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(11/02/17 8:49pm)
by Gunner Masters
This review is based on the PlayStation 4 version of Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is the anticipated sequel to Monolith’s Shadow of Mordor that released in 2014. The games follow the story of Talion, a Ranger of Gondor who is stationed at the Black Gate with his family. Sauron’s forces attack the fortress and his servants (the Hammer, the Tower and the Hand of Sauron) sacrificing Talion along with his wife and son to resurrect the wraith of Celebrimbor, the maker of the Rings of Power. Instead of heeding their call to return to Sauron’s side, Celebrimbor possesses Talion and the pair set out on a quest to conquer Mordor and defeat Sauron.
Story
The story in Shadow of War follows where the previous installment left off, with Talion and Celebrimbor forging the New Ring within Mt. Doom and eventually waging the all-out war the elven wraith desires. Talion’s motives are different in this installment. Instead of vengeance for his family, the Ranger seeks to save the remnants of Gondor’s holdings in Mordor and to keep the Dark Lord’s forces at bay long enough to give the rest of the world hope for survival.
There are also various characters that Talion and Celebrimbor meet, fight alongside, and rescue. These characters include Idril, the young daughter of General Castamir in Minas Ithil, the last Gondorian bastion in Mordor. She tends to the various artifacts held within the fortress, but that doesn’t mean she spends all her time in a library. Idril is a brave and persistent fighter who leads raids against the Orc invaders. Another compelling character is Shelob the Spider, who appears as a woman in a black dress for most of her scenes and gives Talion grim visions of the future he seeks to prevent.
The story, while mature most of the time, has lighter comedic moments that break the tension caused by Shelob’s visions and the constant fighting and dominating of Orc captains and fortresses. These moments serve to present a human side to Talion and some of the Orcs he works with during the conflict.
But it isn’t Mordor without betrayal and darkness, and this sequel presents those elements in spades throughout the various quest-lines. These elements lead to utter surprise on Talion’s part at a crucial moment and build to a grim fate for him. At one point in his bewilderment, Shelob visits him again and says, “You pitiful man. I gave you sight, yet you did not see.”
Gameplay
Gameplay in Shadow of War is much akin to its predecessor with combat and climbing, but it has slight improvements to speed and accuracy for both Talion and the mobs of Orcs he fights. However, these mechanics become cumbersome during massive battles where Talion is surrounded by enemies and allies alike. Sometimes the game suffers from input lag during an attack combo, failing a block and resulting in lost health and Might, the meter that allows you to do executions and other abilities. At other times, Talion will end up auto-targeting the wrong enemy or ally when you are in the heat of battle trying to attack or heal. This can make the fort assaults and defenses frustrating. However, when actions work they really work. An intentional domination or execution that lands when it’s supposed to can turn the entire battle in Talion’s favor.
Another minor complaint is the addition of microtransactions. These leave a bad taste in the game as it and other single-player titles have taken a step toward the pay-to-win system often seen on free mobile games, but it is avoidable altogether as Orcs and loot already in-game are more than sufficient to complete the game.
Shadow of War also adds new upgrades to familiar abilities from Shadow of Mordor, such as the Wraith Blast ability which can send out waves of poison or frost instead of fire, or the Attract ability which can be charged up to send out a physical wraith to kill or brand an enemy. Some of the new abilities in the game allow for Talion to tap into Celebrimbor’s power to summon a Spectral Glaive, a type of halberd/spear, to slash and sweep enemies around him, or allow him to use stealth kills on enemy animals such as the vicious Caragors.
Next up is the series’ most famous distinction on enemy and story development: the Nemesis System. Shadow of War improves vastly on the previous incarnation of this system that procedurally generates enemies based on looks, weapons, armor, personality, strengths and weaknesses. In the previous game, each enemy was somewhat unique, but later they started to feel similar in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Here each enemy captain, war-chief and overlord has even more listed strengths and weaknesses that cover everything from fear of Caragors, hatred of betrayal, to commanding a gang of warriors and using war banners to rally their allies to attack harder. There are also more cosmetic features to the various Orc leaders that depend on their clan such as Dark or Mystic. Dark Orcs tend to wear hoods and darker clothing and use cursed weapons to disrupt your wraith abilities, who Mystic who wear silver armor and masks.
The Nemesis System also more accurately portrays personalities and makes each enemy unique. One might be called the Screamer because instead of speaking he will let out loud and obnoxious cries in and out of battle, while another might be called the Collector because he has a penchant for absorbing the strengths of his vanquished foes by claiming trophies from them. By extension, their titles and looks can change based on their interactions with Talion. An orc captain could be cleaved in half only to return encased in metal armor from head-to-toe a la Darth Vader, identifying as “the Machine” and saying, “My brothers put me back together, but it was you who created me.”
Talion can also shame Orc leaders to reduce their level, with a possibility of making them either deranged (weaker) or maniacs (stronger). Their minds will be broken and they will become shells of their former selves, making Talion into something of a Sith Lord on top of the desire to conquer Mordor.
One such Orc is a proud Olog-hai (a smarter type of troll) who calls himself Ar-Benu the Bludger and crushes every one of his enemies with his mace. Talion decides to dominate this Olog and make him his bodyguard, but a sudden betrayal leads to Ar-Benu being too strong-willed to be taken back into Celebrimbor’s influence. After repeated shaming, Ar-Benu’s mind collapses with fear and loathing, causing him to mutter gibberish and cry in despair, then erupt with cackling laughter. Talion kills the broken Olog out of mercy by cutting his head off to end his suffering quickly.
Overall, this game is a worthy installment in an awesome franchise that has far-reaching effects on the larger Tolkien lore of Middle-earth. It expands on the world by exploring the Second Age exploits of Celebrimbor, Sauron and others. It also adds in sprinkles of lore for lands outside the borders shown on the maps of Middle-earth, such as Rhun, the Heradrim and Numenor. Fans of the series and the Lord of the Rings trilogy will enjoy it for its 50- to 60-hour campaign and its pages of lore that describe things not well-known outside the books.
Featured image from LOTR Wiki
(11/02/17 2:38pm)
by Jeremy Rogers
Some documentaries are propelled by their subject matter, relying on the intrigue and drama of their subject to propel the film forward and to keep the audience’s interest. Other documentaries are driven by the filmmaking artistry of the director. Davis Schumacher’s The New Fire, which had its world premiere at Heartland Film Festival 2017, is a prime example of the latter.
Differing from other environmentally focused documentaries which often focus on the doom and gloom of Earth’s future, The New Fire is as optimistic as its title suggests. There is a new fire ready to light the way forward in the United States, and that fire is engineered by bright millennials and fueled by nuclear fission.
The film does a fantastic job explaining complex topics to the audience without ever condescending. The complexities of engineering challenges faced by nuclear physicists is laid bare in simplistic explanations and beautifully rendered animated segments that illustrate how the various designs for different reactors work.
As the filmmakers acknowledged both in the film and in the after-film Q&A session, nuclear power is a hard sell to most people who grew up in the Cold War era. This is one of the biggest issues facing the nuclear energy movement. The New Fire does an amazing job at convincing its audience of its pro-nuclear power arguments.
This is accomplished through the multitude of interviews with world renowned nuclear physicists and climate scientists. Some of the universities represented by their scientists include MIT, UC Berkley and Columbia University. Footage is even taken from the Paris Climate Talks of 2015 of top climate scientists conceding that nuclear energy must be embraced to achieve a carbon neutral energy infrastructure throughout the world.
The film follows a few startups that are focused on bringing about a nuclear revolution in the United States: Transatomic Power, TerraPower and Oklo.
Transatomic Power and Oklo are the product of enterprising, young nuclear engineers. Terrapower is a bit different, but it illustrates the legitimacy of the pursuit of a nuclear power solution (as if several scientists holding doctorates in nuclear energy isn’t enough). The Chairman of the Board of Terrapower is none other than Bill Gates, a man not widely known for making poor financial decisions.
The film does not get bogged down in the processes of making energy or with the struggles of engineering; the film’s audience is the everyman, not nuclear scientists. The film mostly focuses on how ill equipped the US government is at addressing the energy needs of an increasingly carbon conscious world and how to change that.
Another element that stands in stark relief to the average climate or energy focused documentary is the emphasis put on the opportunities that lay in the nuclear field. This optimism that practically oozes through portions of the film never seems misplaced or naïve; there are real opportunities to be seized in this sector of the energy market that has been practically abandoned since the late 1980s. The worldwide market for nuclear power is changing, and the film expertly shows how embracing nuclear could propel the United States to the forefront of the world’s emerging nuclear energy economy.
Opportunity is not the only area of nuclear power explored in The New Fire. There are many challenges to overcome in the nuclear field, public relations notwithstanding. Much of the legislative structure surrounding nuclear reactors and their regulations are centered around decade old models. This creates a problem for engineers not working with water-cooled reactor structures. There are also issues with funding. As one MIT professor says, “A nuclear reactor is not an app; this is not the kind of idea that can be fueled on pizza and lines of code. The risk is proportional to the reward, and this is about as big as it gets.”
