VIDEO GAME: Perfect Vermin (2020)

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Perfect VerminYear: 2020Rating: MTime Played: 30 minutes Sometimes, you just want to smash up an empty office with a sledgehammer. Perfect Vermin scratches that itch initially, but the longer you play, the more bizarre and horrific it gets. I've played plenty of first-person games before, but the unique way this one evolves with each iteration of the same level had me feeling nauseous for more reasons than just motion sickness. I appreciate its innovation, but I probably wouldn't have played it if it wasn't free and short. If anything, the short length of this game is one of its saving graces. I don't know if I could play it for much longer than the main story. I'm sure those who don't suffer from motion sickness like I occasionally do won't have an issue with this game, but the combined aspects of the first-person controls and the rush of the ticking clock combined in a way that made it uncomfortable for me to...
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VIDEO GAME: Spiritfarer (2020)

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Spiritfarer Year: 2020 Rating: T Time Played: 2,036 minutes / 33.94 hours I remembered when I saw Spiritfarer on a Nintendo Direct (or other such showcase) and thought that it looked like a cute game with its hand-drawn art style. So I put it on my wishlist, picked it up on sale, and then never played it until recently. Once I finally found the time to play it, I was hooked. It provided that cozy vibe that I adored in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and had an exploration style similar to The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker that I also liked. That's not to say it didn't have its issues, but it was definitely worth my time and money. There's this nice niche of games between the hyper realistic AAA behemoths and the retro pixel art indie darlings that really appeal to me. The games that feel hand-drawn like Indivisible (or even Hollow Knight, to an extent) have this warmth to them that's difficult to...
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VIDEO GAME: SUPERHOT – Mind Control Delete (2020)

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SUPERHOT: Mind Control DeleteYear: 2020Rating: TTime Played: ~10+ hours While I absolutely love the SUPERHOT concept where time only moves if you move, both SUPERHOT and SUPERHOT VR felt short for being full games. It seems the remedy for this was to create the pseudo sequel in SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete. Unfortunately, this was done through adding Roguelike elements to the core SUPERHOT gameplay, but only in a way that made repeating the levels a gimmick of necessity instead of as a reward for continuing to play. I don't mind Roguelikes if they are done well (Loop Hero comes to mind as a good one). This includes permanent upgrades that make the game easier to play just based on how many times you've run the cycle. Most of the upgrades obtained in Mind Control Delete are earned through the same set of "play X number of levels without dying" mechanic that the rest of the game has. Granted, these upgrades are helpful...
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BOOK: The Nolan Variations (2020)

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The Nolan Variations: The Movie, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan Year: 2020 Author: Tom Shone Length: 381 pages Anyone who has met me knows I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan's movies. His ability to provide a psychological, mind-bending narrative has kept me engaged for decades. It only makes sense that I would then read the pseudo-biography / interview, The Nolan Variations. Tom Shone's writing style feels intimate and personable in a way that made me feel closer to Christopher Nolan after reading this book. Whether or not you like his films,The Nolan Variations is important to get into the headspace of this acclaimed director. The Nolan Variations dives into each one of Nolan's films, starting with Following (1998) and ending with Tenet (2020). That it provides hints of his Oscar-winning next film, Oppenheimer (2023) is really quite prescient. Unfortunately, this is also the one weakness of such a book. While it covers everything up to Nolan's peak, unless there's a "Volume 2"...
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VIDEO GAME: Cubism (2020)

by benmweilertNo Comments
CubismYear: 2020Rating: ETime Played: ~6 hours While most Virtual Reality games emphasize the immersive nature of the medium, few handle the ability to manipulate virtual objects freely in 3D space. While there are certainly puzzle games in VR (like Tetris Effect), none quite scratch that IQ test itch like Cubism. Of course, with puzzle games like this, there comes a point where the game gets too challenging to complete. This is even without a timer or other mechanic trying to pressure the player to work faster. Still, Cubism is a relaxing challenge for your mind. For those new to Virtual Reality, Cubism is a good primer for how to use the controllers (or even the hand-tracking features). Since the entire game is merely manipulating different shapes to fit into a 3D outlined space, there's a lot of grabbing, rotating, and placing. It can be played seated, and doesn't have any extreme elements that might induce motion sickness. This game could easily be...
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MOVIE: Palm Springs (2020)

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Palm Springs Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 90 minutes / 1.50 hours There's something special about the time loop plot format. It's been done several times in plenty of different genres. That there are even a few beloved movies like Groundhog Day (1993) and Edge of Tomorrow (2014) shows how meaningful the time loop can be when done properly. Palm Springs (2020) is the latest in this genre that follows in both footsteps of Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow by being a romantic comedy with a sci-fi explanation for the repeating timeline. As a modern romantic comedy (perhaps one of the last modern romantic comedies), much of the humor in Palm Springs is crass and sexualized. This means that occasionally there's a good joke or two in here, but it mostly just feels like the frustrated rambling of a horny teenager. Considering that Andy Samberg features prominently in this film, it's no wonder why this is the case. Now, there are parts that are...
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VIDEO GAME: Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020)

