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Why Me? Why Not. by Liam Gallagher
7.5
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Good things come to those who wait: and so, this summer, Liam Gallagher returns with a new single, a...
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Suicide Squad (2021) in Movies
Aug 15, 2021
Much like the recent Justice League redo we have Suicide Squad... sorry, The Suicide Squad.
The bad guys (and gals) club together to protect America... and by default, the world.
So it's not really a sequel, it's not really a reboot, but it's sort of a rebooted sequel while being a standalone film in the same universe. I've got no idea, but what we've got doesn't really bring out the same character dynamics as we've had previously.
Harley, Flag, Boomerang and Waller make repeat visits to the franchise. Harley and Boomerang are their usual, slightly off the wall, selves to bring the outlandish humour element. But Flag and Waller aren't anywhere near the versions they were in their last outing. Flag isn't sceptical, and that could be acceptance after the previous missions, but he's less of a leader and altogether more... bland. Waller on the other hand is still a hardass, but on a much different level. Before, she was sinister evil with a smidge of understated terrifying. Now... she's just shouty. It didn't make for a good viewing experience.
The dynamic change also left me cold. Harley and Boomerang have great chemistry together, what they did to her and Flag though, that was an odd mood. At least last time he was firm and decisive, now we're getting lingering camera shots that feel like they have romantic undertones. They also took Harley out of a lot of group activity, for a storyline that could easily have been summed up in another way.
Supporting the old familiars are a lot of new faces. In fact, there are over a dozen new named characters in The Suicide Squad.
Idris Elba is obviously a big pull in the advertising of this. Bloodsport isn't a character I know well, but it's handy that there are several, almost identical, characters they could swap in for Deadshot in case they want to bring Will Smith back later. But whether or not the comic book characters are the same, the story on the screen comes across almost identical.
And then there's Peacemaker, played by John Cena... another highly trained marksman. But this one with a penchant for tighty-whities. With this and F9, I'm not sure I have enough words. This is the last in a string of roles for him that I really haven't enjoyed. I'm even more distressed now that I know there's an 8 episode Peacemaker series coming in 2022. Heavy "do not want" vibes.
I couldn't go through this review without talking about King Shark... that would be criminal. Sylvester Stallone did this perfectly. Nanaue has humour, vulnerability, anger, wonder... and that was all conveyed with animation and a minimal script. I will not apologise for saying he was the best thing about the whole movie.
The rest of the characters are a steep learning curve. There was a lot of opportunity, but some rash decisions meant there was also a lot of wasted IP.
Our bad guys were a little all over the place. Front and centre we had Peter Capaldi as Thinker. He's not exactly a force to be reckoned with though, and honestly, I kind of expected more considering his prominence in the trailer. Starro was more of a challenger as a baddie, but they did ignore a lot of his abilities and left him as more of a novelty... and those armpits... *shudder*
Effects were as you'd expect for a DC film, not bad, but nothing that blows your mind. Animating a giant starfish is never going to look all that believable though, so there's a certain amount of leeway you need to give them for that.
The vibrant colours felt very on brand for James Gunn, and almost made this a bit of a companion piece to Birds of Prey... but those flowers... Yes, Harley has her hallucinatory moments, those flowers felt entirely pointless and out of place.
While The Suicide Squad was watchable, I really didn't find it to be the redemption that a lot of people are praising it to be. In fact, it felt like a solid step back for some characters and an excessive waste of others. Had they made the entire movie from King Shark's point of view then this obviously would have been a 5 star film, but as it was I didn't like the tone it had, and a lot of the action felt way too lighthearted for me. This wasn't an improvement on the previous iteration.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-suicide-squad-movie-review.html
The bad guys (and gals) club together to protect America... and by default, the world.
So it's not really a sequel, it's not really a reboot, but it's sort of a rebooted sequel while being a standalone film in the same universe. I've got no idea, but what we've got doesn't really bring out the same character dynamics as we've had previously.
Harley, Flag, Boomerang and Waller make repeat visits to the franchise. Harley and Boomerang are their usual, slightly off the wall, selves to bring the outlandish humour element. But Flag and Waller aren't anywhere near the versions they were in their last outing. Flag isn't sceptical, and that could be acceptance after the previous missions, but he's less of a leader and altogether more... bland. Waller on the other hand is still a hardass, but on a much different level. Before, she was sinister evil with a smidge of understated terrifying. Now... she's just shouty. It didn't make for a good viewing experience.
The dynamic change also left me cold. Harley and Boomerang have great chemistry together, what they did to her and Flag though, that was an odd mood. At least last time he was firm and decisive, now we're getting lingering camera shots that feel like they have romantic undertones. They also took Harley out of a lot of group activity, for a storyline that could easily have been summed up in another way.
Supporting the old familiars are a lot of new faces. In fact, there are over a dozen new named characters in The Suicide Squad.
Idris Elba is obviously a big pull in the advertising of this. Bloodsport isn't a character I know well, but it's handy that there are several, almost identical, characters they could swap in for Deadshot in case they want to bring Will Smith back later. But whether or not the comic book characters are the same, the story on the screen comes across almost identical.
And then there's Peacemaker, played by John Cena... another highly trained marksman. But this one with a penchant for tighty-whities. With this and F9, I'm not sure I have enough words. This is the last in a string of roles for him that I really haven't enjoyed. I'm even more distressed now that I know there's an 8 episode Peacemaker series coming in 2022. Heavy "do not want" vibes.
I couldn't go through this review without talking about King Shark... that would be criminal. Sylvester Stallone did this perfectly. Nanaue has humour, vulnerability, anger, wonder... and that was all conveyed with animation and a minimal script. I will not apologise for saying he was the best thing about the whole movie.
The rest of the characters are a steep learning curve. There was a lot of opportunity, but some rash decisions meant there was also a lot of wasted IP.
Our bad guys were a little all over the place. Front and centre we had Peter Capaldi as Thinker. He's not exactly a force to be reckoned with though, and honestly, I kind of expected more considering his prominence in the trailer. Starro was more of a challenger as a baddie, but they did ignore a lot of his abilities and left him as more of a novelty... and those armpits... *shudder*
Effects were as you'd expect for a DC film, not bad, but nothing that blows your mind. Animating a giant starfish is never going to look all that believable though, so there's a certain amount of leeway you need to give them for that.
The vibrant colours felt very on brand for James Gunn, and almost made this a bit of a companion piece to Birds of Prey... but those flowers... Yes, Harley has her hallucinatory moments, those flowers felt entirely pointless and out of place.
While The Suicide Squad was watchable, I really didn't find it to be the redemption that a lot of people are praising it to be. In fact, it felt like a solid step back for some characters and an excessive waste of others. Had they made the entire movie from King Shark's point of view then this obviously would have been a 5 star film, but as it was I didn't like the tone it had, and a lot of the action felt way too lighthearted for me. This wasn't an improvement on the previous iteration.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-suicide-squad-movie-review.html
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Ready Player One (2018) in Movies
Jun 18, 2019 (Updated Jun 18, 2019)
Steven Spielberg's (Mostly) Triumphant Return to Sci-Fi
If we’re being honest here, writer to reader, I never got around to reading Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One novel despite the fact that it’s sitting on a bookshelf less than ten feet from me as I type this. It turned out not to matter that much since Steven Spielberg took liberties with the source material. In the film, a virtual video game reality known as the OASIS is where everyone spends their time in the year 2045. Our main character Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) lives in, “The Stacks,” which is basically just a bunch of mobile homes stacked on top of each other. The coin collected in the OASIS as well as purchases within the game have evolved into an individual's life savings in the real world. Everyone wants to escape their crappy life and the OASIS is now all that matters.
James Halliday (Mark Rylance), creator of the OASIS, dies suddenly but he leaves behind a treasure hunt for three keys hidden within the depths of the OASIS with the main prize being an Easter egg that would allow the winner to have complete control over the entirety of the OASIS. Wade (as his avatar Parzival) intends to win Halliday’s challenge to get out of The Stacks and adopts the title of Gunter (egg hunter) along with his friends Aech (Lena Waithe), Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), and brothers Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Philip Zhao) who become known together as the, “HIgh Five,” but a video game conglomerate known as Innovative Online Industries or IOI spends all of their time and money attempting to find the secrets Halliday has hidden. IOI consists of an army known as the Sixers, which are players who owe large debts to the OASIS. CEO of IOI Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) intends to take the free-to-use OASIS and transform it into a monetized monopoly.
The storyline of Spielberg’s Ready Player One reminds me of the 19th episode of season two of Regular Show entitled, “High Score.” In that episode, Mordecai and Rigby attempt to beat the world record on a video game with record holder Garrett Bobby Ferguson (GBF or Giant Bearded Face). Ready Player One kind of expands on that concept and throws in a ton of nostalgic movie references while being set in the future. The weird thing is that those recycled moments that call back to the movies of yesteryear are the highlights of Ready Player One while the rest of the film suffers from Spielberg’s usual shortcomings.
I haven’t enjoyed a Steven Spielberg film since 2011’s The Adventures of Tintin. That combined with the trailer coming off as less than impressive and poster art from the marketing campaign (the main poster illustrated by Drew Struzan is amazing) that seemed to rely on generic face swapping via Photoshop on well-known movie posters had me really underwhelmed for the film overall. The film itself also suffers from corny dialogue, tender and romantic moments feeling force fed and overwhelming, and head-scratching sequences that leave you wondering why they needed to be included in the first place (the whole dance club/second challenge scene, for starters).
