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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated 3 Idiots (2009) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020
So, I am writing a coffee table book that selects the 200 top films of 2000 – 2019. Called, predictably, 21st Century Cinema: 200 Unmissable films. It uses a system of rating I devised called The Decinemal, which takes the ten categories by which a film can be rated (Direction, Script, Design, Lead Acting, Support Acting, Music, Photography, Critical Acclaim, Watchability and X-Factor) and scores them out of 10, to give an overall score out of 100. Whilst not foolproof, it does give a remarkable working basis for comparing movies of different genres, and the ratings often bear a striking relation to the democratic system used by IMDb – a film scoring 7.2 on that website might be a 75 decinemal, for example, and that feels like that validates its use.
It has been a very fun, if time consuming, project. The difficulty is keeping up with new releases every year, and trying to catch some of the more obscure foreign language films out there that get high scores on IMDb. One such film was 3 Idiots, to date the highest rated Bollywood film on that website, with a score of 8.5; which is high! Very high! So I have to watch it and find out for myself.
Now, Bollywood is not me for, barring the odd amusement of how bizarre they can be. I find the musical interludes often grating and incongruous, and the melodramatic acting styles something that the cinema of most other countries outgrew decades ago. So it is hard for me to be objective about it. On the whole they just don’t compete on any level with American, European or, well, any other country’s output. In short, I would never normally watch one at all.
Surprisingly, I found 3 Idiots, although clownish and OTT, quite entertaining from the start. I even found one or two of the obligatory musical numbers very catchy and a lot of fun! Also, lead actor Aamir Khan, one of India’s biggest stars, was very charming and watchable. Of course, it is colourful, loud and has a childish sensibility, but some moments made me genuinely laugh. The main problem actually came from it being padded out to almost 2 and 1/2 hours, which was far too long for comfort. If it had been more economical I may have even been able to say it was worth watching.
Sadly, it is the moments of cultural difference and pure silliness that dragged it down. Despite its positive points, ultimately it is a mess, and to compare it on the standard I judge all films I see I have to be fair and not patronise it. Certainly in terms of the Bollywood fare I have seen bits of over the years, I can see why it is so well thought of. I can also see how films like this gain such a high rating, because it is the native audience it was made for that cast the votes. Which is fair enough, but does give it an unreasonably high score.
I think if more people watched it and rated it, it would balance out at a 6.5, and it probably deserves that for sheer entertainment value. I have certainly seen many worse films! Applying The Decinemal objectively, however, it comes out like this: Direction 4, Script 5, Design 6, Lead Acting 6, Support acting 4, Music 5, Photography 6, Critical Acclaim 7, Wachability 5, x-Factor 6. Added up that gives it a Decinemal of 54 – a far cry from the 74 it would have needed to make my top 200. And I stand by that score, as the level of likelihood of everyone’s enjoyment of it.
To an extent it discourages me from watching anything from this part of the world again, but I can’t say I didn’t appreciate why it was such a big hit. Interesting.
It has been a very fun, if time consuming, project. The difficulty is keeping up with new releases every year, and trying to catch some of the more obscure foreign language films out there that get high scores on IMDb. One such film was 3 Idiots, to date the highest rated Bollywood film on that website, with a score of 8.5; which is high! Very high! So I have to watch it and find out for myself.
Now, Bollywood is not me for, barring the odd amusement of how bizarre they can be. I find the musical interludes often grating and incongruous, and the melodramatic acting styles something that the cinema of most other countries outgrew decades ago. So it is hard for me to be objective about it. On the whole they just don’t compete on any level with American, European or, well, any other country’s output. In short, I would never normally watch one at all.
Surprisingly, I found 3 Idiots, although clownish and OTT, quite entertaining from the start. I even found one or two of the obligatory musical numbers very catchy and a lot of fun! Also, lead actor Aamir Khan, one of India’s biggest stars, was very charming and watchable. Of course, it is colourful, loud and has a childish sensibility, but some moments made me genuinely laugh. The main problem actually came from it being padded out to almost 2 and 1/2 hours, which was far too long for comfort. If it had been more economical I may have even been able to say it was worth watching.
