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Double Fine Psychodyssey



This documentary about the video game studio Double Fine making Psychonauts 2 is one of the most detailed, in-depth and real things I have ever seen. Clocking in at 22 hours long and divided into 32 episodes it covers the 7 years it took to make a single game.

I've never seen anything like this before. It feels like I've lived another life. I feel like I've helped make this game and that I know all these people personally, and then I have to remind myself, "No you idiot you were just watching YouTube."

And Psychonauts 2 came out last year. I played it, I saw the critics' and general public's reception to it. I know the end of the story and I was STILL like, "How are they gonna pull this off? They can't possibly make this game in time."

I've had some idea of how video games are made and even after watching this whole thing I still don't know everything, but your knowledge of this media format doesn't matter. Information is presented in a way that even if you don't understand all the little details and shorthands you clearly know what people are talking about. You see ideas for levels in the game start as brainstorming sessions and watch them go through the process of being implemented, refined, and sometimes even scrapped and brought back to the drawing board.



People come and go from the studio. Some folks are newcomers to the industry that you watch grow and evolve over time to become better at their jobs, more comfortable in their roles, and make friends with the other employees. On the flip side, industry veterans leave after years at the company, some amicably and some for more contentious reasons, and you see how this changes the whole dynamic of this group.

At the center of it all is founder and head of the company Tim Schafer, a charismatic legend of the video game world. You see him lead his devoted team sometimes to successfully-executed ideas and other times to disaster. Schafer is a big proponent for more transparency in the industry and has had this documentary crew capturing the process for almost the entire length Double Fine has been in business.



You'd think that means Schafer only allows the filmmakers to show the good of the company, and there is plenty of that. But you see the bad too. Employees are treated with less respect than they deserve, decisions are made that make the people in charge look bad, and tensions rise as everyone struggles to do their job effectively under less-than-ideal circumstances. It is a true warts-and-all approach to telling this story.



The whole thing is on YouTube. Here is the link. I never bother with reviews because 1. I don't like writing and 2. I usually don't have much to say about what I watched other than "That was pretty good" or "Eh not so great." But I feel like I have to get the word out on this. If you like video games, or are curious how they are made, or want a peak behind the curtain at a major entertainment industry, or even if you have no interest at all in this hobby but want to watch a good documentary, I implore you to check this out. It is incredibly easy to watch, charming, funny and the most human piece of media I have ever seen.

I also never bother with ratings, but because I'm trying to convince as many as people as I can to watch this and because I genuinely believe it deserves it, Double Fine Psychodyssey gets

Usually watch films from about 2am, started watching Crimes of Future at 3.30am...

It's really the only time I can watch films now unless it's suitable for all then I'd watch a film earlier.

Quatermass and the Pit (1967) 7/10

37 minute short film from the director of Scum, Alan Clarke. It's based on "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland and has a strong documentary feel. It basically has no dialogue as we watch about 20 seemingly unrelated gun murders be carried out. There's no narrative and its effectiveness comes from its coldness. On YouTube.

Poodle Springs (1998)

I rarely bother writing a bad review, but I resent poor cinematic treatments of Raymond Chandler novels. Poodle Springs was unfinished at the time of Chandler's death, but 30 years later his estate had Robert B. Parker finish the novel. It's much different from Chandler's other noir novels, set in the fictional Poodle Springs (Palm Springs), to where Philip Marlowe has moved, married a prominent socialite, and has continued as a P.I

In this treatment James Caan was badly miscast as Marlowe, and ironically that was the best part of this made for TV turkey. The chemistry was so bad between he and his new wife (Dina Mayer) that it looked as if the actors were facetiously demonstrating bad acting.

The story is good (and complex), but after the first 20 minutes, one doesn't care. Marlowe of course had aged for the 1963 setting, but somehow Caan looked ancient, making him seem like a perv with his much younger attractive wife.

Tom Bower as the local police Lieutenant delivered the most believable role, which is saying something considering some of the poorly written dialogue. That's a shame too, because Chandler of course wrote snappy dialogue that leapt off the pages (e.g. in Double Indemnity).

Anyway, most can skip this one unless it's out of curiosity or for historical purposes.

Doc's rating: 3/10

By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56057581

Beasts of the Southern Wild - (2012)

I remember watching this crazy film quite a long time ago, and I remember loving it - wasn't sure if it would have the same impact this time, but it did. Rarely am I in a "bravo!" mood after watching a film, and it's even rarer it gets a second one the second time. The main crux of my emotional involvement is to do with family, and losing people - the familial bond is natural, but all-powerful and good. To see it so strong in the worst of circumstances, with the most insane people I've seen in a movie, really touches me. BotSW has a score and soundtrack to die for, and was shot beautifully amongst such organized junk as to make this a production designers nightmare (or wildest dream) - but it's the heart and soul of this film that always gets me, and if a film gets to me in the profound way this one does, it has done something right. I love it.