However, what the science fiction adventure gets right is the reason why you go to the movies. Spielberg along with cinematographer and frequent collaborator Janusz Kaminski know how to smoothly and effectively capture dynamic shots with a camera. When we first see Wade in The Stacks, he slides down a series of ropes and poles passing by and through various homes and junkyard cars that no longer run all while showcasing how plugged into a false reality civilization has become. The first race sequence of the film is also extraordinary with its fast pace and hectic action that is fairly easy to digest due to the sleek camera work. There’s a fairly lengthy segment devoted to a beloved horror film that is legitimately fantastic since it is not only a throwback to that original film, but it’s also injected with new thrilling terrors that you won’t see coming. Most battle sequences in the film with large ensembles are impressive for all of the obvious reasons; solid special effects, mass number of characters on the screen, a delicious dose of destruction, and most of all a countless series of references to movies, video games, and cartoons that you probably love. Witnessing what characters will pop up, when, and how they’ll be utilized is half of what makes Ready Player One so fun; it’s like a big budget version of South Park’s Imaginationland.
You either love or hate what Steven Spielberg has accomplished as a filmmaker, but it’s difficult not to admit that Ready Player One is a hell of a lot of fun even if you have some issues with the film. Spielberg has this cliche quality to him that is completely overbearing at times and he isn’t able to escape that aspect of his filmmaking with Ready Player One, but there’s enough of an entertaining and nostalgic value combined with not knowing who’s going to pop up next and some incredible cinematography highlighted by fluid yet flashy special effects resulting in a film that will be exciting and fun for anyone who was ever or still is a rabid gamer or movie lover. Spielberg has crafted a surefire crowd-pleaser that is basically a two and a half hour sentimental plunge directly into your childhood.
James Halliday (Mark Rylance), creator of the OASIS, dies suddenly but he leaves behind a treasure hunt for three keys hidden within the depths of the OASIS with the main prize being an Easter egg that would allow the winner to have complete control over the entirety of the OASIS. Wade (as his avatar Parzival) intends to win Halliday’s challenge to get out of The Stacks and adopts the title of Gunter (egg hunter) along with his friends Aech (Lena Waithe), Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), and brothers Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Philip Zhao) who become known together as the, “HIgh Five,” but a video game conglomerate known as Innovative Online Industries or IOI spends all of their time and money attempting to find the secrets Halliday has hidden. IOI consists of an army known as the Sixers, which are players who owe large debts to the OASIS. CEO of IOI Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) intends to take the free-to-use OASIS and transform it into a monetized monopoly.
The storyline of Spielberg’s Ready Player One reminds me of the 19th episode of season two of Regular Show entitled, “High Score.” In that episode, Mordecai and Rigby attempt to beat the world record on a video game with record holder Garrett Bobby Ferguson (GBF or Giant Bearded Face). Ready Player One kind of expands on that concept and throws in a ton of nostalgic movie references while being set in the future. The weird thing is that those recycled moments that call back to the movies of yesteryear are the highlights of Ready Player One while the rest of the film suffers from Spielberg’s usual shortcomings.
I haven’t enjoyed a Steven Spielberg film since 2011’s The Adventures of Tintin. That combined with the trailer coming off as less than impressive and poster art from the marketing campaign (the main poster illustrated by Drew Struzan is amazing) that seemed to rely on generic face swapping via Photoshop on well-known movie posters had me really underwhelmed for the film overall. The film itself also suffers from corny dialogue, tender and romantic moments feeling force fed and overwhelming, and head-scratching sequences that leave you wondering why they needed to be included in the first place (the whole dance club/second challenge scene, for starters).
However, what the science fiction adventure gets right is the reason why you go to the movies. Spielberg along with cinematographer and frequent collaborator Janusz Kaminski know how to smoothly and effectively capture dynamic shots with a camera. When we first see Wade in The Stacks, he slides down a series of ropes and poles passing by and through various homes and junkyard cars that no longer run all while showcasing how plugged into a false reality civilization has become. The first race sequence of the film is also extraordinary with its fast pace and hectic action that is fairly easy to digest due to the sleek camera work. There’s a fairly lengthy segment devoted to a beloved horror film that is legitimately fantastic since it is not only a throwback to that original film, but it’s also injected with new thrilling terrors that you won’t see coming. Most battle sequences in the film with large ensembles are impressive for all of the obvious reasons; solid special effects, mass number of characters on the screen, a delicious dose of destruction, and most of all a countless series of references to movies, video games, and cartoons that you probably love. Witnessing what characters will pop up, when, and how they’ll be utilized is half of what makes Ready Player One so fun; it’s like a big budget version of South Park’s Imaginationland.
You either love or hate what Steven Spielberg has accomplished as a filmmaker, but it’s difficult not to admit that Ready Player One is a hell of a lot of fun even if you have some issues with the film. Spielberg has this cliche quality to him that is completely overbearing at times and he isn’t able to escape that aspect of his filmmaking with Ready Player One, but there’s enough of an entertaining and nostalgic value combined with not knowing who’s going to pop up next and some incredible cinematography highlighted by fluid yet flashy special effects resulting in a film that will be exciting and fun for anyone who was ever or still is a rabid gamer or movie lover. Spielberg has crafted a surefire crowd-pleaser that is basically a two and a half hour sentimental plunge directly into your childhood.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Holi: Festival of Colors in Tabletop Games
Apr 16, 2022
I absolutely love a beautiful game. Being a gamer, I have seen and played many gorgeous games. However, the first time I set up Holi: Festival of Colors (just Holi from here), both my 5 year old son and my slightly older mother-in-law both commented on how awesome it looked setup on the table. It has been a while since I last was so impressed by the sheer glamour of a game – and I only have the base retail version! I HAVE to get my hands on an upgrade pack or something… Just checked. I’ll have to buy the Deluxe version. Okay, placing order.
Holi is an abstract, area control, card-driven action selection (akin to Onitama) game for two to four players. In it, players are attendees at the Holi Festival and the goal is spread their favorite color onto the plaza and other players in order to increase their joy (earn VP). The winner is the player who is best able to throw their color and score joy, all while enjoying the festival!
To setup, the game owner will assemble the three-tiered board and place the appropriate sweets tokens on their spaces. The score track and Rivalry cards are set nearby so all can see. Each player receives their color’s player markers (in four delightful animal shapes), color tokens, color cards, and a helper card. The first player receives the cool lotus flower (I think) marker and the game may begin!
Holi is played over a series of turns, and continues until every player has either run out of color tokens or color cards to play. Each turn, players will take one to three actions in any order, with only one action being absolutely mandatory. This is the Throw Color action. In order to Throw Color, the active player will choose a color card from their hand of three cards to play. On these cards are indications of where a player’s marker/piece/animeeple must be located and the spaces near it to throw color tokens on the board. These color cards are reminiscent of those found in Onitama, where players may only move to specific spaces based on card grid iconography. Players will be littering the squares of the play area with their color tokens as well as attempting to hit other players’ animeeples with their color.
Players may also optionally Move at any point during the turn. This is an easy one: players may Move to any space on the current level of the board they are on, except any space inhabited by an opponent’s animeeple. These spaces could already contain sweets tokens, which can be collected by the player, or even color tokens. When a player lands in a space with their own color token, they take it back to their supply to be used again. However, landing on an opponent’s color token causes the active player to also take it into their supply, thus scoring the opponent points at the end of the game.
Finally, a player, if in a space surrounded on four edges by color tokens, may Climb Up to the next higher level. Players on the middle level will score 2 joy (VP) at the end of the game for each color token placed, while tokens on the top level will score 3 joy. Care should be taken when throwing color on the upper levels, because should an empty space reside on the level below where the token has been placed, the token will fall through to the lower level! Therefore, only color tokens will only remain placed on higher levels when another token is blocking its fall below it.
Once all players have played their cards and thrown their color tokens, the game is over and the score is tallied. 1 point is earned for each color token on the bottom level, 2 points for the middle level, and 3 points for tokens on the upper level. Players score 2 more points for each of their color tokens that found their way into opponents’ supplies. Remember those sweets tokens that players were collecting? Players will score 5 points for every player that has less sweets tokens at the end of the game. If playing with the Rivalry cards, points are also scored for any of their special circumstances (ie color tokens scoring 4 instead of 3 on the top level, or hitting opponents with colors score 2 points immediately instead of the normal 1 point, or even 10 bonus points to the player with the most color tokens on the bottom level). The player with the most points at the end of this scoring phase wins the game!
Components. I kind of already made my point about this game being a flat out stunner on the table. I will sing its praises from here to India and then back again. I normally acknowledge the artist(s) on a game once I open it for the first time, but seeing that this is a total Vincent Dutrait masterpiece, I just had to see which other games of his I own. I have made my claims in the past for my favorite board game artists and I had not included Dutrait. No more. This is brilliant and just a wonderful experience throughout. The components are all great, and that multi-layered board? I mean, come on! The intricacies found throughout and within this box are immeasurable, and I will surely be adding the Deluxe version to my collection.
Holi is a game I can pull out with almost any person or group of people and feel confident that it will give an extremely satisfying experience. The rules are relatively simple, and games are very quick. This is not a filler, but runs so smoothly and briskly that one may miscategorize it as such. The options of movement are so unrestricted, and having the ability to craft spatial situations with the cards in your hand to allow only your animeeple to climb up to the next level is just delicious. Speaking of, the sweets tokens, and really ALL of the components, are just so cute and well-illustrated. I really am finding it difficult to point out any flaws in this game. Every time I have played it I have simply had the best time with my opponents. Yeah, there’s some minor take that, but it’s all in good fun, and if you know anything about the actual celebration of Holi, participants relish coming home just covered head to toe in paint, colored water, and other colorful materials. It’s a great theme that shines through, and I look forward to each of my coming plays.