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Paper Mario: The Origami KingYear: 2020Rating: ETime Played: 1,590 minutes / 26.50 hours About ten years ago, I think Nintendo perfected a "craft" vibe with games like Kirby's Epic Yarn that they've been milking for a decade now. These games look hand-crafted in a way that's extremely charming and visually stunning for how homemade they appear. The Yoshi series has used this craft aesthetic multiple times, but the franchise ripe for such things is none other than Paper Mario. In The Origami King, the paper-craft feel of origami is merely accentuated by the plot and game-play. As a pseudo role-playing game, The Origami King has a peculiar way of executing its battle mechanics. Each battle is a ring puzzle that requires the player to line up enemies or find a path to the center to attack the boss. The boots and hammers Mario uses are breakable, but easy enough to acquire and equip that it wasn't frustrating to lose them in mid-battle....
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VIDEO GAME: Mega Man X Dive (2020)

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Mega Man X Dive Year: 2020 Rating: T Time Played: 23,340 minutes / 389.00 hours Having played almost every single Mega Man X game, the one thing I felt was missing from these games is the variety of player characters. Sure, you can start playing as Zero in Mega Man X4 and as Axl in Mega Man X7. You can even play as Vile in Maverick Hunter X (a Mega Man X remaster). But what if you could play as the Mavericks? Heck, what if you could play as Mega Man from other Mega Man franchises? Mega Man X Dive delivered on this premise. As a free-to-play mobile gatcha game, most of the gameplay was rather shallow once you'd gotten through all of it. The new content wasn't much different from previous events, boss rushes, or speedrun challenges. At a certain point, all I was doing was collecting resources to power up the characters and weapons I had obtained. I'm disappointed that the end-of-service is...
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BOOK: Solutions and Other Problems (2020)

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Solutions and Other Problems Year: 2020 Author: Allie Brosh Length: 519 pages My first introduction to Allie Brosh's work—as I'm sure is the case for many—was the "all the things" meme. For those looking for more depth from these drawings, look no further than the humorous illustrated memoir, Solutions and Other Problems. I have never quite read a book like this. When I picked it up off the shelf, I was expecting a graphic novel, only to be surprised with big chunks of text between illustrations. Clearly, the best of both worlds here. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll be glad you read this book. While it might be easy to discount the simple drawing style at first glance, many illustrations in this book prove to be quite exquisite. The stories themselves, which are not all silly or humorous, aid this distinction. Solutions and Other Problems subverted my expectations by being both hilarious and deeply profound. I've never read a book that had both a story...
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VIDEO GAME: Spirit of the North (2020)

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Spirit of the North Year: 2020 Rating: E Time Played: 458 minutes / 7.63 hours Spirit of the North is a game about death, rebirth, and the beauty of Iceland. Without knowing much about it, I selected this as the next game my daughter and I would play through since it had no dialogue and seemed to be fairly straightforward. And while I was worried that the random corpses littering the game's levels might scare her, I don't think she fully understood what they were as we played. I enjoyed the ambiance of the music and the beautiful scenery, but the game had some issues. While the beautiful scenery was quite immersive, any time the fox interacted with any of it, the graphics felt dated, like PlayStation 2-era graphics. It was also difficult to control the fox at times, especially when requiring precise jumps to reach secret areas. I also found the portions in the caverns/caves were extremely dark, to the point of being unable...
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VIDEO GAME: Alba – A Wildlife Adventure (2020)

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Alba: A Wildlife AdventureYear: 2020Rating: ETime Played: 193 minutes / 3.22 hours As I go through my backlog of free games I received from the Epic Games store, I've been trying to find games I can play with my daughter. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure seemed like it would be a good fit for us to play together, and It certainly was. Alba is a fairly simple game and doesn't take that long to play all the way through. In fact, I 100% cleared the game in the almost three-and-a-half hours we played together. Set on an Iberian island, Alba follows the adventures of the titular character who is spending some of her summer with her grandparents. With her handy smartphone, Alba must collect pictures of all the different wildlife on the island, filling up a digital field guide in the process. Along the way, Alba must help clean up the island and repair the wildlife preserve that was closed after a suspicious...
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BOOK: Snowpiercer – The Prequel Part 2 – Apocalypse (2020)

