Roderick

Cross-over with the Big Dog thread: tonight in robot news: my review of Chappie, full of AI shenanigans and synthetic life forms with 'tude. http://www.filmadeus.com/2015/03/chappie-neill-blomkamp-2015.html

For some reason the most aggravating thing was that once again, movie makers don't understand how big the universe is. If NASA sends anything into space in the year 1982, it's not magically going to end up in another solar system a mere 30 years later. It don't care that mostly 'stupid' movies do this (Battleship), it's an instant Fuck This.

Hahaha, there's a lockon? Millions of people just realized they unwittingly played Hotline Miami on hard mode.

If NX really is the follow-up to the 3DS, doesn't that take the wind out of the New 3DS' sails? I do find it entirely more plausible than it being Wii U Too, but in my heart of hearts the 3DS still feels like a young whippersnapper of a handheld. It came out in 2011! Surely it has more life in it than a measly five-odd years? (OK, the original DS came out in 2005, so it had six.)

I didn't say anything like that, though! I don't think Nintendo will abandon their own platforms ever. They're a core component of their money-making business. Just because they're dipping their toes in mobile waters, doesn't mean it has to be this watershed, dramatic moment where Nintendo becomes something else. For all we know, their strategy is to whet people's appetite on mobile for the real deal. These games could well serve a hidden function as marketing.

I kind of appreciate it. I like how it's thematically very consistently about lawyer-esque dilemma's and there's not a whiff of drugs in there. The creators are definitely careful about giving the show its own style. As for their signature pacing, I still think no other show does 'slow-to-the-point-that-almost-nothing-is-happening' drama, where you're still glued to the screen, better than this. Oh, note that I do in fact see it as a comedy! It's almost the subtlest of spoofs of Breaking Bad. Everything's just a touch more exaggerated. The kidnapped family that's woefully incompetent, the skater dudes, the flashbacks to Saul in his younger years, where there's almost no attempt to make him appear younger. I consider the whole thing a wink, while still working as a drama. Of course, as to the actual motivations why they made this show - no clue.

There's a stupid part of me that dislikes the idea of Nintendo releasing games on other platforms than their own. Their exclusivity was what made them so unique and walled-off. I'm preeeeetty sure that for the foreseeable future (or forever) they'll never release a 'main' game in whatever series on any other platform than their own, though. On the other hand, I'm really ambivalent about it. Go for it, Nintendo. You'll be fine. More curious towards the NX, a boring working title if I ever saw one! Where's 'Dolphin' or 'Revolution'?

Together with my GF I saw Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue and it just killed me. There were multiple moments where I was gasping, unsure what would happen and outraged at the events on screen. What a film! So quiet and restrained, but with these moments of utter insanity. And some of the stuff totally prefigures what Kon would perfect in Paprika! The image of Mima skipping around hallways, for instance. It's a fantastic viewport into the seminal elements of his style, both visual and thematic. (PS. I was thrilled to notice a reference in the film to Kon's manga Opus, hanging on one of the character's walls.)

The intersection of work and relationships can conjure up all sorts of really stressful situations. My sympathies. Hopefully writing it out cleared your head a little!

FLCL trades on stereotype and inside knowledge so much that, yes, I'd recommend against a newcomer watching it. Even if they'd enjoy it, wouldn't it be because they felt they'd gotten a taste of dem really crazy Japanese cartoons? If it's complexity and zaniness you want, let them watch Paprika, which is just a damn fine movie.

Thanks for the repost, Codicier! Hadn't occurred to me that this was a good fit for the anime thread.

I wasn't enthused about Battle of Gods, comedy beats notwithstanding, because it felt like an unimportant thing. Now with the second new film featuring Freeza however... Let's just say I'm holding out for more beautiful Vegeta neck muscles.

Even after playing the Ocarina remake, I'm still quite impressed with this. Majora feels like a very fresh game and the first few hours I joyfully spent traipsing around Clockwork Town to rediscover all the villagers and their problems. It felt like a fullblown game already, and I hadn't even stepped outside or visited a single dungeon! That speaks tons for the diversity and attention to detail in this game. And good point, tberton, the traversal mechanics are superb. Especially once you get the Goron mask, it's a ton of fun. Extremely useful is also the improved aiming controls by manually tilting and panning your 3DS. Firing arrows is so much fun and so hassle-free now. It shows in the target range minigames, which are all highly doable now. It used to be so stressful and annoying! I haven't encountered the boss yet that I was always stuck at, but I'm hopeful, with all the refinements, that I'll be able to finish the game now.

Go for it, Gwardinen!

Ironically, it's the Bioshock games that kind of soured my optimism about this sort of game and the promise that you'll be able to do what you want to do to solve any problem in your way. That always sounds super exciting, but in practice I've never seen it done any differently (if that's at all possible) than having a handful of ultimately just as authored ways to approach an obstacle that don't make me feel any more creative or MacGyvery. How would such a thing work in the first place? You'd need a robust set of global mechanics at your disposal, and the developer would have to allow for such an element of freedom that it'd be really hard to create an obstacle in the first place. Take the examples from the video. Getting around the octopus lake can be done in three ways that are equally authored and predictable. Then there's the example of fleeing the monster pack and burning the bridge. The seductive thought here is that there's this insane number of ways you might restore the bridge later, such as befriending a nation and then having them rebuild it, but probably that's going to be just the logical, linear step in a quest line, right? Maybe Ascendant will surprise me in this regard, and I'm certainly not a genius on this front, but I always enjoy being titillated by this idea and then have a hard time thinking how it'd actually work in the vague way that was promised.

Perhaps you should take that down, just in case someone has epilepsy.

A yearly Agent Carter mini series is something I'd definitely like. I also liked the show for those reasons, and the chemistry between Peggy and Jarvis!

Damn it, Twig.

Agent Carter:

"Child" is maybe stretching it a little, but otherwise it's a fair assessment Though it really should've started with "when being a child..."

A Stunning Vido

I agree, and would even say that this type of anime often shoots itself in the foot by making things so arcane that it stands in the way of a clear emotional connection. Seeing beyond the smoke and mirrors and processing the metaphors seems the anime's point, rather than reaching the kernel of truth and then having a deeper understanding of it for your effort.

I watch a lot of Last Week Tonight, so I trust exactly no more big corporations!

"How are you, such and such?"

Not having heard that radio bit (so I might miss the mark), but that seems like a strange thing to say. Birdman, and many other films in various other areas, does a great job of communicating what it is to be in the stress of a theater production, and how it could feel if you're a washed-up actor. I am neither, but I was totally invested in it. Don't all movies do that? And in a larger frame, Riggan's struggle with proving himself and creating art is, I think, very human and relatable. So I don't get that critique at all. Fiction offers you an insight into a life that is by definition not yours, so the job has always been to establish empathy and understanding. You might argue that Birdman is unsuccessful at that (I'd disagree), but to critique the very notion...?