August 2020 - Media Binge

In August of 2020, I played the following:

Santorini (3)	7 Wonders Duel (2)	Dingo's Dreams (2)	Loot of Lima (2)	Mansions of Madness: Second Edition (2)	Menara (2)
Tuki (2)	The Voyages of Marco Polo (2)	Calico (1)	Deep Vents (1)	Everdell (1)	Foodies (1)
Imagine (1)	Lewis & Clark: The Expedition (1)	Saboteur: The Mother Lode Bonus Pack (1)	Sonora (1)	Survive: Escape from Atlantis! (1)	Sushi Roll (1)

This Month's Winners

Menara - Honorable Mention This is a game that I first okayed while my wife and I were on a board game-themed cruise to Alaska (BGG@Sea). I played with an older couple late at night and may have been dealing with some sea sickness at the time because I did NOT enjoy myself. However, my game group tends to enjoy dexterity games so I wanted to give this another shot. This game's cover is a pretty perfect depiction of the way the game looks after a successful play. You and your teammates take turns placing wooden pillars and adding platform tiles, building a temple multiple stories tall in hopes of achieving your objective until the pillars or platforms run out. For anyone who likes cooperative party games, this is a bit like extreme Jenga in reverse. Check it out!

Santorini - 3rd Place I love Santorini so much! I own a few copies of this game and always like to show it off because of its beautiful production quality and simplicity of rules. You move your builders around on a grid, adding building pieces around you in an attempt to be the first to land your worker on the 3rd story of a building. This game was designed by an educator and can be played with or without advanced hero and god cards that grant each player a unique ability for the duration of the game. It is so easy to teach, you can dump it on the table and begin playing within 30 seconds!

Calico - 2nd Place I backed this game on Kickstarter with a friend (shout out to Daniel Isom) with the plan to surprise my wife with a copy at Christmas. Unfortunately, Dan publicly announced that I had bought a copy during a game day so... now it's on our shelf a few months early! This game is deceptively thinky for a game about drafting quilt tiles and adding them to your quilt in hopes of attracting different cat tokens (worth various #s of points). If you love quilts, cats, or pattern building; check this out!

Sonora - 1st Place Sonora is a game for which I was almost a part of play testing before it was published. I remember building the prototype only to find that the publisher was going to expect us to recreate the prototype multiple times; thus, I gave up... This is the first game of its type, described as a "flick and write" game in which you flick numbered discs of your color onto a board. These discs are then used to mark your personal dry-erase board and score points based on where they land and the #'s printed on them. The artwork is simple but stylistic, the rule set is fairly easy to grasp quickly, and the potential for scoring combos is soooo satisfying. I anticipate this game inspiring a ton of new design ideas in the future. I can't wait to show this game to more people!

In August of 2020, I watched the following:

Velvet Buzzsaw This film is about the art of a recently deceased artist that is seemingly haunted, killing other people in a variety of ways similar to the fates suffered by characters in the film Final Destination. Most of this film felt very much like a "made for TV" film. I had always wondered why this film came and went without much buzz (pun intended) and I think it boils down to a lack of interesting ideas. I can't recommend anyone see this film... ever.

Love on the Spectrum This Netflix mini-series was excellent, following a group of people on the autism spectrum, living in Australia, and looking for love. The show helps to highlight the endearing qualities of each person involved as well as the unique challenges they face in their pursuit of meaningful connections with other people. This series is far too short but it ends in the most perfect way. I highly recommend this as well as a the "where are they know" short on Youtube.

The Pianist My wife had never seen this film in total so we decided to stream it one morning. This film follows a young musician who is separated from his family during the Nazi occupation. There is a scene involving a canned vegetable has stuck with me for years and it hit just as hard during this most recent viewing. This is certainly not a "feel good" film but, then again, I enjoy a good dose of crippling sadness in my films!

Candyman I had never seen this film but heard so much about how scary and socially relevant this film was; however, I just... didn't get it. I did some research after watching this film and discovered that the true name and back story of the Candyman was created by the actor who played him, Tony Todd. To find out that these elements were discarded or heavily altered by filmmakers in future sequels makes me feel like the film's message is a bit fluid and less impactful. At its core, Candyman is about respecting the lore surrounding a distinguished black painter who was tortured and killed for his secret relationship with a white woman. For whatever reason, people can someone this man's ghost when they say his name 5 times in front of a mirror; at which point, Candyman murders his summoner because... ... ...? What's stranger is Candyman's catch phrase (i.e. "Be my victim."). I don't quite understand why he says this. Is he asking? While I have low expectations, I'm still looking forward to the upcoming spiritual sequel, Candyman.

Indian Matchmaking: Season 1 This was an interesting look into the cultural traditions of Indian families. I was completely unaware of the relevance that astronomy in their culture! While I enjoyed watching how the various people approach finding their life partner, I don't think I could watch another season of this. It felt a bit like House Hunters with some people coming off as superficial and just downright obnoxious.

The Last Dance I was a huge Michael Jordan fan in the late 90's. This was an excellent documentary series concerning the rise to fame and hardships experienced by Jordan and his teammates. This series was very nostalgic for me, reminding of me films like Space Jam and Double Team that stuck with me over 20 years later. Watching this series made me think to myself, "Maybe I should watch basketball sometime." It's just unfortunate to have this thought occur to me during a pandemic where the NBA is at a standstill... If you ever had an affinity for Michael Jordan and/or the Chicago Bulls, please check out this series!