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Snowpiercer - The Prequel Part 2: Apocalypse Year: 2020 Author: Matz & Jean-Marc Rochette Length: 104 pages After the somewhat disappointing Part 1 prequel to Snowpiercer, Part 2 was only slightly better. While the previous book in this prequel series was fairly generic with its apocalyptic scenarios, the Apocalypse portion of this trilogy gave personality to the story. Now that there are characters the reader is following, it's easier to relate to the plight of humanity. This still doesn't negate the fact that I know how things will eventually end up since I've already seen the Snowpiercer (2013) movie. What makes this volume more interesting than its predecessor is that we get to see how humanity would really act in an Apocalypse situation. Once the end of the world finally comes, all bets are off. For the "doomsday cult," their plan hinges on unhinged individuals. For the Snowpiercer project, it's not so easy to control tickets when everyone wants to board. And for humanity, we...
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BOOK: The Heroine’s Journey (2020)

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The Heroine's JourneyYear: 2020Author: Gail CarrigerLength: 305 pages When I started writing over a decade ago, I subconsciously modeled my story structures off the stories that I enjoyed. I didn't go into my first novel with the plan to make it the typical "Hero's Journey," and the result was far from it. The stories I was writing seemed to work, even if they didn't abide by the known structure many authors had used before me. The problem was, I didn't have a name for the style of story I was writing. After reading Gail Carriger's book, The Heroine's Journey, I can finally label the stories I write. Carriger makes it clear that stories that follow the Heroine's Journey don't always have females in the lead role. Instead, the Heroine's Journey is the antithesis of the Hero's Journey. Where the Hero's Journey is about individual achievement and sacrifice, the Heroine's Journey is more about building community to tackle a problem larger than any...
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VIDEO GAME: Genshin Impact (2020)

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Genshin ImpactYear: 2020Rating: TTime Played: 350+ hours Having played many free-to-play games, there’s usually a point where you run out of stuff to do and the game ceases to be fun. Usually, this is when the time-based resources run out and you have to wait to keep playing the game. It surprised me how many hours I put into the free-to-play action-adventure game, Genshin Impact before I hit this wall. Even when I reached this point, I still had plenty of diverse activities to do to keep me occupied for hours at a time. With regular story updates, it’s almost overwhelming how much you can get out of this game without paying anything. Part of Genshin Impact’s appeal is its somewhat Breath of the Wild-like open world and visual style. While it leans a bit more on anime influences for its character designs (of which there are plenty of characters to play as in this game), Genshin Impact‘s world might be even...
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VIDEO GAME: Murder by Numbers (2020)

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Murder by Numbers Year: 2020 Rating: T Time Played: 35+ hours I haven't played many visual novel games, so it only figures that the first one I fully completed was also a nonogram (or picross) game. Murder by Numbers mixes the point-and-click adventure of a visual novel mystery with the blocky puzzle styling of nonograms. Divided into several "episodes," the player follows an actress who plays a detective on TV as she solves actual crimes with the help of a mysterious robot known as SCOUT. It's cute and the characters are pretty fun; however, there are a few things I would change. The most frustrating part about this game was how close I came to completing it 100%, only to find that I could not go back and find one puzzle I missed in one of the episodes and instead had to go through the entire episode again. Since the game gives you an update of how close to "S Rank" you are for each...
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BOOK: City Monster (2020)

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City Monster Year: 2020 Author: Reza Farazmand Length: 112 pages I'm not sure when I started reading Reza Farazmand's Poorly Drawn Lines webcomic, but I have enjoyed his simple art style and humor for quite a while. City Monster is a graphic novel in this same, simple style with a plot that's quite a bit longer than the handful of panels he uses to tell a joke in his webcomic.  With all-new characters that don't regularly appear in the webcomic, it was nice to see something different than just another adventure with bird, mouse, turtle, and maybe Kevin. Even at 112 pages long, it's a quick read, and the ending is satisfying. Still, City Monster has a few minor flaws. Again, I love Reza's simple drawing style. However, there's a danger in making something look simple because some might think this book is appropriate for children. The occasional strong language might put some people off, mainly because it feels a little out of character and is...
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BOOK: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Big Squirrels Don’t Cry (2020)

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The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Big Squirrels Don't Cry Year: 2020 Author: Ryan North Length: 288 pages In this second collection of Squirrel Girl comics, you'll once again find Doreen Green trying to balance her life as Squirrel Girl and as a computer science student at Empire State University. This can be quite the balancing act, especially when you have a huge fluffy tail that you have to hide when you're in your civilian persona. While other superheroes have origin stories that explain their tremendous powers, Squirrel Girl is...Squirrel Girl. Doreen's "unbeatable" title continues to be tested as she uses both her skills as a squirrel person who can communicate with and control squirrels and as a computer science major to defeat villains who terrorize New York City. The fact that she's a superhero who can talk to and control squirrels is just amusing enough that fans of the first collection will likely enjoy this one. However, I wasn't prepared to read a Howard the Duck...
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MOVIE: Mulan (2020)