10/10


By The poster art can or could be obtained from Miramax Films (USA)Alliance Atlantis (Canada)Universal Pictures (non-USA/Canada)., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=633304

Shakespeare in Love - (1998)

I'd never seen this before - I had just never been interested. Sometimes when a film wins Best Picture at the Oscars, and I didn't want it to, it puts me off ever seeing it. It's an okay film - and of course the costume design and sets are out of this world. A fictional period romance that weaves the writing of Romeo and Juliet into a love affair Shakespeare haves with a young woman betrothed to someone of higher standing. It was good enough to be enjoyed - not good enough to beat either The Thin Red Line or Saving Private Ryan come Oscar-time. Background players such as Tom Wilkinson, Martin Clunes and Jim Carter are marvelous though.

7/10


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The Family - (2013)

Didn't like this film at all. I never would have thought Luc Besson could make a film this bad - it's based on a French novel, and perhaps something was lost in translation. When you make a black comedy, and it's not the least bit funny, all you're left with is something a little off-putting, with horrible characters and situations. It's a screenplay problem, and it seems this film was doomed from the start.

4/10

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Flying Leathernecks (1951) on dvd. Directed by Nicholas Ray and starring John Wayne and Robert Ryan. This is a serviceable, average war film with some good moments. It could have been a lot better though.

How about Creed III? It wan't my choice, but there I was. I've seen enough boxing movies in my life to recognize the usual devices. This one pulls out all of them. I don't feel like summarizing, so I will quote Wikipedia:

"Still dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed is thriving in his career and family life. When Damian, a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy resurfaces after serving time in prison, he's eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian -- a fighter who has nothing to lose."

So what do we get other than these two guys murdering each others brain cells, one punch at a time? We get rivalries, promoters, TV sports, groupies. A couple hours later, 2 hours I will never get back, the fight's over, both fighters are still alive after all that sweating, punching and crowd scenes. It's like every other GD boxing movie I've ever seen.

This one has good visuals, physiques and sound FX, but it's THE boxing story. One guy wins, one guy loses, one of the claims to have aspirations and some of us at least walk out of the theater knowing the movie has actors and FX, but that there are real boxers out there, murdering THEIR brain cells...probably a hundred per punch. It's mainly the same plot as every boxing movie I ever saw, except that Rocky at least had that good musical theme. This one doesn't. All the production stuff is OK, so, if that's your sort of thing, maybe this is your movie, but it's not mine. I don't care one way or the other about the sport, but those damnable boxing movies is another thing.

SF = Z


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

The Guns of Navarone (1961) on dvd. This has some good actors and the performances are fine, but the story didn't really engage me. I didn't find it very compelling or entertaining. The film has some fairly well directed scenes, but it goes on for too long and I find it boring at times.

Deschain, if you haven't already seen it, you might like the series, The Consultant, with nice work by Christoph Waltz.

It's a dark comedy thriller which takes place within a company that makes video games. 8 eps, on Netflix.

By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18560528

A Few Good Men - (1992)

What a scene. Tom Cruise's brash young military lawyer, Daniel Kaffee, out of chances and his career all but over. Jack Nicholson's hard as steel, contemptable Colonel is on the stand, and unless Kaffee can get an unlikely admission of guilt all is lost. The clash is so memorable that "You can't handle the truth!" entered the vernacular, but I get a kick from all of A Few Good Men, despite it's mainstream credentials and courtroom drama plays. Jack Nicholson absolutely dominates despite only being onscreen for around 10 to 15 minutes total. Nobody else but Cruise could have been as cocky and smug as your typical deal-seeking, ambulance chasing - but ultimately redeemed - character. Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, J. T. Walsh and Kevin Pollak round out a fine group of players. I still don't know why a perfectly ordinary film of this nature rises so high above the pack, but it does and I enjoyed it just as much as I usually do last night.

8/10


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Swept Away - (2002)

I kept on trying to dismiss Swept Away's reputation as one of the worst films ever made so I could discern what I'd have thought of it if I'd seen it without knowing all of that. It's not possible - there's a strangeness surrounding Madonna, and her "interesting" performance here that creates a surreal atmosphere. I haven't seen the 1974 original, but this Swept Away is a weird movie - I don't think Madonna ever appeared in another, other than voice work for forgotten animated films. I don't know what else to say - even though there is a lot to say. Did you really direct this Guy Ritchie? What were you thinking?

?/10

Thanks for the rec, I’ll check it out. Looks like it’s on Amazon Prime. I’ll reciprocate with Mythic Quest on Apple TV, workplace sitcom about a video game company created by and starring Mac from Always Sunny.