Currently, eight games we have published reviews for have earned the Golden Feather Award. At the time of this writing, I know one other will be joining that list soon, and now Holi will as well. So that is 10 total games over the 495 we have published and are sitting in queue to be published. That said, it is no surprise, I’m sure, that Holi has earned its spot among the best we have played, and I am incredibly relieved that I was able to grab a copy when I did. This will remain a favorite of mine for many years, I know it. If you are like me and appreciate an amazing production value with a comparably wonderful game underneath, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Holi as soon as you can. Or come play my copy with me. I will always be up for a play.
Holi is an abstract, area control, card-driven action selection (akin to Onitama) game for two to four players. In it, players are attendees at the Holi Festival and the goal is spread their favorite color onto the plaza and other players in order to increase their joy (earn VP). The winner is the player who is best able to throw their color and score joy, all while enjoying the festival!
To setup, the game owner will assemble the three-tiered board and place the appropriate sweets tokens on their spaces. The score track and Rivalry cards are set nearby so all can see. Each player receives their color’s player markers (in four delightful animal shapes), color tokens, color cards, and a helper card. The first player receives the cool lotus flower (I think) marker and the game may begin!
Holi is played over a series of turns, and continues until every player has either run out of color tokens or color cards to play. Each turn, players will take one to three actions in any order, with only one action being absolutely mandatory. This is the Throw Color action. In order to Throw Color, the active player will choose a color card from their hand of three cards to play. On these cards are indications of where a player’s marker/piece/animeeple must be located and the spaces near it to throw color tokens on the board. These color cards are reminiscent of those found in Onitama, where players may only move to specific spaces based on card grid iconography. Players will be littering the squares of the play area with their color tokens as well as attempting to hit other players’ animeeples with their color.
Players may also optionally Move at any point during the turn. This is an easy one: players may Move to any space on the current level of the board they are on, except any space inhabited by an opponent’s animeeple. These spaces could already contain sweets tokens, which can be collected by the player, or even color tokens. When a player lands in a space with their own color token, they take it back to their supply to be used again. However, landing on an opponent’s color token causes the active player to also take it into their supply, thus scoring the opponent points at the end of the game.
Finally, a player, if in a space surrounded on four edges by color tokens, may Climb Up to the next higher level. Players on the middle level will score 2 joy (VP) at the end of the game for each color token placed, while tokens on the top level will score 3 joy. Care should be taken when throwing color on the upper levels, because should an empty space reside on the level below where the token has been placed, the token will fall through to the lower level! Therefore, only color tokens will only remain placed on higher levels when another token is blocking its fall below it.
Once all players have played their cards and thrown their color tokens, the game is over and the score is tallied. 1 point is earned for each color token on the bottom level, 2 points for the middle level, and 3 points for tokens on the upper level. Players score 2 more points for each of their color tokens that found their way into opponents’ supplies. Remember those sweets tokens that players were collecting? Players will score 5 points for every player that has less sweets tokens at the end of the game. If playing with the Rivalry cards, points are also scored for any of their special circumstances (ie color tokens scoring 4 instead of 3 on the top level, or hitting opponents with colors score 2 points immediately instead of the normal 1 point, or even 10 bonus points to the player with the most color tokens on the bottom level). The player with the most points at the end of this scoring phase wins the game!
Components. I kind of already made my point about this game being a flat out stunner on the table. I will sing its praises from here to India and then back again. I normally acknowledge the artist(s) on a game once I open it for the first time, but seeing that this is a total Vincent Dutrait masterpiece, I just had to see which other games of his I own. I have made my claims in the past for my favorite board game artists and I had not included Dutrait. No more. This is brilliant and just a wonderful experience throughout. The components are all great, and that multi-layered board? I mean, come on! The intricacies found throughout and within this box are immeasurable, and I will surely be adding the Deluxe version to my collection.
Holi is a game I can pull out with almost any person or group of people and feel confident that it will give an extremely satisfying experience. The rules are relatively simple, and games are very quick. This is not a filler, but runs so smoothly and briskly that one may miscategorize it as such. The options of movement are so unrestricted, and having the ability to craft spatial situations with the cards in your hand to allow only your animeeple to climb up to the next level is just delicious. Speaking of, the sweets tokens, and really ALL of the components, are just so cute and well-illustrated. I really am finding it difficult to point out any flaws in this game. Every time I have played it I have simply had the best time with my opponents. Yeah, there’s some minor take that, but it’s all in good fun, and if you know anything about the actual celebration of Holi, participants relish coming home just covered head to toe in paint, colored water, and other colorful materials. It’s a great theme that shines through, and I look forward to each of my coming plays.
Currently, eight games we have published reviews for have earned the Golden Feather Award. At the time of this writing, I know one other will be joining that list soon, and now Holi will as well. So that is 10 total games over the 495 we have published and are sitting in queue to be published. That said, it is no surprise, I’m sure, that Holi has earned its spot among the best we have played, and I am incredibly relieved that I was able to grab a copy when I did. This will remain a favorite of mine for many years, I know it. If you are like me and appreciate an amazing production value with a comparably wonderful game underneath, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Holi as soon as you can. Or come play my copy with me. I will always be up for a play.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Barnyard Roundup in Tabletop Games
Apr 12, 2021
I live in Illinois. I can see cornfields from my house. I do not live on a farm, but have visited farms in the past. There is more to Illinois than Chicago and corn. That all said, farming games tickle me so much and I just enjoy playing them. So imagine my interest level when you combine a publisher known for excellent productions, the designer from said publisher, a member of an art studio in my top three favorite board game artists (Kwanchai and The Mico for the others), and a theme that I already enjoy. This is going to be great! Right?
Barnyard Roundup is a silly game of bluffing and hand management set on a farm. In it players are farmhands trying to help Farmer Brown sell the most animals at market. They do this by bluffing their hands in trade deals with other farmhands, thus making no friends in the process. The player with the most points at the end of the game, when all cards from the draw deck have been drawn, will be the winner!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup place the five Animal Bonus cards in a line with the Set Bonus cards nearby. Shuffle the large deck of animal cards and deal out cards according to the rulebook per the number of players in the game. The Burglar and Excuse Me tokens are sorted and dealt out with the remainders face-down near the other cards. Remove eight cards from the draw deck and decide who will be the start player. The game may now begin!
Barnyard Roundup turns are quite simple: take two or three actions and end the turn. The first action is mandatory and it is Passing Cards to another player. Choose anywhere from one to six cards, place them face-down on the table in front of the player with whom to be traded, and announce the number and type of cards to be traded. For example, a player may say, “This is four chickens.” The targeted player now must decide whether that group actually IS a group of four chickens or if they believe the trader (not traitor) is bluffing. If so the targeted player may say, “That is NOT four chickens.” Once the agree/disagree statement has been made the cards are flipped over to see which player will be adding the cards to their pens. If the targeted player guessed correctly then they will received all the animal cards that were passed to them. That is, unless the cards were actually CROWS. Crows are worth -5 VP at the end of the game (see the photo below) and will be taken into the pen of the defeated player in the trade. In addition to crows (bad) the game includes Copy Cats (good) which can be wild cards to be placed with other animals and they copy the animal in their group. When the trade is resolved the active player may choose to perform the next step, but it is not mandatory.
Players must note that any time a player gains crows that would extend their collection of crows to any multiple of 3 that player must then draw another Action Token (Burglar, Excuse Me, Scarecrow) from the supply. If a Scarecrow is drawn it is immediately revealed and three crows are discarded from that player’s collection. The Excuse Me token may be used during a trade, but before cards are revealed, by a player not involved in the trade. When they announce, “Excuse Me,” they immediately take the place of the targeted player and will decide whether the trade is correct as announced or is a bluff.
Should they wish, the active player may now Play a Burglar Token from their collection in order to target another player and ask for all of their animals of a specific type – “I wish to procure all of your cows” That player must then immediately hand over all their cows, or else may tell the active player to Go Fish. Okay, that last part isn’t in the rules, but I started doing it and it stuck for me.
The third and final step of a turn is simply to Draw Cards and End Your Turn. Draw cards back up to the hand limit of 5 or 6 and end the turn. Play then passes to the next player.
Play continues in this fashion until the last card has been drawn. The game ends immediately and players tally their points per the rulebook to arrive at an ultimate winner!
Components. This game is a bunch of cards and some tokens in a double-wide+ tuckbox. I love the art, and that makes sense as it is illustrated by Lina Cossette, half of Mr. Cuddington. If you don’t know about Mr. Cuddington, please check out their website. The cards are good quality, as are the tokens. But that box. Now, it LOOKS great, and is a fine size. But a tuckbox? I would have preferred a lidded box, or even one of those with the magnetic fold-out lids. But it’s a tuckbox and the opening flap dented upon its first opening. Oy. I could give a chef’s kiss to everything else though.
Now, there’s a reason why I rated this game a 4 and my wife a 6: she beats me every single time we play and I just cannot find the strategy to take her down. Am I just horrible at bluffing games? Does she just dominate me at ALL games? I’m not sure, but this one certainly highlights the fact that she’s just better than me. I can still hear her haunting and taunting me with, “OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS GAME! I’M SOOOOO GOOD AT IT!” Meanwhile I am sitting pretty with a whole flock of crows laughing at me like I am the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. Perhaps I am truly brainless as well.
