VIDEO GAME: Monument Valley 2 (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Monument Valley 2Year: 2017Rating: ETime Played: 96 minutes / 1.60 hours Video game sequels have this fine balance between continuing the gameplay that made the original successful enough to warrant a sequel while also innovating with new ideas to make the sequel its own thing. There are lessons to be learned from the original that can improve a sequel because it refined what made the first game good. Monument Valley 2 attempts to do a few things differently than its predecessor, but it still feels too similar to stand out on its own. Once again, I enjoyed the calming experience of Monument Valley 2, even if the narrative elements were meant to invoke reminders of the global collapse in the real world. While the first Monument Valley was about the right length for this kind of game, this took an hour less to complete. Perhaps this was due to the learning curve from having beaten the first game so soon before playing...
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MOVIE: Fly Me to the Moon (2024)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Fly Me to the MoonYear: 2024Rating: PG-13Length: 132 minutes / 2.20 hours NASA's Gemini and Apollo programs remain the pinnacle of human achievement. Plenty of movies have told these stories of success and tragedy. The Right Stuff (1983), Apollo 13 (1995), Hidden Figures (2016), and First Man (2018) all tried to get somewhat close to what really happened while still being entertaining. Fly Me to the Moon (2024), however, may have leaned too much into the entertainment while being light on the facts. What's worse, in an era of misinformation, this movie could be seen as enforcing conspiracy theories surrounding the event. Considering this movie is a comedy, it shouldn't be taken seriously. If you watch it and have a few laughs while considering a "what if" scenario, then it's harmless fun. In thinking through the "why," though, Fly Me to the Moon provides some chilling Cold War guesses as to the motive behind a conspiracy like this—some of which may be...
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BOOK: Less (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
LessYear: 2017Author: Andrew Sean GreerLength: 497 minutes / 8.28 hours As I work my way through the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels, I'm finding the modern ones hold up a lot better under scrutiny. There's usually some eye-opening element from a marginalized group, which is partly why these are important novels to recognize. For its time, I'm sure Less came off edgier than today because of the wider acceptance of LGBTQ+ characters. Still, the writing in this book is deserving of its Pulitzer status not because of the main character's sexuality, but rather by the humor and humanity present in these pages. The odd thing is that I don't think a book like this would work quite as well with a straight protagonist because they basically fall into all those same "woe is me" tropes that loser white guy main characters exhibit in a lot of literature. Yes, Arthur Less can't commit to a relationship. Yes, he's avoiding accomplishing the things he's good at...
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MOVIE: Astro Boy (2009)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Astro BoyYear: 2009Rating: PGLength: 94 minutes / 1.57 hours There's no doubt that Astro Boy was one of the foundational anime series that helped establish the genre we have today. Like other well-known anime like Speed Racer, this anime finally received a movie adaptation in the late 2000s. Having only a cursory knowledge of the source material, I can't say how faithful Astro Boy (2009) is to its origins. In my opinion, there's always room for anime adaptations, since it's honestly a fairly untapped market. As for this adaptation, it's a fun movie that has quite a bit of heart despite being shockingly dark at a few key moments. As is the case for a lot of animated films, the celebrity voice acting is fine here. It's probably even a bit above average. However, voices like Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland, and Nathan Lane are so recognizable as to almost make it distracting when their characters are speaking. Similarly, the animation is fine—nothing...
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VIDEO GAME: Monument Valley (2014)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Monument ValleyYear: 2014Rating: ETime Played: 144 minutes / 2.40 hours There's something about the simple calming aesthetic of Monument Valley that made me want to binge the game in a single night. It has that visual feel of Journey or Alto's Adventure but with the three-dimensional puzzle elements of Fez. And while it's not particularly difficult, Monument Valley was this Zen experience that I have to recommend. After all, I like to de-stress with video games and experiences like this one are definitely built to reduce stress with every element of its being. If you can imagine M. C. Escher designing a video game, Monument Valley would be it. These impossible shapes are fun to traverse but require a bit of thought to get the character from point A to point B. The fixed camera angle helps simplify things while also emphasizing the beauty of each level. The game introduces new mechanics and builds upon them organically and in a way that...
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MOVIE: Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Kung Fu Panda 4Year: 2024Rating: PGLength: 94 minutes / 1.57 hours Where movies like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) are the exception to the "fourth movie after a contained trilogy" rule, Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) is the unnecessary sequel that's still just trying to cash in on a franchise. While I think the first Kung Fu Panda (2008) was the best of the first three movies, their story of Po's (Jack Black) journey to becoming a kung fu master felt complete by the end of the third film. That this movie barely had any of the characters from the previous movies should give you an idea of how the actors saw it. The problem Kung Fu Panda 4 falls into is the same one that I think plagued Cars 3 (2017). When the main character of the franchise is now set to be the mentor of the next generation, it usually means the writers are out of ideas....
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BOOK: Infinite Reality (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Infinite RealityYear: 2017Author: Peter MeredithLength: 410 pages I picked up this book because I saw the awesome cover that its sequel had and I didn't want to just jump into the middle of a series. Having never read any LitRPG before, this was my first exposure to the genre. Unfortunately, there were a lot of issues with this book—and not just the standard formatting issues and plentiful typos. Having talked with the author about this series many years ago, he made it clear that he was chasing the LitRPG trend at the time, and it shows. Conceptually, Infinite Reality is that same "straight white guy power fantasy" but with actual fantasy. The main character is some tough guy working for the FBI and the only way to solve his case is to enter a virtual reality world and continue investigating there. This was the first implausible fault, but not the last. Like, if a Christian woman says she doesn't feel comfortable playing...
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MOVIE: Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

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Lisa FrankensteinYear: 2024Rating: PG-13Length: 101 minutes / 1.68 hours I can appreciate when movies try to do something a little different. Like how Warm Bodies (2013) made Romeo & Juliet into a zombie movie. Often, there's some element of the public domain involved, but a good remix doesn't negate the source material. Lisa Frankenstein (2024) takes its obvious inspiration from Mary Shelley, but with a 1980s John Hughes teen comedy slant similar to Sixteen Candles (1984) or Pretty in Pink (1986). The combo somehow works, even if its plot seems to paint itself into a corner. Kathryn Newton kills it (har har) as the titular Lisa, giving those loner vibes that all girl protagonists from the 1980s seemed to exude before "finding themselves" and having a big glow-up. The entire premise that she's trying to build a boyfriend with pieces of other people is grotesque, but played for laughs due to the PG-13 rating. I don't say this often, but I think...
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