MOVIE: Free Solo (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Free SoloYear: 2018Rating: PG-13Length: 100 minutes / 1.67 hours For those who view climbing as a serious hobby, most climbing documentaries are a way to live vicariously through those climbers who dare to do something impossible. And while the plot structure of these climbing documentaries all feel nearly identical, there was something special in Free Solo (2018) that made it better than the rest. Perhaps it was the recognizability of El Capitan. Maybe it was the danger involved. Either way, Free Solo was well deserving of its Best Documentary Feature Oscar. Part of why I didn't connect with Meru (2015)—the previous film by these directors—was that I had never heard of that mountain before I sat down to watch it. Having never climbed El Capitan, I was at least aware of its significance. Knowing how hard this climb is, the premise of climbing it with no kind of safety gear is intriguing, to say the least. Of course, most climbing movies seem...
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VIDEO GAME: Kirby and the Forgotten Land (2022)

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Kirby and the Forgotten LandYear: 2022Rating: E10+Time Played: 15+ hours Kirby and the Forgotten Land is an interesting outlier for one of Nintendo's longest-running franchises. Most of these games transitioned from 2D platformers to 3D space in the Nintendo 64 era. Games like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time flawlessly made the jump into the next dimension. Even Metroid Prime successfully brought that franchise into 3D space with the Gamecube. 30 years after its debut, Kirby finally made it to 3D with Kirby and the Forgotten Land. The game structure is the same as any other Kirby game. Each world is broken into a series of themed levels, followed by a boss at the end of the world. Kirby can inhale enemies and replicate their abilities. The final boss is a literal god. Where previous Kirby games maintained some of their puzzle simplicity by being in two dimensions, Forgotten Land allows more exploration in 3D space while...
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MOVIE: Dune – Part Two (2024)

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Dune: Part TwoYear: 2024Rating: PG-13Length: 166 minutes / 2.77 hours Years ago, when I first read Dune, I struggled to get through the first half of the book. There was so much exposition and world building I had to get through that when the action finally began, I devoured the rest of the story. While I understand the need to split this epic novel into two movies, it meant I was eagerly anticipating Dune: Part Two (2024) after the excellent job Denis Villeneueve did adapting the first half in 2021. I appreciate that movies have multiple chances to become the iconic versions that their source material deserves. The original Dune (1984) has its own cult status among its fans (many of which are merely David Lynch fans). But the wide audience appeal of an epic story that stands the test of time is the high standard most filmmakers strive for. Few have been able to pull it off, but I think time...
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BOOK: Legion (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
LegionYear: 2018Author: Brandon SandersonLength: 612 minutes / 10.20 hours Multiple personalities is one of those tropes that some writers use as a crutch to explain why their main character is so good at a litany of unique skills necessary to move the plot forward. And while the main character in Legion suffers from this superhuman trait, Brandon Sanderson still gives him enough weaknesses so that it's not entirely overpowered. Still, I can appreciate that this concept only took up three novellas (contained in this volume), since it can often overstay its welcome. Each of the stories revolves around Stephen Leeds, a super-genius investigator who has portioned off his polymath of abilities to different personalities in his head. These personalities take up a physical space around him, even if nobody else can see them. Some of the "rules" around these invisible characters didn't seem to make much sense since they're allegedly all in Stephen's head, but I guess a character like this needs...
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MOVIE: Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Anatomy of a Fall Year: 2023 Rating: R Length: 151 minutes / 2.52 hours It's interesting how I've seen a lot of crime dramas before, but rarely (if ever) have I witnessed one from a foreign perspective. Movies like A Few Good Men (1992) or 12 Angry Men (1957) focus on the American justice system. Watching a murder trial in a foreign language and in a different country's judiciary style was new and exciting for me. Anatomy of a Fall (2023) does a great job of bringing ambiguity to the proceedings enough times as to make one wonder what truth to believe. The ability of this film to throw a series of twists into the narrative that makes the whole story flip back and forth between guilty and not guilty is an amazing achievement. That being said, despite the marketing for this film making it seem like there was still a question whether the death was an accident or a purposeful moment of murder, I...
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