That said, the game is enjoyable. I do like to play bluffing games, but I’m the poor soul who would rather play straight than do ANY sort of bluffing at all. Except when I have lulled my prey into trusting my every declaration. Then pull out the big guns and laugh my way to the bank. Well, I tried that several times and no dice. But I do enjoy playing, and I do keep coming back for more torture. And if that isn’t a sign of a good game, then what is?
All in all the game is quick, light on rules, and features wonderful art style. This is the game I will probably use to introduce my children (or new gamers) to bluffing games as the theme is easily digestible and when you get stuck with the negative points you don’t feel super bad about it. It is easy to pronounce that Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a squawkin’-good 10 / 12. If you are looking for a light introductory game to teach bluffing or to hit that sweet-spot, then I recommend you check out Barnyard Roundup from Druid City Games. I ain’t a-bluffin’ ya.
Barnyard Roundup is a silly game of bluffing and hand management set on a farm. In it players are farmhands trying to help Farmer Brown sell the most animals at market. They do this by bluffing their hands in trade deals with other farmhands, thus making no friends in the process. The player with the most points at the end of the game, when all cards from the draw deck have been drawn, will be the winner!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup place the five Animal Bonus cards in a line with the Set Bonus cards nearby. Shuffle the large deck of animal cards and deal out cards according to the rulebook per the number of players in the game. The Burglar and Excuse Me tokens are sorted and dealt out with the remainders face-down near the other cards. Remove eight cards from the draw deck and decide who will be the start player. The game may now begin!
Barnyard Roundup turns are quite simple: take two or three actions and end the turn. The first action is mandatory and it is Passing Cards to another player. Choose anywhere from one to six cards, place them face-down on the table in front of the player with whom to be traded, and announce the number and type of cards to be traded. For example, a player may say, “This is four chickens.” The targeted player now must decide whether that group actually IS a group of four chickens or if they believe the trader (not traitor) is bluffing. If so the targeted player may say, “That is NOT four chickens.” Once the agree/disagree statement has been made the cards are flipped over to see which player will be adding the cards to their pens. If the targeted player guessed correctly then they will received all the animal cards that were passed to them. That is, unless the cards were actually CROWS. Crows are worth -5 VP at the end of the game (see the photo below) and will be taken into the pen of the defeated player in the trade. In addition to crows (bad) the game includes Copy Cats (good) which can be wild cards to be placed with other animals and they copy the animal in their group. When the trade is resolved the active player may choose to perform the next step, but it is not mandatory.
Players must note that any time a player gains crows that would extend their collection of crows to any multiple of 3 that player must then draw another Action Token (Burglar, Excuse Me, Scarecrow) from the supply. If a Scarecrow is drawn it is immediately revealed and three crows are discarded from that player’s collection. The Excuse Me token may be used during a trade, but before cards are revealed, by a player not involved in the trade. When they announce, “Excuse Me,” they immediately take the place of the targeted player and will decide whether the trade is correct as announced or is a bluff.
Should they wish, the active player may now Play a Burglar Token from their collection in order to target another player and ask for all of their animals of a specific type – “I wish to procure all of your cows” That player must then immediately hand over all their cows, or else may tell the active player to Go Fish. Okay, that last part isn’t in the rules, but I started doing it and it stuck for me.
The third and final step of a turn is simply to Draw Cards and End Your Turn. Draw cards back up to the hand limit of 5 or 6 and end the turn. Play then passes to the next player.
Play continues in this fashion until the last card has been drawn. The game ends immediately and players tally their points per the rulebook to arrive at an ultimate winner!
Components. This game is a bunch of cards and some tokens in a double-wide+ tuckbox. I love the art, and that makes sense as it is illustrated by Lina Cossette, half of Mr. Cuddington. If you don’t know about Mr. Cuddington, please check out their website. The cards are good quality, as are the tokens. But that box. Now, it LOOKS great, and is a fine size. But a tuckbox? I would have preferred a lidded box, or even one of those with the magnetic fold-out lids. But it’s a tuckbox and the opening flap dented upon its first opening. Oy. I could give a chef’s kiss to everything else though.
Now, there’s a reason why I rated this game a 4 and my wife a 6: she beats me every single time we play and I just cannot find the strategy to take her down. Am I just horrible at bluffing games? Does she just dominate me at ALL games? I’m not sure, but this one certainly highlights the fact that she’s just better than me. I can still hear her haunting and taunting me with, “OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS GAME! I’M SOOOOO GOOD AT IT!” Meanwhile I am sitting pretty with a whole flock of crows laughing at me like I am the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. Perhaps I am truly brainless as well.
That said, the game is enjoyable. I do like to play bluffing games, but I’m the poor soul who would rather play straight than do ANY sort of bluffing at all. Except when I have lulled my prey into trusting my every declaration. Then pull out the big guns and laugh my way to the bank. Well, I tried that several times and no dice. But I do enjoy playing, and I do keep coming back for more torture. And if that isn’t a sign of a good game, then what is?
All in all the game is quick, light on rules, and features wonderful art style. This is the game I will probably use to introduce my children (or new gamers) to bluffing games as the theme is easily digestible and when you get stuck with the negative points you don’t feel super bad about it. It is easy to pronounce that Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a squawkin’-good 10 / 12. If you are looking for a light introductory game to teach bluffing or to hit that sweet-spot, then I recommend you check out Barnyard Roundup from Druid City Games. I ain’t a-bluffin’ ya.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Funkoverse Strategy Game: Harry Potter 100 in Tabletop Games
Aug 30, 2021
Because I haven’t given my readers enough insight into my nerdiness, here are a few more things I’m into: Harry Potter, the MCU, and Doctor Who. I also have several Funko Pops! characters somewhere here in this house: the Tenth Doctor, the Twelfth Doctor, Captain America, Ms. Marvel, Ant-Man, and Dr. Strange to name a few. So when I heard that a game was coming out where I could possibly use my Funkos for something other than sitting on my armoire, I got excited. Oh, also it’s Harry Potter themed? COUNT ME IN!
Funkoverse Strategy Game: Harry Potter (which I will now refer to as HP Funko) is a tactics-based strategy game where effectively using Action Points is the determining factor in victory. Each player will take charge of a 2- or 3-character team engaged in one of four included scenarios to gain VP (the awesome teal shards). This is done in different fashions, and for this review we used the “Territories” scenario.
DISCLAIMER: The Tenth Doctor and Dr. Strange are not included in the game, I supplied them. In the box are discs to represent a generic Auror (Ten) and Death Eater (Strange). If you choose to use a supplementary Funko Pop! please know that they may be much larger in size and difficult to maneuver on the board. Also, I will not be detailing every rule in the rulebook as there are just too many. For full rules, download the rulebook today or pick up a copy at your FLGS! -T
To setup follow the instructions in the rulebook and the chosen scenario. For Territories, it will look similar to the setup below, but the characters may not be facing a camera, as mine are. Once the players are satisfied with setup, the first player token is flipped coin-toss style to see which team will lead the first round. The game is now underway!
Turns are somewhat simple: each character can do two actions, which include: Move, Challenge, Interact, Assist, Rally, and Use Ability/Items. Movement is two squares, with diagonals allowed, but not through any part of an obstruction. In fact, obstructions and line-of-sight are big parts of the game, as several pages of the rulebook are devoted to them. To Challenge another character is the combat of the game. The attacker will typically throw two dice to initiate an attack and the defender will use as many dice as is printed on their character card. However, this is a Harry Potter game, so Challenges will also allow characters to use magic spells to augment their attacks or inflict other debilitations or statuses on their targets. Simple majority of successful results rolled wins the Challenge. Characters may be knocked down as a result of a Challenge, and if already knocked down and successfully attacked again, may also be knocked out of the game for a certain number of rounds (usually one).
To Interact with a token on the board a character will need to position themselves either directly on the token or one space adjacent. These tokens could be merely points on the board that earn points, as in the current scenario.
If adjacent to a downed ally, a player could use an Assist action to stand up the ally. However, a character may stand themselves up on their turn by using both actions to Rally. This is the character’s entire turn worth of actions, but may be necessary to avoid being knocked out and placed on the Cooldown Track.
Lastly, characters may need to spend actions to use an ability or an item in their possession. Each ability and item will have its own instructions written on their respective cards. These will be instantly recognizable to fans of the HP universe and will use Ability Tokens or require the user to place the Item Card on the Cooldown Track to be used on a future turn.
After alternating characters on each team has exhausted every character, the round ends. Players will refresh their characters and move all tokens or cards down a space on the Cooldown Track. Should end of turn activities score teams VPs, they will claim the shards for their collection. Once the scenario’s objective has been met a player will be crowned victor and forced to cast Riddikulus on their opponent(s).
Components. This game does not ship with a ton of components, but the bits and pieces contained in the box are wonderful. The cardboard map and pieces are nice, the cards are good quality, and all the tokens are great as well. I really enjoy the VP shards and of course the smaller Pops! that are the main characters. They are a bit smaller than all the Pops! I have, but I’m not really a huge Pops! collector, so that may be the norm nowadays. The art throughout is really well-done and evocative of the theme. Overall the components are brilliant.
I am no fan of Mage Wars style games, as I typically find those types of tactical games tiresome. I usually end up just moving around and casting a spell every once in a while, but then it’s just a tedious game of cat and mouse that I just don’t feel like ever playing. However, with the scenarios provided with HP Funko I feel like I have a mission other than knocking out my opponents. Yes, I could still do that during a scenario, but that’s not the main focus. I like that quite a bit. In fact, there are generic tokens in the game that would even allow players to create their own scenarios. I might be interested in creating my own to play with a younger crowd even.
