VIDEO GAME: Figment (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
FigmentYear: 2017Rating: E10+Time Played: ~5 hours With a name like Figment, I knew I was stepping into a world filled with imaginative elements. Exploring the mind in an action-based puzzle platformer was definitely the safe choice genre-wise and allowed for plenty of creative worlds to visit. I went into this game thinking it was just going to be a pun-filled series of levels that drew heavily from Inside Out (2015). However, the twist near the end elevated this game to something deeper and darker than I expected. This was despite some of its other, more annoying flaws. Visually, Figment looks great. Despite how everything moves, it doesn't quite have that "Flash game" feel because all the art is so well done. Of course, it also makes navigating around the world a little challenging at times because it's not clear if there are places where the character can go or not. Game-play wise, Figment isn't too difficult. The combat is simple, but just...
Read More

MOVIE: Ghostbusters – Frozen Empire (2024)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Ghostbusters: Frozen EmpireYear: 2024Rating: PG-13Length: 115 minutes / 1.92 hours After the delightful reboot that was Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), I was excited to see that they would make a sequel with Ghosbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). Since Afterlife had taken the content more seriously than previous iterations of the franchise, I wanted to see if they'd continue that path in a meaningful way. Not that relying on comedy was a bad thing, but it felt like there was more to explore with these new characters. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a compromise of the old and the new in Frozen Empire. 80s nostalgia is huge in Hollywood right now, but I'd rather it stay as cameo appearances like in Afterlife than in bigger sub-plots like it was in this movie. There were almost too many character arcs in this film, most of which moved at a glacial pace for its almost 2-hour runtime. The ones that were interesting (and focused on the newer...
Read More

BOOK: Collapse (2004)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed Year: 2004 Author: Jared Diamond Length: 1,621 minutes / 27.02 hours In doing research for book based on the Ancient Puebloan society that used to inhabit the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, I came across this book. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed was an eye-opening examination of the factors that can lead to the destruction of a society that could have continued being successful if it weren't for poor resource management. What's frustrating is seeing some of these things becoming prominent in modern society, 20 years after Jared Diamond wrote this book. While the book covers some case studies where the society identified the problem and moved to fix it, some examples Diamond gives are based on speculation—which one has to do with limited information surviving from those eras. And even though there is an emphasis on environmental factors, sometimes a string of bad years of drought is just the luck of the climate. Unfortunately,...
Read More

MOVIE: A Grand Day Out (1989)

by benmweilertNo Comments
A Grand Day OutYear: 1989Rating: Not RatedLength: 23 minutes / 0.38 hours I grew up watching the Wallace & Gromit shorts on VHS. There's a certain nostalgia I have for these stop motion films that I wanted to share with my daughter. So I pulled out the DVDs I had of these shorts and watched them again. Not only do they hold up, but just thinking of the technical achievement to create a thing like this is mind-boggling. The first of these, A Grand Day Out, isn't the best of the original three, but it's a grand movie, nonetheless. Like watching a silent comedy of the early era of Hollywood, A Grand Day out has a simple (if not completely absurd) premise of going to the moon because Wallace (Peter Sallis) is out of cheese and he figures it's the best place to get some. The beauty of A Grand Day Out isn't entirely in its ability to appeal to children and...
Read More

VIDEO GAME: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land (2011)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Kirby's Return to Dream LandYear: 2011Rating: E10+Time Played: ~6.50 hours While I'm all for franchises trying out new things, there's something about returning to the core mechanic that makes a great game. Kirby's Return to Dream Land took the fundamentals of a Kirby game and amped up the cool factor while still maintaining that classic Kirby feel. Granted, as Nintendo delved further into gimmicks on their consoles, their franchises had to adapt as well. Return to Dream Land is no exception, but at least the base game is the standard Kirby formula. Admittedly, one of the more "fun" aspects of this game is the super-powered abilities Kirby can use. While they do often require shaking the Wiimote to use, their increased power put a smile on my face. As far as couch co-op goes, this game is better than most. My daughter played a lot of this game with me as Meta Knight, and there wasn't much of an issue where she...
Read More

MOVIE: How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

by benmweilertNo Comments
How to Train Your Dragon Year: 2010 Rating: PG Length: 98 minutes / 1.63 hours There are a few movies I would consider pinnacle achievements in story, animation, and heart. When I saw How to Train Your Dragon (2010) in theaters, I knew I had just witnessed something special. It felt like DreamWorks had finally grown up from the bodily humor of the Shrek (2001) era and into something that could be taken seriously. It's no wonder that I still consider How to Train Your Dragon to be one of my favorite films of all time. I have always appreciated the stories that successfully convey the "brains over brawn" mentality without being too critical of either side. This film not only emphasizes a creator/tinkerer mindset, but the importance of empathizing with nature. That it made sense to kill dragons without the full context of why the dragons behaved the way they did didn't make the "brawn" side of the equation the enemy in the way...
Read More

BOOK: Bring Down the Stars (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Bring Down the Stars Year: 2018 Author: Emma Scott Length: 285 pages I'm not sure where I picked up this book on Kindle, but it finally took me two years to finish it (I'm excruciatingly slow at reading eBooks). To expand my horizons, I thought reading a romance novel would be good for me. Bring Down the Stars feels like a classic partly due to its heavy resemblance to Cyrano de Bergerac. Its tropes feel solidly planted in the genre, even to the point of being almost timeless. Still, the characters are a little frustrating. When I finally sat down to focus on reading this book, it hooked me pretty well. The writing is beautifully poetic—which is most often seen from the male point of view (POV). The female POV was a good counterpoint to give the reader both sides of the story while also making the miscommunication between these star-crossed lovers a buildup to either passionate love or a complete destruction of the friendship....
Read More

MOVIE: The Little Mermaid (1989)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Little MermaidYear: 1989Rating: GLength: 83 minutes / 1.38 hours There's no doubt that The Little Mermaid (1989) was a turning point for Disney. It helped revive the studio into its Renaissance after struggling for decades. Some of their best films came in this era sparked by The Little Mermaid, in part due to its success. Its songs and animation were its strong points, both of which are remembered today. However, its lesson (if there even is one) seems to be either too lost in the details or perhaps a bit too old for the young girls who love watching this movie. Several of the songs in The Little Mermaid are Disney classics that most people can probably hum a few bars. Alan Menken established himself as the de facto songwriter for Disney movies with these hits. Watching this movie as an adult, I'm still blown away with Disney's animation techniques here. There were several moments that had me scratching my head,...
Read More