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Jenni Olson recommended My Dinner with André (1981) in Movies (curated)
Jenni Olson recommended Days of Heaven (1978) in Movies (curated)
Darren (1599 KP) rated A Most Wanted Man (2014) in Movies
Sep 2, 2019
Thoughts on A Most Wanted Man
Characters – Gunther Bachmann is the German agent that is tracking known terrorists, his team has connections and keeps eyes on most of the suspects with their latest one being one wanted worldwide, he must figure out if this man is a danger or not. Martha Sullivan is part of the American team searching for the terrorist, she is trusting Gunther to do the right thing only she isn’t sure what he is going to do. Annabel Richter is an attorney that is trying to help the suspect get into Germany, she is just doing his job using her connection to help make his move go smoother. Tommy Brue is the bank manager that has been dealing with multiple nationalities through the years, he gets involved in trying to get the transfer of money done.
Performances – Philip Seymour Hoffman in the leading role steps into the German character with ease, showing the composure to take his character to be the standout of the film. Robin Wright, Rachel McAdams and Willem Dafoe fill the supporting roles well through the film.
Story – The story here follows the German and American intelligence agencies as they are trying to figure out if an immigrate is a potential terrorist suspect, both sides have difference of opinion on what is true and they must try to stay ahead of each other the best they can. This story does try to come off like an intense spy thriller that seems to get bogged down too easily, by making everything seem like it is just an everyday incident, this does move at a slow pace which only brings down everything because they do just seem to pick a random person, that could have reason to suspect from the early point in the film.
Crime – The crime side of the film shows how the authorities operate to try and tackle potential criminal actions, it does show that they could be above the law at times too.
Settings – We have the German backdrop for this movie, showing how they are planning to operate to keep tracks on terrorists.
Scene of the Movie – Pick up.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It just seems dull.
Final Thoughts – This is a spy thriller that never seems to get going, it tries to play along with the idea that we are building, but we soon lose the attention because it is more of a political spy thriller over anything going on thriller.
Overall: Slow burning thriller that just doesn’t get going.
Characters – Gunther Bachmann is the German agent that is tracking known terrorists, his team has connections and keeps eyes on most of the suspects with their latest one being one wanted worldwide, he must figure out if this man is a danger or not. Martha Sullivan is part of the American team searching for the terrorist, she is trusting Gunther to do the right thing only she isn’t sure what he is going to do. Annabel Richter is an attorney that is trying to help the suspect get into Germany, she is just doing his job using her connection to help make his move go smoother. Tommy Brue is the bank manager that has been dealing with multiple nationalities through the years, he gets involved in trying to get the transfer of money done.
Performances – Philip Seymour Hoffman in the leading role steps into the German character with ease, showing the composure to take his character to be the standout of the film. Robin Wright, Rachel McAdams and Willem Dafoe fill the supporting roles well through the film.
Story – The story here follows the German and American intelligence agencies as they are trying to figure out if an immigrate is a potential terrorist suspect, both sides have difference of opinion on what is true and they must try to stay ahead of each other the best they can. This story does try to come off like an intense spy thriller that seems to get bogged down too easily, by making everything seem like it is just an everyday incident, this does move at a slow pace which only brings down everything because they do just seem to pick a random person, that could have reason to suspect from the early point in the film.
Crime – The crime side of the film shows how the authorities operate to try and tackle potential criminal actions, it does show that they could be above the law at times too.
Settings – We have the German backdrop for this movie, showing how they are planning to operate to keep tracks on terrorists.
Scene of the Movie – Pick up.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It just seems dull.
Final Thoughts – This is a spy thriller that never seems to get going, it tries to play along with the idea that we are building, but we soon lose the attention because it is more of a political spy thriller over anything going on thriller.
Overall: Slow burning thriller that just doesn’t get going.
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated tick, tick...Boom! (2021) in Movies
Jan 11, 2022
A Love Letter
If you ever worked on a live theater performance, whether as a performer, tech crew, make-up, costumes, box office, etc…the Netflix Original film tick, tick…BOOM is for you.
If you are a theater lover, the Netflix Original film tick, tick…BOOM is for you.
If you are not interested in live theater at all..then, perhaps, tick, tick…BOOM might be a little too “inside baseball” for you.