Project Power This film has an interesting premise, following a man (Jamie Foxx) looking for his abducted daughter in a city under the influence of a powerful drug that gives its user random super powers for 5 minutes at a time. Sometimes, these powers are fatal to the user so there are some entertaining scenes concerning the effects of the drug. I think this film could have been a much better mini-series, giving more time to flesh out the underworld dealing in this drug and the longterm implications of it being abused by both criminals and law enforcement. This film is fine and I would recommend it for a lazy Sunday watch.

Brittany Runs a Marathon My wife and I saw this film in theaters last year and really enjoyed it. Having recently started eating better and exercising more, we watched this film as a bit of a confidence boost. Jillian Bell is absolutely adorable and hilarious as Brittany, a woman with poor self-esteem who decides to turn her life around after meeting a few new friends with the shared goal of running a marathon. This film isn't perfect but there is a lot to love and I will watch this film anytime!

All Nighter This was a "it's late and we need something to turn on as we fall asleep" selection one night. I had every intention of sleeping through this film but I found myself invested in the chemistry between Simmons and Hirsch. The films focuses on Hirsch's character, a down-on-his-luck musician who is confronted by the father of his ex-girlfriend (played by Simmons) when his ex goes missing. The films follows the duo through a night filled with awkward confrontations as they try to find this woman. I had fun watching this one and think it's worth a lazy Sunday viewing as well.

Unhinged My wife and I went to see this in theaters during its opening weekend. It feels nice to say that more and more after so many months living with the pandemic. We were 2 of 4 people in the theater so, thankfully, there was not a huge threat of exposure. This film was pretty entertaining with Russel Crowe really leaning into the role of a crazy violent person with nothing to lose, hellbent on teaching an aggressive drive a lesson. At first, I expected this film to be similar to something like Falling Down; however, this film brings a level of cruelty and gore that allows it to tiptoe the line between thriller and horror film. I probably wouldn't recommend others spend their money on a theater ticket to see this film but I can strongly recommend this film as stream worthy!

The Lodge I streamed this film while painting one afternoon, having heard disappointing reviews about the film months ago. This film centers on two children who lose their mother to suicide following a lengthy separation with her husband. Following the death of their mother, the children are taken to a lodge in the snowy countryside where they have to stay with their father's girlfriend while the father completes some work obligations. It is revealed early on that the girlfriend is the sole survivor of a religious cult who, coincidentally, committed a mass suicide. While this film has a few twists and turns, I don't think that it really hit its mark. If ever there was a film made on a small budget for the sake of turning a profit, it would be something like this. Sadly, I can't recommend this film.

1BR This film centers on a young woman who moves into a seemingly perfect apartment complex only to find that the other residents are part of a cult with a particularly harsh initiation process and code of conduct. I was pleasantly surprised by this film and thought that it felt a bit like an episode of Black Mirror. The ending was particularly satisfying, suggesting a much bigger issue than the self-contained, almost claustrophobic atmosphere that this film creates. If you have Netflix, this is worth check out!

Dragged Across Concrete This film follows the desperate attempts of 2 suspended cops (played by Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn) to escape their own circumstances through criminal means. The dialogue is a bit too stylized as if the writer was attempting to be the next Tarantino; however, you get just enough of character development to care about the characters involved. This is your typical stakeout/shootout kind of film. If that's of interest, I'd recommend checking it out.

Love Life My wife started this series and I found myself hooked immediately. The show follows a young woman (played by Anna Kendrick) through her various relationships with men, female friends, and family members. I really enjoyed the way each episode was framed as a different relationship at different points in her adult life with short jumps in time that invites viewers to "catch up" on the things that have happened since last she was seen. I worry that this series was cut short with a finale that essentially tells you her "happy ever after" situation. However, I think the format of this show works incredibly well and I would certainly be up for another season, following a different character... maybe with a male protagonist?

Cobra Kai: Season 1 I started this series back when it first aired on Youtube; however, I wasn't willing to pay for a premium subscription to Youtube so access was limited to the first 2 episodes. Fast forward 2 years and the series is now available on Netflix! The first season reintroduces viewers to The Karate Kid's Danny LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (played by William Zabka) as middle-aged men who took very different paths. LaRusso is a family man with a successful car dealership while Lawrence seems to have turned to alcohol as a means to cope with demons from his past. These two characters inevitably run into each other, stoking their childhood rivalry. Interestingly enough, the show does an excellent job of building sympathy for Lawrence while portraying LaRusso as obnoxious and overly cocky. Macchio's awkward performances are a weak point in this show. He does not look comfortable, confident, or competent in the scenes requiring him to demonstrate karate. Perhaps that was always the case for him but... it's much more evident in his older age. There is one scene in particular where Macchio does a single handstand and it is pretty obvious that he is being suspended by something! So much cringe... Overall, this season was very good and really proved the benefits of storytelling in a series format vs a feature-length film. I am very excited to start Season 2!

In August of 2020, I read the following...

American Gods Vol. 2 - My Ainsel This was a pretty disappointing follow-up to an excellent first book in the American Gods series. While the first book introduced you to several interesting gods living in modern times, this book dedicated most of its narrative to the main character, Moon, hiding out in a small town under an alias (Ainsel). Having all but given up on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series, this book was further evidence that Gaiman's style of story telling just isn't for me. While I'm tempted to pick up the 3rd book in the series for completion sake, I just don't think I can do it...