new fiction – Page 8

New Fiction 2020 – August

Drakengard 3 dev. Access Games (2014)

I’ll be honest here, I wasn’t sure I’d check out any new fiction in August. July really burned me out. But I was going along, riding out the summer heat by listening to podcasts in my air conditioned car, and the topic of Nier: Automata came up. It sounds like an interesting game and I intend to play it, but I found out it’s connected to the Drakengard series, for which I’d written walkthroughs of the first two games. I skipped the first Nier as well as the third Drakengard game and couldn’t bear the possibility of skipping those two stories before the latest (regardless of how loosely connected they seem to be), so I decided to complete my Drakengard journey and the Nier games will be next.

Have you heard of this Yoko Taro guy? He’s a nihilist and he wears masks. Drakengard and Nier mostly come from his mind, with the exception of Drakengard 2 which seems to have been directed by someone else. But that’s the outlier among the bleak and twisted games that comprise the series. The development teams have varied but it’s usually been Yoko Taro at the helm. As a result, there’s a throughline of subverting expectation and condemning humanity throughout. In his words:

“To be honest, I think I am making normal games targeted towards normal people,” he says. “But ultimately when I release those normal games, weird people find them to be weird games and enjoy them. Which probably means there’s something wrong with me.”

Drakengard 3 is painfully boring and repetitive to just observe in a playthrough on YouTube. Its art design looks rough, for starters, like a PS2 game ported past its prime. Combat is a little more engaging in action although some degree of tolerance for repetitive actions may be required. I got through most of it by spamming jump, down strike with a strong spear, dodge, and repeat. It only occurred to me near the end of the game that this highly effective combat tactic may not be the most interesting to watch, but it worked to get through tough enemies. What kills me about combat is the animation delays that leave the player character wide open to attack. It makes ground combat a huge pain in later chapters. I had to get by with that repetitive tactic built around down strikes with spears and dodging ad nauseam. I rarely stayed on the ground, which is a shame. I remember that being a fun part of the earlier games, in which a player could mow down scores of enemies without much difficulty as they unlocked stronger weapons.

And in general it just feels… stilted? I’ve seen people bemoaning combat like this after games like DMC or Bayonetta have kind of shown the way. While I think this is a different type of game from those, it feels slow and outdated by comparison. Then the developers punctuate their game focused on melee combat by featuring a final battle that is completely unrelated to anything you did before that point, and feels like a cruel and unnecessary punch in the face. Life is unfair and so is this game.

The protagonists are not likable people, just as the characters in the original Drakengard aren’t likable. They’re mostly flat and sex-crazed. But they have a certain charm, like many stories featuring horrible murderers as protagonists. And as self-aware as the writer(s) of this game seem to be, I gotta figure that’s by design. You’re not supposed to be feel good about watching these people make their terrible choices and commit their atrocities. You’re probably supposed to ask meaningful questions about society but the game stumbles a bit too often to achieve that. At best, it’s a bloody take on themes from shows such as Seinfeld and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Look at the devastation these idiots have wrought.

New Fiction 2020 – July

“Sadie When She Died” by Ed McBain (1972)

I didn’t mean for July to turn out the way it did. This first short story has all the elements–murder, mistaken identity, revenge, cops, procedure. It’s crime fiction the way that most of what I experienced this month is crime fiction. But this particular story gets to the heart of something. What is love? How is love expressed, and when is it too much or the wrong way to love? I get swooped up in the romanticism as much as anyone, but I can’t help but agree with Sheena Melwani’s dad.

The Crazy Kill by Chester Himes (1959)

Love gets even more twisted in this one. Love for a spouse, for god, for a community. The elements that drive us to commit the unspeakable. The focus on Harlem as a living place with real people strikes me as a huge shift for the time.

The Dark-Adapted Eye by Ruth Rendell (1986)

Back to the English countryside for this one, albeit with a more modern eye on events that unfold across a century. Tracing a line from family member to family member, looking for the missed signs and secret connections. I come from a large extended family as well and as I wander further away from them, I wonder what am I losing, what have I gained?

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (1950)

A story about taboos in more ways than one. Repression as a catalyst for deviant behavior feels like a subject I can’t comment on with confidence, but we’ve all seen it enough in fiction. Considering the date on this one, this has to be one of the earlier mainstream depictions of two men who are drawn together by the unstoppable force of unfulfilled longing. Something is missing and they want desperately to find it. It has some Hannibal vibes, which I will get to shortly.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)

To be accepted for all of one’s disgusting mediocrity, to be bound to the one we deserve. I’m not sure what Flynn intends with Nick, the shitty husband character. He sucks. To hear his thoughts in the novel, I’d think he shouldn’t be with anyone. But I’ll admit some projection on my part when I read about this guy. The “villain” of the story is feels more natural, following one’s nature to the inevitable conclusion.

