Hot Heart

Black Panther Great film with a charismatic cast and a strong throughline in its story and theme without having to feel too tied into the greater MCU. It's bright and optimistic but not too cheesy. Killmonger is a well-done sympathetic villain, too. M'Baku aka. "Dominic from Person of Interest" is also a funny scene-stealer at some points. Only downside is that while there are lots of cool bits of action there's a few instances of messy, shaky-cam stuff, particularly when it's two black suits duking it out in darkness with nothing but some purple and gold to distinguish them (maybe a thematic point). Character: "Impressive move" Me: I'm glad you saw it...

Anyone else watching Altered Carbon? I was skeptical about it, mainly because it stars Joel Kinnaman who seems to gravitate towards shit (Robocop remake, Suicide Squad), but a few friends had said it's really good, so I've been giving it a shot. First of all, Kinnaman is actually pretty good here. He captures the world-weary, sardonic character well and has an imposing presence. There's also a nice range of supporting characters from Ortega to Poe the ever eager-to-please hotel AI alongside some intriguing subplots and flashbacks. As a basic pitch, it's a very pulpy Blade Runner (or just "cyberpunk", obviously, if you want to be more technical) that actually shares a similarity with Demolition Man (protagonist from the past). It's the usual cyberpunk world of lowly people down in the slums and the super-rich high above the smog in ivory towers, with the core technological advancement here being that people's identities can be stored in discs that sit in the back of their neck while bodies are referred to as "sleeves". People can be removed from whatever body and put into another, and the super-rich clearly have a lot more options. To say much more would probably ruin some of the surprises since it plays with the concept in a variety of ways, for both comedic and dramatic effect. There's plenty of nudity and gore, like maybe a touch more than Game of Thrones (and certainly within its series timeframe). Part of it sells the idea of bodies as commodities/playthings, or the depravity of certain characters etc. but it can get a little gratuitous at times. It never feels slow or uninteresting as a new twist or development or just a cool little touch will appear at a decent pace. I'm currently on episode 7/10 so I guess it still has the potential to shit the bed in the final stretch, but it's been good so far.

The kid from IM3.

I remember Whedon making a comment on the Serenity blu-ray about Nathan Fillion being a "hair actor". Now it makes sense. https://i.imgur.com/CyxWRNv.gifv

My dad used to be friends with Cozy Powell (as well as Maxwell Martin) back in the day and recently started listening to some of his old stuff again. Got this stuck in my head.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri A wonderfully complex drama and dark comedy. It's definitely an "actors' film" with a great cast and performances. It likes to play with your expectations and never provides easy answers. I've seen criticisms about ableism and racism, which I think are important to take onboard, but I think it takes a very character-specific view that pretty much tells you these people are incredibly flawed but looks for ways of making you sympathise with them. It's got some beautiful yet understated cinematography and I will never tire of Sam Rockwell. If anything, it struck me how he is still totally believable as what seems to be a young, immature character despite being nearly 50.

So, I'm all caught up on the series after getting lax following the break. Dayuuuuumn, it got interesting. I mean, I'm not really a Trekkie and I think the new films suuuuuck but this seems to tread a fine line between an action/thriller show and what I envision Star Trek as. I think, in the same vein as what The Last Jedi did with Star Wars, it's exciting because it is toying with stuff and going in new directions (or, at least, it's all new to me). You never feel settled with "this ship is their home and join them on a new adventure each week". It seems to be blowing through what you might normally expect to be major story arcs that go for two to three times the length. Maybe it'll be a case of "the flame that burns twice as bright lasts half as long" but, for now, it's entertaining stuff. As for complaints, I'm hoping I've written enough ahead of this spoiler section so it doesn't get shown in forum previews but otherwise I've tried to be as vague as I could early on and also here is some more text to make sure of that. OKAY THEN.

Yes, I am really troubled when Disney make $4 billion instead of $5 billion. It really keeps me up at night, worrying about the artistic merit of their films. And if China doen't like it, can I really be sure I do? Is it even legal for me to like it now?

https://i.imgur.com/ZxS1rLy.gifv

Wasn't it already established that EA have totally fucked up sales expectations though? I seem to remember it on an article relating to Dragon Age: Inquisition and possibly ME: Andromeda, too. I should also add that I have been playing this game and enjoying it. I especially like the Witcher-like approach of reading up on the different types of enemies. Plus, it doesn't really hold your hand with the mechanics and lets you figure stuff out for yourself. Also, this.

Not sure why, when it first came out, I wasn't bowled over by this song. Because now I acknowledge that it fucking owns.

Loved this game the two times I played it. My other, newer gaming group absolutely loves deck builders and I was telling them how this was a neat blend of those mechanics plus a step up compared to stuff they'd played. Out of curiosity I discovered there was a second edition which tidies/pretties up the presentation, makes it far easier to grasp and improves the balance. I just happened to find an eBay auction for a new, sealed copy that had less than a day left and only one other bid. Couldn't help myself. Put in a bid and it was mine for £1 more than the other bidder and still under £30. While it's 4-player maximum (hence why it doesn't get a regular outing), I also think it'll work at meet-ups.