Based on the one man concert/show/performance by the late Jonathan Larson, the writer of the the Pulitzer Prize winning musical RENT, tick, tick…BOOM expands this performance piece and turns it into a biopic of the artist who passed as his hit musical was just about ready to debut.
As written by Steven Levenson and Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, tick, tick…BOOM is a love letter to Broadway, to artists struggling to make it in the Great White Way, to the community of disaffected peoples in 1990 and, mostly, to Jonathan Larson himself.
Andrew Garfield is transcendent in his portrayal of Larson. He embodies this character with love, ambition, focus, flaws and a surprisingly strong singing voice. It is an Oscar-nomination worthy performance.
He is joined, lovingly, by a strong supporting cast starting with Alexandra Shipp (as Larson’s girlfriend), Robin de Jesus (as his best friend) and Vanessa Hudgens (as a performer in the show, called Superbia, that he is trying to get up on the boards). These young performers are joined by a couple of wily veterans including Judith Light (as his Agent) and Bradley Whitford (as the late Stephen Sondheim). They bring energy, star power and…yes…love…to the screen.
And that is what this film ultimately is, a love letter to all of the artists (both on-stage and off) that try, despite immeasurable odds, to get a show on it’s feet. Director Miranda infuses this film with homages to theater - and theater people - and sprinkles in some very good songs that drives this point home.
None of the numbers hit home as hard as the “Diner” song - a song that features many, many Broadway performers, both new and old, that were either inspirations to Larson - or were inspired by him (including Miranda himself).
Come for the musical, stay for the outstanding performance of Garfield, and immerse yourself into the world of struggling artists in NYC in the 1990’s. You’ll be glad you did.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
If you are a theater lover, the Netflix Original film tick, tick…BOOM is for you.
If you are not interested in live theater at all..then, perhaps, tick, tick…BOOM might be a little too “inside baseball” for you.
Based on the one man concert/show/performance by the late Jonathan Larson, the writer of the the Pulitzer Prize winning musical RENT, tick, tick…BOOM expands this performance piece and turns it into a biopic of the artist who passed as his hit musical was just about ready to debut.
As written by Steven Levenson and Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, tick, tick…BOOM is a love letter to Broadway, to artists struggling to make it in the Great White Way, to the community of disaffected peoples in 1990 and, mostly, to Jonathan Larson himself.
Andrew Garfield is transcendent in his portrayal of Larson. He embodies this character with love, ambition, focus, flaws and a surprisingly strong singing voice. It is an Oscar-nomination worthy performance.
He is joined, lovingly, by a strong supporting cast starting with Alexandra Shipp (as Larson’s girlfriend), Robin de Jesus (as his best friend) and Vanessa Hudgens (as a performer in the show, called Superbia, that he is trying to get up on the boards). These young performers are joined by a couple of wily veterans including Judith Light (as his Agent) and Bradley Whitford (as the late Stephen Sondheim). They bring energy, star power and…yes…love…to the screen.
And that is what this film ultimately is, a love letter to all of the artists (both on-stage and off) that try, despite immeasurable odds, to get a show on it’s feet. Director Miranda infuses this film with homages to theater - and theater people - and sprinkles in some very good songs that drives this point home.
None of the numbers hit home as hard as the “Diner” song - a song that features many, many Broadway performers, both new and old, that were either inspirations to Larson - or were inspired by him (including Miranda himself).
Come for the musical, stay for the outstanding performance of Garfield, and immerse yourself into the world of struggling artists in NYC in the 1990’s. You’ll be glad you did.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Lee (2222 KP) rated Hustlers (2019) in Movies
Sep 16, 2019
Hustlers is 'inspired by a true story' and is based on a New York Magazine article written by Jessica Pressler in 2015 titled "The Hustlers at Scores". The tagline for that article was “Here’s a modern Robin Hood story for you: a few strippers who stole from (mostly) rich, (usually) disgusting, (in their minds) pathetic men and gave to, well, themselves" - something which pretty much sums up the entire plot of the movie. You'd be forgiven for thinking you'd seen this kind of thing a hundred times before, and to be honest the trailer didn't really do it any justice either in my opinion. But, turns out that Hustlers is actually a pretty slick and hugely entertaining piece of fun, something that I wasn't expecting to like anywhere near as much as I did.
