What is fun? No, not what’s fun to do, what does “fun” mean? Johan Huizinga, a Dutch guy that wrote a lot about play and what play means, said in his Homo Ludens that “this last-named element, the fun of playing, resists all analysis, all logical interpretation.” He goes on to lament that there’s, to… Continue reading The Elusiveness of Fun
Tag: Movies
A (Civil) War of Flaws
Civil War came out. This post it about that. Yes, that’s all the intro I’m giving. Marvel’s done a fantastic job of giving their characters major flaws. Look at the original (cinematic) Avengers: Iron Man’s selfish, Captain America’s noble to a fault, Thor’s proud, The Hulk’s, er, angry, Black Widow doesn’t trust anyone, and Hawkeye’s… Continue reading A (Civil) War of Flaws
Order, and Narrative Thereof
I’m one of those people who will respect you less if you pick an album to play, and then play it on shuffle. See, there’s a deliberate rhyme and reason for the order of songs on an album. U2’s War needs “Surrender” to be its penultimate song. After an album about war, violence, and fighting… Continue reading Order, and Narrative Thereof
Where Josh Explains Why You Should Fund His Movie
There are five days left for my movie’s Kickstarter. So that means it’s time for me to go on a spiel about why you should fund The Conduits. ‘cuz I’m really proud of this story and want you to be able to see it when it’s done without all that festival hoopla (and just for… Continue reading Where Josh Explains Why You Should Fund His Movie
Fear of The Unknown
One of the wonderful agonies I found when I started watching Lost years and years ago was the show’s tendency to show a character’s reaction to a revelation/object/monster rather than the revelation/object/monster itself. It became characteristic of the show, and something emblematic of Abrams’ style. Granted, J.J. Abrams had little involvement with Lost past the pilot,… Continue reading Fear of The Unknown
Of Zootopia
Stories are often a reflection of reality. Star Wars was a reflection of the existential threat posed by the Cold War. The Hurt Locker was, quite obviously, a discussion of the human cost of war. The Revenant reflected Leonardo DiCaprio’s all-consuming want for an Oscar. And then there’s Zootopia. Which holds an unrelenting, condemning-yet-hopeful mirror… Continue reading Of Zootopia
Living in Science Fiction
Is the movie Gravity science fiction? This was the discussion a friend of mine and I were having while talking about science fiction and fantasy winning Oscars — Gravity got Best Director, but is it really science fiction? Wikipedia, IMDb, and such call it science fiction, given that it’s, well, in space. That’s usually the… Continue reading Living in Science Fiction
Differently Normal
I’m currently in the middle of my second game of Subterfuge, a wonderful mobile strategy game rife with cunning, manipulation, and, er, subterfuge. Within the game our Specialists, special hires which essentially let you bend the rules of the game. While most everything in the game is depicted abstractly, the Specialists are all given little… Continue reading Differently Normal
Tarantino, Iñárritu, and The Art of Indulgence
I finally saw The Revenant this week. I also saw The Hateful Eight the same day and it’s really interesting to have seen them back to back. Both are by directors who are arguably auteurs, both are classified as Westerns, and both are covered in their fingerprints. Filmmakers have their trademarks. Something by Joss Whedon… Continue reading Tarantino, Iñárritu, and The Art of Indulgence
Window Dressing
Taxis are in a rush. That’s a known fact (that I thought as I did my usual ritual of staring down a cab driver today). It’s also a vital part of the game Crazy Taxi. The arcade-style driving game has you speeding around a time, picking up customers and dropping them off as quick as… Continue reading Window Dressing
Essays, Not Rants! 