^ Brings back memories of Carmageddon II Never really listened to Style Council but my dad got a CD at Christmas that I checked out. Mostly cheesy stuff that feels quite dated (blah blah Weller is a cultural icon blah). Although, they have some decent tracks and you probably know Shout It To The Top without knowing you know it. This is seriously funky though, and actually feels closer to how The Jam might have evolved.

Oh no.

Got to try my newest game Empires of the Void II Really great 4X-lite game that feels a little like "Scythe in Space" except more thematic and open-ended while only slightly more complex. You each control a different race seeking to stake their claim in a new galaxy. You start with your Worldship (a cool miniature with a base that carries tokens) a star ship and a basic unit. From there, you can generally do what you want: attack planets to take control, ally with alien forces to gain special abilities and recruit them to your forces, complete deliveries, research technology, build different types of structures. What holds it all together is the power cards you get that might lead you towards focusing on certain elements, alongside "Empire cards" which are unique bonus scoring opportunities. And it all flows rather well as an active player chooses a new action each round (shown in the top-right of the board) then everyone else either "follows" that action, pays a few action points to select any other action or refreshes, which gives them their income, resets their action point track and gets them up to their hand limit of action cards. Combat is simplified like Scythe, but with more variation. You select 3 units, roll dice equal to the total they provide, then added the highest rolled number to the power provided by those units before selecting a power card to add. Recruiting different races can boost your effectiveness here. One player (who won) got a bunch of tough cyborgs which meant he usually started with 12 power (2 each from then and then a 6 because he was rolling 6 dice) before even playing a card. The research and building elements are fairly simple. Buildings removed from your player board then reveal further benefits (cities increase income, bases increase hand limit, academies give you more action points) while goods you collect go on these tracks to cover up costs or unlock technologies (usually at least 2 unique to each race). What really makes it, is a) how beautiful it all looks and b) the amount of variability and thematic elements. The game comes with 9 different basic planets (and 1 special scenario one), each with its own design and theme (desert planet with lizard creatures, aquatic world, cyberpunk nightmare, etc.) You use 8 of them in each game, which builds the power deck different ways (each has 7 related cards) and then you have 5 different event cards for each (using 1 each per game). These are all themed things that can open up cool new opportunities or spring horrible surprises. They're all guaranteed to come out each game (because the card deck is the game timer) and cause things like a dimensional gate, which means you can travel from that planet to anywhere else on the board or a prison break that you can help resolve. One puts out a killer beast that you can move around but thay will have to wait for another game. Even the power cards themselves reveal things like inter-planetary rivalries. Just lots of cool little touches. If anything, my only complaint is that it didn't go on longer. I mean, it did take a few hours with set-up and teaching but that will speed up as time goes. It's mainly because the power card deck is the timer and it's constantly being used when attacking neutral planets as well as players drawing from it. I guess it just means you have to make every action count, and it ensures it doesn't go on interminably like some 4X space games I've heard of. Plus, it doesn't have that "sudden ending" thing that people hated about Scythe (ours actually made for a prolonged ending because of when we ran the deck down).