In addition to the fantastic graphics, the simple explanations from dramatically overqualified people and inspiring tone, one of the biggest surprises of the documentary is the sudden musical number rendered by Eric Myer, an opera-singing nuclear power activist. During the segment covering the Paris Climate Accord, two activists hand out their pro-nuclear book to anti-nuclear activists, and an impromptu performance is given on a train. After the film, Meyers revealed that he had originally studied to be an opera singer, later deciding to move to the less crowded job market of the opera-singing nuclear activist. Now in addition to using his musical talents, he also runs a nuclear power advocacy group, Generation Atomic.
The film does not completely dismiss renewable forms of energy just because the subjects of the film have devoted their lives to nuclear power. Wind and solar power are discussed as being limited in feasibility, but instances of renewables doing good for energy infrastructure are shown as well. The films spends time in Gabar, Senegal, showing how even something as small as a row of solar panels can help people in energy deficient communities. The message of the filmmakers and of the multitude of scientists featured is not that nuclear should be the only way people generate power but that nuclear should be the main way for people to generate power.
In addition to opera singers, filmmakers, and nuclear physicists, Suzanne Jaworski, the chief of staff of the Office of Nuclear Energy for the Department of Energy shared the current administration’s stance on coal and nuclear power. She claimed that both President Trump and Energy Secretary Perry were open to the idea of expanding the US’ nuclear power capabilities.
Donald Trump and Rick Perry aren’t the only politicians warming up to the idea of a nuclear-powered future. In the year that had passed between the filming and the premiere, other government officials have started to pave the way for now legislation to help reignite the new wave of nuclear innovation in the United States.
Image: Kickstarter
(10/29/17 6:36pm)
by Ryan Fine
Richard Turner is one of the best magicians in the world. Though his preferred term is “card mechanic”, it’s undeniable watching him perform that this man is one of the closest things this world has to a real-life wizard. He has tens of thousands of card decks in his house and practices 16 hours every day, and it shows. It is illogically exhilarating to watch Richard Turner turn out cards as smoothly as he does.
Though he might try to argue, one aspect of Richard’s life that makes his career a touch more spectacular is his complete and total blindness. He began to lose vision while still in school and was legally blind by the time he reached adulthood, but the decay of his vision was a decades-long, painful process. Luke Korem’s new documentary Dealt, a finalist at Heartland Film Festival 2017, is a glimpse into Richard’s still-rising career that shows how it intertwines with his shaky identity as a blind man.
For most of Richard’s life, his blindness has been a point of embarrassment for him. He was labeled as an outcast for it while he was in school, and as he grew older, he looked for ways to prove that it wasn’t a handicap for him. A great example shown in Dealt is his excruciating black belt test in karate. He refused to let anyone tone down the test’s difficulty for him, and he ended up doing the last couple rounds with a broken arm. When he was ultimately successful, it was all over the news the next day, but he never showed anyone the article because it mentioned his blindness in the headline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F__DQ1ruYck
Even in regards to his magic, this film shows countless television appearances where host after host brings up his eyesight within the first minute, sometimes in the middle of his routine. In each clip, you can physically see the point where he becomes annoyed and embarrassed. He wants to be recognized as a brilliant card magician and doesn’t want blindness to be a part of his gimmick.
This struggle with identity is juxtaposed nicely with Richard’s sister Lori, who began losing vision around the same time as him. Whereas Richard never learned to read Braille or got a guide dog because he didn’t want to admit to having a disability, Lori proudly claimed her identity as a blind woman early on and found it to be a liberating experience. While watching the film, it’s easy to see both perspectives and it’s difficult to completely pick one side over another.
That said, the real magic of Dealt is in, well, the magic. The film follows Richard and his family (notably his son, who is of course named Asa Spades) traveling to various conventions and performances including one in Sweden, and his routine never gets boring to watch. This movie also describes three separate nominations at the Academy of Magical Arts annual awards, which are a couple of its most stress-inducing moments.
It also helps that this is one of the best-shot documentaries I’ve ever seen. Occasional cutaways to Richard cutting cards and shuffling in slow motion show exactly how machine-like his practice must be. Watching his fingers glide over the top of each card as it flips over is unreasonably satisfying, and it proves exactly how much he cares about making every one of his motions perfect. This film is about someone who can’t see, but if that was supposed to make the visuals less important, no one told Luke Korem that.
Dealt is both incredibly moving and wildly entertaining. No amount of card magic or even movie magic can match up to the effect of Richard Turner’s eccentric personality. At the heart of it, this movie works because it’s about an interesting, hilarious person. He’s easy to get to know, which makes it all the more heartwarming to watch him grow as a magician and as a person.
You can follow this movie on Facebook, Twitter, or its website. It is scheduled to open in select theaters in the United States soon and is now available for pre-order on the iTunes Store.
Featured image from Fandango
(10/27/17 3:30pm)
by Ryan Fine
Although the debut feature film from Austrian-born director Adrian Goiginger can certainly stand on the strength of its own merits, there are a couple of facts that make it a little bit more incredible. First of all, it’s a true story, which is a pretty typical bonus to anything that makes a real impact. But second is the explanation of how the director did such a masterful job of telling the story: because it is his story and he is the main character.
The Best of All Worlds (Die beste aller Welten in German) begins with a seven-year-old Adrian (Jeremy Miliker) with his mother Helga (Verena Altenberger) and her friends at a campground by the lake. All seems well and good until everyone sits down by the fire and all the adults start shooting heroin. The majority of the movie is full of contradictory images like this. Adrian seems to enjoy his childhood, and he has a fantastic relationship with his mother despite her drug addiction and her unpredictable group of friends.
But those friends truly are unpredictable. At one point, Adrian’s mother leaves him alone with a man called the Greek (Michael Pink), who immediately tries to get him to drink vodka. The Greek forcefully holds Adrian down until his mother returns and kicks him out of the house. Helga seems to have a questionable relationship with Adrian’s stepfather Günter, who is irritable and refuses to ban the Greek even though he makes Helga uncomfortable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoSwHwPQjic
When Adrian gets fed up with the people around him, he daydreams about becoming an adventurer when he grows up. Like the rest of the movie, these scenes are incredibly well shot. Since this is not a fantasy-adventure movie by default, there is another layer of impressiveness to the fact that there was so much effort put into making these short scenes look like they came from an entirely different genre. They even feature a demon character that is legitimately terrifying despite its symbolic nature.
Helga really is a good mother to Adrian, and it’s delightful to watch their relationship flourish. Even though he is young, he knows that his mother is dealing with an illness, and that underneath her addiction she really does love him. She encourages him in his aspirations of becoming an adventurer and apologizes profusely to him when she falls asleep during a story he wrote. Arguably the biggest internal conflict of the movie is Helga trying to see past her addiction enough to be the best mother she can.
This conflict is also inflicted upon the viewers. In any normal situation, many people would agree that a child in a house full of drug addicts should be taken away from his mother. But every time a social worker shows up to inspect what’s going on, it’s easy to find yourself rooting for Helga anyway. She is fighting her demons, but she is still doing the best she can, and it feels like she and Adrian would be better off together despite everything.
Even though The Best of All Worlds is about one specific person’s experiences, it also does a fantastic job at summarizing the dark underbelly of Salzburg as a whole. The city is known mostly as a cultural hub due to its world-famous orchestra, but the problem is that not everyone can be rich. Alongside the fancy concert halls are run-down apartments where drug problems are rampant, and this side of the city is far too often ignored.
As the movie reaches its end, Helga is forced to make some tough decisions for the sake of Adrian. A life-threatening moment unexpectedly turns The Best of All Worlds into a story of hope at the last possible moment. In this constant back-and-forth shift of emotions lies the true brilliance of this film. Keeping hope alive throughout this story is incredibly difficult, but it shows that it’s never too late for anyone to make a change in their lives.
Follow the film on Facebook and its website (both in German).
Featured image from Die Beste Aller Welten
(10/26/17 10:29pm)
by Zachary Siddiq
The voice acting union SAG-AFTRA has announced this week that they have voted to potentially end their strike on video game publishers such as Electronic Arts, Activision and Take 2.
Under the deal proposed, voice actors would receive extra compensation for each voice session worked ($75 for first, reaching $2,100 for tenth). In addition, transparency would be given for upcoming projects (such as detailing genre of game, profanity and violent/sexual content), and a guarantee from publishers that the issue of vocal stress in actors would be addressed later.
Absent from the list are developer demands that late or distracted performers be fined, and that smaller, “atmospheric” roles could be used without membership in SAG-AFTRA.
Internal opinions about the deal are positive. One member leaving an internal meeting said, “It seems like they’re going to ratify it… It’s a pretty good deal.”
