Platypus of Truth

Having watched The Blair Witch Project , I went looking for another groundbreaking horror film from the same time period to compare it with. That led me to Scott Derrickson's Exorcism of Emily Rose . This was yet another of those films I remember being talked about when I was in college (Derrickson was an alum after all) but, in spite of rooming with film majors, I never got around to seeing. I had my doubts: "a court room drama mashed up with an exorcism movie -really?". It sounded like some cheesy, low budget, well-meaning, Christian film. That -or it was going to be a Hollywood gore-fest that was going to have me traumatized for weeks. When I heard a few years ago that Derrickson had been tapped to direct the Marvel Universe property Doctor Strange , I suddenly began to see things in a different light. I figured I'd go back and give The Exorcism of Emily Rose  a chance. I'm glad I did. I took five pages of notes on the movie during my first viewing (I think t...

Having looked at James Cameron's Aliens  and  Terminator 2: Judgement Day , I thought it was time to watch another classic Ridley Scott film to go with my viewing of Alien . In order to keep with the science fiction theme, I chose the director's cut of Blade Runner . This movie should not work. It is too slow, lacks explanations, and is full of evil and unlikable characters -yet it's an artistic masterpiece! Why? What's going on with this film? Visually, it's stunning. The cityscape blends historic L.A. buildings with maze-like Mayan-mechanical and bits of the Tokyo redlight district into a unity that has influenced the look of scifi across the globe. These visuals subtly underline the basic concept of the movie: Theseus and the Minotaur, the rat in the maze. Speaking of the story, it doesn't need all the info supplied by the theatrical cut as it's all there -if you watch carefully. Once you you figure out what's going on, the characters become muc...

I finished the Steam port of SquareEnix's Final Fantasy III . It took me a year, and having to go all the way back to the start to relearn the job system, but I did it. Final Fantasy III  is a role player's RPG. The job system makes the characters much more customize-able than other early titles in the series and the lack of save points in dungeons make proper supply and strategy non-negotiable. All-in-all, it's the most difficult classic role playing game that I've encountered -no wonder it took so long to hit the U.S. market. That said, however, what would have been a disadvantage when I was a kid is now a major selling point of the game. Final Fantasy III  requires and rewards thought and care as players delve into its lushly imagined world -and a delightful world it is! The tone is light and upbeat with its Funkopop-like animation and sense of high adventure, but without the kiddieness of a Secret of Mana (though it also should be noted that there are no moments...