Guy Ritchie is beyond mediocre. I avoid anything he does. Ditto Jason Statham.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

How I Live Now -

This is a pretty good dystopian drama with another strong performance by Saoirse Ronan. She plays Daisy, a sullen, self-flagellating teenager who leaves America to live with her cousins in the English countryside. Daisy eventually gets over herself, falls for their idyllic existence as well as for eldest cousin Eddie (George MacKay). Things get much less idyllic when a terrorist attack takes out London, the country declares martial law and the family becomes separated.

Again, Ronan is impressive, especially for Daisy’s transition from monolithic to a caring guardian and someone willing to let others in. The charmed life of swimming, playing and exploring that her cousins lead makes her change believable, and the disaster that takes it all away is as sudden as it is terrifying. We never get details about the conflict, but this is not a drawback because the family's confusion and fear become our own and makes the divide between their world and the power-mad adult world more prominent. What holds the movie back from being great instead of just decent, though, is that we also don't get to know Daisy or her family that well. It has an abridged, highlight reel of a better movie vibe, with the highlights emphasizing the action and suspense rather than character development. This put me at a distance from everyone, which makes the moments of payoff seem unearned. I still enjoyed it, mostly for how Ronan elevates the material, the cinematography of rural England and for getting to see George MacKay and a young Tom Holland before they became stars. I just wish I didn't have recurring thoughts about how Children of Men and 28 Days Later did this thing much better the entire time.

The Whale 7/10 - brilliant acting by everyone involved in this devastating film

Boiling Point 8.5/10 - such an underrated gem of a movie

The Outfit 7/10

Top Gun: Maverick 6.5/10 - enjoyable but quite overrated

1st Re-watch...Between my watching Miles Teller in The Offer and because of reading several reviews of people watching this film for the first time, I decided to give this a re-watch. There is a lot of love out there for this film and I took a lot of crap on this site for my negative review, so I wanted to see if I was really being fair to the film. First of all, I have to say Damian Chazelle's direction is positively kinetic at times, but I stand by my original review. As solid as JK Simmons is as the enigmatic Fletcher, it took me out of the story every time he counted off incorrectly. I also had an issue with him throwing a chair at the guy. I don't think a college professor would be allowed to do that. The "are you rushing or are you dragging" scene was silly because we are never told which one the guy was doing and that competition with the three drummers at the halfway point of the film made no sense because we don't have any idea what Fletcher was looking for, His screaminhg "faster" at the three of them came off as forced and affected, not to mention, the three drummers drowning in perspiration. .

Here are two movies I watched this weekend:
Alphaville - So we are reading 1984 in English class right now and because this movie was leaving the channel, I decided to watch it. I found it like the other Godard movies I watched: It felt boring but engaging at the same time. Just the way I like it. I was also enthralled by how cool the protagonist was. He was taking pictures of all of the corruption presented in Alphaville and at the end murdered numerous people responsible for the corruption. I actually found the villain(Alpha 60) to be rather obnoxious with its voice but I found it nice to see a French film with such sci-fi characteristics. Alphaville had some scenes that I find unthinkable to be in a French movie such as a dystopian plot and several "action" scenes. I always saw French New Wave movies to look too realistic with the exception of Jacques Rivette's movies. I was so glad this film ended on a positive note and I am also happy that I finally watched a fourth film by any director. With most directors, I could only watch 3 of them(ex. Fassbinder, Fellini, and Truffaut). But now it is four of them with Godard.


Written on the Wind(second time) - So I got excited that this movie finally reached the channel so I decided to watch it again. I got to admit, I still love this movie like I once did. I actually love it more now than before due to feeling like I can relate to it better. Just the idea of Marylee never being able to marry her childhood friend Mitch reminds me of how I can never get together with my crush who I knew since grade school. Deep End was another example of this pain. I still appreciated aspects of this film like I did the first time: The music employed for the film, the colorful backgrounds, and the plot in general. I also was able to remember new things that I missed during the first viewing such as how Mitch loved Lucy despite her marraige to Kyle or as to why Kyle ended worse off than Mitch. Kyle was spoiled by riches and therefore never had to learn much while Mitch on the other hand had average wealth and was able to pick up more wisdom in order to help his friends. However, Kyle's immature behavior ends up causing his death and Marylee tries to take advantage of it to marry Mitch. She however has a change of heart by telling the jury about what really happened through realizing that she can still care about him like a "brother" and not have to be romantically involved with him. Through the second viewing, I knew who Dorothy Malone(Artists and Models) and Rock Hudson(All That Heaven Allows and Pillow Talk) were and were able to recognize the characters as different people now. See, Rock Hudson is charismatic, Dwayne "Rock" Johnson is not.

I generally will watch anything from Takashi Miike, even though outside of Ichi the Killer I'm not a huge fan. This is a well made 65 minute horror with the expected craziness.