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videogamenostalgia:

Aria - by Priya Johal

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cadesnyder:

Cade Snyder’s Weekly Recap - December 10th, 2012

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) - Well, this was a surprise.  I never would have paid attention to this movie or even remembered that it existed if it weren’t for it being in my 501 Must See Movies book, but it turns out that Master and Commander is actually quite brilliant, a callback to the swashbuckling adventures of the ’30s and ’40s with a more modern eye towards realism and greater emotional depth.  Of course, if I’d paid closer attention to the blurb in my book and realized the film was directed by Peter Weir (Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, just to name a few), I wouldn’t have been so blindsided.  The film, based on novels by Patrick O’Brian, follows the exploits of Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and the crew of the HMS Surprise in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars as they engage in a sea chase with the French privateer Archeron that they’ve been ordered to capture or destroy.  Aubrey, nicknamed “Lucky Jack”, is beloved by his loyal crew and loving of them in turn, thrilled by the challenge of naval battle and thoroughly devoted to his country and his military duty.  His love for battle puts him at intellectual odds with his best friend and confidante, naturalist Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany).  The relationship between the two forms the heart of the film; the two men have great respect and fondness for each other, but also challenge one another.  Maturin fears that Aubrey is putting his own pride above the safety and well-being of his ship and crew, while Aubrey is on multiple occasions torn between his duty to his country and his orders and his personal duty to his men and his friend.  The film shows great detail and authenticity in capturing the everyday workings of an early-19th century naval ship, aided by the use of a period-authentic ship shooting on real open water, and depicts the real considerations of naval battle in that era, as much about patience as it is action (although the climactic battle does offer plenty of guns-blazing, sword-swinging action).  The art department does a phenomenal job decorating the ship and recreating the attire of the era, with outfits that clearly define the different levels of officers and crew, important for the film’s subtle treatment of class difference in that setting, and the Oscar-winning cinematography captures it all, from the small details of the ship to the sweeping expanse of the ocean and the pristine Galapagos Islands (rarely seen on screen outside of documentary films).  The film does an excellent job of developing Aubrey and Maturin both individually and as friends, and further succeeds in developing many of the crew members so that several scenes involving supporting characters succeed in having real emotional impact in a way that’s not often the case in this kind of grand adventure film.  Crowe and Bettany give what I would rate as career-best performances for both and are joined by a very capable supporting cast.  It’s a shame that this classy, well-crafted, confidently-directed film, obviously made with an eye towards franchise possibilities (the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels had over twenty titles in it, and the colon in the title is a dead giveaway too), didn’t get the attention it needed to continue the series, likely because it was outshone by two other big, more youth-friendly adventure films released in the same year- the last Lord of the Rings movie and the first Pirates of the Carribean.  The way I see it, we’ve seen plenty of Baggins and Sparrow.  Give us more Aubrey, please.