SAG-AFTRA has been on strike with the video game industry since October 21st of last year. Citing a need for an “interactive contract for the 21st century”, members of the union have refused to do voice work for a number of large video game publishers.
SAG-AFTRA will count votes from its members on November 7 to accept or deny the proposal.
Sources: Deadline, SAG-AFTRA
Image: TechRaptor
(10/24/17 10:30pm)
by Daley Wilhelm
October is typically characterized for all things Halloween: ghosts, pumpkins, witches, and all things spooky. For those immersed in the arts community, it’s a little different. For many artists, amatuers, and others October is Inktober, when doodlers of all sorts challenge themselves to produce a drawing once a day.
“What pushed me to actually try and do Inktober this was just wanting a change in my drawing habits.” said animation student Alexis Brooks, and this has been echoed by many other artists online. Along with the fact that sometimes it’s hard to keep up with. Drawing every day isn’t as easy as it might look.
“With Inktober, you have to draw every day, and as an animation student, drawing everyday can be a tough. For a while, I kind of fell out of the habit of drawing every day because I have been so busy with school and animation classes.” said Brooks, “I just saw this as an opportunity to grow as an artist, and I am try to take the bull by its horns.”
The focus of Inktober is improvement through practice. Sometimes improvement or change in style is visible over the thirty-one Inktober, whereas some artists compare their art from one year to the next.
“I don’t think I have been doing enough drawing for Inktober to see a huge improvement.” said Brooks, “However, I do feel a sense of peace when I actually sit down and do a drawing. I get excited, and I am reminded of why I am an in to art in the first place. I see it as a romance almost.”
Inktober is often the chance for artists to not only force themselves to improve, but also to explore new mediums and prompts. Any artist can tell you, one of the hardest things about art can be not the drawing, but deciding what to draw, exactly. This is what brings us to the origin of Inktober: Jake Parker and his yearly prompt.
Utah-based illustrator started Inktober back in 2009 to achieve the same goal Brooks is here and now in 2017—to create positive drawing habits and improve. Since then, the movement has expanded to include thousands. Each year, Parker posts the official prompt list, which consists of a single word for each day of the month of October for artists to find inspiration in.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="960"] Image from Jake Parker[/caption]
“I feel like I am also exercising my brain, focusing it to pull ideas from something as simple as a single word prompt.” said Brooks when prompted about the prompt.
While Brooks thinks that having restrictions can sometimes induce creativity, others encourage letting the ink flow wherever it may go.
(10/24/17 9:11pm)
by Emily Reuben
There are some movies so famous that everyone knows their name. Star Wars. Blade Runner. Alien. Police Academy. Young Frankenstein. These films are easily recognizable due to their success, even if you haven’t seen them. Strangely these films all have something else in common other than fame: they all largely owe their success to Alan Ladd Jr. Heartland Film Festival is about appreciating movies, so what better movie to do so than with Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies, a celebratory look at one of film's most influential executives.
"Who is Alan Ladd Jr.?" you may be asking, and this is a fair question. He isn’t an actor or director in the spotlight; instead he works behind the scenes helping to get movies made. He has worked as an agent, producer, president of Twentieth Century Fox, Chairman and CEO of Pathe Entertainment, and founder of the Ladd Company. Even more impressive, according to the film's official website, his filmography consists of 164 films, 150 Academy Award nominations, and 50 Academy Award wins. So basically Alan Ladd Jr. has had a major hand in the crafting movie masterpieces, but most people have never heard of him. He was not just a Hollywood mover and shaker; he was also a husband and father.
Enter Alan Ladd’s daughter, Amanda Ladd Jones to remedy the issue with her film detailing the career and impact of her father, Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies.
[embed]https://ksr-video.imgix.net/projects/903268/video-380252-h264_high.mp4[/embed]
The film begins with Amanda interviewing San Diego Comic Con attendees asking who Alan Ladd Jr. is. Unsurprisingly, most attendees, even avid Star Wars fans, are unable to answer her question. This perfectly demonstrates her point: her father did had an almost incomprehensible impact on cinema, but he is hardly credited for his contribution.
After this brief demonstration, the film goes into more detail about Amanda’s father. As the son of actor Alan Ladd, Alan Ladd Jr. (affectionately called "Laddie" for short) has never been a stranger to the film industry. In 1963 Laddie began his career as an agent working on behalf of big stars like Robert Redford, Judy Garland and others, later moving to London to produce films in 1969. After producing nine films, Laddie returned to America and was offered the position of Head of Creative Affairs at 20th Century Fox, which he accepted.
It is during this time that Ladd helped director George Lucas get his vision for Star Wars off the ground. After studies were unimpressed with Lucas’ first film, American Graffiti, studios denied Lucas’ script for A New Hope. Luckily for all of us, Ladd saw great potential in George Lucas’ vision and funded the project. Even after the first internal screening of A New Hope, the studio executives thought the project would crash and burn, but Ladd continued to back the project. Now with his own reputation at stake, the pressure on both Ladd and Lucas for Star Wars to succeed was extremely high.
Of course, Star Wars became the single most profitable film franchise of all time as well as a cultural landmark.
In addition to George Lucas, another famed filmmaker that Laddie helped was Mel Brooks. While serving as the Head of Creative Affairs, Laddie decided that 20th Century Fox should pick up Brooks' film Young Frankenstein for distribution. Other members of Fox's executive structure were hesitant because of the lack of color in the film, but Laddie saw the potential in the film and more importantly in Brooks as an artist.
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Eventually, Laddie became the president of Fox. During his tenure, films such as the infamous Alien were created. Alien director Ridley Scott also benefitted from Laddie’s input. Scott has initially envisioned Sigourney Weaver’s character as a male, but Ladd convinced him to make the protagonist a female. Considering that female leads, especially in action or horror films, were almost non-existent, this demonstrates Ladd’s dedication in including women on screen. Not only did he respect women enough to put them on screen, but he continued this inclusive attitude off-screen by giving women powerful roles such as producers.
Despite his success, Laddie left Fox to start his own production company, The Ladd Company in 1979. The Ladd Company is responsible for such films as Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire. The Ladd Company would later go on to produce hits such as Braveheart and Thelma & Louise.
Later in 1985 Ladd joined MGM/UA. Once again, he rose to the top ranks as Chairman and CEO of MGM Pathe Communications. Later, Ladd returned to The Ladd Company to work independently.
While not celebrated by the masses, Ladd is widely respected within the film industry. Throughout the film various celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Mel Gibson, Morgan Freeman, and George Lucas praise Ladd for his work. For his accomplishments, Ladd was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
While Ladd’s work is fascinating, Amanda manages to brilliantly make the film a personal piece about acceptance. While her film undoubtedly celebrates her father, she does simultaneously criticize him for being too absorbed in his work throughout her childhood. This never comes off as disrespectful but the understandable perspective of a child longing for her father’s attention. Amanda spent her first 20 years wishing her father was around to be a father to her, but as she got older she realized how her father had done so much for his family. It is telling then, that as Laddie accepted the Academy Award for Braveheart he only gave thanks for one thing.
https://youtu.be/Nfct6zqh4KI?t=193
Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies is an important glance at this very influential man. We own Laddie for so many great pieces of cinema, but Amanda’s film is the only real glimpse many of us have had of Alan Ladd Jr. Considering his importance, this is a crime.
Thank you Alan Ladd Jr. for your work, and more importantly, thank you Amanda for sharing your father’s story with the world.
You can follow the film on Twitter, Facebook, and the official website.
Featured image from Variety
Sources: IMDb, Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies, and laddiemovie.com
(10/23/17 8:17pm)
by Ryan Fine
Adam Thomas Anderegg and Russ Kendall are no strangers to Heartland Film Festival. Last year they premiered their film Winter Thaw on the Castleton screens, and this year they’ve brought two new ones with them: the music documentary The Man in the Camo Jacket and the world premiere of the Best Narrative Premiere Award nominee Instrument of War.
Instrument of War takes its title very literally. It tells the true story of Clair Cline (Jack Ashton), a US soldier who was shot down during WWII and taken to a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp. Inspired by a fellow prisoner who built a radio out of “this and that”, Clair spends the bulk of the film pooling together various resources to build a violin from scratch.
Upon being taken in, the first person he meets is Larry Packer (Daniel Betts), a high-ranking US military official who introduces him to the rest of his barracks. Notably, this is when he first meets Reed “Whit” Whitaker (Elliot James Langridge), a charcoal artist with whom Clair ends up becoming very close. Clair commissions Whit for a drawing of his girlfriend Anne (Andrea Deck), and soon asks him if he can draw a violin too.
This film does a prime job of introducing a large amount of characters and quickly making the audience feel connected to each one. When one of the men unexpectedly dies relatively early in the movie, it is legitimately heartbreaking even though we haven’t had much time to get to know him. Meanwhile Frank, the most reserved of the prisoners, ends up delivering some of the most powerful lines of the movie when he discusses meeting the family of someone he killed, challenging the belief that anyone is the good guy when it comes to war.