We're in 2007 and Destiny (Constance Wu) is working nights at a Manhattan strip club called Moves. Caring for her grandmother and catching up on sleep by day, it soon becomes clear that life as a stripper isn't quite as glamorous as she'd imagined it to be. With a large number of girls working at the club, competition is strong, as are the internal politics, and the clients frequenting the club are just as disgusting as you'd imagine rich drunken assholes to be. And, at the end of a shift, the money that Destiny earns is subjected to numerous deductions and penalties from the manager and doorman as they all take their cuts, leaving Destiny with not very much at all.
And then one night, as the DJ introduces her, "The one, the only, Ramona!" (Jennifer Lopez) hits the stage to show everyone how it's all done, highlighting to Destiny the kind of money she could be making if she upped her game. Dominating the main stage, Ramona masterfully works the pole as she slinks around in time to the music. And it clearly works too - dollar bills shower her, and cover the stage, while the stunned onlookers lose their minds and overreact like something out of a Tex Avery cartoon.
Destiny follows Ramona up onto the roof, where she's taking time out for a smoke break and it's not long before Ramona decides to take Destiny under her wing. Along with showing her the more dexterously impressive moves on stage, she also reveals the three levels of client who visit the club and how to best work them to your advantage. They become good friends, working together to earn more than either of them have before. But then, during 2008, the recession hits and the club no longer benefits from the wild spending habits of Wall Street's biggest earners. Destiny becomes pregnant, leaving the club along with most of the other girls, but struggles to re-enter the workforce a few years later having had no real experience outside of a strip club. And then she meets up with Ramona once more, and learns about fishing...
Fishing involves the girls leaving the confines and constraints of the club in order to lure guys in from outside. Working as a group, they lace their drinks in bars (enough to make them happy, but not really conscious enough to fully appreciate or remember what happens for the rest of the night), then bringing them back to the club. There they can freely swipe their credit cards, have a great time and make thousands of dollars per night. As Ramona sells it to Destiny and the other girls they've recruited to help them, this isn't just survival, it's revenge against all of the Wall Street workers behind the recession, who had no comeback for their actions.
Occasionally the movies flashes forward a few years, where Destiny is being interviewed by the reporter who will eventually go on to write the article on their story (played by Julia Stiles). These scenes work well as a narrative device for the movie and it's clear that, while Destiny seems to have fared pretty well financially over the years, whatever she's done to get there has all gone horribly wrong at some point.
But for now, their scam works perfectly. After the lows and struggles of life as a lowly stripper, it's a real thrill to follow these girls on their journey to expensive clothes, big flashy cars and penthouse apartments. They all become like family, even enjoying an expensive Christmas together with their real families joining them. Hustlers moves beyond its humble strip club beginnings and the camaraderie and power these women develop together feels so genuine, it really makes this movie shine. Scenes where the girls go shopping, or even work together in the kitchen to perfect their drug recipe, are a lot of fun and Hustlers features just as much humour as it does drama. Much of what makes this all work so well is down to it's cast. Hustlers features some pretty strong support, but it's the pairing of Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez that really stands out. Both are on top form, better than anything I've seen them in before and many reviews I've read are already recommending Oscar nominations for Jennifer Lopez.
Like I say, I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I thought I would based on the trailer. What I got was a fun, exhilarating story of female empowerment with a strong, solid cast. And, as the New York Magazine article so eloquently put it, a modern Robin Hood story.
We're in 2007 and Destiny (Constance Wu) is working nights at a Manhattan strip club called Moves. Caring for her grandmother and catching up on sleep by day, it soon becomes clear that life as a stripper isn't quite as glamorous as she'd imagined it to be. With a large number of girls working at the club, competition is strong, as are the internal politics, and the clients frequenting the club are just as disgusting as you'd imagine rich drunken assholes to be. And, at the end of a shift, the money that Destiny earns is subjected to numerous deductions and penalties from the manager and doorman as they all take their cuts, leaving Destiny with not very much at all.
And then one night, as the DJ introduces her, "The one, the only, Ramona!" (Jennifer Lopez) hits the stage to show everyone how it's all done, highlighting to Destiny the kind of money she could be making if she upped her game. Dominating the main stage, Ramona masterfully works the pole as she slinks around in time to the music. And it clearly works too - dollar bills shower her, and cover the stage, while the stunned onlookers lose their minds and overreact like something out of a Tex Avery cartoon.