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Mulan Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 115 minutes / 1.92 hours In Disney's ever-ouroboros-like handling of its back catalog, the continuation of live-action adaptations of its animated classics claims another victim. This time, Mulan (2020) seems to miss the point of what made the original so beloved. Of course, you can probably say that about other live-action adaptations as well (especially The Lion King (2019)). If anything, Mulan is a parody of its source material and Chinese culture overall. Everything about this adaptation felt flat and uninspired—like Disney is just running all their previous animated classics through the live-action machine to see if anything good comes out the other side. Don't get me wrong; I think Disney has had a few live-action successes. I think The Jungle Book (2016) improves on its source material. It's just when you adjust the way you tell a certain story too much, it no longer contains the elements that made the original fun and exciting. By making Mulan (Yifei Liu)...
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MOVIE: Over the Moon (2020)

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Over the Moon Year: 2020 Rating: PG Length: 95 minutes / 1.58 hours Over the Moon (2020) snuck under my radar until it was nominated for Best Animated Feature. At that point, I figured I had to check it out. I appreciate that there is enough room in the entertainment industry for CGI animated films not made by Disney/Pixar, Dreamworks, or *shudder* Illumination. Over the Moon is certainly unique, even if it's geared toward Asian cultures that I know little about. And perhaps that's my issue with this film: I'm not its target audience. While Disney wrote the book on adapting Euro-centric fairy tales into animated films, there are plenty of other cultures in this world that have their own rich lore from which we can extract interesting stories. However, because I haven't grown up hearing these stories, their adaptations seem strange to me when they're in a modern context like Over the Moon. What's worse is that some elements I know about Chinese culture...
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MOVIE: The Social Dilemma (2020)

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The Social Dilemma Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 94 minutes / 1.57 hours I joined Facebook in 2005. Before that, I was on MySpace. As someone who started heavily using the internet when the concept of social media started taking off, I honestly feel that I managed to avoid a lot of its pitfalls. My introverted self loved getting updates on people's lives without having to cultivate all those relationships intentionally. Of course, the system only works if people post updates of their lives. What The Social Dilemma (2020) brings to light is that programs meant to keep us connected have since been tainted by dangerous technology that keeps us coming back for more and getting little in return. While The Social Dilemma is inherently about how damaging social media can be, the greater lesson here is how artificial intelligence was created to handle these enormous datasets. Unfortunately, because these AIs were created to maximize ad revenue, they break us down to our psychological building...
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MOVIE: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

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Wonder Woman 1984 Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 151 minutes / 2.52 hours 1980s nostalgia is hot right now, which is likely why this movie exists. After all, most Millennials are now earning enough to be the target demographic for Hollywood. The success of Stranger Things and other '80s throwbacks makes this decade overdone at this point. And while Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) doesn't really lean in too much to the '80s—other than some jokes and fashion choices—the fact that this movie could have taken place in any decade is testament to its generic feel. When I saw the first trailers, I had no idea how they could bring back Chris Pine's character, after his fate in Wonder Woman (2017) was pretty final. I didn't particularly like how they brought him back in this film, other than to have him play off Gal Gadot's titular superhero. In fact, I felt the whole "Diana is lonely" plotline was a bit overdramatic considering she had 40+ years...
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MOVIE: Wolfwalkers (2020)

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WolfwalkersYear: 2020Rating: PGLength: 103 minutes / 1.72 hours I wasn't sure what to expect when I sat down to watch the third installment in Tomm Moore's "Irish Folklore Trilogy." The Secret of Kells (2009) was a unique animation style that also carried over to Song of the Sea (2014). Wolfwalkers (2020) continues this "rough" visual style but perhaps has the strongest story of all three films. That's not to say its predecessors don't have interesting stories, it's more that Wolfwalkers builds upon the foundations established by these previous entries of this loose trilogy. As is the case with these films, Wolfwalkers follows a young girl (Robyn Goodfellowe (Honor Kneafsey)) who encounters the fantasy of the world adjacent to her own. Shapeshifting wolves and disappearing forests are more complex than she first realizes. Many stories based on ancient lore are meant to teach lessons to children, and this movie is no different. Granted, there are quite a few cliches in how the plot progresses,...
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BOOK: Alamo Tree (2020)