But even though it is a war film, at times it can be strangely fun to watch, especially in the resourcefulness of the people detained at the prison camp. These men bribe guards and trade each other for supplies and food, with one offering to fight Clair in exchange for violin materials. Another offers his contribution at the price of catching him a “roof rabbit” (aka a cat), which he then proceeds to eat for dinner. He collects scraps of wood and then scrapes glue off the bottom of his chair to try to put together his new instrument.
Sadly, this fascinating momentum is halted at one point when Clair asks if anyone has a violin bow. Why would anyone have a violin bow? It’s a prison camp in a regime that burns books in its spare time. But sure enough, one of the men in Clair’s barracks props open the window using none other than a violin bow, which he gives him free of charge. This is a minor moment and it doesn’t kill the movie by far, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that it probably would have been much more interesting to see how Clair would have crafted a bow on his own.
The climactic moment of the film requires a similarly high caliber of suspension of disbelief, but it’s so well executed that it ends up being more forgivable. This is due in part to the musical magic powers of Mark Isham, whose work you may have heard in countless soundtracks including A River Runs Through It and October Sky. Music plays a crucial role in the plot of this movie, so it certainly helps to have such an accomplished composer as Isham to back it up.
Perhaps the most incredible part of Instrument of War is that it is a true story. Because the real Clair Cline died years ago and rarely ever told this story in public, there were a lot of gaps left for the filmmakers to fill in on their own. But with a little help from Clair’s children (who now populate several of the most esteemed orchestras in the country), they pulled together a fully realized retelling that proved to be worthy of a slot on the big screen.
Catch Instrument of War on BYUtv this Thanksgiving, then stream it for free on the channel’s website.
Featured image from IMDb
(10/22/17 10:09pm)
by Ryan Fine
Making a movie based on a play is a difficult task. Generally, a movie gets a lot of its power from the action, the music and the visuals. In a play, however, the power largely comes from the dialogue. The team behind the film adaptation of The Drawer Boy is well versed in theatrical productions, but how do their skills translate to this mixture of two storytelling arenas?
At the start of The Drawer Boy, a strange-looking boy arrives at a house in the middle of nowhere. He knocks on the door, introduces himself as Miles and explains that he is an actor trying to write a play about farmers. He asks for a place to stay and an opportunity to watch them do what they do. The man at the door says he’ll have to ask Morgan, the other guy who lives in the house, but then he shuts the door and leaves him outside to wait indefinitely.
The next day, in an attempt to start learning their ways, Miles tries to use Morgan’s tractor and ends up injuring him almost immediately. Miles suggests that maybe he should just watch from now on, but Morgan insists that he isn’t getting a place to stay unless he helps out. Upon getting to know the farmers further, he learns that the man who originally answered the door was Angus, who has short-term memory loss due to an injury from the war.
One night, Miles records Morgan telling Angus the story of the war, which includes such characters as “the drawer boy” and “the tall girls”. Miles performs the entire story as a monologue for his collective, which angers Morgan much more than expected. Morgan sees it as a story between him and Angus, and he retells it often to remind Angus of their past. The uncovering of the truth behind its details is the primary mystery of the film.
Although The Drawer Boy may seem a little bit slow-paced at first, it spends most of its buildup time going very in-depth into its main characters’ lives. The climactic conversation at the end of the movie is incredibly emotional, and it wouldn’t have nearly the same effect if the audience were not so intimately familiar with the characters by the time it comes around.
This film only has three main actors, namely Jakob Ehman as Miles, Richard Clarkin as Morgan, and Stuart Hughes as Angus. Though the story is technically told through the eyes of Miles, Stuart Hughes does a fantastic job in gradually shifting the focus of the story to Angus as it moves on. He is dry when answering questions, but excitable in certain moments and even capable of great emotion at other times. Angus is a very unpredictable savant-like character almost in the vein of Rain Man, but Hughes makes every twist and turn of his personality feel necessary and natural.
The urgency of moving The Drawer Boy from stage to screen may seem a bit dubious to some, but the turnout really isn’t so bad. The film medium allows for plenty of rural imagery that is impossible in play form, and it also lets the audience experience the pain of the farmers’ cows up close as Miles hilariously sympathizes with them. There are even some significant changes from the original 1999 play that make a pretty big difference in the way the story is told.
So even though there are a few moments in The Drawer Boy that test the viewer’s patience, they are few and far between and they certainly don’t ruin the otherwise immense charm of the film. In contrast with many of the ambitious multifaceted films that were shown at Heartland Film Festival this year, The Drawer Boy tells a simple story and does it very well. See it if you get a chance and learn why its US premiere won Heartland's $3,500 Best Narrative Premiere Award.
You can follow the film on Facebook, Twitter, and its website.
Featured image from IMDb
(10/21/17 9:00am)
by Sarah James
In the midst of all the films being showcased at Heartland Film Festival this year, there are a few that hit a little closer to home than others - literally. Heartland has an entire category titled the Indiana Spotlight category, in which independent films shot partially or entirely in Indiana can be entered. In fact one of these films, The Storyteller, was filmed entirely in the Fishers area, and with its heartfelt story and Indiana charm, this movie may invoke a tear or two.
Simply put, The Storyteller is about rediscovering the importance of family. The film centers around Maggie (Samantha Colburn), who is dealing with her bedridden grandmother, Rosemary (Constance Towers), the loss of her husband and a broken relationship with her adopted daughter, Jen (Cassidy Mack). In the midst of everything, a young girl named Abby (Brooklyn Rae Silzer) stumbles into this family that’s falling apart, and through her spirit and impeccable perception, she helps bring the family together. The film weaves original music with parallels to Peter Pan to create a locally crafted feel-good movie.
Brooklyn Rae Silzer steals this show. The Storyteller marks her feature film debut, and she does not disappoint in the slightest. It’s no wonder all the characters in this film start to fall in love with her; her energy is infectious, and it’s hard not to smile while she’s on screen. Cassidy Mack and James Snyder (who plays music teacher and love interest John Griffin) also do a fantastic job, especially with the music. Music plays a large role in this film and is one of the things that brings all of these characters together. Co-producer Nancy Crump wrote the two original songs in the film, which were actually performed by the cast. Mack and Snyder’s voices blend beautifully and breathe life into the original music.
This film also acts as an amazing conversation starter for two tough-to-talk-about topics: the mental health struggles of the elderly and the difficulties often faced by those in our foster care system. And both of these issues are driven by the personal experiences of the filmmakers. The director’s mother suffered from a form of dementia that causes hallucinations, which was a direct inspiration for the character of Rosemary, who believes Abby is her older sister that never grew up. The character of Jen and her experiences with the foster care system is also enhanced by actress Cassidy Mack and her real life experience in foster care. These moments felt by the cast and crew grounded this story in reality, which is a stark contrast to the fairy tale elements of the movie.
Overall, this film is full of heart, and anyone can find a moment or character that they can relate their own lives to. For people who grew up in Indiana, keep an eye out for some local favorites (Handel’s Ice Cream and Greek’s Pizza make an appearance). The Storyteller is also on Hallmark’s video-on-demand service, so if you don’t have a chance to check it out at Heartland Film Festival this weekend, you have another opportunity to see this wondrous story come to life.
You can follow the film on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and their website.
Featured image from Facebook
(10/20/17 4:55pm)
by Emily Reuben
While a good portion of any film festival is comprised of new films being showcased for the first time, another privilege of attending these festivals lies in seeing older films with input from cast, crew, and interview subjects. Last weekend, Heartland Film Festival hosted a special screening of the director Steve James' 2014 documentary Life Itself. Detailing the life of one of America’s most influential and prominent film critics, Roger Ebert, Life Itself is an emotionally impactful, beautifully crafted look at Roger’s career. For this special screening at Heartland Film Festival, Roger Ebert’s wife, Chaz Ebert attended and hosted a brief Q&A session after the viewing.
As a young film enthusiast, Roger Ebert is one of my greatest inspirations. I was initially introduced to Roger Ebert sometime in middle school. I had taken to watching online film reviewers, notably Doug Walker, better known as “The Nostalgia Critic.” I loved the comedic approach of looking at old, nostalgic content and found myself watching frequently. In one episode of Doug’s online review show, the criticism was directed at the film North. While the film had come out before my time, I had heard about its ridiculously racist attempts at humor and overall poor presentation, which piqued my curiosity. In the review, Doug made reference to a Siskel and Ebert episode of At the Movies in which Ebert boldly stated his distaste for the film.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAAEFRVQU14[/embed]
In his written review, Roger went further:
(10/20/17 12:01am)
by Jeremy Rogers
Film festivals like Heartland are perfect places for careers to be launched and for new stories to be heard. Wade Gardner is experiencing this firsthand with the US premiere of his breakout film, Marvin Booker Was Murdered. Though Gardner is making his voice heard for the first time, the story he tells is tragically common and increasingly relevant.