Sadly, it is the moments of cultural difference and pure silliness that dragged it down. Despite its positive points, ultimately it is a mess, and to compare it on the standard I judge all films I see I have to be fair and not patronise it. Certainly in terms of the Bollywood fare I have seen bits of over the years, I can see why it is so well thought of. I can also see how films like this gain such a high rating, because it is the native audience it was made for that cast the votes. Which is fair enough, but does give it an unreasonably high score.
I think if more people watched it and rated it, it would balance out at a 6.5, and it probably deserves that for sheer entertainment value. I have certainly seen many worse films! Applying The Decinemal objectively, however, it comes out like this: Direction 4, Script 5, Design 6, Lead Acting 6, Support acting 4, Music 5, Photography 6, Critical Acclaim 7, Wachability 5, x-Factor 6. Added up that gives it a Decinemal of 54 – a far cry from the 74 it would have needed to make my top 200. And I stand by that score, as the level of likelihood of everyone’s enjoyment of it.
To an extent it discourages me from watching anything from this part of the world again, but I can’t say I didn’t appreciate why it was such a big hit. Interesting.
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Party Bandimals in Tabletop Games
Oct 8, 2019
Band geeks. We all were bullied as kids. Walking to/from school with our super uncool instrument cases in our hands. All throughout our schooldays knowing that we were near the bottom of the popularity barrel. Then something happens. We become adults, join a band, sell merchandise, and all of a sudden it’s cool to be in a band and everyone wants to hang out. None of this has anything to do with the game I’m previewing right now, but this is a PSA – treat your band kids well so they can flourish and grow and become invincible bad-asses that seriously rock.
Party Bandimals is a card game where players are band managers looking to fill out their respective musical groups that feature anthropomorphic animals playing musical instruments. Each turn players are trying to boost their own bands with wicked rad band members while simultaneously subbing in the uncool members to their opponents’ bands.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. As this is a preview copy of the game, I do not know if the final rules or components will be similar or different to what we were provided. -T
A game of Party Bandimals takes place over a series of rounds. The first player to amass a band whose total strength equals or exceeds 11 (net). Each animal card has a number printed in the upper left hand corner indicating its strength, be it positive or negative. Positive numbered cards are played to your band tableau and negative cards to an opponent’s band – thus lowering their total strength score.
To setup shuffle the cards and deal three to each player. Any player that has received any cards with the “Play when drawn” icon must discard those and draw up to three. You are now ready to play.
On your turn you draw up to four cards and then play a card from your hand. Any card drawn with the “Play when drawn” icon (see “Bob” above) will be played immediately. Otherwise, you may choose any card in your hand to be played. These could be band members or other events. Some cards are designed to be played as reaction cards to other opponents’ plays and can be played out of turn. That’s it! The rules and game play are very light, and games are very quick.
Components: This is a card game. Mine came in a tin, though I do not know if that is the plan for when the game goes retail or as result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. The cards are good quality, and the art on them is very cool. The names are sometimes hilarious and the art reflects that as well. Each character has a personality, and some are even inspired by the designer’s friends and family. I didn’t see any trumpet playing Travis cards, so maybe that’s in the works…
So here are my thoughts on Party Bandimals. It’s a really quick game with some interesting decisions and LOTS of take that. I mean, you’re trying to put a band together of the sickest entertainers out there, but so are your opponents. You are pawning off the bad musicians on your friends opponents and keeping all the good musicians. It really works well when you want a super quick filler with a great theme, fun art (I mean, look at lil Elanor up there on that harmonica solo), and grudges to be formed. If your group likes take that games, or at least don’t get all bent out of shape, then you should check out Party Bandimals. It’s quick, fun, and has a great theme. What more do you want, people???
