12 Years a Slave - As a huge proponent of McQueen's debut film 'Hunger' I've been anticipating this film for quite some time. I want to take a little time to digest '12 years a slave', but my immediate impression is that this film is an exceptional piece of filmmaking. Some critics might argue that it's manipulative or that it tells a very singular version of the story of the slave trade in America, but the fact of the matter is that it brings to the surface certain crucial truths that are all too easily forgotten, and it does so through some haunting images, great performances and is instilled with a sense of genuine humanity (both good and bad).
As with a film like 'There will be a blood' I suspect that '12 years' is one which I will have to spend time with, but, having seen it only the once, I would have to say that I think it's an outstanding film.
I've been a fan of Lawrence since Winter's Bone, but I honestly thought she was the weakest player amongst the five primary actors. I'm not ruling out the possibility that the character was written poorly or that the role was simply miscast, but in several scenes I found her delivery of lines to be really quite poor. The majority of the time she was on screen it pulled me right out of the film, which is saying a lot when you have Bale and Cooper dressed like they were in a children's school play.
Overall I thought American Hustle was a very enjoyable film, but Lawrence's character completely fell flat for me. The only time her character really resonated for me was when she tried to turn what was a Mafia hit on Bale's Irving character into some elaborate ploy to instigate an epiphany. That scene really brought home her insanity, but most everything else with that character felt callow.
Here goes. The following are my hyper specific predictions.
1. Yoshi's New Island will receive a Metacritic rating of 72. Polygon's Philip Kollar will lament that while the art style is well intentioned it does not come together in a cohesive or satisfying way, thus failing to live up to Nintendo's previous efforts to portray a world comprised of arts and crafts materials.
2. Nintendo will return to the Nokia theatre and will host a full E3 Press Conference. The conference will begin with a comical video in which Reggie is shown, in his hotel room, putting on a jacket. Reggie looks at his reflection in the mirror, takes a breath, and tells himself 'Your body is ready', he smiles, and leaves his room.
At the reception desk a young woman asks Mr Fils-Aime if he requires a taxi. Reggie replies 'No'. As Reggie makes his way across the car park he removes a set of keys from his inner right pocket and walks in the direction of his parked vehicle. The camera then pans to reveal Samus Aran's ship (or rather a cheap looking computer generated equivalent). Reggie smiles again. Upon conclusion of the video Reggie will stride on to the stage while the following music plays.
He will then look back over his shoulder and press the button on his keys just as the audience hear a sharp beep sound coming through the auditorium speakers, the joke being that Reggie forgot to lock the ship behind him.
He will announce that Retro Studios have been working on a follow up to their acclaimed Prime Trilogy, that the tentative title is Metroid: Extinction, and that it will be released in Early 2015 (At a later date this will be delayed until Summer 2016).
3. A 3DS revision will be unveiled which will not offer a second Circle Pad, better screens, or indeed anything meaningful at all. The D-Pad will be moved a few milometers to the left, a slight alteration to the shoulder buttons will make them imperceptibly bigger, and the face buttons will remain just a little too small for people with average sized hands. A significant proportion of existing 3DS owners will opt to upgrade anyway.
Super Metroid II: Return of Motherbrain (Wii U, of course)
I would be on board with that. If it ever does happen though I would like a Super Metroid sequel to make use of high-res hand drawn spites and environments. I'm not a fan of the chintzy look that some Nintendo games have gone with in recent years. I first noticed it with the Miis (but in fact it probably dates back to games like DKC and Super Mario RPG), but the same look can be found in games like Mario Kart, NSMB, ALBW and the upcoming Yoshi's New Island, all of which seem to sport a plastic-like sheen that's super unappealing to me. I guess I just prefer the more muted colour palette of 16-bit Nintendo games like Super Metroid and A link to the Past.
Having said that, I'll take a new Metroid game any way I can get it.
Ain't them bodies Saints - Although largely predictable, the poetry of each scene in this film really clicked with me. The Cinematography arguably steals the show here, but the film also boasts some great muted performances from it's key actors, the foreboding soundtrack is great, and the whole tone of the film is pitch-perfect.
It's probably not going to be to everyone's tastes, but if you enjoy poetic, moody cinema, then I'd say this is definitely worth watching (Don't let the Malick similarities dissuade you, ATBS could be described as ponderous but 'The tree of life' this is not).
This is the End - Got 40 mins in and had to turn it off.
Anchorman 2 - Neither as disappointing as it could of been or as good as it should have been, Anchorman 2 is a perfectly serviceable sequel to a cult classic. I do, however, really wish they hadn't reused 'THAT' scene...you know the one.
I will say, however, the line 'I'M BLIIIIND' has already found it's way into my lexicon. I messed up a chord change on guitar the other day and immediately used that line as an excuse.
I'm going to post my top games of the year here, lest I forget. It's been a slow year in terms of gaming for me, so I can only muster excitement for the following 5 games.
1-The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds 2-Fire Emblem: Awakening 3- Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon 4-Steamworld: Dig 5-Harmoknight
I also had some fun with the following notable mentions, but couldn't quite bring myself to put them on my 'top' list.
-Animal Crossing: New Leaf -Pokémon Y -Mario and Donkey Kong - Minis on the Move
I have also played a few hours of Pikmin 3, Rayman Legends and Super Mario 3D World, which all seem awesome, but not being a Wii U owner has meant I haven't spent as much time with those games as they probably deserve.
My relationship with video games seems to be cyclical. I tend to drift in and out. When I was very young I was really into my NES (the SNES was actually already released at that point). I did eventually get a SNES, but I don't remember owning many games for it and missed out on many of the classics (Super Metroid included).
I got back into gaming in a big way when the N64 came out thanks in large part to Goldeneye and Banjo Kazooie. However, when the Gamecube was released I didn't buy very many games for it and it effectively became my brothers' system.
