Professor Video Games
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Everything posted by Professor Video Games
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Idle Thumbs 165: KeLo. Is. Here.
Professor Video Games replied to Jake's topic in Idle Thumbs Episodes & Streams
It's obvious that the sound Sonic makes at climax is the one of him getting hit and exploding rings everywhere. I'd look for it but I'm at work and terrified of searching for anything Sonic related. Also what has my life become. -
I bought the DLC for this in the steam sale ($0.39!) and after beating a relatively challenging stage I found this solution online. This took me four reactors. THIS IS MADNESS.
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Idle Thumbs Criterion Film Club?
Professor Video Games replied to TychoCelchuuu's topic in Movies & Television
I saw this one years ago and remember finding it way too slow for my tastes at the time. Curious to revisit it and see if I feel any different now. Certainly will be a change of pace stylistically from the previous two movies. I think there's maybe two tracking shots in the whole thing. -
Idle Thumbs Criterion Film Club?
Professor Video Games replied to TychoCelchuuu's topic in Movies & Television
July 4th weekend. Make it patriotic. -
Idle Criterion Film Club Week 2: Kanal (1957)
Professor Video Games replied to Patrick R's topic in Movies & Television
I thought that was poo-water getting splashed all over them but maybe I'm thinking of a different scene. There's a note in the movie's Wikipedia article that once Stalin died government censorship got more relaxed which let this movie happen...though nobody's hating on the Russians for sitting back and letting the Nazis steamroll them. I don't know much about censorship in Poland at the time maybe they were more tolerant of violence on screen? Was there a USSR version of the Hays Code? -
Idle Criterion Film Club Week 2: Kanal (1957)
Professor Video Games replied to Patrick R's topic in Movies & Television
Oh yeah, the frenetic cutting in a lot of movies these days drives me nuts. The Bourne Ultimatum averages 2.2 seconds per shot. Barf. The long takes in Madam De... stood out to me more but even that one averaged "only" 16 seconds. Guess it speaks to how engrossing the scenes in Kanal were. I think regarding the artist, overall I agree with what Roderick said about him up to the point where he actually snaps. At that point it might as well have been somebody vomiting...it just came across a bit too cliche and combined with all the preceding zooms just made me feel like the film was getting in my face saying "Look at this guy he's cuh-razy! See what this place does to people?!" I see where you guys are coming from though...I think it's just a matter of personal taste. -
Idle Criterion Film Club Week 2: Kanal (1957)
Professor Video Games replied to Patrick R's topic in Movies & Television
This movie is some heavy stuff guys. The scenes in the sewer are relentlessly grim and claustrophobic and that final shot of the Lieutenant going back down for his men is haunting. Considering how the events of the Warsaw Uprising unfolded, I'd say the tone is pretty appropriate. The first half of the movie above ground didn't really grab me though. I mean it was good to see how the characters talked up facing death compared to their desperation and crushed spirits in the end, but I didn't find that section itself very engaging. Though ironically one of the scenes I really loved was above ground, when the lieutenant was looking over that barrier at the German tanks and that kid was so nonchalantly talking about how they'd be overrun soon while he emptied out dirt from his boots. I don't have much to say on the individual character arcs other than that they were all appropriately depressing in their own way with the exception of the composer, whose final scenes I thought were a bit much...I didn't really buy his insanity and there was one or two too many dramatic zooms to closeups of his face. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it's never really clear how long they spend down there. I suppose this may be deliberate and for the most part the lack of a sense of time benefits the movie, but it makes the guys mental collapse a bit unbelievable/heavy handed. Also I had no idea those little Goliath tanks were a thing that existed. -
OK I'm at work so I just read the majority decision syllabus...good grief. From that at least, Bjorn is correct in that this is primarly about undermining abortion rights and the religion argument is only a pretext because the final paragraph goes out of its way to specify that this decision applies ONLY to the contraceptive mandate and not to anything else. This is after they go on and on about how the Religious Freedom Act protects the religious rights of corporations. Not only that, but in that last paragraph they specifically cite another case where it was ruled that Social Security taxes had to be paid regardless of objections on religious grounds. So for some reason when it comes contraception, religion trumps existing laws, but for literally anything else it doesn't? Also, my favorite quote from it: HA.