Moving those big heads around is fun and makes me giggle a bit, especially when they knock into each other and fall down because of the elephantitis of the noggin. I also like being able to send in my Tenth Doctor to use his Sonic Screwdriver to take out he-who-must-not-be-named whilst Dr. Strange looks on in amusement. Being able to use your own Pops! is a great twist and I am definitely a fan.
I guess I DO like tactical move-around-the-board-and-do-stuff games after all! I just needed a little direction and a good theme to pull me into the genre. I also have the expandalone for the HP version of this that includes Malfoy and Ron, and can’t wait to add those in as well. And let me tell you how much I need the next expandalone that includes Dumbledore, Hagrid, Snape, and Umbridge. I need, like, I NEED to deal some damage to that pink witch SO MUCH. In any case, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a patronus-fueled 10 / 12. If you are on the fence about this gimmicky-looking game, then let me help you – get it. Play it a lot and play it with lots of other people (when possible). Extra points to Hufflegriffinsnake if you yell out the spell names a la Harold Potter in the movies.
Funkoverse Strategy Game: Harry Potter (which I will now refer to as HP Funko) is a tactics-based strategy game where effectively using Action Points is the determining factor in victory. Each player will take charge of a 2- or 3-character team engaged in one of four included scenarios to gain VP (the awesome teal shards). This is done in different fashions, and for this review we used the “Territories” scenario.
DISCLAIMER: The Tenth Doctor and Dr. Strange are not included in the game, I supplied them. In the box are discs to represent a generic Auror (Ten) and Death Eater (Strange). If you choose to use a supplementary Funko Pop! please know that they may be much larger in size and difficult to maneuver on the board. Also, I will not be detailing every rule in the rulebook as there are just too many. For full rules, download the rulebook today or pick up a copy at your FLGS! -T
To setup follow the instructions in the rulebook and the chosen scenario. For Territories, it will look similar to the setup below, but the characters may not be facing a camera, as mine are. Once the players are satisfied with setup, the first player token is flipped coin-toss style to see which team will lead the first round. The game is now underway!
Turns are somewhat simple: each character can do two actions, which include: Move, Challenge, Interact, Assist, Rally, and Use Ability/Items. Movement is two squares, with diagonals allowed, but not through any part of an obstruction. In fact, obstructions and line-of-sight are big parts of the game, as several pages of the rulebook are devoted to them. To Challenge another character is the combat of the game. The attacker will typically throw two dice to initiate an attack and the defender will use as many dice as is printed on their character card. However, this is a Harry Potter game, so Challenges will also allow characters to use magic spells to augment their attacks or inflict other debilitations or statuses on their targets. Simple majority of successful results rolled wins the Challenge. Characters may be knocked down as a result of a Challenge, and if already knocked down and successfully attacked again, may also be knocked out of the game for a certain number of rounds (usually one).
To Interact with a token on the board a character will need to position themselves either directly on the token or one space adjacent. These tokens could be merely points on the board that earn points, as in the current scenario.
If adjacent to a downed ally, a player could use an Assist action to stand up the ally. However, a character may stand themselves up on their turn by using both actions to Rally. This is the character’s entire turn worth of actions, but may be necessary to avoid being knocked out and placed on the Cooldown Track.
Lastly, characters may need to spend actions to use an ability or an item in their possession. Each ability and item will have its own instructions written on their respective cards. These will be instantly recognizable to fans of the HP universe and will use Ability Tokens or require the user to place the Item Card on the Cooldown Track to be used on a future turn.
After alternating characters on each team has exhausted every character, the round ends. Players will refresh their characters and move all tokens or cards down a space on the Cooldown Track. Should end of turn activities score teams VPs, they will claim the shards for their collection. Once the scenario’s objective has been met a player will be crowned victor and forced to cast Riddikulus on their opponent(s).
Components. This game does not ship with a ton of components, but the bits and pieces contained in the box are wonderful. The cardboard map and pieces are nice, the cards are good quality, and all the tokens are great as well. I really enjoy the VP shards and of course the smaller Pops! that are the main characters. They are a bit smaller than all the Pops! I have, but I’m not really a huge Pops! collector, so that may be the norm nowadays. The art throughout is really well-done and evocative of the theme. Overall the components are brilliant.
I am no fan of Mage Wars style games, as I typically find those types of tactical games tiresome. I usually end up just moving around and casting a spell every once in a while, but then it’s just a tedious game of cat and mouse that I just don’t feel like ever playing. However, with the scenarios provided with HP Funko I feel like I have a mission other than knocking out my opponents. Yes, I could still do that during a scenario, but that’s not the main focus. I like that quite a bit. In fact, there are generic tokens in the game that would even allow players to create their own scenarios. I might be interested in creating my own to play with a younger crowd even.
Moving those big heads around is fun and makes me giggle a bit, especially when they knock into each other and fall down because of the elephantitis of the noggin. I also like being able to send in my Tenth Doctor to use his Sonic Screwdriver to take out he-who-must-not-be-named whilst Dr. Strange looks on in amusement. Being able to use your own Pops! is a great twist and I am definitely a fan.
I guess I DO like tactical move-around-the-board-and-do-stuff games after all! I just needed a little direction and a good theme to pull me into the genre. I also have the expandalone for the HP version of this that includes Malfoy and Ron, and can’t wait to add those in as well. And let me tell you how much I need the next expandalone that includes Dumbledore, Hagrid, Snape, and Umbridge. I need, like, I NEED to deal some damage to that pink witch SO MUCH. In any case, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a patronus-fueled 10 / 12. If you are on the fence about this gimmicky-looking game, then let me help you – get it. Play it a lot and play it with lots of other people (when possible). Extra points to Hufflegriffinsnake if you yell out the spell names a la Harold Potter in the movies.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Vengeance in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
Fans of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 who are waiting patiently for the November release of Call of Duty: Ghosts, can put their skills to the test with the latest map pack DLC. The collection is named Vengeance and it offers four new multiplayer maps as well as a new Zombie campaigns for players aching for more of the wildly popular series.
The set is the third of a planned four map packs and for fans of frantic, run and gun action, this is the collection for you. This is not to say there is not a place for players who wish to snipe or use stealth, but the developers have clearly put the focus on smaller maps which bring the action front and center and force players to get into the action fast.
Like the previous map collections the players are limited to either Mosh pit or Hardcore Moshpit that puts teams of players in a series of online games where the objective is varied. There is the usual mix, Team Deathmatch, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, and Demolition modes and the mode as well as your teammates change with each map.
Accessing the new maps is easy as once you start in multiplayer mode, the option to select Vengeance is shown on your menu. Players who have the previous map packs which are not required to play the new ones, will be able to access them in the game mode of their choice now as they would for the maps that came with the initial release of the game.
The first map I played was called Uplink which is an updated version of the Summit map from Black Ops. This time out the snowy eastern Europe locale has been changed to a rainy Asian locale. It took me a few times around and a few deaths before I realized there was something familiar about it. This helped me get adjusted to likely areas for attacks and defense much faster than usual and I soon found myself dishing out the damage instead of being a walking target.
The next map is called “Detour” and this takes places on a bombed out suspension bridge that has cars and trucks as well as blast holes littering the roads. Players can take the side paths and lower areas but can also engage the other team in the clutter up top. Be prepared for plenty of flying grenades as well as mines and other traps in this one. I usually need around five rounds in a map before I am comfy enough to really let loose and this one after some initial frustrations paid off big,
A recent kill streak earned me a sentry gun, which when deployed racked up an impressive number of kills for me thanks to the choke points and strategic placement near an enemy objective.
Up next is “Cove” and while it took me a little bit to differentiate the enemy attire from that of my team, I soon found this to be an early favorite for me. The setting is a tropical island complete with a crashed plane. The plane became a great shield to toss grenades over and I loved walking around the beach in my efforts to flank the other players. For a person who loves a run and gun, devil may care style of play, coming around a rock and finding two or three enemy players facing away from me was a great thrill as was having a cluster of them camped out on a ledge above or in a rocky cave..
There are plenty of cliffs as well as snipers love to setup on the ridges and let loose as do players who have earned a sentry gun or other reward. This became tough when most of the objectives involved either planting or defusing a bomb. Fighting to an objective only to be cut down as you were seconds away from completing a task is a frustration indeed but also part of the fun.
The final map is entitled “Rush” and the title not only describes the fun of playing it but also the best way to play it as it is set in a paint ball venue. There are tons of paint-soaked vehicles, wooden buildings, and venues that anyone who has ever played paintball will be all to familiar with. The real joy comes when you head into the shop and have to battle in the pro shop, indoor arena, and other locales. The colors are vivid and the attacks can come from all angles at any time.
As much as I liked “Cove” “Rush” quickly became my favorite of the maps as I was able to record my best scores of the new maps the first time I played it, and was able to maintain my lucky runs with each subsequent match.
Zombie fans will love “Buried” which like previous Zombie modes allows four players to work with one another as they fight off legions of undead. Like previous modes, players must heal fallen players and purchase weapons and ammo. This can be a challenge as starting off with just a pistol, grenade, and knife, you have to take down more than a few bad guys to earn needed funs for the big guns.
Cash can also be used for health, to restore barricades, as well as unlock new areas of the map.
Set in an underground western town, and I have to admit to really enjoying mowing down legions of undead as I came out of the saloon and enjoying the detail level of the map.
Skilled players can earn the Ray Gun Mark II and really fry the undead to a crisp.