Rating: ☀☀☀☀☀
Five out of five suns

A Separation (2011) - If any Western viewers need a counterpoint to the less-than-flattering portrayal of Iran seen in Argo, then try A Separation, a domestic drama that shows Iranians as anything but caricatures, Iranians with real depth, real struggles, and real emotions.  Asghar Farhadi’s film (which he wrote, produced, and directed) opens with Simin (Leila Hatami) asking a judge to grant her a divorce from her husband Nader (Peyman Moaadi).  She wants to leave the country so that their daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi, the director’s daughter) can be raised outside of the difficult conditions of present-day Iran, but Nader refuses to leave, as he must take care of his Alzheimer’s-stricken father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi).  The judge denies the divorce, leading to the separation of the title; Simin moves out to stay with her mother and, on her recommendation, Nader hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to act as housekeeper and caretaker to his father.  Unfortunately, Razieh is inexperienced, having taken the job only to help provide for her family while her husband Hodjat (Shahab Hosseini) is unemployed, and her devout adherence to Islamic tenets makes her caretaking responsibilities difficult to manage.  Complications arise, and tensions rise along with them, and although this isn’t usually the case with domestic dramas such as this, I don’t want to say anything more about the plot for risk of spoiling the many unexpected turns it takes.  Indeed, although A Separation is essentially a story about two married couples from two different social classes struggling to keep their marriages and lives afloat, it’s also an intense and surprising film that plays out a lot like a mystery movie, with lies and clues and uncertainties and ulterior motives and surprise revelations and, again, despite being about relatively common and routine matters, real stakes.  As the movie unfolds, Farhadi plays with the audience’s sympathies, questioning our allegiances and assumptions about the characters as well as simple moral assumptions of right and wrong.  It’s a film of extreme emotional complexity and honesty.  Nader’s devotion to his father even while he knows that devotion threatens to destroy his family is both touching and completely heartbreaking, and that kind of heartbreaking dilemma is found in every one of the main characters, and all five main actors - Hatami, Moaadi, Bayat, Hosseini, and the young Farhadi - do brilliant work portraying the emotional brinksmanship going on in each character’s life.  Visually, the camera work is simple but elegant, handheld to help capture the intimacy and intensity of the script, and makes excellent use of the spaces, like constricting the space in the judge’s office (in Iran, most legal cases are heard and decided solely by a judge sans jury) to increase the sense of hostility and claustrophobia in the court scenes and utilizing doors in the apartments as visual symbols for the barriers the characters have put between each other with their dishonesty.  A Separation is an astonishing film, honest, painful and revealing, a recognizably Iranian film in both thematic concerns and style, and yet an entirely universal exploration of family life.

Rating: ☀☀☀☀☀
Five out of five suns

The Great Silence (1968) - I had the privilege of seeing the only 35mm print of Sergio Corbucci’s The Great Silence known to exist, imported to the Belcourt in Nashville from Switzerland (if I remember correctly), and it’s sad to think that more people don’t have the chance to experience this film in its full glory.  It’s also sad that Corbucci is forever fated to be linked to Sergio Leone (the showing at the Belcourt was part of a small retrospective titled “The Other Sergio”), but it’s hard not to make the comparisons between the two major figures of the spaghetti western, and since we’re already making the comparisons: the improvement from Corbucci’s Django (1966) to The Great Silence is much like that of Leone from A Fistful of Dollars to Once Upon a Time in the West.  While Django and A Fistful of Dollars are smaller films, more concentrated spatially, more limited in their development of character and themes (but both still thoroughly enjoyable, mind you), The Great Silence and Once Upon a Time in the West approach epic size, much larger in scope, far more expansive in depicting the landscapes, and with more in the way of character and theme to create a fuller story with more substantial impact.  The Great Silence is set in Utah in the dead of winter, and the imagery of the snow-covered ground, white and evergreen as far as the eyes can see, is beautiful, much of the snow pure and untouched save for the occasional trail made by horse or foot, but at the same time indicative of the kind of unforgiving brutality and emotional coldness on display in the film.  Indeed, one of the differences between Corbucci and Leone is that Corbucci’s films are even darker in tone and more brutal, not only in terms of violence but in terms of their outlook on life.  The Great Silence pits a mute gunslinger known as Silence (Jean-Louis Trintignant), taking the trope of the western “man of few words” to its extreme, against a group of bounty hunters led by Loco (Klaus Kinski), who have come to complete contracts on a group of poor men forced into thievery for survival and then shunned into the wilderness hiding from cruel killers like Loco.  The film has a political relevancy that lasts today, wherein law is based not on justice and mercy but solely on money - the poor are labeled criminals, and the rich pay opportunistic bounty hunters to find and kill them.  There’s also quite a bit of irony involved in the violent actions of both Silence and Loco, as both essentially use the law as a shield for their actions; Silence instigates men into drawing on him, then shoots them under the guise of self-defense, while Loco finds men who could be taken alive and without hesitation kills them in cold blood, without any sense of remorse, all under the official sanction of the local government, save for the new sheriff in town (Frank Wolff), the only truly just man in the film who inevitably doesn’t survive to the film’s end.  The film’s ending, in fact, is its most shocking aspect, going entirely against what years of Hollywood influence has conditioned us to expect from a movie ending, even those from outside of Hollywood.  Trintignant does a fitting job projecting emotion and machismo without the use of his voice, but The Great Silence is undeniably Kinski’s film; no face in the history of cinema naturally exudes madness the way Kinski’s does (a running theme in at least all of his films with Herzog, even when he’s playing a sympathetic character) while maintaining a sense of charm bordering on smugness, engaging but threatening.  With a fantastic score from Ennio Morricone, memorable cinematography by Silvano Ippoliti, and English dubbing that’s a marked improvement over that of Django, The Great Silence is truly a masterpiece of the genre, matching even the great work of that other Sergio.