Prehistoric Isle in 1930 dev. SNK (1989)

I needed a break. This game was just fun and short and goofy as fuck. The player is a biplane flying across an exotic landscape and shooting all manner of dinosaurs and cave men and mutants. Games of this vintage aren’t known for interesting endings but holy shit, this was a good finale.

CARRION dev. Phobia Game Studio (2020)

If you ever wanted the perspective of the thing in The Thing, you could read “The Things,” or play this game. They absolutely nailed the fluidity of being an imagined tentacled biosmass with a case of vagina dentata and bottomless appetite. The Metroidvania aspects works really well in the context of being a lost and hungry predatory alien, although there were times when I wish I had a map. But the blind exploration makes this out to be more Another World than Castlevania. It’s a cool contrast to be a kind of laser-focused being without the kinds of ulterior motives as all the other murderers in this month’s stories.

Night of the Hunter dir. Charles Laughton (1955)

This movie is wild for the first two thirds or so. It starts off like an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, then starts dipping into some dark German expressionism and stageplay drama, along with a creepy whistleman lurking around some kids. Then they pull a Hays Code and ruin the ending. Still an interesting movie given the time in which it was released.

In the Mouth of Madness dir. John Carpenter (1994)

This is, by far, the most Lovecraft movie I’ve ever seen. It hits all the notes and and even has the kind of dour finale you usually get in HP’s work. Throw in some Lynchian quaintness and it comes around to some slow but satisfying burn.

Sorcerer dir. William Friedkin (1977)

My dad would be into this. That’s the first thing that came to mind. It’s the kind of gritty macho adventure story we used to watch together in the eighties and nineties. Predator, Indiana Jones, etc. The tension is off the charts. And you don’t see the core events of the movie coming, with even the title remaining a mystery until far into the runtime. Friedkin apparently followed up The Exorcist with this one and didn’t land it at the box office, although it’s now considered an important work.

Paperhouse dir. Bernard Rose (1988)

Hey check that out, more German expressionism. I originally thought it looked distinctly Tim Burtonesque but found out that it goes much further back. There are odd angles, sets that look distinctly like warped stageplay displays. It’s a fitting movie for the time–dark fantasy aimed at children. The director went on to helm Candyman, another connection to notable horror in this very bloody month.

Strangers on a Train dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1951)

The movie’s not as good as the novel, leaving out the tension that builds between the main characters and completely altering the ending. But then the ending in the novel isn’t as dramatic as Hitchcock’s signature stellar finale, but has a lot more to say. I suppose the medium dictates the message.

Gone Girl dir. David Fincher (2014)

The other book-to-movie combo that I checked out this month, and another of many duos who are bound together in their disdain and obsession. Affleck didn’t match Nick’s literary strain from the novel, though he certainly makes for a mediocre husband type. On the other hand, Pike did great work in the role of Amy. She harnesses all the qualities and voice of the character.

What We Do in the Shadows – Seasons 1-2 (2019-2020)

My favorite television show this year? I can’t believe it’s this good. Everyone is fantastic and hilarious, and I have a crush on Natasia Demetriou’s character that is solely a nostalgic throwback to my affection for weird goth girls in high school. Guillermo, holy shit he’s great! He and Nandor form another interesting pair. Jackie Daytona shows us the way.

Hannibal – Seasons 1-3 (2013-2015)

I participate in a Slack channel about Mads Mikkelsen. That’s it, just Mads. I joined because he has the excellent “Mister Doctor” dialogue in Doctor Strange and people seemed to be really into him. I didn’t quite get it until watching Hannibal. The three season dance between the two main characters is some of the most intricate courtship I’ve ever watched. But it’s also Hannibal, so you know, there’s murder and blood and dismembered bodies displayed in all sorts of creative ways. It’s a wonder this lasted as long as it did on network television. Now I want season 4 gotdangit.

The Last of Us Part II dev. Naughty Dog (2020)

This one’s under the cut because I have extensive and spoiler-filled scattered thoughts on this video game.

I played and completed this in a marathon two-day session. Do not play this way. You will long for the end, and perhaps this isn’t a game meant to be experienced all at once. It’s crushing.

My first and strongest reaction was, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME.” I played three days in Seattle as Ellie. It is DONE. But then Abby reenters the picture, and they reset the clock to the beginning of the excursion in Seattle from her perspective. I must concur that video games are too long. The pacing is off, the Abby section drops in and completely kills the momentum. This should have been DLC or a separate release. I mean, Christ, the player has to experience the same three days again. Most of Abby’s three days was a real slog with just a few highlights in the action and fights she experiences. It all seems designed to consider all sides at a time when that isn’t working out so well.