On July 9, 2010, at a little past 3:30 a.m., an unarmed, homeless pastor was killed inside a Denver prison after five guards restrained him, electrocuted him for 20 seconds with a stun gun, then denied the man life-saving first aid. The city of Denver thought that Marvin Louis Booker was a nobody, that his life would matter to others as much as it had mattered to them.
They could not have been more wrong.
Marvin came from a family of African American pastors and ministers who were active participants in the Civil Rights movement. Marvin marched with Dr. King when he was just 14 years old in 1968. Marvin Booker Was Murdered is the living tale of how Marvin’s family revived that protestor spirit to get justice for their fallen son and brother.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BE0m7sQRTg[/embed]
Marvin Booker Was Murdered makes heavy usage of interviews with the family and acquaintances of Marvin as well as his family’s attorney. Most of the interviews are not undercut by any music. This choice is effective in underscoring the emptiness that the family feels in the face of their loss and of the city of Denver’s lack of concern with the life and death of Marvin Louis Booker.
The narrative weaved through the recounting of events by Marvin’s family highlights the struggle against the city of Denver. The lengths that the city went to in order to discourage the family is astounding. For instance, the city withheld the footage from inside the jail for weeks which turned into months. When the family finally received word from Denver that they and their attorneys would be able to see the jail footage, they were dismayed to learn that the city had chosen the day after Mother’s Day to show Marvin Booker’s mother the recording of her son’s murder.
Remarkably, the Booker family is not the only side given a voice in this documentary; the city of Denver’s lawyer has interview segments interspersed throughout the film. The director revealed that all the lawyer knew was that he was being filmed for a documentary, but he never bothered to even ask the title of the film. If he had, he probably never would have given the line, “This man’s heart was waiting to give out.” Needless to say, this man provided an arrogant villain that is usually uncommon in documentaries yet tragically common for families in the Bookers’ position.
The apex of the film both artistically and emotionally is when the footage from inside of the correctional facility is shown from the time Marvin was called from his seat to the moment the five correctional officers left the holding cell where Marvin lay dead. The entire sequence takes about five-and-a-half minutes, and throughout each drawn-out second, a medley of spirituals sung by a choir. The religious themes serve to highlight Booker’s ministerial background. The lyrics of Swing Low Sweet Chariot never seemed so appropriately rendered as when they played over police killing an unarmed, homeless minister and bearing his lifeless body into a holding cell. “Comin’ for to carry me home,” indeed.
Despite the gripping legal narrative, the moving accounts from the Booker family and the skillful use of archival footage of mass protests that rocked Denver, there are a few filmmaking missteps. At a few points during the interviews, it seems that the tripod on which the camera was mounted got jostled, immediately reminding the audience that they were in a theater. Toward the end one of the interview segments features an interviewee with a mic that’s sensitivity is much too high. The subject can be heard swallowing between each emotion-filled phrase. These mistakes are incredibly few, but they do stick out as pock marks on an otherwise spectacular film.
Overall, the camerawork doesn’t go out of its way to call attention to itself; the subject of the film does not belong to director Wade Gardner. It is a heartfelt product of a family still struggling to find justice. At the Q&A session after the film, Marvin’s younger brother, a minister hard at work on his PhD, revealed that the city’s new DA has recently impaneled a grand jury to consider charges of obstruction of justice relating to the incidents relating to Marvin Booker's death.
Like Marvin’s childhood hero said:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8slzROAs5qM&t=1s[/embed]
“There can be no great social gain without individual pain. And before the victory for brotherhood is won, some will have to get scarred up a bit. Before the victory is won, some more will be thrown into jail. Before the victory is won, some, like Medgar Evers, may have to face physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children and their white brothers from an eternal psychological death, then nothing can be more redemptive.”
Oddly prophetic and sadly true.
(10/18/17 4:18pm)
by Sarah James
When walking into an independent film festival, you never know exactly what to expect. A film about an 88-year-old woman taking a road trip may not seem exciting to some, but The Tree is so much more than what meets the eye. Director Stephen Wallace Pruitt took the inspiring friendship between his mother and her best friend and orchestrated a beautiful, heartwarming work of fiction that is sure to pull on the heartstrings.
The Tree stars Joicie Appell as Dorothy Thorp, an 88-year-old woman who takes a solo road trip from Kansas to her hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana to see her childhood best friend. Along the way, she serves her own distinct brand of midwestern wisdom to the people she meets, helping others to the best of her ability as she makes her way home. Dorothy feels like she could be anyone’s grandmother, and her spirit, kindness and sense of adventure is captivating. This story of a journey towards home is something usually reserved for a young, rebellious protagonist as a means of discovering who they are. Taking this story and shifting it to an 88-year-old woman gives the narrative a new level of depth and emotion and makes one nostalgic for a time they may have only heard of.
Joicie Appell is an absolute standout. The entire film rests on her shoulders and she does not disappoint in the slightest. In a Q&A after the film screening, filmmakers Stephen and Mary Pruitt revealed that Joicie memorized all her lines, not relying on cue cards in the slightest for long takes during lengthy scenes, which for a woman of her age is absolutely remarkable. Dorothy has moments of sheer joy and kindness mixed in with real concern, all intermingled with quick wit and comedy; Joicie masters each element of her character. Her spirit is what drives the movie forward and draws the audience in, and she executes the role flawlessly.
This film was shot primarily in Kansas and Missouri, although the ending of the film took place right here in Terre Haute. The cast and crew drove along the national roads from Kansas to Indiana, showcasing the beautiful sights and quirks of the American Midwest. In fact, this whole film has a charm that is so undoubtedly Midwestern that anyone from the area can understand it immediately, even if they don’t recognize it outright. The Tree is a beautiful and emotional story that truly encompasses the heart of this area of the country, on top of asking the audience what they would do for the chance to go home. Stephen Pruitt told the audience after they watched his film that, “We all have a tree we would like to go back to.” What is your tree? Where is the place you want to someday return? And whose lives will you touch on your journey there? If you have a chance to see this film, I highly recommend you bring tissues. Tears may be shed.
You can follow the film on Facebook and Twitter.
Featured image from IMDb
(10/15/17 8:00pm)
by Emily Reuben
Similar to Tatterdemalion (you can read our review of it here), No Postage Necessary is another independent film premiering at Heartland Film Festival. No Postage Necessary is unique because it is created using actual film, which is nearly a lost art in the cinematic world. Director Jeremy Culver not only gives us a beautifully crafted film, but one that will make you leave the theater happier than when you entered.
The film stars Sam (George Blagden), a brilliant computer hacker who deems himself a sort of vigilante. Having served time for his hacking, Sam yearns to turn his life around and find some meaning. However, being barred from the internet and surveilled by his probation officer (Michael Beach) and an FBI investigator (Stelio Savante), Sam is unable to put his talents to good use. Similarly, Josie (Charleene Closshey), a widowed mother, feels trapped and helpless after the loss of her husband compounds with having to deal with her troubled daughter. When Sam begins stealing mail in hopes of profit, he finds a letter written by Josie to her dead husband and instantly falls in love with the stranger. Now with some meaning in his life, Sam attempts to not only change his ways, but make Josie his.
Now full disclosure, during the beginning scene of No Postage Necessary I was admittedly a bit concerned. The film starts with a typical news montage, which is a cliché nearly as old as film itself. I always find this to be a weak way of opening a film, as information is just thrown at the audience with little visual interest. Luckily, the visual editing here does allow for some interesting imagery rather than just a few talking heads monotonously relaying current events, so that’s a plus. Sadly, the film is full of tropes like this, the biggest being “the liar revealed”, which is the entirety of the plot itself. Any moviegoer will probably be able to figure out the entire plot right off the bat. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since the film is definitely more about the sequence of events and how characters get from start to finish rather than an “edge of your seat” sort of flick.
Luckily despite these tropes, the film has plenty of heart behind it to make it a heartfelt, sometimes funny experience. Being able to identify tropes within a movie doesn't make the movie bad, just predictable. What's important here are the characters and how they react to the situations that they are in.
The main character does an excellent job of making you want to relate to him while simultaneously wanting to punch him. He has this excellent sly smile that easily manipulates those around him, but he still does some bad, sometimes really creepy, things. He actually begins to stalk Josie, which despite the whimsical music, is really really weird. However, he is presented as being in the wrong as opposed to just shrugging this behavior off as “romance”. This tonal dissonance is played of as more purposeful than not, so this isn’t something I say is too problematic.
Josie is by far the most relatable character, and this is largely because of Charleene Closshey’s stellar performance. You can really tell she is struggling and lost in almost every scene she’s in. She really feels like a single mother trying to get by. In many ways, this film is really hers rather than Sam’s.
Personally, I found Sam’s co-worker and accomplice, Stanley (Robbie Kay), to be the most interesting character. Any time I chuckled was because of this character. The hypocritical Bible-loving hacker offers fun bits of dialogue throughout and his religious quirk is reincorporated beautifully.