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Alamo TreeYear: 2020Author: Tana S. HolmesLength: 29 pages As a new father, I can appreciate when picture books try and approach complex subjects. I'm already tired of learning about zoo animals and colors, so a book like Alamo Tree is a nice reprieve from the monotony. Granted, I don't think my child is old enough yet to have the attention span to read this book, but it's nice to know I have it when that time comes. Of course, I'm not sure when I'll need to teach my child about the Alamo either. Told through the perspective of a tree located at the Alamo site, Alamo Tree tries to make the tragedy that happened at the Alamo relatable to children. Unfortunately, this means it cuts out quite a bit of context that kids might miss and wouldn't be appropriate for them anyway. Despite this, I'd consider Alamo Tree a good primer to gauge a child's interest in American history (even if it's...
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MOVIE: Hamilton (2020)

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Hamilton Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 160 minutes / 2.67 hours I'll admit I'm late to the game on this musical. Luckily, Disney+ helped give me the option of seeing this modern masterpiece. Granted, I know it's not the same experience as seeing it in the theatre (aside from the modifications to allow it on Disney+), but I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it nonetheless. While Hamilton (2020) is not the first musical about the early United States I've heard, it certainly taught me way more about this time period than I had previously thought possible. A word to the wise: be prepared for almost three hours of fast-talking politicians. Subtitles might help, but it's awe-inspiring to hear these rhymes fly through the air at a frenetic pace. I was a little exhausted after I finished watching this since I felt it crammed a six-hour history lecture into less than half the time. It helped that the artistic license Lin-Manuel Miranda had with...
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MOVIE: My Octopus Teacher (2020)

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My Octopus TeacherYear: 2020Rating: RLength: 113 minutes / 1.88 hours Nature documentaries are perhaps some of the most educational movies ever made. Sure, there are documentaries about extreme sports (like Senna (2010)), historical events (like The Look of Silence (2014)) or people (like Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)) but nature documentaries usually leave me with a sense of awe. This feeling comes from learning something about Earth that has been that way for millennia and will continue to be that way for millennia to come. There are so many amazing things to learn from nature that I can’t help but be amazed by it. My Octopus Teacher (2020) is just the latest in a long line of nature documentaries that have wowed me with the new knowledge I gained. Being from a landlocked state, I don’t have a lot of experience with aquatic life. I’ve occasionally seen something about octopuses being a little peculiar but never fully understood the full extent...
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MOVIE: Capone (2020)

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Capone Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 103 minutes / 1.72 hours To give you a sense of the quality of this movie, I received a copy to own Capone (2020) for free from Redbox. The fact that Redbox was the distributor for this movie should have been the first indication of how bad it was going to be. At first, I figured, "Oh, a movie about Al Capone. That should be interesting, right? And Tom Hardy is in it? He's done some great stuff." How wrong I was. Now it's my job to warn you about it. Perhaps the director, Josh Trank, was to blame for this mess of a movie. Sure, his first film, Chronicle (2012), was pretty good, but Fantastic Four (2015) showed this to be a fluke, and Capone put the last nail in the coffin for his career. I mean, how can you take such an interesting historical figure like Al Capone (Tom Hardy) and focus on all the wrong parts...
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MOVIE: Minari (2020)

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Minari Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 115 minutes / 1.92 hours One has to wonder if last year's Best Picture, Parasite (2019), helped pave the way for Minari (2020). While both are quite different films, the acceptance of South Korean cinema has been a long time coming. However, one thing both films share is their sense of foreshadowing. The subtle phrasings and actions of the characters seem inconsequential at first but evolve into hard-hitting plot points as the movie progresses. These story beats hit hard even with a relatively simple plot and left me emotionally devastated with each twist and turn. Set in 1980s America, Minari speaks into the evolution (or, some would say, death) of the American Dream. The belief that anyone from anywhere can come to this land of opportunity and make a living doing what they want to do is the strongest in the immigrants who came here hoping to capitalize on the United States' freedom. But, unfortunately, it's not as easy...
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MOVIE: Promising Young Woman (2020)

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Promising Young Woman Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 113 minutes / 1.88 hours There was a time when a movie like Promising Young Woman (2020) couldn't be made because it deals with a difficult subject. However, in the wake of the #metoo movement, the narrative has shifted and allowed space for this eye-opening masterpiece to exist. Rape is never an easy topic to cover, but Promising Young Woman handles it with such blunt-force precision as to make itself required viewing, despite being difficult to watch. If it makes you mad, you should check to make sure it's making you mad for the right reasons. Of course, this film wouldn't work were it not for the excellent performance of Carey Mulligan. Mulligan has come a long way as an actress since An Education (2009). Her worn-out and tired portrayal of Cassie Thomas captures the essence of a woman who has made it her personal mission to teach men everywhere about consent. Equally strong performances from Bo...
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MOVIE: Sound of Metal (2020)