Naughty Dog abuses the cut to black. It has weight and meaning in TLOU because it is seldom used, but in this game they go nuts with it and just confuse the player about when the game is actually over.

Santa Barbara was fucking amazing. I mean in the sense that it is so excruciatingly designed and rendered that it made me sick. Why was it so fucking good? Why? The events that took place there were secondary to just walking along in that suburb as Abby. I wondered if Ellie might find some California wine as she made her way through the Spanish style villas. I’m tempted to go back and replay those scenes just to dwell in that space.

They repeat the climactic fight between Abby and Ellie, perhaps to show when each has moved on, but it feels redundant and frustrating to go through it again. It’s too much, man.

I wonder about this game without the combat encounters. A walkthrough mode. Just walk through desolate, beautiful spaces.

New Fiction 2020 – July

“Sadie When She Died” by Ed McBain (1972)

The Crazy Kill by Chester Himes (1959)

The Dark-Adapted Eye by Ruth Rendell (1986)

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (1950)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)

Prehistoric Isle in 1930 dev. SNK (1989)

CARRION dev. Phobia Game Studio (2020)

Night of the Hunter dir. Charles Laughton (1955)

In the Mouth of Madness dir. John Carpenter (1994)

Sorcerer dir. William Friedkin (1977)

Paperhouse dir. Bernard Rose (1988)

Strangers on a Train dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1951)

Gone Girl dir. David Fincher (2014)

What We Do in the Shadows – Seasons 1-2 (2019-2020)

Hannibal – Seasons 1-3 (2013-2015)

The Last of Us Part II dev. Naughty Dog (2020)

This one’s under the cut because I have extensive and spoiler-filled scattered thoughts on this video game.

I played and completed this in a marathon two-day session. Do not play this way. You will long for the end, and perhaps this isn’t a game meant to be experienced all at once. It’s crushing.

They repeat the climactic fight between Abby and Ellie, perhaps to show when each has moved on, but it feels redundant and frustrating to go through it again. It’s too much, man.

I wonder about this game without the combat encounters. A walkthrough mode. Just walk through desolate, beautiful spaces.

New Fiction 2020 – June

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band” by Arthur Conan Doyle (1892)

That’s some good Sherlock. I forgot that the literary version is somewhat nicer and more amiable than the recent BBC depiction. Watson is also more of a goofball sidekick than I remember from the stories I’d read.

"The Witness for the Prosecution” by Agatha Christie (1933)

Dang, Christie weaves a heck of a story. Or more a puzzle, a deft placement of pieces on a board. The distractions and red herrings are excellent. It’s strange the way these crime stories based on murders are also fun reads, especially in these times. A nice bit of order I suppose. The pieces fall into place.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926)

I once rode a train through the English countryside, and walked through distinctly old timey neighborhoods around Edinburgh and Sheffield. Reading this story reminded me of those neighborhoods. Cottages, parks, and landscapes that aren’t quite like what we have here in the States. I don’t suppose the idyllic English village in this story is anything like the modern versions, though I recently read that all those Dukes and Nobles and such still own most of the land in England, so maybe, maybe. In any case, it makes for a good mystery setting. Christie’s Poirot seems to be an element of chaos in the order of the community, shedding light on secrets and mysteries. The tropes and conventions are all there and perhaps this is where those tropes originated. But Christie still managed to smack me on the forehead, snarkily, telling me, “That’s right, you thought you knew what’s up, but you don’t know shit.”

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1930)

Here’s a contrast for ya. Hammett isn’t so much interested in setting up an elaborate puzzle game as telling the reader that it doesn’t matter, life sucks, everyone’s out to get theirs and screw everybody else. Where Christie’s lighthearted English people, not to mention Poirot, keep the tone strangely cheerful during a murder investigation, Hammett’s Spade and co. delve into the cynical abyss. It’s an interesting read, but not as fun as detective fiction from across the pond.

Ape Out dev. Gabe Cuzzillo (2019)

The bleak journey through Star Wars shooters from last month left me uncertain about what to play next. I dipped a toe into a few things, but the summer heat drives me out of the house on most days. I can’t focus in the warmth. But Ape Out drew me in enough, largely the dynamic soundtrack. The last time I played it was in London as we lounged after the end of a long day working a game event booth. I came away thinking the game was a hell of a task. But playing this time, I realized that the challenge appropriately builds up if the player starts at the beginning. It’s a hip game with jazz drums and sharp watercolor visuals, with instantly repeatable levels. Loads of fun and high energy killing of jerkass humans.

Labyrinth dir. Jim Henson (1986)

This was a strange journey. The puppet work is as superb as one would expect from Henson, and Bowie sticks out like kind of a sore thumb among the cast. But worth the watch. The eighties were a time for fantasy film making.