The Wii then hooked me back in again, and I took advantage of the Gamecube backwards compatibility and the Virtual Console to catch on some of the great games that I had missed. In a way, the Wii era represents my most 'hardcore' phase, as I ended up buying more games for that system than I have for any other, which is kind of ironic given my tendency to deride that system for not providing enough games.
In the last 3 years or so, however, my gaming has slowed down and I have relied primarily on my 3DS and Steam. I'm fully on the PS4 wagon though, and am looking forward to being a console gamer once again.
Short answer? To a lesser or greater extent I would consider myself a part of every generation since the NES. I didn't engage with each generation equally, but video games have always been there for me.
I received this game as a gift for Christmas and have been trying really hard not to burn through it as quickly as possible. I'm going to be really bummed out when it ends, it's been a blast.
I'm in the closing phases of the game (with one more dungeon to go); I've found all the Maiamais, purchased all items, found all the bottles, unlocked all the upgrades, and generally rung the game of all it has to offer. It's without a doubt my favourite game of 2013. It feels snappy and immediate in a way that more recent Zelda game's haven't, the music is exceptional, the dungeons feel cohesive and connected, the over-world is brimming with secrets, characters, activities and places to explore, and overall it's just a joy to play.
I do, however, have a few minor gripes that I would like to see addressed in any potential follow-up.
I had one niggling issue with the controls (which on the whole are fantastic), which is that although Link is controlled with an analogue input he can only use items and abilities in the 8 cardinal directions. I found this to be particularly frustrating when using the dash or the Fire and Ice rods. I would have loved to be able to hold the dash button down and run in circles, or to stand in the middle of an arena and quickly and precisely launch pillars of fire at approaching enemies by aiming the rod rather than having to manoeuvre link so that his diagonal attack lines up with an enemy. Perhaps the enemies and their attacks patterns would have to be adjusted accordingly, but the increased accuracy and fluidity would benefit the combat.
I also wish that the same energy and care that was given to the audio had also been expended on the visuals. Many reviewers have commented on the fact that in motion and on the 3DS screen ALBW looks much better than screenshots and videos have been capable of showing, which is true; but I still maintain that ALBW's art style is the NSMB of the Zelda series. It's not an ugly game, it's just an incredibly generic looking one. It might just be a personal preference, but I think A Link to the Past (a 22 year old game) looks orders of magnitude better than ALBW. In the area of art, there is definite room for improvement.
Lastly, I hope that Nintendo now use ALBW as the basis for a brand new and thematically different Zelda game. We've had an Ocarina of Time remake, we've had a Wind Waker remake, and now (in a manner of speaking) we've had an A Link to the Past remake. ALBW, with it's shake up of the structure and formula, has proven once again that the Zelda series is flexible and capable of accommodating change. I would now like to see Nintendo demonstrate the same moxie when it comes to world creation, characters and story that they have in other areas.
I haven't looked at my PS4 since I hooked it up. I actually really dig the look of that system (it's angular, black visage reminds of the monolith from 2001, but in a good way) but I kind of don't care what these systems look like any more. I think when you're younger your fondness for a system (or more exactly it's games) gets tangled up with what the system looks like, the packaging, where you purchased it, the games that came with it.
Maybe it's just my experience, but as I've got older those things have became imperceptibly unimportant. Sure I'd take a good looking piece of technology over a an ugly one, but as long as it doesn't hurt the eye then I kind of don't care.
As for Wii U? I think it looks fine. Certainly better than Xbox One, but it does lack the character of, say, the Gamecube.
My 'Huh?' was in regards to your use of the word 'exponentially'.
What do you mean by 'the issues go exponentially beyond price'? Are you saying that beyond the issue of price other issues are increasingly important? Exponential is normally used to indicate that something becomes more rapid or pronounced as a result of a factor. Are you saying that the Wii U's issues are becoming increasingly pronounced and that the factor which accounts for that increase is price?
Or are you simply saying that Price is the least of Wii U's issues. If the latter, I don't think 'exponentially' really makes any sense.
Not trying to be the grammar police. I legitimately want to understand your intent.
I have the feeling that this will go down as a historic episode, one which I will probably want to go back and listen to in a few years time. I dig it when RFN does in-depth discussions on a particular topic and thought this episode was awesome.
Great work guys!
Jonny said something this episode which certainly rings true for me. If Nintendo can't convince me, an ardent and longstanding Nintendo fan, to buy a Wii U, even after the release of games like Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, and Windwaker HD, then the platform truly is in trouble.
At my mum's house my sister has a Wii U, and I've spent quite a bit of time with games like NSMB U, Pikmin 3, Rayman Legends etc, and I've enjoyed those games, but the actual platform itself is so unappealing to me that I can't bring myself to buy one. I don't like the gamepad as a controller, I think the online integration on Wii U still lags behind it's competitors, and the third-party support is woeful.
Those are the specific reasons I would cite for not wanting a Wii U, but I do think there are also less tangible reasons for why people are shunning the platform. I can't quite express it, but the Wii U feels...pallid? Meek even? It's just not a platform I enjoy engaging with. Even with some great games, I simply can't connect with the console for whatever reason. Nothing about it feels fresh or vibrant to me (which I acknowledge is probably just my perception).
I will be amongst that group of people who will probably purchase a Wii U when the price drops (or whenever X or Metroid Prime 4 are released, whichever happens first) but for the time being I'm happy with the 3DS providing my Nintendo dosage.
The latest episode of Retronauts covers this topic and the group discuss the merits of Minecraft as an educational game. In terms of the game providing young people with tools that engender spacial awareness and basic mathematical skills, it's definitely a game which could be used as a teaching resource.