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Sound of MetalYear: 2020Rating: RLength: 120 minutes / 2.00 hours Movies have the power to give a perspective we might have no ability to understand. Much like the fantastic The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) gave viewers a chance to experience life through the eye of a paralyzed man, Sound of Metal (2020) was a revelation into the life of a musician who suddenly goes deaf. There are so many aspects to sudden deafness that Sound of Metal provided insight to that opened my eyes to the struggles of this particular disability. Of course, while this is the obvious takeaway from this film, the meaning is much deeper than that. Ultimately, the twist Sound of Metal gives to the deafness narrative is the power of addiction. It's encouraging to see positive handling of previous addiction through accountability, but it's even more striking to see how addictions can take many different forms. Whatever gives us dopamine, we can become addicted to. While...
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MOVIE: Nomadland (2020)

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Nomadland Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 107 minutes / 1.78 hours Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological structure that explains how people will obtain their basic needs before attempting to fill psychological and self-fulfillment needs. In the current American culture, these basic needs of food, water, warmth, rest, and safety are usually met by living in a house. Of course, there are plenty of strings attached to household living—such as a steady income through employment. While this is the most common way to reach self-fulfillment, people out there manage to achieve it without living as part of the standard American structure. Nomadland (2020) is an intimate look into the society of people who—for lack of a better term—are houseless. Part of me was jealous of the amount of freedom these people have to live the lives they want, experiencing much of the natural beauty of the middle of the United States. Much in the same way that Nebraska (2013) captured the realities of the...
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MOVIE: The Father (2020)

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The Father Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 97 minutes / 1.62 hours The failing mental health of an elderly parent is a perennial topic for critically-acclaimed movies. Most of the time, the focus is on how their supportive family watches them steadily deteriorate until they can do nothing else. The Father (2020) is one such film, but with a unique twist that makes it hit a lot harder than the standard Alzheimers fare. While attempting to present this disease from the aging parent's perspective is a bold choice, The Father leans into some radically artistic choices that might leave some viewers more confused than enlightened. I'm trying to avoid discussing the avant-garde method The Father uses to induce the kind of confusion that comes with Alzheimer's, mostly because I don't want to spoil the effect for anyone who hasn't seen this film yet. Needless to say, things make sense...eventually. The point isn't to understand it; it's to empathize with the main character. Of course, with...
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MOVIE: The Prom (2020)

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The Prom Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 130 minutes / 2.17 hours I enjoy a good musical like the rare heterosexual man I am (played in the movie by Keegan-Michael Key), and The Prom (2020) scratched that itch for me this year. I enjoyed its self-aware first act, even if the overall plot seemed like it was about 10 years too late to be relevant. And while many of the story beats were either predictable or cliche, there were a few moments of rare depth that felt genuine, even if they broke the facade of the whimsical characters that had filled the first two acts. There's something about narcissistic Broadway types having to interact with the midwest that was entertaining to me. Much of this film's humor revolves around how out-of-step with the rest of the country these east coast elites are—even if it's far from realistic (I hope). Of note, a few of the songs are quite exceptional, including "It's Not About Me" and...
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MOVIE: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

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The Trial of the Chicago 7 Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 129 minutes / 2.15 hours For decades, Aaron Sorkin has written some of the best films ever created. Classics like A Few Good Men (1992) still stand up, and modern masterpieces like The Social Network (2010) and Moneyball (2011) are starting to become timeless as well. And while he's mostly been the writer of these films, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) is his sophomore effort as a director. Somehow, the ability to accurately translate his words into the actors' performances created—in my opinion—the best film of 2020. It's clear Sorkin cut his teeth long ago with courtroom dramas, but this movie is by far the most intricately-crafted exposé of the corruption of the American justice system I've ever seen. The fact that the parallels to 50-years later are shockingly similar actually makes me sick, but that's perhaps why this film works so well right now. It doesn't give me hope that these...
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MOVIE: Mank (2020)

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Mank Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 131 minutes / 2.18 hours When I first saw the trailers for Mank (2020), the premise intrigued me. As a "behind the scenes" look at the screenwriter for Citizen Kane (1941), I was interested to see his process in penning one of the most famous screenplays of all time. On top of that, I've generally enjoyed David Fincher's work and wanted to see this movie based on this fact alone. However, despite all it had going for it, I was ultimately disappointed in what Mank had to offer. Perhaps the most jarring part of this movie was how it tried to emulate the style of the films from the 1940s while also using more modern cinematography techniques to tell its story. At times, this juxtaposition made me wonder if this was filmed in the '40s or if it was merely a black-and-white modern film. Additionally, there's a particular visual style for Fincher's films distinctly lacking here—which may have been...
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MOVIE: Artemis Fowl (2020)

