VIDEO GAME: Paper Mario – Sticker Star (2012)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Paper Mario: Sticker StarYear: 2012Rating: ETime Played: 592 minutes / 9.87 hours I've endured a lot of bad video games in my time. Most overstay their welcome and I eventually just want to get to the end. Others have such cryptic puzzles that I have to give up and use a guide or walkthrough to get me to the end credits. If there's a skill issue, I have generally just reduced the difficulty so I can experience the full game. It is then a rare case when I legitimately give up on a game. Paper Mario: Sticker Star is one of those games. I had heard rumors of this games infamy. I figured I could use any of the above techniques to get through it. At almost 10 hours in, I caved and looked at what I needed to do to finish the game and realized how frustrating this task would be. Not only did I have to backtrack through basically every...
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MOVIE: Kung Fu Panda (2008)

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Kung Fu PandaYear: 2008Rating: PGLength: 92 minutes / 1.53 hours Many people give animated films flack for being directed at children. DreamWorks movies have historically leaned toward the younger demographic with plenty of fart jokes while still having the occasional adult jokes sprinkled throughout. The problem with discounting the medium on the whole is that there are some things it can do very well. Kung Fu Panda (2008) not only has a great message about playing to our strengths, but it also uses the fact that it's animated to present some extremely well-done kung fu fights. Jack Black brings Kung Fu Panda to life with Po, the kung fu obsessed panda who doesn't fit the physical model needed to practice the martial art. Despite being chosen as the next Dragon Warrior, Po must learn kung fu so he can protect the land from one of the most dangerous practitioners of the fighting style. It's important for kids to see that he struggles...
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BOOK: Einstein’s Dreams (1993)

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Einstein's DreamsYear: 1993Author: Alan LightmanLength: 140 pages I can appreciate poetic works that try to string each idea together into a connected narrative. I've seen few that have done this as well as Einstein's Dreams has. Of course, the problem with trying to make all these disparate poems work together is that they are still just brief glimpses into stories that could easily stand on their own. Perhaps that's the curse of well-written poetry—it leaves you wanting more. I'd almost consider these stories as writing prompts for anyone looking to make an entire book out of the dreams of the world's best physicist. Many of the stories in this collection/novel play upon the ideas of general relativity. The way the physics is described and how the people in these worlds live feel legitimately realistic. Of course, sometimes the physics "gimmick" isn't revealed until the end of a story, thus leaving me in the dark as to what was actually happening as I...
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MOVIE: Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

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Killers of the Flower MoonYear: 2023Rating: RLength: 206 minutes / 3.43 hours As far as movie topics go, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) felt like something that hadn't been addressed on film yet. I did not know about the Osage Nation's good (and bad) fortune until I saw this movie. So, on top of being educational about a historical subject that isn't talked about a lot, it also has the huge name of Martin Scorsese behind it as its director. And while it was an interesting film overall, I think Scorsese gets a bit too much leeway in this part of his career. Much like how I thought The Irishman (2019) was probably an hour too long, Killers of the Flower Moon could have easily had an hour trimmed from its almost 3.5-hour runtime. Of course, this seems to be an issue with well-known directors. Sure, their later works (like Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)) have critical acclaim...
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VIDEO GAME: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Year: 2023 Rating: E Time Played: ~10 hours For decades, it's felt like the true innovation of the Mario franchise has been with its 3D titles. It almost became a running gag that the most creative Mario levels were the ones made by fans in Super Mario Maker. Then along came Super Mario Bros. Wonder. While each Mario game has had its own gimmick to make it interesting, this one went all out and had an entire game filled with gimmicks. Each level has something unique to experience, and you never quite know what's coming next. Everything in this game is so bright, crisp, colorful, and whimsical. Nothing overstayed its welcome. If anything, I wanted to replay levels because the transformation caused by the Wonder flower was so fun that I wished there was more of it. Some of the Wonder sections were legitimately hilarious, while others really broke the mold for what a Mario game could do. That the core...
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MOVIE: Being John Malkovich (1999)

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Being John Malkovich Year: 1999 Rating: R Length: 113 minutes / 1.88 hours I have to blame Being John Malkovich (1999) for making me try more films written by Charlie Kaufman than I probably wanted to. While it is a quite peculiar film, it was strange in all the right ways. This movie was saying more than I could comprehend when it hooked me the first time I watched it, but now I can see its deeper meanings having been given the time to see it again with fresh eyes. And perhaps Being John Malkovich was more my introduction to Spike Jonze films, which has been a much better journey. Kaufman's writing is bizarre in ways that annoyed me in Synecdoche, New York (2008) and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) but worked for movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Being John Malkovich (1999). Perhaps it's because the latter two in this list have actual plots. I can appreciate the meta...
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BOOK: In the Sky (2021)

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In the SkyYear: 2021Author: Joseph D. SlaterLength: 456 pages As an author, I am jealous of Joseph D. Slater's fantasy adventure, In the Sky. I've read a lot of these kinds of books, but the first three chapters legitimately hooked me with their rich and well-developed main characters. I wish I could write a hook this engaging. Following three girls who are each on a journey of discovery, I was immediately drawn in by the overly confident pirate captain, the skilled dragon rider, and the sneaky cook's assistant. The world-building was so thoroughly interesting that I couldn't wait to read more. I applaud Slater's ability to craft a unique world where sky pirates do battle with government-trained dragons—and all through the lenses of these three girls. Every detail was well thought out and brought this imaginative universe vividly into my mind. Of course, sometimes these details felt a little too gory for a book that could easily be for upper middle grade...
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MOVIE: Toy Story 2 (1999)

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Toy Story 2Year: 1999Rating: PGLength: 92 minutes / 1.53 hours For all the flack that sequels get, there are the occasional few that surpass the original. Whether it's flipping the script by making the first movie's villain the hero (as in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)) or merely having room to grow the characters past their introductory stories (like in Spider-Man 2 (2004)), a well-done sequel should advance the story of the franchise and not just repeating the success of the first film. Toy Story 2 (1999) is one of those rare movies that does an excellent job of advancing the groundwork laid in Toy Story (1995). Not only does Toy Story 2 now have its original semi-villain, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), as the hero saving Woody (Tom Hanks), but there's also room to explore what in means to be a toy in the context of collectors items instead of just as a child's plaything. Considering how revolutionary the original Toy Story...
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