Party Bandimals is a card game where players are band managers looking to fill out their respective musical groups that feature anthropomorphic animals playing musical instruments. Each turn players are trying to boost their own bands with wicked rad band members while simultaneously subbing in the uncool members to their opponents’ bands.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. As this is a preview copy of the game, I do not know if the final rules or components will be similar or different to what we were provided. -T
A game of Party Bandimals takes place over a series of rounds. The first player to amass a band whose total strength equals or exceeds 11 (net). Each animal card has a number printed in the upper left hand corner indicating its strength, be it positive or negative. Positive numbered cards are played to your band tableau and negative cards to an opponent’s band – thus lowering their total strength score.
To setup shuffle the cards and deal three to each player. Any player that has received any cards with the “Play when drawn” icon must discard those and draw up to three. You are now ready to play.
On your turn you draw up to four cards and then play a card from your hand. Any card drawn with the “Play when drawn” icon (see “Bob” above) will be played immediately. Otherwise, you may choose any card in your hand to be played. These could be band members or other events. Some cards are designed to be played as reaction cards to other opponents’ plays and can be played out of turn. That’s it! The rules and game play are very light, and games are very quick.
Components: This is a card game. Mine came in a tin, though I do not know if that is the plan for when the game goes retail or as result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. The cards are good quality, and the art on them is very cool. The names are sometimes hilarious and the art reflects that as well. Each character has a personality, and some are even inspired by the designer’s friends and family. I didn’t see any trumpet playing Travis cards, so maybe that’s in the works…
So here are my thoughts on Party Bandimals. It’s a really quick game with some interesting decisions and LOTS of take that. I mean, you’re trying to put a band together of the sickest entertainers out there, but so are your opponents. You are pawning off the bad musicians on your friends opponents and keeping all the good musicians. It really works well when you want a super quick filler with a great theme, fun art (I mean, look at lil Elanor up there on that harmonica solo), and grudges to be formed. If your group likes take that games, or at least don’t get all bent out of shape, then you should check out Party Bandimals. It’s quick, fun, and has a great theme. What more do you want, people???
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groundedGeek (4 KP) rated Welcome to Night Vale in Podcasts
Jan 10, 2018 (Updated Jan 10, 2018)
Voice acting (3 more)
Stories
Writing
Music
Welcome to Night Vale is sheer brilliance
Welcome to Night Vale is a brilliant concept for a podcast and has created a world that is so outlandish and weird that every visit is amazing. While it is somewhat difficult to jump in the middle since it's ongoing, after a few episodes you may begin to get the drift, but I highly recommend binging this from the beginning. There are characters that recur and "in-jokes" that long-time listeners will enjoy much more than a new listener, but nothing to take away from the experience of a new listener. We have actually gone to see one of their live shows and they are absolutely entertaining and well worth it. The writing is tight and eerie and often hilarious. Once you find yourself a new citizen of Night Vale, you will find it very difficult to leave. It is hands down my favorite podcast and it only keeps getting better.
Each episode features Cecil, the golden voiced community radio host updating you on the goings on in the desert town of Night Vale where the weird and bizarre are simply the norm. Usually something happens that becomes the central theme of that episode's story arc and Cecil comes back to it from time to time, updating us as he goes... and then it's always time for the "weather:" which is actually an indie artist song. Sometimes the musical guest is amazing, sometimes it is hit or miss, but it's a great way to hear and find new kind of obscure artists to listen to. When the "weather" is over, Cecil usually returns and wraps up the current storyline and the listener is left to fret and dismay as they are thrust back into the real world again and must wait until the next episode to return to their beloved Night Vale.
The writing is actually genius. No lie.
Each episode features Cecil, the golden voiced community radio host updating you on the goings on in the desert town of Night Vale where the weird and bizarre are simply the norm. Usually something happens that becomes the central theme of that episode's story arc and Cecil comes back to it from time to time, updating us as he goes... and then it's always time for the "weather:" which is actually an indie artist song. Sometimes the musical guest is amazing, sometimes it is hit or miss, but it's a great way to hear and find new kind of obscure artists to listen to. When the "weather" is over, Cecil usually returns and wraps up the current storyline and the listener is left to fret and dismay as they are thrust back into the real world again and must wait until the next episode to return to their beloved Night Vale.
The writing is actually genius. No lie.