Dark City dir. Alex Proyas (1998)

This beat The Matrix to theaters by a year and I’m surprised I missed it so completely. It’s interesting neo noir, but ultimately dated and uncomfortable to watch despite the progression of the story.

The Legend of Korra (2012-2014)

I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender again before I dived into Korra for the first time… and these writers are kinda sadists, right?! Every season is ‘let’s completely ruin Korra’s life and pull back in the last fifteen minutes.’ It actually kinda reminds me of Buffy, with the big bad format and all the obstacles they throw in the protagonist’s path. I liked it overall but was a little disappointed with the overarching narrative, mostly that there was none. As soon as season 2 started, I realized they wouldn’t really connect the seasons. It allowed them to extend beyond a series-long arc, but missed the mark for fans of that aspect of the previous series.

The Magic School Bus – Seasons 1-2 (1994-1995)

I remembered some of these episodes from watching them in reruns many years ago, and even now learned a thing or two about the universe. If you watch one episode, watch the one about pickles. It’ll change your life.

New Fiction 2020 – May

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II dev. LucasArts (1997)

I played both Dark Forces and Dark Forces II this month. I’d played Dark Forces on the original PlayStation in what may have been my first time playing a first-person shooter, but I’d avoided the sequel until now. It was a strange experience to play these games after experiencing the relatively advanced level design in Star Wars: Republic Commando and Far Cry Primal.

The first two Dark Forces games released in the mid-90s and are of a certain game design vintage. Levels are entirely composed of labyrinthine corridors with the occasional empty hangar or large room full of machinery or some other set piece. Puzzles are usually focused on obtaining a particular key from a fallen enemy or hitting a series of switches in the correct order. It’s level design geared toward stretching out the experience in an era when players demanded that they be required to put in a certain amount of time in order to justify the cost of these games. I can appreciate the massive scope of some of the maps and the opportunity for exploration they offer, but the graphical limitations of the time means the levels are very often rendered as a series of boxes and small textures stretched across the surfaces of those boxes, tiled ad nauseam. The visual design is just drab and bleak, and sometimes too dark to make out details in the environments, which feels like an intentional mask over the visual issues. While I didn’t feel any negative impact from this in the first game, the sequel left me fatigued and ready to play something less dreary.

The first game featured 2D sprites for much of the art whereas the sequel utilized 3D polygons, and this resulted in one interesting piece of level design that left me wondering if it was intentional. While both games feature the player killing untold numbers of people in their quest to stop the villains, only the first game preserved their bodies at the positions where they died. This means that the stormtroopers the player kills at the start of the level are still lying there upon returning to that area. This creates a kind of breadrcrumb trail of horror, allowing the player to use dead bodies as a means of tracking where they’ve been amid the repetitive corridors. In contrast, the sequel removes the corpse instances as soon as the player is out of sight, likely to ease the load on the number of assets that have to be kept in the computer’s memory. While I’m certain that memory constraints played a part in the sequel’s dead body management, I can’t help but wonder if the designers also realized how grim it can be to backtrack through a level and be faced with the bodies left in their wake. It’s a reminder that War is right there in the title and remains the primary means of interaction for these characters.

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith dev. LucasArts (1998)

I suppose this is the one that broke me. The story in this expansion to Jedi Knight feels more scattered, like loosely connected missions rather than a cohesive narrative. The titular Sith stuff doesn’t show up until the last few levels. In general it’s even more dark and dreary. The levels in the Sith temple are certainly cool, and they even include some Expanded Universe details that I appreciated. It was just a few too many dark corridors and confusing puzzles for me by the end. I originally intended to continue onto the next two Jedi Knight games but will now be taking a break to play some brighter and more lighthearted fare.

Misery dir. Rob Reiner (1990)

It’s funny that I get the distinct feeling of it me when I see or read about a writer portrayed in a story, doing their writing thing, but I’m not a writer. I wanted to be for a long while. It certainly felt like the end-all-be-all of life, back in what, a decade ago? Jesus, it’s been a while, but not even that long. And you know, I bristled against the very minor attention I got even then. I can’t even send text messages now, I get so anxious. I prefer to chat in person, a defined physical space where one can see the tells. It’s easier to end conversations this way. What it has to do with Misery is the movie sparked it all up, made me reflect on those times and everything since. The movie itself, I mean, you know it. It’s good, and horrifying in a few scenes. I think the end is too neat but now that I’ve been brought here to this mood I think it should’ve ended more on the gloomy side. Just lean into it. I bet King’s ending in the book goes that way.