I have played some new games. Contrast It's sort of like Dixit but a little simpler. There's the deck of weird picture cards that tend to defy exact description, except now players each have 6 cards split into two contrasting symbols. So there's tall/small, light/heavy, red/green, blue/yellow, round/square, wide/thin from which players will simultaneously and secretly be selecting one symbol to describe the image in the middle (so you have to orient your card the correct way and flip it like a page) and if a symbol has a majority, all those players earn a point. The twist, however, is that before selecting a symbol, each player has to shuffle those 6 cards and exclude 2 of them to be put in front where everyone can see what is not available to them; giving things a more tactical layer. For example, there was something extremely green on the picture and I was the only person who didn't have their red/green card available... so everyone conspired to fuck me over that turn. However, because of how you "share" victories as the majority each turn, it meant 3 of us all won while the game owner lost. Firefly Adventures This is a tricky one. It's from the people who designed such great games as the original Firefly: The Board Game, Spartacus, Homeland and Sons of Anarchy and it's equally ambitious but also hamstrung by its terrible rulebook (like the original Firefly). Firstly, there's something neat about how it packs away with the buildings arranged neatly in the box as compartments. I also quite like the graphic design as I did on the original Firefly game and I think the artwork is a lot nicer than seeing photos again (or the god awful Legendary art). I think that was done in aid of expanding upon what was in the show and film without being tied down to existing assets. And the style of game itself is cool. There are 4 missions with this base game (more in expansions and online in future) with varying objectives but the essential feel is that of a heist. Not an action film style one (necessarily) but with a more subtle Ocean's Eleven-style approach. It's got miniatures and fighting but the other skills and equally as valid and, sometimes, more useful. See, you don't start off as a team, running in and killing all the people. In fact, the goons (collective name for the groups of thugs and cowboys) don't even care about your presence as long as you don't do anything suspicious in their line-of-sight. So, each member of the Serenity Crew (Inara and the other 3 passengers to follow in a couple of expansions) has their default skill points (actually the same set up layout as in the Firefly game) which make some of them better at fighting, talking or doing techy things. They also have various actions that cost units of time to perform. This is because there is a time limit on each job and the last person on the timeline gets the next turn. Within this, characters have two modes: Casual and Heroic. Casual means you can wander around safely, albeit a little slower and are represented by a casual grey miniature (or a very casual one). Heroic means you flip over your character card and switch to the green miniature who's usually pointing a gun or looking more active. In this mode, you can move faster, get some cooler actions and "brawl" (except for Kaylee). It's also the mode that will attract the attention of any goons who see you at the end of your turn. There are also guns for shooting people and all sorts of equipment you got in the old game, usually with the same skill points but altered effects. The uplink is useful because it lets you move goons, which is super useful if you're trying to break into somewhere without being spotted. It all sounds great and it works for the most part, but there are little niggling things that add up as you play. Even something as basic as clarifying when you've run out of time: is it as soon as the first person (Crew or Goon) reaches the end of the time track or the last Crew member? The movement rules allow diagonals but don't clarify if this is allowed across the corners of buildings (they mention it's forbidden for doorways). There are crates that can be picked up, awarding cash or equipment, but it doesn't say specifically how that works: do you have to be adjacent or on the space? Another potentially off-putting thing might be how the totality of your character's actions within a mission could feel insubstantial. Like, in our game, Kaylee got into a building, hacked a terminal (to get us some intel tokens that really helped us) while Wash got through a locked door and scored some extra cash and Jayne helped move and kill some goons while tanking the associated heat. Meanwhile, Mal got into an extended brawl in a doorway, lost and then spent the rest of the game, healing and then moving a few squares while Zoe ran round half of the edge of the map (for scenario reasons where casual crew couldn't be too close together) with the odd bit of help moving Wash (they both have actions to move each other on their turns. Cute) and healing Mal. It's also a little weird how the starting equipment works. You have a sort of shop phase where you can buy stuff to help, using your starting funds ($3k for one-off or $2k if starting a three-mission "campaign") except you only see 5 at a time (you buy and draw or reset the line for $200) and there are 40 cards in there, with only a few guns. This means that, like us, you could be sending Mal, Zoe and Jayne into a mission without a firearm only able to brawl. I mean, it's not as if you're supposed to go in itching for a fight, since you do really want to be inconspicuous... but it feels wrong. (To be fair, we could have bought Vera, but that was nearly half our funds and we prioritised better equipment for our objectives). I think the worst thing is the fiddliness because you have two options with the goons. Each has a stat and action card with a generic "Thug" or "Cowboy" version on one side and a unique version on the other (matched to the look of their miniature). However, if you use the generic versions, you could have multiples of "Thug" on the timeline so you'd have to remember which is which... but if you try and solve this by using the individual name plates, it means you have to memorise each miniature or keep flipping the cards to check who is who. And if you use the unique versions, you need to keep flipping over a card to see the default actions they perform. I'm sure, with time, it becomes easier to learn the basics and speed up gameplay but there are minor, niggling issues. Overall, I had fun, it doesn't outstay its welcome and it's just different to anything else I have. Not sure I can say the same for the person who played Mal...

Got Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition, considering it was £25.49. Will probably play that next rather than going in for more Witcher 3 right away.

This thread has some well thought out stuff on Luke in TLJ. https://twitter.com/swankmotron/status/950394363384807424

I'm working my way through Hearts of Stone since that came first. Just did the whole possessed Geralt and the wedding stuff and it's great. No "real" combat, just lots of little moments. Knocks the socks off pretty much every other RPG with its creativity, versatility and nuance. So simple yet effective; the writing really makes it.

Andy Partridge at his most McCartney I haven't really looked into it, but he was originally down to provide the music for James and the Giant Peach (before they messed him around over money) and I suspect this might have been part of that.

I've seen about it online and read a whole article. It sounds like stuff we pretty much already know from the constant leaks but that this guy says he actually has it all on tape is fuckin' hilarious.

Getting back into The Witcher 3 since I've not actually played the DLC. It's been good so far. I mean, it's stopped me feeling comfortable in combat and actually provides a bit of a challenge, which is refreshing... but it's also a pain when you die and have to wait through a long loading screen. Goddamn, Ofieri Mage...

Plus, you don't get to fan the hammer, which is the coolest thing.

From what I can remember, Max Landis was the hot new thing for a little while after Chronicle and he managed to sell Bright as a package because he wanted Will Smith and Ayer attached. He had tweeted (since deleted) that if it comes out well it could be his Star Wars... which given the mixed reception to TLJ, might be accurate. Of course, since then Landis hasn't done anything great (I think the only thing with somewhat positive reviews was Dirk Gently and even that's just been cancelled) and Ayer directed Suicide Squad. And look what happened with the director of Chronicle when he did that F4nt4stic 4our film.