Destiny follows Ramona up onto the roof, where she's taking time out for a smoke break and it's not long before Ramona decides to take Destiny under her wing. Along with showing her the more dexterously impressive moves on stage, she also reveals the three levels of client who visit the club and how to best work them to your advantage. They become good friends, working together to earn more than either of them have before. But then, during 2008, the recession hits and the club no longer benefits from the wild spending habits of Wall Street's biggest earners. Destiny becomes pregnant, leaving the club along with most of the other girls, but struggles to re-enter the workforce a few years later having had no real experience outside of a strip club. And then she meets up with Ramona once more, and learns about fishing...
Fishing involves the girls leaving the confines and constraints of the club in order to lure guys in from outside. Working as a group, they lace their drinks in bars (enough to make them happy, but not really conscious enough to fully appreciate or remember what happens for the rest of the night), then bringing them back to the club. There they can freely swipe their credit cards, have a great time and make thousands of dollars per night. As Ramona sells it to Destiny and the other girls they've recruited to help them, this isn't just survival, it's revenge against all of the Wall Street workers behind the recession, who had no comeback for their actions.
Occasionally the movies flashes forward a few years, where Destiny is being interviewed by the reporter who will eventually go on to write the article on their story (played by Julia Stiles). These scenes work well as a narrative device for the movie and it's clear that, while Destiny seems to have fared pretty well financially over the years, whatever she's done to get there has all gone horribly wrong at some point.
But for now, their scam works perfectly. After the lows and struggles of life as a lowly stripper, it's a real thrill to follow these girls on their journey to expensive clothes, big flashy cars and penthouse apartments. They all become like family, even enjoying an expensive Christmas together with their real families joining them. Hustlers moves beyond its humble strip club beginnings and the camaraderie and power these women develop together feels so genuine, it really makes this movie shine. Scenes where the girls go shopping, or even work together in the kitchen to perfect their drug recipe, are a lot of fun and Hustlers features just as much humour as it does drama. Much of what makes this all work so well is down to it's cast. Hustlers features some pretty strong support, but it's the pairing of Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez that really stands out. Both are on top form, better than anything I've seen them in before and many reviews I've read are already recommending Oscar nominations for Jennifer Lopez.
Like I say, I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I thought I would based on the trailer. What I got was a fun, exhilarating story of female empowerment with a strong, solid cast. And, as the New York Magazine article so eloquently put it, a modern Robin Hood story.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Robin Hood: Hero of the People in Tabletop Games
Jun 13, 2019
“Yer a hero, Travis!” … said no Hagrid to me ever in my life. However, I do enjoy playing heroes in my board games. As Robin Hood you live by few rules: rob from the rich, give to the poor, and save your fellow Merry Men. That dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham is out to foil and jail you and your crew. Can you use your skills to rob enough from the rich, recruit your fellows, and keep your bounty on your head low enough to win the game? Such is your plight in this one-player game from first-time designer, Rodney Owen.
Disclaimer: This review is for a Kickstarter preview. We are not being paid for this preview, but we were sent the game from the designer. Components and rules may be changed before the product and project is finished. -T
As this game is not yet in full production, I will paraphrase the rulebook here for you so you can get an idea of how the game plays. Then I will give my opinions on this little card game.
Robin Hood: Hero of the People is a one-player card game that is played over three phases. To win the game you must have all Merry Men and Maid Marian recruited and active, while the bounty on your head is less than 500. You lose by seeing the bounty at or above 1,000 or by playing through the entire deck of Story Cards without winning. You may set the difficulty level by choosing how much you would like the bounty to start at before you begin play (100, 200, or 300). The rulebook instructs you how to setup the game using several piles of cards to create the play area. Deal yourself three Loot (skill) cards and the game is on!
The first phase of the game is Robbing from the Rich. During this phase you draw three (or more depending on other cards currently in play) Loot cards from the big deck. These cards consist of different skills to use later – like Archery, Strength, Swords, etc. You will also find Gold and Influence cards. These Loot cards are needed to recruit Maid Marian and all the Merry Men, as well as used for negating powerful negative Story Card effects in the third phase of the game. Once you have drawn your Loot cards, you may play up to three of them into your Inventory in front of you (unless a card instructs you otherwise). Only your cards in the Inventory will be used to recruit and rescue Merry Men, or be affected by Story Cards.