The choice to use film was a fantastic one. There is this unquestionably unique look that only film can accomplish, and No Postage Necessary looks and feels warm and inviting from start to finish.
The themes of redemption and change are the main discussion points of the film. Both of these ideas are easily relatable and easy for audiences to grasp. No Postage Necessary is a lot of fun even though you can probably guess how everything will end, and that's a testament to the great acting and directing. When given the chance to see this film, don't pass up the opportunity!
You can follow the film on the film's official website, Facebook and Twitter.
Featured image from nopostagefilm.com
(10/15/17 5:31pm)
https://youtu.be/BKZ8Q-9YarY
Welcome to Pop Tabs: keeping tabs on all things pop culture. In this premiere episode, Matt, Mayzie, and Dylan discuss the recent feminist win from Saudi Arabia, some crazy smart jacket that Levis is working on, and what Trump had to say about NFL teams taking a knee. Tune in next week for another episode of Pop Tabs to keep up to date on our entertainment, tech, and culture discussion.
Hosts: Matthew Yapp, Mayzie Brammer, Dylan Bateson
Production: Michael Robb, Sarah James
Post Production: Dylan Bateson, Sarah James
Graphics by: Luis Pulido, Daley Wilhelm, Sarah James
Music by: Jack McGinnis
(10/15/17 5:30pm)
by Emily Reuben
One of the most exciting parts of Heartland Film Festival is being able to see worldwide premieres of films before they are distributed. One of the shining examples of these films is Tatterdemalion from director, producer and co-writer Ramaa Mosley. Mosley’s film offers an interesting and psychologically engaging addition to the Heartland film lineup this year.
Returning to the Ozarks after her service in the army, Fern (Leven Rambin) yearns to reconnect with her younger brother. However, upon her return home, Fern realizes that the Ozarks hold many dark secrets that ultimately distract her from her mission. Among them is a mysterious child (Landon Edwards) whom she discovers abandoned in the woods. The child, who begrudgingly reveals his name is Cecil, forms an instant connection with Fern and temporarily takes refuge in her home. Almost immediately after Cecil enters Fern’s life she begins feeling ill and experiencing a string of inconveniences. Fern’s problems begin to further escalate once the local doctor concludes that Cecil is actually a Tatterdemalion, a creature from Ozark folklore causing Fern’s illness. The veteran becomes concerned for her own life and starts to suspect that the child is actually the strange creature. With the Ozark resident’s ideas of reality and superstition at odds with one another, it is up to Fern to uncover the truth behind Cecil’s origin and determine who, or what, he is.
It’s no secret that female directors are not at all prominent in the industry. Out of 213 independent films showing at Heartland, only 75 are directed by women, and that is still a much higher ratio than is seen in the mainstream. In the world of filmmaking, it is always a happy surprise to see a female filmmaker amidst the male-dominated medium, and an even happier one when the execution is done well.
One of the directing choices that really made the film shine was the choice to film everything on location in the Ozarks. As a result, the feel of the community, homes, and local ideologies really hit home. People live in decrepit homes, or don’t have a home at all. There are woods everywhere with few people scattered around. There is nothing glorious-looking or expensive to be seen. By all accounts, when Fern returns to her rural home she becomes isolated and vulnerable. Had the location not perfectly captured this feeling of isolation, the effect of Cecil being with Fern would not have been nearly as meaningful. Cecil may have been alone in the woods, but Fern is also alone within her community.
Tatterdemalion does a superb job showcasing the connection between Fern and Cecil. Their interactions, both good and bad, are truly the heart of the film while the mystery is more the icing on the cake. Initially, Fern is understandably reluctant to care for Cecil, and this causes some tension and distrust between the two. Levin Rambin does an excellent job portraying a woman who wants to help a lost, lonely child, yet feels put-upon by his presence. When she begins to fear Cecil may be a Tatterdemalion, she manages to maintain empathy while simultaneously relaying a cautious, sometimes aggressively protective, attitude. The relatability of this rocky relationship is easy to latch onto, especially during scenes where Fern and Cecil begin to truly bond.
It should be noted that Landon Edwards has never acted previously, which is almost unbelievable considering how effective he is onscreen. There are a few instances of awkward acting here and there, but I would honestly attribute these to the script rather than Landon. Anyone would be hard-pressed to find a child who could make the line “I want to stay with you forever” sound natural when randomly uttered splashing around in the water. While Cecil’s dialogue can be a bit unnatural at times, this is a minor nitpick. It can even be argued that the dialogue choice is purposeful to further bring into question if he is a child or not. Still, for me, this was a bit distracting.
What this film does really well is blur the line between reality and fiction to touch on the dangers of superstition and how it can cloud judgement and dampen sympathy. The tale of the Tatterdemalion causes Fern to question whether or not her caring for Cecil will cause her harm. The theme here is very interesting and can almost serve as a commentary on religion or mysticism. A firm belief in something can cause blind fear, and blind fear can result in tragedy. This is a relevant, important observation that makes this film absolutely worth watching.
In many films with similar ideas, the clues to the correct answer are often far from subtle and the person in question can easily be determined to be good or evil. While I figured out the correct answer pretty early on, the question perseveres for Fern through most of the film, thus maintaining the interesting dynamic between Cecil and Fern and leaving audience members who do know the answer with something to still latch onto. Again, the mystery is secondary to their relationship, so being able to determine the correct answer is not necessarily a fault.
The majority of this film looks great, but some editing choices are hard to justify. Though a minor detail, the blue filters at night did take me out of the film at some points with the unnatural lighting tones. There was also an instance towards the end of the film where the scene suddenly changed from night to day with no indication of time passage, which was a bit jarring. However, these are largely insignificant when contrasted to the numerous successes showcased throughout the film and did not impact my overall enjoyment of the film.
In Tatterdemalion, the positives far outweigh any negatives. With strong acting, good directing, and great visual aesthetic, this film is well worth a watch when it comes to theaters near you.
For upcoming release dates and further information, you can follow the film on Facebook and Twitter.
Featured image from Facebook
(10/13/17 7:30pm)
by Joe Bursley
I’ve written previously about Apple’s latest smartphone release and how it dropped the ball from Android. I’ve been an Android user since I got my first Samsung S4 in high school and switched to the Google Pixel over this summer. I considered waiting a few months for the Google Pixel 2 which just released October 4th. I’m glad I didn’t. While in some ways the Pixel 2 is an improvement upon the Pixel released the fall of last year, its release is more akin to that of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, where most of the substance remains the same. Compared to other high-end phones released in 2017 like the iPhone X and the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8, the Pixel 2 doesn’t quite measure up.
Clearly Good
Both the Pixel 2 and its big brother, the Pixel 2 XL, have an impressive 4 GB of RAM, identical to that of the first line of Pixels. This is also similar to the Galaxy S8 and other Android phones released in the past two years. Sadly, Apple's iPhones have never reached above 3 GB even with the newest iPhone X. Four GB of RAM is a good amount of processing power, and I realistically can’t imagine a phone needing more than that. That said, the most notable high-end phones with more RAM are the Galaxy Note 8 and the OnePlus 3, 3T and 5.
As far as pixel density goes, the Pixel 2 boasts 1080p resolution and 441 ppi, while the 2 XL has 2880x1440 resolution and a beastly 538 ppi. This is higher than the iPhone X’s 452.63 poi and lower than the Galaxy S8 at 571 ppi. Pixel density and resolution affects the clarity and sharpness of the screen imagery. This is a pretty important spec to consider if you’re looking to upgrade.
Both of the new Pixels feature front-facing speakers and OLED displays, although this has become standard on Android phones. They also sport something called “Active Edge" that allows one to squeeze the sides of the phone to trigger certain actions; the default action here is Google Assistant, once again integrated directly into the Pixel brand of phones. The Google Assistant is Google’s answer to the likes of Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and I guess you could even count Samsung’s Bixby (though I wouldn’t), with the added benefit of accessing the power of Google’s search engine for information. If your phone lacks a personal assistant or you’re just sick and tired of Siri constantly turning on in the middle of a lecture hall, the Google Assistant is a great option.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image from YouTube[/caption]
Even from a camera non-enthusiast like myself, the Pixel 2's cameras are spectacular and are clearly what Google wants to stand out as with their previous phones. I won’t get into too many specifics, but the rating is based off of DxOMark, an independent organization that sets image quality standards for phones and cameras, which gave the Pixels their (then) highest rating of 90 for image quality. This year, the top contenders were the iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Note 8 tied at 94 – that is, until the Google Pixel 2 received a record-setting overall score of 98. Google is also integrating their new feature Google Lens into the new Pixel 2 and 2 XL, which allows Google Assistant to identify objects and show information just by pointing the phone’s camera at something. This is more focused on software instead of hardware, but is still only applicable to phones using Google Assistant – which is almost exclusively the Pixel phones at this point in time.