The Descent dir. Neil Marshall (2005)

I used to have dreams about cave creatures emerging to stalk unsuspecting cave visitors, basically exactly what is described in the “Ted the Caver” story with a good dose of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. I included it as an element of exploring a cave system in an imagined open world video game. Entering the cave would trigger a creature that would stalk the player throughout the world, always just out of sight. I didn’t take it beyond that, but my own forays into caverns and mines cemented the idea in my head as extremely fucking terrifying. Because the thing with caves is, there’s no sound. There’s nothing external to help focus the mind. The black and absence of sound make for a sensory experience designed to nurture whatever terror lingers in the mind. In short, fuck caves. That and the open ocean are terrifying. I guess it’s this sort of understanding about oneself that helped me develop an appreciation of movies like The Descent and a desire to never venture into those deep places again.

The Descent Part 2 dir. Jon Harris (2009)

From the “Ted the Caver” story: “It would seem to me that crawling head first through a tight passage into the darkness is an unnatural thing. Just like crawling up the side of a cliff for recreation. Or jumping out of a perfectly good airplane and floating to the ground. We do these things to satisfy our hunger for adventure. This sub-conscious desire to conquer our own little Everest. As B is fond of saying, ‘Caving is the last opportunity for exploration for the person with modest means.’ True. Just a short drive from just about anywhere in the country is a cave waiting to be explored. Even a cave well known among the general public, can be approached by someone for the first time as an adventure, something new, something to overcome. Because it’s there.” Skip this bad sequel, read “Ted the Caver” instead.

Black Rock dir. Katie Aselton (2012)

This wasn’t quite what I expected. It’s certainly a thriller or horror story about survival, but unlike The Descent it’s much more grounded in reality. It doesn’t apply the same gritty horror filter over it as many films of this sort. Everything from the conflict to the killers’ motives is too real, I suppose, but in an interesting and certainly more feminist way. It asks, “what would you do?”

The Nightingale dir. Jennifer Kent (2018)

I couldn’t help but compare this to The Proposition for the superficial reason that they’re both Western-genre movies set in Australia and Tasmania, respectively, and both set during times when white settlers were demolishing the lives and culture of Aboriginal Australians. These two movies are also particularly blunt in their portrayals of violence by both the authorities and those they oppress, hearkening to stories like Blood Meridian. However, The Nightingale feels more mature in the way the characters are treated. There’s more complexity to them. Kent’s direction clearly guided this movie with more nuance than a lesser director might have, and the “Western” aspect is only there as an element of the time and place. I hate to generalize but I do think that having a woman as director tamps down the masculinity that a man would bring to a movie like this. There’s more thought. There’s also much more consideration toward the struggles of Aboriginal people who were met with a brutal force of white settlement that told them they needed to adapt, but wouldn’t actually allow that when racism was and continues to be so rampant. It may be tough to watch, but it’s worth it.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Season 7 (2020)

I must’ve already effused about Clone Wars. It’s probably the best Star Wars narrative to date, especially when couples with Rebels. It just feels… complete. Although it’s well known that Clone Wars was cut short, first by Lucasfilm winding down production, then by Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm. That means that the final couple of seasons feel a bit rushed. Each of the episode arcs in these seasons is complete in and of themselves, but they don’t feel like they’re leading to a finale. In season 7, the first two arcs certainly feel disconnected from any kind of denouement at first, but then you need to realize that it’s meant to close out the Clone Wars period for the lives of two of the many characters introduced in the series: Rex and Ahsoka Tano. Rex is the representative for all of the sticky questions around the personhood and rights of the men who comprise the clone army, whereas Tano allows the creators to explore the failures of the Jedi that allowed the subsequent rise of the empire. It’s the final four episodes of season 7 that really bring it all to a head, leading into the scenes from Episode III and beyond. It’s a satisfying and thoughtful conclusion to the series, if a bit rushed.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Seasons 12-14 (2017-2019)

The appeal of this series is that it’s like Seinfeld, but they’re so much worse. These people are ignorant, self-serving, narcissistic assholes who actively ruin lives. It also feels like the creators use this series to comment on the ineffective nature of liberalism, that is talking a big game but shrinking for any kind of action that would benefit another human being. But it’s a sitcom, so you watch enough of the series and develop an interest in these peoples’ lives. And, you know, it’s still funny, even if it feels uncomfortable when an actor performs in blackface and puts on racist accents. So I’m conflicted. The latest seasons falter more often than not, but a few standout episodes take on a certain sincerity in allowing their characters to be human beings.

American Horror Story: 1984 (2019)

This show often lives up to its reputation in unsatisfying ways. As an anthology series, each season is set in a different time and place, frequently changing the tone and style in which the stories are portrayed. Some seasons are fantastic studies of specific eras in the United States, but some, like the previous Apocalypse season, are just confusing and a little too out there. But they keep getting chances to try new things, and this season certainly felt like a chance to bring it back to something more fun and entertaining. Well, you know, if 80s slasher films and copious murder is fun to you. They also dig into some California history by connecting the story to real serial killers of the 70s and 80s. I don’t really like the obsession over serial killers but it’s interesting to see the idea explored in this what if… format.