Rating: ☀☀☀☀☀
Five out of five suns

tinycartridge:

Those of you hoping for a Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon release date came away from this morning’s Nintendo Direct disappointed, but the livestream did give us this look at the game’s new U.S. cover. So, there’s that.

And in the presentation held across the pond, Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata had the following to say:

“[Mario] maybe needs a little holiday in 2013. And maybe he will have the chance now as Luigi is finally ready to step out of Mario’s shadow in 2013. 2013 is going to be the year of Luigi. It’s going to start with Luigi’s Mansion 2.”

I wonder what plans the company has in mind?

PREORDER Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon

videogamenostalgia:

Nintendo Unleashes Slew Of Release Dates

Nintendo has been on a roll today, announcing release estimates for many high-profile and desired titles and features (besides the current download for the Wii U for “stability purposes”). Wii Fit U has been announced for the first half of 2013, with Pikmin 3 and Lego City Undercover slated for early 2013. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon has also been scheduled for a spring 2013 release.

By far, though, Nintendo Direct’s biggest news is the street date for Fire Emblem: Awakening, which has been announced for February 4. Mark your calendars, strategy fans, the epic 3DS exclusive is on its way soon!

PIKMIN 3!!

tinycartridge:

Segazine is looking hot, if these submissions to the upcoming black and white publication are anything to go by. The artists behind these pieces, in order of appearance:

• Ted Martens
• Jordan C.
• Joakim Sandberg
• Cory Holmes
• Cassandra Freire
• Rory Morris
• Jacob Smiley
• Thdark
• Combotron
• Doodley Squat

There’s no guarantee that all of the illustrations will appear in the zine, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of these make the cut. You can follow Segazine’s progress and purchase a copy when they go on sale here.

BUY Sega game collections

jamesreyes:

This is only the second time the United States has had three successive two-term presidents (Clinton, Bush, Obama). The last time this happened was when James Monroe was reelected in 1820. He succeeded two-termers Thomas Jefferson and James Madison during the Era of Good Feelings, the only time this country experienced one-party rule for any significant period of time.

(via retrocampaigns)

dcu:

This Month in DC History

The Martian Manhunter was beamed to Earth and accidentally induce heart attacks to everyone he met in 1955. Ok it was just the one doctor and when your performing experiments dealing with teleportation you shouldn’t get all stressed out because it works and brings a shapeshifting alien to your doorstep. So J’onn J’onzz took the appearance of a dead detective and began his conquest of Earth’s Oreo supply, and he fought crime occasionally.

What else happened in 1955?

• All the cool superheroes got dogs when Krypto and Ace, the Bat-Hound, was introduced. And all Aquaman got was a catfish… I’m so sorry for that one, it was too easy.
• The Brave and The Bold began as a hodgepodge of storytelling. In 1963 the Martian Manhunter teamed up with Green Arrow introducing the team-up aspect that the title became. In 1966 Batman made his first appearance in the title and hoarded all the teaming up, didn’t his mother teach him to shar… oh yeah, guess not.
• Superboy (meaning Superman as a boy) was forced to leave Smallville to save the Kents who were being threaten by a criminal on death row. Superboy flew off with people pretending to be his Kryptonian  parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, but Clark came back once the criminal had been executed. The story was told across two issues, which was rare at the time. Can you even imagine what it would be like if the story ended in the same issue it started in?

Have A Happy Thanksgiving