Picky fans will say that Vengeance does not offer as much as some map packs as more than one person I played with lamented the fact that they did not get any new weapons like they did with the first map pack, and how one of the four maps was an older map that was remade.
To me it all comes down to a matter of choice as the maps are available in a set for $14.99 or players can purchase a season pass which will allow them to obtain all four map packs at a discounted price.
If you are a fan of the game and play online on a regular basis then you will want the maps as they do offer something new and are enjoyable to look at and play for gamers but be prepared to take your lumps early as most of the players have already mastered the previous maps and showed no mercy for players who were trying to get their bearings in the new offerings.
In the end, if you’re a hardcore player or simply love the series, then you will enjoy the maps as they offer something new while players wait for the final collection and the November release of Call of Duty: Ghosts:
http://sknr.net/2013/08/06/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-vengeance/
The set is the third of a planned four map packs and for fans of frantic, run and gun action, this is the collection for you. This is not to say there is not a place for players who wish to snipe or use stealth, but the developers have clearly put the focus on smaller maps which bring the action front and center and force players to get into the action fast.
Like the previous map collections the players are limited to either Mosh pit or Hardcore Moshpit that puts teams of players in a series of online games where the objective is varied. There is the usual mix, Team Deathmatch, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, and Demolition modes and the mode as well as your teammates change with each map.
Accessing the new maps is easy as once you start in multiplayer mode, the option to select Vengeance is shown on your menu. Players who have the previous map packs which are not required to play the new ones, will be able to access them in the game mode of their choice now as they would for the maps that came with the initial release of the game.
The first map I played was called Uplink which is an updated version of the Summit map from Black Ops. This time out the snowy eastern Europe locale has been changed to a rainy Asian locale. It took me a few times around and a few deaths before I realized there was something familiar about it. This helped me get adjusted to likely areas for attacks and defense much faster than usual and I soon found myself dishing out the damage instead of being a walking target.
The next map is called “Detour” and this takes places on a bombed out suspension bridge that has cars and trucks as well as blast holes littering the roads. Players can take the side paths and lower areas but can also engage the other team in the clutter up top. Be prepared for plenty of flying grenades as well as mines and other traps in this one. I usually need around five rounds in a map before I am comfy enough to really let loose and this one after some initial frustrations paid off big,
A recent kill streak earned me a sentry gun, which when deployed racked up an impressive number of kills for me thanks to the choke points and strategic placement near an enemy objective.
Up next is “Cove” and while it took me a little bit to differentiate the enemy attire from that of my team, I soon found this to be an early favorite for me. The setting is a tropical island complete with a crashed plane. The plane became a great shield to toss grenades over and I loved walking around the beach in my efforts to flank the other players. For a person who loves a run and gun, devil may care style of play, coming around a rock and finding two or three enemy players facing away from me was a great thrill as was having a cluster of them camped out on a ledge above or in a rocky cave..
There are plenty of cliffs as well as snipers love to setup on the ridges and let loose as do players who have earned a sentry gun or other reward. This became tough when most of the objectives involved either planting or defusing a bomb. Fighting to an objective only to be cut down as you were seconds away from completing a task is a frustration indeed but also part of the fun.
The final map is entitled “Rush” and the title not only describes the fun of playing it but also the best way to play it as it is set in a paint ball venue. There are tons of paint-soaked vehicles, wooden buildings, and venues that anyone who has ever played paintball will be all to familiar with. The real joy comes when you head into the shop and have to battle in the pro shop, indoor arena, and other locales. The colors are vivid and the attacks can come from all angles at any time.
As much as I liked “Cove” “Rush” quickly became my favorite of the maps as I was able to record my best scores of the new maps the first time I played it, and was able to maintain my lucky runs with each subsequent match.
Zombie fans will love “Buried” which like previous Zombie modes allows four players to work with one another as they fight off legions of undead. Like previous modes, players must heal fallen players and purchase weapons and ammo. This can be a challenge as starting off with just a pistol, grenade, and knife, you have to take down more than a few bad guys to earn needed funs for the big guns.
Cash can also be used for health, to restore barricades, as well as unlock new areas of the map.
Set in an underground western town, and I have to admit to really enjoying mowing down legions of undead as I came out of the saloon and enjoying the detail level of the map.
Skilled players can earn the Ray Gun Mark II and really fry the undead to a crisp.
Picky fans will say that Vengeance does not offer as much as some map packs as more than one person I played with lamented the fact that they did not get any new weapons like they did with the first map pack, and how one of the four maps was an older map that was remade.
To me it all comes down to a matter of choice as the maps are available in a set for $14.99 or players can purchase a season pass which will allow them to obtain all four map packs at a discounted price.
If you are a fan of the game and play online on a regular basis then you will want the maps as they do offer something new and are enjoyable to look at and play for gamers but be prepared to take your lumps early as most of the players have already mastered the previous maps and showed no mercy for players who were trying to get their bearings in the new offerings.
In the end, if you’re a hardcore player or simply love the series, then you will enjoy the maps as they offer something new while players wait for the final collection and the November release of Call of Duty: Ghosts:
http://sknr.net/2013/08/06/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-vengeance/
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated 1917 (2020) in Movies
Jan 22, 2020
It has felt like a long wait to get to this film, there was a lot of talk when Midway was coming out so I was very glad it finally arrived.
Lance Corporal Blake has been told to report with another soldier, the respite from war was short but something important must be afoot. It's more than just important, it's life and death for Blake's older brother. His company have sent word that they're going to advance on the retreating German troops but communications are down and they don't know they're going headfirst into a trap.
Blake and Schofield are tasked with finding a way to their position to stop the advance before they lead 1,600 men into the ambush. Between them and their objective? No man's land, abandoned German trenches and large expanses of open land. One another and vigilance are all they have to get them to their objective.
I ended up seeing this twice on its opening weekend, mainly for technical reasons. When I completed my first watch I saw a lot of tweets about its "one-shot" filming and details of an interview about the filming techniques used, that all made me want to go back and watch for more detail.
If I'm honest with you I didn't notice the "one-shot" filming during my first trip to the cinema. In the interview I saw it said that there were no takes longer than 9 minutes, with its running time that meant that at the very least there were 14 cuts... of course I wanted to go and try to spot them. There were only a few "obvious" ones, but even then some of those felt so seamless that you wouldn't question if they said it was done in one (two) shot(s).
The effects in the film are fantastic, but also one of my only quibbles. There are several video clips with and without effects on floating around the internet and you'll see the massive effort that went into these effects. The major scene that comes to mind is in the trailer, Schofield is running across the field as the regiment is advancing around him. I had just assumed that the shot was aerial, but no, it was filmed from the back of a truck. That doesn't sound all that strange until you see in this video that the truck has a road to drive down that is then CGId out for the final cut. That was incredible to see. But this scene is also the only scene that made me doubt the effects too. When I watched it on the big screen it felt clear that some of the explosions were generated, and watching the clips proved that feeling to be right.
I could ramble on about the effects in this for ages but I need to remember there are other things to talk about... but well, I want to rave a little.
The nighttime scene is truly incredible to watch. It makes you paranoid and scared, you watch the shadows for soldiers and survivors, ugh, gripping and terrifying all at the same time.
Right, come one... move along, Emma!
Not much of a switch but I want to mention what I believe are mainly physical effects. One of the first scenes shows Blake and Schofield going through the trenches and over no man's land, walking through the trenches takes a long time, the fact they dug all of that and decked out the entire length for what is sometimes just a fleeting view. The soldiers as they sleep against the walls blending in like they're not there, the claustrophobic feeling as they walls creep higher and closer around them, and just the sheer volume of people down there. Both fast-paced and drawn out at the same time this whole sequence is complex and important.
After the trenches we see them go over the top into no man's land. The pair of them make an amazing job of playing in the mud. It's another part of the film that makes you look around. What's floating in the water? What's hidden in the mud? Truly spectacular additions and I imagine that on every viewing you'd see something different and horrific appear.
Come on, Emma... acting.
There are a lot of cameos from recognisable talented actors but the nature of the story means they're only the briefest of scenes. Mark Strong was probably my favourite of those, his tone at that critical part of the film was perfect.
To our main duo... Blake is played by Dean-Charles Chapman, a face I recognised but had to look up. I'd seen him most recently in The King and Blinded By The Light but clearly neither of those roles stuck with me. Schofield is played by George MacKay who I haven't seen in anything before. The pair had an interesting dynamic, there was certainly a camaraderie there but I swung between thinking they were good friends and just acquaintances because of their behaviour towards each other. Their characters felt very much at two ends of the scale, Blake optimistic and almost a little green, Schofield, battle-worn and sceptical.
Between the two I can easily say that George MacKay was the better performer. He does get some of the headier scenes to deal with but Chapman felt like he wasn't in a warzone. There were still good moments there but I wasn't as convinced by his performance. MacKay was acting even when he wasn't acting, his moments of silence were just as impressive as his scripted parts.
There is just so much in 1917 to look at, the background is so well thought out that you're drawn to it just as much as the action that's in the foreground. You're scanning everything as they move with them like you're a member of their regiment. It feels like it needs to be watched a couple of times. I watched it to see it, I watched it to watch the techniques and I feel like I want to see it again just to watch that background. None of these watches are for anything other than the technical side of things though. Even though I felt emotional connections with parts of the story it's still a basic quest with obstacles and while it's an interesting look at soldiers and their dedication it's not all that extraordinary.