You have placed your skills and bargaining cards in the Inventory. It is now time to use them to recruit your Merry Men! The second phase is the Actions phase. You have several options of actions to take on your turn, but you may only take one action. One option is to recruit Merry Men characters. Each character card begins the game face-down in a grid. The card backs show the recruitment costs (paid in skills) for each. They all have different skill cost combinations on each back so you must choose your Inventory cards carefully in the first phase. During the game some characters may become jailed through the Story Cards. Also on the backs of the character cards are the costs to rescue your friends from jail, and the costs are different than the recruitment costs. This throws a wrench into your plans as you are trying to recruit and protect all your Merry Men, just to have them thrown in jail and made unavailable to you. Curse you, Sheriff of Nottingham!
Also during this phase, in addition to recruiting and rescuing your allies, you may purchase King Richard cards, Sherwood Forest cards, or decrease your bounty. King Richard cards are very very costly (requiring up to nine skills to purchase!) but also very powerful and very helpful to your cause. There are three of these in the game and when you have used one you must discard it out of the game. Do you have an abundance of skills and Loot cards to use? Would you like to protect your Merry Men from becoming jailed? Well during this phase you may also purchase Sherwood Forest cards to begin building a hideout. It costs two Strength skills, but once you have acquired all six Sherwood Forest cards, most of the Merry Men are protected from being jailed. Huzzah! The final option you have in this phase is spending any three Loot cards from your Inventory to reduce your bounty by 100.
The third and final phase is the Story Card phase. During setup you are instructed to separate this deck into two piles, shuffle them independently, and place the Story Cards in set one on top of the story cards in set two. Set one cards are annoyances that can bleed you of skill cards or raise the bounty on your head. Annoying! The cards in set two are far worse, as they will jail your unprotected Merry Men and set you back further from victory… also whilst raising your bounty. Super annoying!! Curse you again, Sheriff!!
If no win or lose conditions have been met at this time, you will return to the first phase with this additional rule: switch your active character (you start the game with Robin Hood) with another character you have recruited in the grid. Each character has a different special ability to be used on your next turn as well as a different set of skills printed on the face that you may use as discounts for recruitment, rescues, and purchasing of King Richard and Sherwood Forest cards. Example: Much the Miller shows 1x Sword and 1x Strength. You can use his skills as a discount to purchase a Sherwood Forest card by spending just one Strength card from your Inventory. Time to stick it to the Sheriff!
So how does it all shake down? Overall I say the game is really good. It is unfinished, and has not yet made it to Kickstarter, and I suspect that has something to do with any drawbacks I have experienced. Upon reading the provided rulebook and attempting Game 1, I had several rules questions. Rodney was quick to provide answers and it made the game so much more playable and enjoyable. Since it is a solo game only, every decision you make directly impacts how the game is played (duh, right?). There’s nobody else to mess with your plans, nor help them succeed. There’s no AI or ghost player. Just you versus the game. I have played this many times now on different difficulty levels and have won and lost on each. It would seem balanced, however…
There are a few strategies I attempted to use on my different plays to see how they might add to the complexity and change the results. I noticed that I won more when I completely ignored Sherwood Forest and King Richard’s cards. Yes, one of the King Richard cards reduces the bounty by quite a bit, and that’s just in one turn, but the cost is so mighty that I rarely found them enticing enough to pull the trigger. Same goes for Sherwood Forest. Though the cards cost a paltry two Strength, I found that I needed those Strength cards to recruit or rescue my Men and could not justify spending two per card (and six total cards to build the hideout) for that protection. Your play style may vary, and I am itching to play again to try new things out. Maybe I’m wrong about Sherwood Forest. I think that’s a really great trait for a game – to have its players thinking about different strategies while not playing, and just waiting for when they can play again.
I have to say, I am very excited to see this go to Kickstarter, and to learn what Rodney has in mind for improvements to the components, or rule tweaks, and the almighty stretch goals. I might be backing this one, even though I have a great working version of it now…
Disclaimer: This review is for a Kickstarter preview. We are not being paid for this preview, but we were sent the game from the designer. Components and rules may be changed before the product and project is finished. -T
As this game is not yet in full production, I will paraphrase the rulebook here for you so you can get an idea of how the game plays. Then I will give my opinions on this little card game.
