dazeem." So of course, this happens. But anyways, something I noticed when watching the awards for Best Picture was a distinct lack of movies I've actually seen. This is of course, nobody's fault but mine! Of the nine movies nominated for Best Picture, I have as of yet only seen one. I aim to change that!

The Best Picture Winner, for those who do not yet know, was 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen and starring Chiwtel Ejiofor, with a supporting cast that includes the previously mentioned Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fassbender, and Benedict Cumberbatch. It's based on the memoir by one Solomon Northup, and tells of his years as a slave on plantations after being sold into slavery. This movie's definitely been on my "too watch" list for some time now! The premise, as well as the many actors involved, have had me continually intrigued, and with all the buzz, accolades, and reception it's getting, I'd like to watch 12 Years a Slave sooner, rather than later.

Of course, the same might as well be said for some of the others. Her and The Wolf of Wall Street in particular I've been eager to see since they started showing in theatres, and if I do see either one of them, The Emporium shall know! Captain Phillips is one that I've been kind of wanting to see more and more after it was released, so that one may be pretty close. Tom Hanks, man! American Hustle and Dallas Buyers Club I never did have much interest in seeing, but with Matthew McConaughey's win for Best Actor, I may have to give at least Dallas Buyers Club a look! I never actually heard of either Nebraska and Philomena until the Awards, but Dame Judi Dench in Philomena? Hell yeah. Which leaves me with the one movie I did in fact see, which is Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity.

So yeah, Gravity. What a movie! I was debating putting it into a review, but I mean, come on. Everyone's already seen it, and everyone already knows how good it is! I'd probably sound like a broken record basically reiterating all the good stuff in it, so instead of a full on review, I'm giving you a little rapid-fire of my thoughts on it, and why I liked it!

Donlevy's "Ultra-Mini-Not-A-Review-Awesome" GO!

Gravity kicks ass! It has some of the most stunning effects I've seen in a while, and the actual crux of the movie is executed so well on such a simple, yet gigantic, scale. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are excellent, even though they're separated by gigantic space suits, and, well, gigantic space. It's a movie that gets into gear very quickly, but not abruptly, and the pace continues in a disorienting and dizzying way, but not so long that it becomes repetitive and/or boring. The movie has it's fair share of tense moments and surprises, and they're made all the more pressing since the movie progresses in (mostly) real time. There's always a countdown or timer at play, and it's subtle things like that in the background that add a great sense of pressure and nuance. The movie doesn't stray far from the perspective or action from the view of Bullock's character Ryan, and this works to the films credit in that you experience the disorientation and problems of the character first-hand, and this also serves the purpose of giving little hints at her backstory and life back on Earth, without explicitly taking you out of the action and showing you. This makes the general pace of the film really well done, and pretty much helps in making every past and future event in the movie all the more exciting. It also doesn't hurt that the effects in space are really well done, and Gravity is one of those movies where I would buy it just to see what kind of special features and behind the scenes there are for the effects. Add to that a great musical score, and you can see why Gravity is such a crowd and critic favourite. It is definitely a must see.

So what's ahead in theatres? Well, I got two words for ya. Liam. Neeson. That new movie Non-Stop? Damn straight I want to see it! Like, it's Liam Neeson. He will find you with his specific set of skills if you don't go see his movie. From what I've seen and heard from trailers and synopsis', the action looks to have a claustrophobic and hectic/fast-paced feel, and that has me very excited! The kind of cat-and-mouse game that could be going on in the plane is a cool concept, and having a classic-ish "whodunit" mystery to it has the makings of something awesome! I could be completely wrong, of course, but I suppose that's what I intend to find out!

And that's all I have to say about that. I wish your Monday well, and have a fantastic week! I will see you all on Friday!   

:Donlevy out  

(Hehe, you see what I did with the D there? Oh nevermind.)