This truly deserves to win a lot of technical awards. I'm not sure that the acting or script hit the same heights, but as a whole 1917 is definitely something special to see.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/01/1917-movie-review.html
Lance Corporal Blake has been told to report with another soldier, the respite from war was short but something important must be afoot. It's more than just important, it's life and death for Blake's older brother. His company have sent word that they're going to advance on the retreating German troops but communications are down and they don't know they're going headfirst into a trap.
Blake and Schofield are tasked with finding a way to their position to stop the advance before they lead 1,600 men into the ambush. Between them and their objective? No man's land, abandoned German trenches and large expanses of open land. One another and vigilance are all they have to get them to their objective.
I ended up seeing this twice on its opening weekend, mainly for technical reasons. When I completed my first watch I saw a lot of tweets about its "one-shot" filming and details of an interview about the filming techniques used, that all made me want to go back and watch for more detail.
If I'm honest with you I didn't notice the "one-shot" filming during my first trip to the cinema. In the interview I saw it said that there were no takes longer than 9 minutes, with its running time that meant that at the very least there were 14 cuts... of course I wanted to go and try to spot them. There were only a few "obvious" ones, but even then some of those felt so seamless that you wouldn't question if they said it was done in one (two) shot(s).
The effects in the film are fantastic, but also one of my only quibbles. There are several video clips with and without effects on floating around the internet and you'll see the massive effort that went into these effects. The major scene that comes to mind is in the trailer, Schofield is running across the field as the regiment is advancing around him. I had just assumed that the shot was aerial, but no, it was filmed from the back of a truck. That doesn't sound all that strange until you see in this video that the truck has a road to drive down that is then CGId out for the final cut. That was incredible to see. But this scene is also the only scene that made me doubt the effects too. When I watched it on the big screen it felt clear that some of the explosions were generated, and watching the clips proved that feeling to be right.
I could ramble on about the effects in this for ages but I need to remember there are other things to talk about... but well, I want to rave a little.
The nighttime scene is truly incredible to watch. It makes you paranoid and scared, you watch the shadows for soldiers and survivors, ugh, gripping and terrifying all at the same time.
Right, come one... move along, Emma!
Not much of a switch but I want to mention what I believe are mainly physical effects. One of the first scenes shows Blake and Schofield going through the trenches and over no man's land, walking through the trenches takes a long time, the fact they dug all of that and decked out the entire length for what is sometimes just a fleeting view. The soldiers as they sleep against the walls blending in like they're not there, the claustrophobic feeling as they walls creep higher and closer around them, and just the sheer volume of people down there. Both fast-paced and drawn out at the same time this whole sequence is complex and important.
After the trenches we see them go over the top into no man's land. The pair of them make an amazing job of playing in the mud. It's another part of the film that makes you look around. What's floating in the water? What's hidden in the mud? Truly spectacular additions and I imagine that on every viewing you'd see something different and horrific appear.
Come on, Emma... acting.
There are a lot of cameos from recognisable talented actors but the nature of the story means they're only the briefest of scenes. Mark Strong was probably my favourite of those, his tone at that critical part of the film was perfect.
To our main duo... Blake is played by Dean-Charles Chapman, a face I recognised but had to look up. I'd seen him most recently in The King and Blinded By The Light but clearly neither of those roles stuck with me. Schofield is played by George MacKay who I haven't seen in anything before. The pair had an interesting dynamic, there was certainly a camaraderie there but I swung between thinking they were good friends and just acquaintances because of their behaviour towards each other. Their characters felt very much at two ends of the scale, Blake optimistic and almost a little green, Schofield, battle-worn and sceptical.
Between the two I can easily say that George MacKay was the better performer. He does get some of the headier scenes to deal with but Chapman felt like he wasn't in a warzone. There were still good moments there but I wasn't as convinced by his performance. MacKay was acting even when he wasn't acting, his moments of silence were just as impressive as his scripted parts.
There is just so much in 1917 to look at, the background is so well thought out that you're drawn to it just as much as the action that's in the foreground. You're scanning everything as they move with them like you're a member of their regiment. It feels like it needs to be watched a couple of times. I watched it to see it, I watched it to watch the techniques and I feel like I want to see it again just to watch that background. None of these watches are for anything other than the technical side of things though. Even though I felt emotional connections with parts of the story it's still a basic quest with obstacles and while it's an interesting look at soldiers and their dedication it's not all that extraordinary.
This truly deserves to win a lot of technical awards. I'm not sure that the acting or script hit the same heights, but as a whole 1917 is definitely something special to see.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/01/1917-movie-review.html
Lee (2222 KP) rated Welcome to Marwen (2018) in Movies
Jan 11, 2019
Steve Carell (1 more)
Leslie Mann
This year, I made a resolution to try not to let critic reviews heavily influence my decision to go see a movie or not. In the period between Christmas and New year, I'd booked to go see Holmes and Watson, but when the very bad reviews for it started coming it, I decided to cancel, opting to continue lazing on the sofa with food, drink and Netflix instead. That particular choice I don't regret, but I feel there have been many occasions over the last year where I've either hated a movie the critics loved, or loved a movie the critics were negative about. Time to try and change that.
I almost did miss out on seeing Welcome to Marwen though, due to the large number of mediocre reviews I read. In fact, it doesn't seem to have appealed to the general public enough to keep it in the cinemas for very long at all. Having only opened here in the UK on New year's Day, the screening I went to last night was actually the last screening being shown at that particular cinema, and I was one of only a handful of people there watching it. What prompted me earlier this week to give it a go though was after listening to director Robert Zemeckis talk passionately about it, along with his other movies. It was a gentle reminder that this guy is responsible for so many of my favourite movies, and I decided to give it a shot. While I'm glad I did, and overall I enjoyed it a lot, I can certainly appreciate where some of the criticism is coming from.
Welcome to Marwen is based on the true story of Mark Hogancamp, and the 2010 documentary on his life title 'Marwencol'. Mark (played in the movie by Steve Carell) suffered a severe beating at the hands of a bunch of thugs following an altercation in a bar regarding his lifestyle choice of being a cross dresser. After nine days in a coma, the beating understandably left him traumatised, but it also left him without any memory his life prior to the attack - once a talented war illustrator, he now can't even write his own name. But Mark remained an artist, building a miniature World War II Belgian town called Marwen outside his home and populating it with dolls. Using them he creates scenes and a story which he then photographs, helping him to express and deal with his lack of memory, the pain and trauma he now experiences, and the relationships with the people around him. Captain Hogie is a fighter pilot, an Action Man/GI Joe figure representing Mark. The residents of Marwen are all women, alter egos of various people who have helped him in the past or continue to help him. The toyshop worker who supplies him with the dolls, a friend he met during rehab, a co-worker, his carer and the woman who came to his aid following his beating. The town is also terrorised regularly by a bunch of Nazis, representing the men responsible for attacking him. And whenever the Nazis are beaten and killed, they are brought back to life by a Belgian witch! When a woman called Nicol (Leslie Mann) moves in across the street, she strikes up a wonderful friendship with Mark, earning her own doll in the town of Marwen where she strikes up a relationship with Captain Hogie. As the movie progresses, Mark has to deal with the pending sentencing of his attackers and the anxiety surrounding an upcoming exhibition showcasing his photographs. Marwen, and its inhabitants, help him to work through all of this.
The scenes and stories in Marwen that Mark is creating and imagining are brought to life in the movie using impressive motion capture CGI which, if you've seen the trailer or any clips of the movie, will know looks incredible. When you think about the animation Zemeckis and his team were producing for The Polar Express back in 2004, through Beowulf and Disney's The Christmas Carol to where we are now with this movie, it's simply amazing how far we've come. Perfect recreations of the movie characters in doll form, moving and interacting with the real surroundings and the CGI is just faultless. But for the earlier parts of the movie, this aspect of the movie for me was for a while the most frustrating and dull. The movie opens with a big scene as Captain Hogie crashes his plane, comes across a group of Nazis before being rescued by the girls of Marwen and we get a few more of these lengthy sequences early on, with only short glimpses of Mark and his life inbetween. I found myself become interested and engrossed in the life of Mark, wanting to learn more, only to be snapped out of it by a not so interesting scene involving some dolls. Thankfully, the length of those scenes reduces over time, and as you begin to empathise more with Mark and his life, you start to appreciate more the reasons why a certain scene is playing out the way it is. At that point, I began to really appreciate and enjoy them a lot more.
My only issue overall with this movie is that I wouldn't really know the age range to pitch it at, and that's possibly why it doesn't appear to have done so well with audiences. You've got the fun elements involving the dolls and the CGI, but then some of these scenes do involve a fair bit of violence which actually appears quite realistic at times. Then you've got the trauma and the flashbacks involving the beating - the movie doesn't go as dark as it could, or maybe should have done with that subject matter, but I certainly wouldn't say this is a fun movie for all the family to enjoy. Which is a shame really because I did enjoy this a lot. Steve Carell does an outstanding job, and Leslie Mann is just wonderful as always. It's opened my eyes to some of the consequences of brain injury and made me want to learn more about Mark Hogancamp, which parts of the movie are true and which parts were added for entertainment. I'll be sure to try and watch the documentary at some point.
I almost did miss out on seeing Welcome to Marwen though, due to the large number of mediocre reviews I read. In fact, it doesn't seem to have appealed to the general public enough to keep it in the cinemas for very long at all. Having only opened here in the UK on New year's Day, the screening I went to last night was actually the last screening being shown at that particular cinema, and I was one of only a handful of people there watching it. What prompted me earlier this week to give it a go though was after listening to director Robert Zemeckis talk passionately about it, along with his other movies. It was a gentle reminder that this guy is responsible for so many of my favourite movies, and I decided to give it a shot. While I'm glad I did, and overall I enjoyed it a lot, I can certainly appreciate where some of the criticism is coming from.