The phone’s home screen will get rid of the annoying, inconvenient search and weather widgets permanently fixed at the top, and replace it with an equally inconvenient “at a glance” widget, supposedly connecting with your calendar and planning apps for constant reminders of what you have to do. The search widget, meanwhile, will be permanently affixed to the bottom of the screen between the app drawer and the Android soft keys. Presumably, this is meant to increase search volume and ease of access, but I usually just like opening the Chrome app.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="320"] Image from Lifehacker[/caption]
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will support an always-on display that shows quick notifications and the time without waking the entire screen – a benefit of an OLED display. They're also using always-on microphones to recognize and display the music you are listening to, whether you're in a coffee shop or listening to the radio when a song comes on that you just have to know.
Kinda Okay
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="980"] Image from droidlife[/caption]
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL only offer 64 and 128 GB storage options – a limit for which I also criticized Apple. This may be the direction toward which the market is headed, but I personally like to have my options open for storage space, including the optional microSD card. Google does, however, offer unlimited storage for photos and videos in their Google Photos cloud system; so that’s okay. If you like to use SIM cards for ever-expanding storage, as many Android enthusiasts do, then you’re out of luck with the Pixel 2.
Despite having great pixel density and display resolution, the Google Pixel 2 once again has annoyingly large bezels on top and bottom, identical to the Pixel and Pixel XL from last year. In an age with Samsung’s “Infinity Display” and Apple’s almost-bezel-free iPhone X, the added space to the phone’s front without increased screen size seems bulky and unnecessary. The Pixel 2 XL improves on this, minimizing the bezels and bringing the phone’s screen almost to the edge of the phone, but it still falls short of what consumers are looking for in a smartphone this year.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image from Android Central[/caption]
The Pixel 2 is 5 inches, just like the first Pixel, and the two are indistinguishable from the front. (I’ll comment on Google’s "unique" design choices below) The Pixel 2 XL is a full 6 inches. This, compared to last year’s 5.5-inch Pixel XL, makes the screen more impressive as it takes up so much of the front face.
While the camera is certainly great, it does come with a cost: the camera lens has gotten larger. It now juts out from the back of the phone and creates a slight but noticeable bump on the back. This isn’t too much of an issue, but it is aesthetically irksome from a design standpoint. Last year’s Pixel has the camera embedded in the phone. This meant that the back of the phone was completely smooth (except for the fingerprint scanner).
Speaking of which, the Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL continue the trend of placing the fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone instead of down on the front where a home button would be located. I’ve personally found this much more convenient when holding on to the phone in my hand, using my index finger to unlock my phone quickly. It is, however, quite inconvenient when the phone is laying down flat on a table. Double tapping to wake my Pixel and using the password to unlock my phone can often be cumbersome and unresponsive, but perhaps the Pixel 2 will be more receptive to those gestures.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Image from DroidHolic[/caption]
Google is also adding augmented reality stickers that can be applied to pictures and videos, including third-party brands like Star Wars and Stranger Things. And I won’t even beat around the bush here: they are also copying Apple’s Live Photos function, calling it “Motion Photos.”
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Image from Redmond Pie[/caption]
I’ll discuss design more below, but I almost like what Google is doing with its color scheme. I mean, the Pixel 2 has three color options, with “Just Black,” “Clearly White,” and “Kinda Blue”, which is a more metallic grey/slate color. This is in contrast to last year’s “Quite Black,” “Very Silver,” and the limited edition “Really Blue” that was a very vibrant and bold...well, it was “really blue.” I wish they would offer other color options (perhaps from the Red/Yellow/Green/Blue combination of colors that just screams “Google”) as I feel it would help people personalize their phones more, but I understand it is risky and expensive from a manufacturing and distribution standpoint. Still, it’s refreshing to see a deviation from the standard blacks and silvers we always see. A lot of the design of the Pixels seems simplistic and pragmatic, as opposed to the “awe-inspiring” flashiness of the Galaxy or iPhone lines. Google seems to be focusing more on usability than looks with their new phones. If you like the aesthetic and uniformity of Galaxies and iPhones, the Pixel 2 certainly seems like the “ugly duckling” among the high-end phones.
Google has taken an interesting stance on pricing that is certainly going to set itself apart from the market: this year’s Pixel 2 starts at $649, the same starting price as last year’s Pixel. Prices will vary depending on what storage options and size you choose as well as payment plans through Verizon, but in a world where top-end phones now cost $800-$1000, Google’s pricing is certainly enticing for users looking to upgrade this year. In addition, if you buy through the Google Store, you can receive up to $410 on a new Pixel 2 by trading in your old phone to upgrade.
Just Ugly
First things first, Google got rid of the headphone jack. Everyone speculated they would, and they did. Instead of a headphone jack they are offering Google Pixel Buds, which are wireless headphones with the Google Assistant built in. I’m not mad; I’m just very disappointed.
Finally, on to the design of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. The Pixel designs have always been a point of contention among users and critics since last year’s phones offered the “metal and glass” mix, seen here. While it certainly is distinctive (for those who don’t have an opaque case), the design received mixed reviews at best with many simply asking “why?” in regard to Google’s choice. The Pixel 2 doesn’t scrap the design entirely, although the glass rectangle is smaller and no longer encompasses the fingerprint sensor on the back. Google, however, takes its bold design choice even further with the “Black and White” option for the Pixel 2 XL, which covers the top part of the phone with glass and leaves the rest a bright white.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="800"] Image from Forbes[/caption]
The contrast is stark, but that doesn’t even compare to the bright orange power button on the side of the phone. The “Kinda Blue” color scheme also has a bright teal power button, though this is less noticeable with the overall blue hue. I’m honestly baffled by what Google did here and I was even a fan of the original two-toned mixed material design from the first Pixel. I just don’t know why they felt it necessary to create a BLACK AND WHITE phone design and then add an ORANGE power button. Perhaps Google just wanted to be THAT phone. Maybe it’s part of a marketing campaign for Android 8.0 Oreo. Or, hey, the phone debuted at the start of October; maybe the black, white, and orange is just Google trying to be spooky for Halloween. Again, those who like their phones smart and pretty will probably dislike the Pixels for this reason alone.
https://twitter.com/SonicDahMario/status/915623337753182209
Overall, Google’s phone is an admirable second attempt to break into the premium smartphone market. While the design is certainly questionable, many of the features appear to be what was lacking from the Google Pixel last year with improvements primarily in the software department. If you’re already using a Google Pixel or any phone from 2016, you don’t need to worry about upgrading. It will be best to wait until the Google Pixel 3 and you’ll probably still be able to get money for a trade-in at that point. If, however, you’re in the market to buy or upgrade to a new smartphone after a few years and you don’t mind the “unique” design choices and the lack of a headphone jack, the Pixel 2 is a great contender at a modest price that won't break the bank. Just please, don’t buy the Black & White design.
Sources: Byte, Google, DxOMark, The Verge, Engadget, Google, 9to5google, Android Central, Extreme Tech
Images: Softpedia News, YouTube, Lifehacker, droidlife, Android Central, droidholic, Redmond Pie, Forbes, Twitter
(09/18/17 1:07pm)
by Nolan Leahy
Nintendo uploaded a new Nintendo Direct covering many video game updates and new video games the venerable gaming company will be releasing for its systems.
The video was split up into two main sections with the first section focusing on the handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS.
(09/15/17 6:51pm)
by Emily Reuben
On September 15, 2015, the P.C. game, Undertale, took the internet by storm. The pixel styled RPG game created by Toby Fox has become quite the internet sensation spawning a massive fan base, countless pieces of fan art, official merchandise, albums, and various console releases. It’s literally become such an important part of video game creation and pop culture that a copy of the game was given to the Pope.
https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/750443785889411072
Today marks the two year anniversary of Undertale’s release. Featuring various endings, Undertale begins with the player falling into the Underground inhabited by monsters. The player must find a way to return to the human world. Along the way the player will meet interesting characters, battle various monsters, and solve puzzles to return home. The simple premise that separates Undertale from other RPGs? The player does not have to kill anyone. Everything comes down to choice. For those who have not yet played Undertale, saying anything more about the plot would be a huge disservice.
To celebrate, we are going to discuss why exactly Undertale is a success and why it resonates so strongly with so many people.
Undertale creator Toby Fox had dabbled in game creation during his high-school years using RPG Maker 2000 to make RPGs and also created a few Earthbound ROM hacks. However he was more widely known for his music compositions. Some of his more notable works include music compositions for the 2009 webcomic Homestuck and various covers posted to the MS Paint Adventures forums. Toby’s music is also set to be featured in Hiveswap, a Homestuck video game.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Image from IGN[/caption]
Fox started Undertale as a Kickstarter on June 25, 2013. The project quickly garnered interest and eventually raised a total of $51,124 by 2,398 people. When asked in an interview with Outermode what sparked his desire to create Undertale, Fox stated that, “It originated when I decided to create a battle system in Game Maker. Then I made a game around it.”
