Catch Up Day
Spent today catching up on my movie viewing. This is a bit tangential, so it's behind a cut.
I had several DVD's backed up on my waiting list and my wife's out of town for the day, so I set aside today for clearing out my To Watch stack.
First was Disc 8 of Moribito, an anime based on a novel by the same name. This was the conclusion of the story told in the first novel, which was a bit sad, as I liked all the characters and the story. On the other hand, it was good to see an anime finish the story and not attempt to keep milking the money cow. The artwork for the entire series was excellent and the dialog is good. Time very well spent.
Second was the movie Push. I never saw it in the theaters but was interested in seeing it. Additionally, my wife recommended it as source for my superhero game. It was very comic book-y, in a good way. There were some pacing issues in a few spots, mostly the "time passes" spots. There are some overall plot issues, but I enjoyed the movie overall. There are some interesting ideas I can use for psychics or at least a category of psychics in my game. 4 of 5's character may have a more "interesting time as a result.
After a food break, we (a friend over for movie watching) then watched Inglorious Basterds. It was everything I expected from a Tarantino movie. There were some points that felt slow or pointlessly long until later in the movie when it was revealed why they were done that way (the opening scene is typical), but that is part of Tarantino's style, and I'm good with it. There were two points in the movie where I thought it was unnecessary to show what they did (attack of the Bear Jew and the final carving). It was a good intense film though, where I was regularly wondering how things were going to play out.
After THAT, I was a bit TV'd out, so we played a couple games of Pandemic (won both, but the second was down to the last Player Card). Two player has a different dynamic than three or four player. The roles are critical and we "cheated" by always going with the Healer and the Dispatcher. I think you could switch out the Dispatcher for the Contractor (the guy who can drop Research Labs), but other than that, the game becomes impossible to win. I still enjoy playing this game a lot and will do so every chance I get. The collaborative problem solving is fun and even when you lose against the game, there is good discussion about what we want to try NEXT time.
That's about it for now - Later!
I had several DVD's backed up on my waiting list and my wife's out of town for the day, so I set aside today for clearing out my To Watch stack.
First was Disc 8 of Moribito, an anime based on a novel by the same name. This was the conclusion of the story told in the first novel, which was a bit sad, as I liked all the characters and the story. On the other hand, it was good to see an anime finish the story and not attempt to keep milking the money cow. The artwork for the entire series was excellent and the dialog is good. Time very well spent.
Second was the movie Push. I never saw it in the theaters but was interested in seeing it. Additionally, my wife recommended it as source for my superhero game. It was very comic book-y, in a good way. There were some pacing issues in a few spots, mostly the "time passes" spots. There are some overall plot issues, but I enjoyed the movie overall. There are some interesting ideas I can use for psychics or at least a category of psychics in my game. 4 of 5's character may have a more "interesting time as a result.
After a food break, we (a friend over for movie watching) then watched Inglorious Basterds. It was everything I expected from a Tarantino movie. There were some points that felt slow or pointlessly long until later in the movie when it was revealed why they were done that way (the opening scene is typical), but that is part of Tarantino's style, and I'm good with it. There were two points in the movie where I thought it was unnecessary to show what they did (attack of the Bear Jew and the final carving). It was a good intense film though, where I was regularly wondering how things were going to play out.
After THAT, I was a bit TV'd out, so we played a couple games of Pandemic (won both, but the second was down to the last Player Card). Two player has a different dynamic than three or four player. The roles are critical and we "cheated" by always going with the Healer and the Dispatcher. I think you could switch out the Dispatcher for the Contractor (the guy who can drop Research Labs), but other than that, the game becomes impossible to win. I still enjoy playing this game a lot and will do so every chance I get. The collaborative problem solving is fun and even when you lose against the game, there is good discussion about what we want to try NEXT time.
That's about it for now - Later!