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Artemis Fowl Year: 2020 Rating: PG Length: 95 minutes / 1.58 hours When I first saw the trailers for Artemis Fowl (2020), I was intrigued enough to pick up the book and read it. With its continual delays, I was able to also read through the first five books in the series. This may have helped me understand what Disney was trying to do with this, but it doesn't excuse their butchering of the source material. I can only imagine how confused people who hadn't read a single word of the books would be, and I was right on the verge with them. What gets me is that, as a fairly short book, Disney could have made a perfect adaptation in a scant two hours. Instead, they decided to cram so much "sequel potential" into 95 minutes to lose focus on any of the stories they were trying to adapt simultaneously. I also understand how the movie version is inclusive of all races and genders,...
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MOVIE: Soul (2020)

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Soul Year: 2020 Rating: PG Length: 100 minutes / 1.67 hours I'll give Pixar credit: they know how to make trailers that give away almost nothing about what the plot is. Sure, I could roughly gauge what Soul (2020) was about, but I could never have guessed it would be this deep. Of course, when dealing with concepts as heady as the afterlife, Pixar had to really balance the line between adhering to any particular religious belief. Be prepared to tear up at least a few times because Soul can hit hard when it comes to life itself. As is the case with any Pixar film, I usually watch for CGI modeling/technology advancements. In Soul, they took the time to perfect the look of some of the most difficult hair to animate, and it shows. This isn't to say that we're getting closer to jumping the uncanny valley (of which they can probably do by now) because this would also ignore the mind-bending "architects" who...
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MOVIE: I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

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I'm Thinking of Ending Things Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 134 minutes / 2.23 hours Perhaps I should have learned my lesson from when I watched Synecdoche, New York (2008). I have appreciated plenty of Charlie Kaufman's films, but only when he's the writer. Not the director. Or maybe this is a more recent change, as some of my favorite Kaufman films were released before 2005. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Being John Malkovich (1999) are some of my favorite films, with Adaptation. (2002) being at least something that I understood (despite its extremely meta nature). I'll admit that I thought I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) was initially about suicide by its title. As I started to watch, I thought I would be getting a thoughtful look at the midwest's mundane nature (a la Nebraska (2013)). Then a bandage switched sides on a character's forehead. From that point, everything became much more bizarre—to the point where I stopped even trying to...
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MOVIE: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

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Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 95 minutes / 1.58 hours Over the years, I've found two types of people: those offended by the original Borat (2006) film and those who find it funny. I'm probably in the latter camp, mostly because I can appreciate how politically incorrect comedy can be "safely" created by introducing a cultural/language barrier. 14 years later, and I'm certain that the people who didn't find the original Borat funny won't find the humor in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020). As an American, it's amusing to see our foibles pulled out as the butt of the joke in this film, especially after we've made fools of ourselves through the last decade of partisan politics and recent refusal of science and common sense. And while Borat Subsequent Moviefilm still relies on physical and sexual humor that is awkward to watch, there are moments of pure genius...
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MOVIE: Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)

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Bill & Ted Face the Music Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 91 minutes / 1.52 hours One thing I hate about trilogies is that sometimes movies don't need to be trilogies. If everything has been covered in the previous two movies (or even the first movie), the only reason for any additional films in the franchise seems to be for the sole purpose of making money. What's worse is franchises that release their third movie long enough after the first two that it's more of a nostalgia trip/reboot than anything that adds significantly to the lore. What's perhaps most disappointing about Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020) is how I had high hopes for it. Granted, my nostalgia for Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bogus Journey (1991) mean that I hoped there would be a significant shift in Face the Music that would explore something new that might have developed in the last 30 years. Instead, Face the Music treads all the same territory from...
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MOVIE: Enola Holmes (2020)

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Enola Holmes Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 123 minutes / 2.05 hours When a character like Sherlock Holmes is already written, you do the next best thing: write fanfiction. Enola Holmes (2020) feels like an author-insert fanfiction of the famous detective stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While this would be a mark against any other story, it works here and creates an amusing plot that was fun to watch. Sure, the mystery wasn't at the level Sherlock Holmes would normally solve, but Enola isn't necessarily Sherlock. Of course, I don't know if this story would have worked as well if there wasn't the tie-in to Sherlock Holmes. As for the actors, no doubt on retainer from their other Netflix projects, Henry Cavill (The Witcher) is a passable Sherlock but wasn't given quite enough screen time to really show his talents. The star of the show is definitely Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), who has certainly shown that she's not only good at playing...
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MOVIE: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