Robin Hood: Hero of the People is a one-player card game that is played over three phases. To win the game you must have all Merry Men and Maid Marian recruited and active, while the bounty on your head is less than 500. You lose by seeing the bounty at or above 1,000 or by playing through the entire deck of Story Cards without winning. You may set the difficulty level by choosing how much you would like the bounty to start at before you begin play (100, 200, or 300). The rulebook instructs you how to setup the game using several piles of cards to create the play area. Deal yourself three Loot (skill) cards and the game is on!
The first phase of the game is Robbing from the Rich. During this phase you draw three (or more depending on other cards currently in play) Loot cards from the big deck. These cards consist of different skills to use later – like Archery, Strength, Swords, etc. You will also find Gold and Influence cards. These Loot cards are needed to recruit Maid Marian and all the Merry Men, as well as used for negating powerful negative Story Card effects in the third phase of the game. Once you have drawn your Loot cards, you may play up to three of them into your Inventory in front of you (unless a card instructs you otherwise). Only your cards in the Inventory will be used to recruit and rescue Merry Men, or be affected by Story Cards.
You have placed your skills and bargaining cards in the Inventory. It is now time to use them to recruit your Merry Men! The second phase is the Actions phase. You have several options of actions to take on your turn, but you may only take one action. One option is to recruit Merry Men characters. Each character card begins the game face-down in a grid. The card backs show the recruitment costs (paid in skills) for each. They all have different skill cost combinations on each back so you must choose your Inventory cards carefully in the first phase. During the game some characters may become jailed through the Story Cards. Also on the backs of the character cards are the costs to rescue your friends from jail, and the costs are different than the recruitment costs. This throws a wrench into your plans as you are trying to recruit and protect all your Merry Men, just to have them thrown in jail and made unavailable to you. Curse you, Sheriff of Nottingham!
Also during this phase, in addition to recruiting and rescuing your allies, you may purchase King Richard cards, Sherwood Forest cards, or decrease your bounty. King Richard cards are very very costly (requiring up to nine skills to purchase!) but also very powerful and very helpful to your cause. There are three of these in the game and when you have used one you must discard it out of the game. Do you have an abundance of skills and Loot cards to use? Would you like to protect your Merry Men from becoming jailed? Well during this phase you may also purchase Sherwood Forest cards to begin building a hideout. It costs two Strength skills, but once you have acquired all six Sherwood Forest cards, most of the Merry Men are protected from being jailed. Huzzah! The final option you have in this phase is spending any three Loot cards from your Inventory to reduce your bounty by 100.
The third and final phase is the Story Card phase. During setup you are instructed to separate this deck into two piles, shuffle them independently, and place the Story Cards in set one on top of the story cards in set two. Set one cards are annoyances that can bleed you of skill cards or raise the bounty on your head. Annoying! The cards in set two are far worse, as they will jail your unprotected Merry Men and set you back further from victory… also whilst raising your bounty. Super annoying!! Curse you again, Sheriff!!
If no win or lose conditions have been met at this time, you will return to the first phase with this additional rule: switch your active character (you start the game with Robin Hood) with another character you have recruited in the grid. Each character has a different special ability to be used on your next turn as well as a different set of skills printed on the face that you may use as discounts for recruitment, rescues, and purchasing of King Richard and Sherwood Forest cards. Example: Much the Miller shows 1x Sword and 1x Strength. You can use his skills as a discount to purchase a Sherwood Forest card by spending just one Strength card from your Inventory. Time to stick it to the Sheriff!
So how does it all shake down? Overall I say the game is really good. It is unfinished, and has not yet made it to Kickstarter, and I suspect that has something to do with any drawbacks I have experienced. Upon reading the provided rulebook and attempting Game 1, I had several rules questions. Rodney was quick to provide answers and it made the game so much more playable and enjoyable. Since it is a solo game only, every decision you make directly impacts how the game is played (duh, right?). There’s nobody else to mess with your plans, nor help them succeed. There’s no AI or ghost player. Just you versus the game. I have played this many times now on different difficulty levels and have won and lost on each. It would seem balanced, however…
There are a few strategies I attempted to use on my different plays to see how they might add to the complexity and change the results. I noticed that I won more when I completely ignored Sherwood Forest and King Richard’s cards. Yes, one of the King Richard cards reduces the bounty by quite a bit, and that’s just in one turn, but the cost is so mighty that I rarely found them enticing enough to pull the trigger. Same goes for Sherwood Forest. Though the cards cost a paltry two Strength, I found that I needed those Strength cards to recruit or rescue my Men and could not justify spending two per card (and six total cards to build the hideout) for that protection. Your play style may vary, and I am itching to play again to try new things out. Maybe I’m wrong about Sherwood Forest. I think that’s a really great trait for a game – to have its players thinking about different strategies while not playing, and just waiting for when they can play again.