Welcome to Marwen is based on the true story of Mark Hogancamp, and the 2010 documentary on his life title 'Marwencol'. Mark (played in the movie by Steve Carell) suffered a severe beating at the hands of a bunch of thugs following an altercation in a bar regarding his lifestyle choice of being a cross dresser. After nine days in a coma, the beating understandably left him traumatised, but it also left him without any memory his life prior to the attack - once a talented war illustrator, he now can't even write his own name. But Mark remained an artist, building a miniature World War II Belgian town called Marwen outside his home and populating it with dolls. Using them he creates scenes and a story which he then photographs, helping him to express and deal with his lack of memory, the pain and trauma he now experiences, and the relationships with the people around him. Captain Hogie is a fighter pilot, an Action Man/GI Joe figure representing Mark. The residents of Marwen are all women, alter egos of various people who have helped him in the past or continue to help him. The toyshop worker who supplies him with the dolls, a friend he met during rehab, a co-worker, his carer and the woman who came to his aid following his beating. The town is also terrorised regularly by a bunch of Nazis, representing the men responsible for attacking him. And whenever the Nazis are beaten and killed, they are brought back to life by a Belgian witch! When a woman called Nicol (Leslie Mann) moves in across the street, she strikes up a wonderful friendship with Mark, earning her own doll in the town of Marwen where she strikes up a relationship with Captain Hogie. As the movie progresses, Mark has to deal with the pending sentencing of his attackers and the anxiety surrounding an upcoming exhibition showcasing his photographs. Marwen, and its inhabitants, help him to work through all of this.
The scenes and stories in Marwen that Mark is creating and imagining are brought to life in the movie using impressive motion capture CGI which, if you've seen the trailer or any clips of the movie, will know looks incredible. When you think about the animation Zemeckis and his team were producing for The Polar Express back in 2004, through Beowulf and Disney's The Christmas Carol to where we are now with this movie, it's simply amazing how far we've come. Perfect recreations of the movie characters in doll form, moving and interacting with the real surroundings and the CGI is just faultless. But for the earlier parts of the movie, this aspect of the movie for me was for a while the most frustrating and dull. The movie opens with a big scene as Captain Hogie crashes his plane, comes across a group of Nazis before being rescued by the girls of Marwen and we get a few more of these lengthy sequences early on, with only short glimpses of Mark and his life inbetween. I found myself become interested and engrossed in the life of Mark, wanting to learn more, only to be snapped out of it by a not so interesting scene involving some dolls. Thankfully, the length of those scenes reduces over time, and as you begin to empathise more with Mark and his life, you start to appreciate more the reasons why a certain scene is playing out the way it is. At that point, I began to really appreciate and enjoy them a lot more.
My only issue overall with this movie is that I wouldn't really know the age range to pitch it at, and that's possibly why it doesn't appear to have done so well with audiences. You've got the fun elements involving the dolls and the CGI, but then some of these scenes do involve a fair bit of violence which actually appears quite realistic at times. Then you've got the trauma and the flashbacks involving the beating - the movie doesn't go as dark as it could, or maybe should have done with that subject matter, but I certainly wouldn't say this is a fun movie for all the family to enjoy. Which is a shame really because I did enjoy this a lot. Steve Carell does an outstanding job, and Leslie Mann is just wonderful as always. It's opened my eyes to some of the consequences of brain injury and made me want to learn more about Mark Hogancamp, which parts of the movie are true and which parts were added for entertainment. I'll be sure to try and watch the documentary at some point.
TheDefunctDiva (304 KP) rated The Cooler (2003) in Movies
Sep 26, 2017
C is for Cash Money
Contains spoilers, click to show
As a tribute to Sue Grafton, I shall use the alphabet to inspire catchy titles. Because I am a nerd like that. Caution, ye land lubbers: ahead be spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
The Cooler is a tale of contrast: good luck is pitted against bad luck, and old is seen in stark contrast to new. We are immediately introduced to Bernie Lootz, an individual with such phenomenally bad luck that it is actually contagious. Bound by obligation and a misguided sense of loyalty to his boss, Shelly Kaplow, Bernie works at the Golden Shangri-La Casino as a “cooler.” His presence at a table can cause a winning streak to instantaneously turn sour. The unfortunate Bernie is no stranger to pain: his boss and supposed friend, Shelly, once shattered his kneecap with a baseball bat. Bernie also has great difficulty with his other personal relationships. His estranged son, with whom Bernie hopes for reconciliation, immediately swindles the hapless fellow.
To make matters worse for Bernie, who wants nothing more than to be done with Vegas, Shelly is battling his own brand of misfortune. New management is suggesting a re-haul of the establishment he helmed for 16 years. Shelly argues for the casino to limp along as it is, and maintain the traditions originated by the mafia. He desperately and unfairly clings to Bernie, who remains an unwilling symbol of these old practices.
William H. Macy breaks my heart in every movie that I've seen him in. This film, where Macy expertly depicts the "unluckiest man in Vegas," offers no exception to that rule. There is a familiar vulnerability he lends to each facial expression that simultaneously earns my respect and pity. Bernie Lootz is a human being with a seemingly supernatural ability to receive, harness, and project bad luck. This requires some suspension of disbelief on the part of the viewer, and Macy is one of the few actors capable of making such a concept convincing.
Maria Bello is cast alongside Macy as a waitress and Bernie's love interest, Natalie. As often mentioned in the script, she seems entirely out of Bernie's league. And yet, the skilled actors created a romance which seemed entirely natural after the first evening's awkwardness. And as the two progress to love, Lootz's luck begins to change, as it does for the Casino patrons he comes into contact with. His presence becomes a blessing instead of a curse, putting his unwanted career path and his lady love in danger.
The man pulling the strings (or breaking the kneecaps, as it were) at the Golden Shangri-La is no other than Jack Donaghy...er, Alec Baldwin. Baldwin's performance rightfully garnered several awards and nominations, including an Oscar nod. Shelly is handsome, old school, and at times, utterly terrifying. He is resistant to change, often violently so. He cannot reconcile his ideals with the Vegas brand of commercialized progress, and he takes out his frustrations on friend and foe alike.
This film also featured a small but powerful role played by Paul Sorvino. Buddy Stafford has the voice of an angel, but a demon of a drug habit, and he provided an excellent foil for Shelly's beliefs in maintaining tradition.
The Cooler is too gritty a film to call "cute," but that's currently the only word coming to mind. It has something for the mob-lover and the romantic in everyone. And you should watch this little love story lest I should make things uncomfortable for you in the future, you know what I'm sayin'???
The Cooler is a tale of contrast: good luck is pitted against bad luck, and old is seen in stark contrast to new. We are immediately introduced to Bernie Lootz, an individual with such phenomenally bad luck that it is actually contagious. Bound by obligation and a misguided sense of loyalty to his boss, Shelly Kaplow, Bernie works at the Golden Shangri-La Casino as a “cooler.” His presence at a table can cause a winning streak to instantaneously turn sour. The unfortunate Bernie is no stranger to pain: his boss and supposed friend, Shelly, once shattered his kneecap with a baseball bat. Bernie also has great difficulty with his other personal relationships. His estranged son, with whom Bernie hopes for reconciliation, immediately swindles the hapless fellow.
To make matters worse for Bernie, who wants nothing more than to be done with Vegas, Shelly is battling his own brand of misfortune. New management is suggesting a re-haul of the establishment he helmed for 16 years. Shelly argues for the casino to limp along as it is, and maintain the traditions originated by the mafia. He desperately and unfairly clings to Bernie, who remains an unwilling symbol of these old practices.
William H. Macy breaks my heart in every movie that I've seen him in. This film, where Macy expertly depicts the "unluckiest man in Vegas," offers no exception to that rule. There is a familiar vulnerability he lends to each facial expression that simultaneously earns my respect and pity. Bernie Lootz is a human being with a seemingly supernatural ability to receive, harness, and project bad luck. This requires some suspension of disbelief on the part of the viewer, and Macy is one of the few actors capable of making such a concept convincing.
Maria Bello is cast alongside Macy as a waitress and Bernie's love interest, Natalie. As often mentioned in the script, she seems entirely out of Bernie's league. And yet, the skilled actors created a romance which seemed entirely natural after the first evening's awkwardness. And as the two progress to love, Lootz's luck begins to change, as it does for the Casino patrons he comes into contact with. His presence becomes a blessing instead of a curse, putting his unwanted career path and his lady love in danger.
The man pulling the strings (or breaking the kneecaps, as it were) at the Golden Shangri-La is no other than Jack Donaghy...er, Alec Baldwin. Baldwin's performance rightfully garnered several awards and nominations, including an Oscar nod. Shelly is handsome, old school, and at times, utterly terrifying. He is resistant to change, often violently so. He cannot reconcile his ideals with the Vegas brand of commercialized progress, and he takes out his frustrations on friend and foe alike.
This film also featured a small but powerful role played by Paul Sorvino. Buddy Stafford has the voice of an angel, but a demon of a drug habit, and he provided an excellent foil for Shelly's beliefs in maintaining tradition.
The Cooler is too gritty a film to call "cute," but that's currently the only word coming to mind. It has something for the mob-lover and the romantic in everyone. And you should watch this little love story lest I should make things uncomfortable for you in the future, you know what I'm sayin'???