New Fiction 2020 – April

Far Cry Primal

dev. Ubisoft Montreal (2016)

I wanted to wander around an environment alongside mammoths and this game provided that in spades. I spent so much time just contemplating in big meadows full of gentle, giant mammoths. On the flip side, it’s a survival horror game? But saber-tooth cats instead of zombies. Now it’s one of my favorite video games. It’s an entry in a long-running series of first-person shooters I otherwise don’t care about. And this game definitely gives me ‘standard AAA bland shooter’ vibes in its structure and narrative. They just created a fascinating world around that. One of the interesting bits of the game is everyone speaks in recreated primal languages. The one bit of English is lyrics in a song that appears toward the end of the game and it’s so jarring to hear in contrast to the rest. I was impressed that Ubisoft invested in that level of authenticity but really got into it. It always bugs me when a game or movie uses weird accented English in place of the native language. I found this article series from the historical linguist they worked with to craft the languages and dialogue. Pretty fascinating deep dive.

Star Wars: Republic Commando dev.

LucasArts

(2005)

LucasArts released many Star Wars video games in the period around the prequel movies. 2005 saw the release of this game and Battlefront II, the latter of which is perhaps more popular for its online multiplayer component. I tried the single player of that game and it doesn’t compare to Republic Commando. This game’s focus on working together with a squad of surprisingly smart A.I.-controlled comrades makes it feel more intentional where many shooters seem to want to throw enemies for the sake of providing bullet sponges. Make no mistake, this is still a shooter and the player is still mowing down hordes of aliens. It’s just smarter about how it sets up those combat encounters. The player can only progress by successfully guiding squad mates around the battlefield. I enjoyed the game and was surprised to see it that it was rather short, starting at the Battle of Geonosis and ending just before the tragic Order 66 moment that so many heroes of the prequel era have to contend with. The game never received a sequel so I have to assume the squad sadly goes on to fulfill their mission. This is also compelling for providing an early look at the inner lives of the literal carbon copy clone army, something that Clone Wars would fully expound upon just a few years later.

Cabin Boy dir. Adam Resnick (1994)

All the movies I watched this month were through communal viewings on an app called Kast. It’s been fun to have no say in the movies that are selected, trusting someone else to make interesting choices. This first one was a strange, weirdly referential movie. It builds upon old timey sailor epics and Harryhausen stop-motion adventures to deliver a screwball comedy more in line with Pee Wee Herman than any of its inspirations. It stars Chris Elliott and I know of his work and have seen a few of his roles, but I can see why he was never quite popular in his heyday. His comedic style is almost daring you to like his work. I still can’t say I liked it, but it was certainly interesting to see a comedy like this and with this level of practical effects in 1994.

Manos: The Hands of Fate dir. Harold P. Warren (1966)

This felt similarly interesting as Cabin Boy in that ‘what the fuck am I watching’ kind of way, but at least with Manos I knew to expect some kind of schlock. I haven’t watched the MST3K version but knew full well that it’s hoisted up on the same lofty heights as Plan 9 from Outer Space in the Worst Movie Ever rankings. The big surprise for me was that it didn’t feel like the worst movie ever made. The viewer can follow along perfectly fine, and it’s clear what they’re going for. It’s also clear the filmmaker wasn’t a filmmaker. I can’t say I enjoyed it as a horror movie as much as I enjoyed examining it while I watched. I can imagine being disappointed if this movie was taken seriously, but hindsight really makes it a fascinating artifact. We watched the restored version on blu ray and perhaps that extra visual quality helped make it just a little better than old grainy copies would have.

The Castle of Cagliostro dir. Hayao Miyazaki (1979)

So let me get this straight. Lupin III–the star of this animated movie and countless other series both in manga and animated form–is usually an unlikeable pile of garbage? And this one movie where Miyazaki wisely makes him a hero is a source of complaints by fans who want the garbage version? That’s my understanding. It makes me want to not watch anything else with Lupin III in it. Castle of Cagliostro is still a product of its time and the whole ordeal is about the hero saving the damsel and taking down the villain (who, by the way, is a real pile of garbage). However, it’s still charming and Lupin’s intentions kind of clear up as the movie goes on. He’s more akin to Han Solo, rogue with a heart of gold. The movie’s notoriety is clearly driven by the high watermark set in the art and animation. It is an astounding movie to just watch in motion. Miyazaki and co. undoubtedly near killed themselves to make this, much as they did for many of the movies to later come out of Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli work. There’s a fascinating interview with Yasuo Otsuka, animator on the film, that is included on the blu ray and available online.