I have to say, I am very excited to see this go to Kickstarter, and to learn what Rodney has in mind for improvements to the components, or rule tweaks, and the almighty stretch goals. I might be backing this one, even though I have a great working version of it now…
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) in Movies
Jul 18, 2018
A fun, family friendly action comedy
JUMANJI was a fun film from the middle 1990's, starring the late, great ROBIN WILLIAMS. And, when I heard that they were making a sequel to this film 22 years later and starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, I thought "no thanks" and even skipped seeking it out at movie theaters over the winter, even after I heard that it was "pretty fun".
I finally caught up to it on a recent flight and I have to admit - I was wrong for skipping this film JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is a fun romp with The Rock ably filling the lead role, aided by a strong supporting cast.
JUMANJI was about a board came come to life. JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE has the same board game that morphs itself into a video game and when 4 High Schoolers stumble across it while serving detention, well...comedy - and adventure - ensue.
The four high schoolers are typical THE BREAKFAST CLUB stereotypes. The nerdy boy, the hot girl, the jock boy and the dorky girl. When these four are transported into the game they take on the outward appearance - and skills - of their video game characters - the nerdy body becomes the dashing hero (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). The hot girl becomes the dumpy (male!) professor (Jack Black). The jock becomes the un-athletic short kid (Kevin Hart) and the dorky girl becomes the kick-ass girl (Karen Gillan). It is the 4 actors playing their high school counterparts in their bodies that is the core of this film - and the center of the charm and fun of this film. All 4 shine. Johnson and Hart (back together after CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE) show that the chemistry they showed with each other in the previous film is no fluke. Gillan (Nebula in the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY films) shows that she can do kick-ass well - and with a wink in her eye. But it is the performance of Black that steals things. Someone said to me that Black was made to play a "hot high school girl" and I would have to agree. He almost steals the movie.
Director Jake Kasdan (the TV series NEW GIRL) understands what kind of film that he is making, so keeps the fun and action going at a superficial, almost cartoon level, never really stopping to breathe (or to think). He keeps things light - and family friendly - with just enough "almost" dirty jokes to keep young and old alike interested. It earns - but never crosses the line - of it's PG-13 rating. There is talk of a sequel, and I, for one, am looking forward to it.
Letter Grade: A-
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis
I finally caught up to it on a recent flight and I have to admit - I was wrong for skipping this film JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is a fun romp with The Rock ably filling the lead role, aided by a strong supporting cast.
JUMANJI was about a board came come to life. JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE has the same board game that morphs itself into a video game and when 4 High Schoolers stumble across it while serving detention, well...comedy - and adventure - ensue.
The four high schoolers are typical THE BREAKFAST CLUB stereotypes. The nerdy boy, the hot girl, the jock boy and the dorky girl. When these four are transported into the game they take on the outward appearance - and skills - of their video game characters - the nerdy body becomes the dashing hero (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). The hot girl becomes the dumpy (male!) professor (Jack Black). The jock becomes the un-athletic short kid (Kevin Hart) and the dorky girl becomes the kick-ass girl (Karen Gillan). It is the 4 actors playing their high school counterparts in their bodies that is the core of this film - and the center of the charm and fun of this film. All 4 shine. Johnson and Hart (back together after CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE) show that the chemistry they showed with each other in the previous film is no fluke. Gillan (Nebula in the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY films) shows that she can do kick-ass well - and with a wink in her eye. But it is the performance of Black that steals things. Someone said to me that Black was made to play a "hot high school girl" and I would have to agree. He almost steals the movie.
Director Jake Kasdan (the TV series NEW GIRL) understands what kind of film that he is making, so keeps the fun and action going at a superficial, almost cartoon level, never really stopping to breathe (or to think). He keeps things light - and family friendly - with just enough "almost" dirty jokes to keep young and old alike interested. It earns - but never crosses the line - of it's PG-13 rating. There is talk of a sequel, and I, for one, am looking forward to it.
Letter Grade: A-
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis