I had the pleasure of attending an advance screening of The LEGO Movie on Thursday at my university. Now, you have to realize, I’ve been into Legos as long as I can remember, have a couple models on my desk, and have been making Lego movies in one form or another since I was ten.… Continue reading The (Lego) Hero’s Journey, Part One
Gamey Education
For some reason, my high school World History teacher saw it fit to skip over the entire Ottoman and Byzantine Empires. This thus left me with the general feel that those empires were a completely disposable era of history. That’s high school in South Carolina for you. This all changed when I begun playing Assassin’s… Continue reading Gamey Education
Playing With Expectations
In celebration of the wonder of Netflix, I decided to watch Drinking Buddies the other night. The premise is nothing new, Luke and Kate are coworkers with incredible chemistry who are, unfortunately, in relationships with other people. What makes the movie such a joy is how the film plays with this idea. All the building… Continue reading Playing With Expectations
I Didn’t Get Blue Is the Warmest Color
There. I said it. A lot of press surrounds Blue Is the Warmest Color for one reason or another, and with it winning a bunch of awards and ranking on some year end movie lists, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Long story short, I wasn’t a huge fan. Short story… Continue reading I Didn’t Get Blue Is the Warmest Color
Relationship Advice from Scott Pilgrim
Scott Pilgrim vs The World is one of my favorite movies. There’s the video game-y nature of it; a world that’s realistically unrealistic where fights look like Street Fighter and people explode into coins. With that, Edgar Wright and team put a great deal of love into making it; sound effects are borrowed everywhere from… Continue reading Relationship Advice from Scott Pilgrim
2013 in Review
That’s right people, I’m doing it again. Once again instead of a usual post I’m going to look through some of the posts from this year and link ‘em. Because it’s something appropriate to do at year’s end and not because a buddy of mine and I watched two movies in two separate cinemas and… Continue reading 2013 in Review
In Defense of Escapist Fiction
A term that I see thrown around a lot regarding my preferred fictions is “escapist fiction.” You might have seen it before; films like The Avengers and Pacific Rim are just escapist fantasies, especially when compared to ‘real cinema.’ Or video games are just ways to live out a fantasy and science fiction a way… Continue reading In Defense of Escapist Fiction
Defying Conventions
I’m still not done spitballing this essay (which is problematic, seeing as it’s due on Monday) but I’ve narrowed in my focus to make it more relevant to the class. Rather than comparing Mass Effect 3 and The Last of Us, I’m going to look at the latter game and how it does away with… Continue reading Defying Conventions
Projection and Empathy
Every now and then I repurpose this blog to spitball various ideas for papers I have to write. I’m doing it again. For my class on Melodrama (yes, it’s a thing) I want to write about video games, because I can. Particularly Mass Effect 3 and The Last of Us and the different ways each… Continue reading Projection and Empathy
Why I (seldom) Write About Ships
I grew up on a ship. I also like writing. Now, these two should go hand-in-hand. Write about living on a ship, it’s what you know! But then, who lives on a ship. No one would believe that. So I write science fiction. Because it’s easier to believe folks living on a spaceship than on… Continue reading Why I (seldom) Write About Ships
Essays, Not Rants! 