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This ruling is insane. Since when did any corporation's "religious" view (this alone makes no sense) trump the religious freedoms of its employees? And why would it so narrowly apply only to the issue of contraception? Because this sort of rationale can be expanded out into all sorts of ridiculous scenarios that I won't even bother going into. Really I can't even wrap my head around it.
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It's available on demand (I watched via Amazon) and I think also a limited theater release.
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I watched this last night and it's adorable and charming and good.
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Samuel L Jackson's Severed Arm: The Long Search Is Over
Professor Video Games replied to tegan's topic in Movies & Television
I can't help but wonder how much that set cost. Also that prop store site is amazing. At last I can get Michael Jordan's baseball bat from Space Jam. -
Personally, these sales have allowed me to accumulate enough of a backlog that even when I see some great deal I'm interested in, I'll often pass it up. I remember the heady days of the first Steam sales when people were buying up entire publisher catalogs on a whim. I think/hope most people are a lot more restrained these days and so while the prices are great, there isn't as much excitement around them. It's not so much that I hate cards (though the current sale's thing is kinda lame) but that the evolution of Steam from annoying Half Life 2 delivery mechanism to the monster it is now, with it's own economic ecosystem, is really insane and fun to talk about.
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Also underpants.
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Genuinely curious how alternate entry cards Valve receives.
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Speaking of DLC, I picked up both the Dishonored and Bioshock Infinite DLC packs in this sale. Bioshock mostly out of curiosity and Dishonored because it would be fun to play more Dishonored. Also these days I find myself more drawn to things that don't take 20+ hours to complete. Regarding the Steam sale cards, badges, etc., I feel kinda bad when I sell the sale cards I've gotten because I'm participating in this thing that seems to me weirdly manipulative and that I'm taking advantage of some poor card-buying sucker. But on the other hand, free money...
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Idle Thumbs Criterion Film Club?
Professor Video Games replied to TychoCelchuuu's topic in Movies & Television
Yup, same here. Also why I was glad he didn't pick Branded To Kill since I've seen it before, although it is insane and oozes style and is totally worth checking out. -
Frog Fractions 2: A Fractional Kickstarter Campaign
Professor Video Games replied to Tanukitsune's topic in Video Gaming
The potential alone for every game to secretly be Frog Fractions 2 makes backing the kickstarter worth it. -
Idle Thumbs 164: The Seed of a Sneeze
Professor Video Games replied to Chris's topic in Idle Thumbs Episodes & Streams
I don't know if I can believe a page that calls the Idle Book Club "monthly"... (Congrats Danielle) -
Idle Criterion Film Club Week 1: The Earrings of Madame de...
Professor Video Games replied to TychoCelchuuu's topic in Movies & Television
Something I noticed is that several of the longer tracking shots involve (or end, I can't remember) with the characters at a distance and framed through something like a window in a door or some balusters. There's an intimacy to the shots when they follow close by for long periods but framing like that definitely adds a disconnect between the audience and the characters. Tycho I also noticed the off-angle stuff in the Andre/Donati scenes. Makes those exchanges seem a bit more uneasy doesn't it? -
There's that weird zone where people are slightly too far away to make holding the door open reasonable but they are close enough that you don't want to let it go and have it shut in their face, so you have to hold it and it's all very annoying. But then they feel obligated to do this awkward little jog so that you aren't standing there forever and honestly a small part of me relishes making people have to run like that.
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The best/worst part is that one of the negative consequences of riding was "increased libido." Oh no!
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Idle Thumbs Criterion Film Club?
Professor Video Games replied to TychoCelchuuu's topic in Movies & Television
Maybe Tycho has been seduced by a handsome Italian diplomat? I hear their charms are irresistible. -
Idle Thumbs Criterion Film Club?
Professor Video Games replied to TychoCelchuuu's topic in Movies & Television
Just finished...some quick thoughts here. I need to go to bed. -
Why?!