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Sonic the Hedgehog Year: 2020 Rating: PG Length: 99 minutes / 1.65 hours As someone who grew up with the original Sonic video games, I was highly skeptical of this film adaptation. There's not much plot behind a game that's basically: move right as fast as possible and defeat a robot-making madman. Granted, Sonic has developed a little more depth to its lore over the years...but not much. The appeal of the character in the '90s was his attitude, and I have to admit that his movie does capture that attitude quite well. For a video game adaptation, Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) isn't terrible, which is saying something. I can only imagine the nightmare-inducing original design for Sonic, though. However, it's still not the greatest movie ever for the genre of video game adaptations. I did appreciate the little "slow-motion" moments, as well as the practical use of the rings as teleportation devices. Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik was passable, if not a little too goofy/sinister...
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MOVIE: Birds of Prey (2020)

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Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 109 minutes / 1.82 hours I will admit: Margot Robbie is perfectly cast as Harley Quinn. The fact that she even got her own movie after her debut in Suicide Squad (2016) is a testament to this. That being said, she's a bit of a shallow character past being "Joker's girlfriend." Look no further than Birds of Prey (2020) to see what I mean. If it were truly a Harley Quinn standalone film, it wouldn't have needed the sub-plots of a handful of other characters to make the running time long enough. As it stands, Birds of Prey is meant as a sort of "origin story" for this titular team of female heroes. The fact that it needed Harley Quinn to make it marketable is a bit of a disappointment in the ability of the writers to create a story that would give these women agency without resorting to...
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MOVIE: Tenet (2020)

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TenetYear: 2020Rating: PG-13Length: 150 minutes / 2.50 hours I'll admit: I probably have to watch this movie again. I'm usually pretty good at unraveling a Christopher Nolan movie when I watch it for the first time. Not since Memento (2000), have I had such a difficult time piecing together the intertwining timelines. At least with Memento, I was aided by the black-and-white sections. In Tenet (2020), time moves in both directions in the same scene. Sure, this is a visually-stunning feat, but it's often a slap in the face of the Grandfather Paradox, which Tenet simply waves away with a shrug and a "don't worry about it." What's interesting is how moments of foreshadowing in this film triggered my "lightbulb reflex" each time the corresponding portion of the plot came into focus and gave me the "aha moment." I'm sure I'll pick up more of these when I watch it a second time. As it stands after a single viewing, my mind...
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VIDEO GAME: Animal Crossing – New Horizons (2020)

by benmweilert2 Comments
Animal Crossing: New HorizonsYear: 2020Rating: ETime Played: 195+ hours I’d never had any interest in the Animal Crossing series before New Horizons came out. I didn’t get the point of it. There didn’t seem to be any objective other than paying off a loan to a capitalist raccoon. That being said, when I saw the first trailer for New Horizons, my interest was immediately piqued. While the graphics were sharp and adorable, the crafting and terraforming mechanics seemed to give me the flexibility I’d want in such a simulation game. And while there is plenty to do in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, at a certain point, it becomes a repetitive chore. By now, this game is my most-played on my Switch. I’ve put in the time and effort to build a 5-star island and have long paid off my house (thanks to a fortunate week in the “stalk market”). I have orchards full of the different varieties of trees, flowerbeds on their...
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MOVIE: The Gentlemen (2020)

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The Gentlemen Year: 2020 Rating: R Length: 113 minutes / 1.88 hours I’ve enjoyed a good portion of Guy Ritchie’s filmmaking. While many of his more recent movies rely on franchise appeal (Sherlock Holmes (2009), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) and Aladdin (2019) are of note), I usually associate his style of filmmaking with the British heist film (like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000)). Consequently, I was looking forward to seeing his recent film, The Gentlemen (2020), as it seemed to be a return to the kind of filmmaking that attracted me to Guy Ritchie films in the first place. Unfortunately, it seems Ritchie has been away from his core movies for so long that he’s almost forgotten how to make them. The meta framing with Hugh Grant and Charlie Hunnam was clunky enough that even Hunnam’s character was getting bored with the “telling” in the exposition provided by Grant’s character. Sure, there were a few neat twists here and...
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MOVIE: Onward (2020)

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Onward Year: 2020 Rating: PG Length: 102 minutes / 1.70 hours I always look forward to Pixar films, mostly to see how visually stunning a movie created entirely in a computer can look with each passing year of technological and programming advancements. The other reason I will always go to see a Pixar movie is their dedication to a good story. Sure, there have been some missed steps over the years (The Good Dinosaur (2015) being the latest example), but their track record has been good enough to warrant me seeing their films in the theater. While I was looking forward to this year’s offering of Onward (2020), the result felt a little lackluster overall. Choosing to explore a storyline with a deceased parent was odd in that it felt like something that had rarely been addressed in movies geared toward children while also having a strong “after school special” vibe to it. Either way, putting it in a pseudo-Monsters, Inc. (2001) fantasy world was a fun way to...
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