Star Trek: Discovery – Seasons 1 & 2 (2017-2019)

Spoiler-filled rant.

Discovery is… something. It outta be called Star Trek: Burnham. Sadly now it feels, like Picard, that they had to squeeze their arcs into seasons that needed more episodes. There’s an odd bottle episode or two where I felt like “more of this!” But I can count them on one hand. The stakes are constantly at 11. And with Discovery, the characters are good! There are so many of them who get so few lines but like, I wanna know who they are and care about them before the shit hits the fan and they upend the status quo. For example, how do you include a cool-looking cyborg to the bridge crew for two seasons and give her almost no screen time, then make a major episode about her and expect us to believe everyone’s sad when she sacrifices herself? I got real annoyed over Airiam’s fate. She should’ve gotten her own non-critical episode before that. Like the stuff with Saru and his home planet. I suppose my key problem with Discovery is that they don’t seem to understand that TNG, DS9, etc were about ALL the bridge crew, not just a couple of people. Discovery also spends a lot of time on the villains and external characters. There’s some cool characters there but it definitely pulls time from the bridge crew dynamics and camaraderie.

Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)

Rebels was a nice series to pair in the same month as Discovery because it does exactly what I’d hoped from that series. You spend all your time getting to know the key members of the Ghost’s crew. This show skews toward a younger crowd so its motivations are simpler, but they still squeeze in some significant character-building and growth into their relatively short episodes and seasons. They also raise the stakes, but the stakes are so personal and small in the grand scheme of the Star Wars galaxy’s problems that it’s always about what’s important to this group of people there and now. There are also plenty of fan service moments and returning characters to make this a satisfying continuation of the stories and themes in Clone Wars.

Star Wars Forces of Destiny (2017-2018)

I was surprised to find these bite-sized, kid-oriented shorts even existed. I’ve lost touch with Disney’s many efforts to expand the brand and while this series certainly fits into that type of marketing-driven creative effort, it’s still a nice bit of fun with familiar characters. I’d watch these with my five year-old niece. The focus on women as the leads of these shorts sadly highlights how they need to continue to expand the scope of their lead roles beyond men (and, I think, beyond humans).

New Fiction 2020 – March

Hogs of War dev. Infogrames Sheffield House (2000)

I played this game once, long ago, and have never forgotten it. It’s a strange experience. Do I like this game that I played briefly twenty years ago? I remembered it enough to buy a physical copy and store it on a shelf. And when I discovered I could buy a digital copy, I bought it again and finally attempted to complete it during my flights to and from Boston in February. It was too difficult, so I tried and failed again. Finally, I played an emulated copy using cheats to give myself an unlimited number of promotion points and upgrade my soldiers. I completed the game. I remain fascinated with this strange, problematic game. The gameplay is best described as Worms in 3D, but more fun than the actual attempts to make Worms in 3D. The movement is faster, and the reactive physics are key to making this a unique experience compared to other turn-based combat games. The problematic part is the comedy derived from the stereotypical depictions of anthropomorphized pig soldiers who hail from fictionalized versions of nationalities such as Japanese, French, and American. The accents in particular are… tough to get over. It’s a shame, because otherwise, the game is fun, a proper challenge, and should have been more popular than it was.

MASSIVE CHALICE dev. Double Fine Productions (2015)

I didn’t get to work on this one. I’ve worked on almost everything at Double Fine, but 2015 was a turbulent year and I left without making a mark on this release. It remained one of our few games that I hadn’t completed until last month. Having played Hogs of War, I felt encouraged to make the journey through the game and continue exploring turn-based combat. MASSIVE CHALICE is closer to XCOM than Hogs. Movement isn’t in real-time as in Hogs, but limited to moving along a certain numbers of spaces on a grid. It’s structured more like a board game. This means that the game is as it’s best when tension is high because strategy demands patience and some battles are won by the skin of one’s teeth. The player must build up generations of soldiers, choosing who fights and who helps the war machine in other areas. The elements are generated differently each time, resulting in random soldiers being born and raised, as well as random enemy and story encounters. It results in a unique story with the same conclusion every time. My playthrough was fraught with close calls and though I failed the final mission, it didn’t feel like a Game Over. I got a finale cutscene and a satisfying conclusion.

“Playdate with Destiny” dir. David Silverman (2020)

Maggie is the most neglected character on The Simpsons, and it’s always nice to see her get some attention. This animated short was a perfect example of showing instead of telling, which was a perfect challenge for an animation director. Without the need of dialogue the show typically employs, the short is free to show a sweet tale that has its funny moments.