Fox’s passion for music also played an integral role in the game’s creation. In the Outermode interview, Fox mentioned that “Over 90% of the songs were composed for the game. I always wrote the songs before I started programming those parts, besides the credits song. Having music helps me decide how the scene should go.”
Fox’s work immediately paid off upon the game’s release. Undertale was met with instant praise from Youtubers, critics, and fans alike that spread the popularity of the game like wildfire. IGN ranked the game 10/10, Metacritic gave a 92%, and it holds at 10/10 rating on Steam. When summarizing the game, IGN reviewer Kallie Plagge states that “It might not be pretty, but Undertale is absolutely a work of art.”
Despite the popularity of the game, some criticized the hype arguing that the style was simplistic. Various message boards on Steam and other gaming forums indicate irritations at the game’s popularity.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="975"] from Steam[/caption]
Even with some negative reception, Undertale swept the 2015 Game of the Year Awards and continues to be a talking point of the gaming community.
One of the most important aspects of the Undertale is the fan base that resulted after the game’s release. A community of those who loved Fox’s game instantly began crafting fan covers, fan art, and merchandise.
For Angelina Moreno, a senior in Ball State University’s Animation Program, her Undertale fan animation led to a viral response.
When asked what inspired Angelina to make the animated short she replied:
“I was inspired to make my Undertale animation by another fan of Undertale. This other creator, who I credit in my video, is a voice actor who, during the Undertale craze, was making fan voiced stuff for fans of Undertale... I remember hearing the dialogue and falling in love with the voices because they reminded me so much of the characters! And of course the script was hilarious as well.”
This is just one example of how one’s work can spark inspiration in others. Obviously Toby Fox inspired fans with the original product, but the fan base continues to plant new seeds in the minds of content creators.
Currently Angelina’s video has a total of 1,597,232 views on Youtube and has appeared in various Undertale animation compilations. When asked about the popularity of her work, she said the following:
“I was surprised my animation was so popular, especially since now that it’s been a couple of years and I can see now it’s not very good. I was surprised at the positivity actually. Most comments were about how good the animation was or the voices being amazing.”
Alongside the incredible art made by fans, many great examples of fan-made Undertale music have been released as well. Interestingly, outside fandoms such as the Steven Universe have heavily influenced the fan made musical pieces inspired by Undertale. A great example of this is the popular “Stronger Than You” Undertale animation and song cover.
As a testament to the popularity of Undertale, this rendition of the song has a higher view count than the official Steven Universe version.
The Undertale fan base is full of creativity and is often quite positive. However, just as in any fandom, there is a very vocal, toxic group of members.
One of the biggest controversies surrounding the fandom revolved around Youtube comments directed at those playing the game. Big Youtubers such as Markiplier were often attacked for playing the game the “wrong way”. In Markiplier’s case, this made his playthrough so devoid of fun that he dropped it altogether after two episodes. Markiplier stated,“I’m not having fun making these videos because I know that no matter what I do, everyone will think I’m wrong.”
Few games spark as much passion as Undertale. Due to the depth of gameplay and characters, players often become connected to the game. This connection prompts them to make other players play the game in the way that they deem it to be the best, but this is never what Toby Fox intended. In response to all of the negativity stemming from the fan base Fox tweeted:
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1174"] Image from Twitter[/caption]
With this in conjunction with incestuous fan art, Undertale has gained a bit of a negative reputation based on the fan base. This is a shame, as a few bad apple shouldn’t reflect the entire community or the game itself.
Luckily, this negativity has not stopped Undertale’s growth. Earlier this year the game was ported to the PS4 and PS Vita, opening up more opportunities for new players to pick up and play the game.
https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/874429667662471168
So why exactly did Undertale leave such a mark on the gaming industry? Angelina chimes in:
“I think it’s had such a huge impact because so much love, time, and thought went into making this game and people can tell. The characters and the narrative speak on a lot of levels about the human condition. The game makes you feel for the characters. But also. The soundtrack. The soundtrack is so important to any and all forms of media. Undertale’s soundtrack is a masterpiece.”
And many critics and fans would agree with her. The characters have been praised for their shining personalities and lovable demeanor.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Image from MonsterVine[/caption]
Many modern games simply the love and consideration found in Undertale. Toby utilized his love for music to make an engaging, energetic soundtrack that practically tells a story of its own. Music is often underrated or forgotten. Instead of being a main component, more often than not a game soundtrack serves as background noise. Toby Fox created much of the game around the music he composed, thus giving the Undertale soundtrack a life of it’s own. Fox’s music has proved so popular that various soundtracks have been released as official Undertale merchandise.
In regards to the characters, Undertale manages to make monsters so loving and relatable that it is no wonder so many fans become dramatically attached to the game. There is humanity in each and every monster you see, from the NPCs to the monsters you fight, there is personality attached to each and every encounter. The choice allowed in Undertale drastically changes these character interactions on each playthrough, which makes them all the more real. So few games fail to make pixelated images into seemingly real beings.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image from The Escapist[/caption]
After two years, Undertale is still a masterful example of modern gaming. It proves that you don’t need the latest and greatest technology to craft a good game. Gamers flock to play Undertale for the story, character, and dialogue, elements of gaming that can be hard to come by. There is so much heart behind Toby Fox’s work that it is impossible not to feel immensely connected to the Underworld.
Ironically, LOVE is behind what makes Undertale a success.
Sources: Outermode, Engadget, Kotaku, IGN, YouTube, Twitter
Images: Twitter, IGN, Steam, MonsterVine, The Escapist
(09/08/17 11:40pm)
by Lindsey Murphy
This review was conducted on a PC with GTX 965m, i7, and 16GBs of RAM. It is only available on the PC through Steam.
The Witches’ Tea Party is a game focused on a group of witches of various ages and backgrounds as they try to stay together as the only survivors after a war between humans and monsters. It is also the prequel of the game Trick & Treat. The game was published by Rabbiton and developed with RPG Maker and is a casual indie game that is story driven, and sets out on a short but absorbing plot filled with the drama of each witch’s past. There is no combat; the game is mainly based around puzzles, small detective segments, and storytelling. It’s cute, and sometimes very creepy.
Cute and creepy characters
The beginning of the game introduces nine witches of various ages, all with their own backstories and personalities that you get to explore as the game progresses. The played character is Charlotte, the youngest and newest to the gathering of witches. Her grandmother is Marilyn, another witch at the table. Andrea is the host of the tea party and something of a leader. Xaviera is a stranger to the party, but friends with Andrea. Evangeline is a fiery redhead with a temper. Mirabell is a quiet, sweet girl. Renee acts like a child when she really isn’t, and is quite the troublemaker. Stephanie is also quiet, but not in a shy way like Mirabell.
Having all these witches together under one roof proves to be problematic, and trouble starts quickly. Charlotte has to slowly unravel the mysteries behind these new people in order to survive and possibly make new friends along the way, but that’s up to the player to decide. The characters are what really drive the game. Their stories make the game immersive to the point where suddenly four hours have passed; you’ve played the entire game in one sitting and your left wondering what to do. It’s like finishing a really good book.
Use your mind, not your fists
While The Witches’ Tea Party doesn’t have any combat, it makes up for it in the form of puzzles. The puzzles are fairly simple typically, though sometimes do stump you for a while. There are also a few chase sequences in one of the creepier chapters of the story. The most interesting parts of the gameplay are the detective puzzles. When a situation occurs in the game that needs a solution or a guilty party, Charlotte goes and asks around to the other witches and does her own investigating searching for clues. Once all the clues are found, all the witches gather and she gives her solution.
The problem is that the game doesn’t tell you the answer. You’re supposed to look through your notes in your inventory, save the game, and then click start. This begins the dialogue for the answer, but as Charlotte is explaining her theory, you make selections in the dialogue to continue the script. It’s up to you to figure out the right answers and pull up the correct pieces of evidence with only a few strikeout chances. If you click the wrong dialogues too many times some sort of ending or death is initiated. But if you do it correctly, you make it through the puzzle and continue the plot. This is done multiple times throughout the game, just enough so that you’re still enjoying it and it’s not overused to the point of irritation.
The curse of completionism
There are many elements to the game that give it some serious replay value. First of all, it’s fairly short, clocking in at four hours on Steam. Secondly, the game has the dreaded collectibles. There’s over thirty different pieces to find of three different pictures in the rooms of the house and all the other maps that you explore throughout the course of the game. If you miss some by the time you complete the game, then the picture that the pieces made will be incomplete forever, unless you play again and find the rest of them. However, they’re also hidden randomly, and you have to go clicking on every object in every room to find them.
The third reason is multiple endings. There’s a normal ending, a true ending, multiple incomplete endings where the game could end without you making it all the way through, and multiple death endings. Each one has its own art piece to add to the collection. So, if you want them all, or you want to see all of the endings, you have to play the game again. Most importantly, every time you play through The Witches’ Tea Party, you notice new story elements that you never noticed before.
All images from Steam