Onward dir. Dan Scanlon (2020)

This story wasn’t quite what I expected, and the marketing certainly sets up an expectation that the creators subvert. It outlines a process in which one deals with loss by yearning for that which was lost, but failing to see what’s still here. The lesson is there as it is with all Pixar films. It hit me particularly hard as I consider my relationships to family.

The Invisible Man dir. Leigh Whannell (2020)

My expectation here was quite low. It’s a horror movie, or maybe a thriller, but I couldn’t understand the kind of terror an invisible person can inflict. The creators did a good job of demonstrating that not only is it a terrifying prospect, but technology can be contorted to reflect the worst of our instinctis.

Bloodshot dir. David S. F. Wilson (2020)

For a movie with as interesting a premise as ‘this guy can’t die,’ it sure was boring. Like the movie above, the creator of this technology is a sociopath, but his intentions are even more flimsy and realistic. He wants to get paid. Vin Diesel’s anti-hero is just as dull as his other roles. It’s worth a lazy Saturday afternoon watch at best.

The Hunt dir. Craig Zobel (2020)

I can see that they were going for some kinda commentary on liberalism in the time of Trump here, but boy does it fall flat. In spite of that, Betty Gilpin is fun to watch in the lead role. A lot of her performance is in the dips between her lines. Her looks at other characters and sort of lanky disarming of the tension. The violence is in the absurd realm of movies like those from Tarantino. I’d watch this again just for her performance.

Star Trek: Picard – Season 1 (2020)

Picard is a legend of a character, and it was nice to see him in action again. However, it’s a bit of a shock to see him and the characters from the Star Trek shows in the eighties and nineties commingling in this post-Abrams Star Trek universe. I watched the season with friends and reviews were mixed. For those who did like it, we thought it really needed more than ten episodes in a season to tell its story. Now that I’m watching Star Trek: Discovery, I can see that play out. There’s more room to breathe with fifteen episodes in their seasons. Picard has room for improvement and with another season guaranteed, I’m hoping they stabilize and add more room for their stories.

New Fiction 2020 – March

Hogs of War dev. Infogrames Sheffield House (2000)

MASSIVE CHALICE dev. Double Fine Productions (2015)

“Playdate with Destiny” dir. David Silverman (2020)

Onward dir. Dan Scanlon (2020)

The Invisible Man dir. Leigh Whannell (2020)

Bloodshot dir. David S. F. Wilson (2020)

The Hunt dir. Craig Zobel (2020)

Star Trek: Picard – Season 1 (2020)

New Fiction 2020 – February

“Dcera (Daughter)” dir. Daria Kashcheeva (2019)

The narrative also isn’t clear from the get-go although the title should’ve clued me in.

“Hair Love” dir. Matthew A. Cherry & Karen Rupert Toliver (2019)

Oh no, I cry.

“Kitbull” dir. Kathryn Hendrickson & Rosana Sullivan (2019)

Humans fucking s u u u u u u u c k.

“Mémorable” dir. Bruno Collet (2019)

This is just so gotdang beautiful, I tell you what. There but for the grace of god.

“Sister” dir. Siqi Song (2018)

We take many liberties for granted.

“Henrietta Bulkowski” dir. Rachel Johnson (2019)

I want what she wanted, more or less. The way in which it’s told is accordingly hopeful.

“The Bird and the Whale” dir. Carol Freeman (2018)

So… much… work. Give her all the awards.

“Hors Piste” dir. Léo Brunel, Camille Jalabert, Loris Cavalier, Oscar Malet (2018)

This is just stupid fun, which is sometimes the good and proper course.

“Maestro” dir. Florian Babikian & Victor Caire (2019)

Good animals, but Grickle has ruined my expectations for musical critters.

“A Sister” dir. Delphine Girald (2018)

Intense.

“Brotherhood” dir. Meryam Joobeur (2018)

God, you see it coming and it’s still a kick in the teeth.

“Nefta Football Club” dir. Yves Piat (2018)

Funniest fucking short of the year! But how.

“Saria” dir. Bryan Buckley (2019)

Did I mention that humans fucking s u u u u u u u c k.

“The Neighbors’ Window” dir. Marshall Curry (2019)

A slow burn and reminder of the inevitable… so enjoy what you can, while you can.

“Papers, Please – The Short Film” dir. Nikita Ordynskiy (2018)

The most stressful moment of Papers, Please is now the most stressful short film.

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) dir. Cathy Yan (2020)

Best DC movie outta the whole lot. Give all these characters more screen time.

1917 dir. Sam Mendes (2020)

I hate that the ads spoiled which characters would make it to the end. But yes, war, what the fuck is it good for.

Sonic The Hedgehog dir. Jeff Fowler (2020)

Get Sonic outta that human world and back into his critterverse, just do it. But keep Robotnik.