July 2020 - Media Binge

In July of 2020, I played the following:

Gentes: Deluxified Edition (2)	Lewis & Clark: The Expedition (2)	Monster Slaughter (2)	Roll For It! Deluxe Edition (2)	The Shipwreck Arcana (2)	Bohnanza (1)
The Castles of Burgundy (1)	Chronicles of Crime (1)	The Godfather: Corleone's Empire (1)	Junk Art (1)	Just One (1)	Love Letter (1)
Murano (1)	Sagrada (1)	Star Realms (1)	Takenoko (1)	Trajan (1)	Ubongo (1)

This Month's Winners

Monster Slaughter - Honorable Mention This game is dripping with theme, flipping the typical horror film on its head with each player taking control of their own family of monsters (e.g., zombies, vampires, werewolves, aliens, etc.) with the common goal of eliminating all of teenagers found partying in a cabin in the woods before dawn! This game features a beautiful 3D board in which the box functions as the 4 walls of the cabin, equipped with removable doors, dividing walls, and tons of miniatures. I backed this game on Kickstarter; thus, my copy has a ton of extra content, including additional characters that function as "surprise guests" that aid or replace the teenagers in the cabin, such as parodies of: Ripley (Aliens), Machete (Robert Rodriguez Grind House Films), Mulder & Scully, Ash (Evil Dead), Buffy (Vampire Slayer), Doc Brown (Back to the Future), mash-ups of Critters and Gremlins (a.k.a. Crittlins), and so much more! In addition to your common goal of total elimination, players try to predict the death order of each teenager, arranging their character tokens in secret before placing a target token on one of them (i.e. marking that teen as their "favorite food"). Play weapon cards out of turn order to help teens survive encounters with your opponents in an effort to help control death order in your favor! I still think this game is a ton of fun but I've noticed that you need the right group of players for it to shine.

Sagrada - 3rd Place This is one of those games I backed on Kickstarter based strictly on the way it looked on the table. My wife and I were delighted to find this game to be an excellent mix of dice drafting and visual-spatial puzzles in which you collect and place dice following a simple set of placement rules (i.e. no same-numbers or colors directly adjacent and die number/color values must match those printed on pattern card) while also trying to maximize bonus point objectives that vary from game to game (e.g., score points equal to all pips on dice of a specific color, score 5 points per row/column with no repeating colors/numbers, etc.). This game can prove to be a bit challenging for players the first time through; however, because this game has a set number of rounds, Sagrada's quick playtime allows for multiple plays so that new players can truly get a feel for the game. The theme is simple yet perfectly tailored to the mechanisms at play. On your turn, you select a die from those randomly drawn/rolled to be added to your grid, contributing to the construction of a vibrant, colorful, stained glass window. Solo modes are something I rarely explore in games; however, this game has an EXCELLENT set of solo game rules that makes it one of my favorite games to play alone. Check this one out if you're a fan of abstract puzzles and/or colorful dice!

Lewis & Clark: The Expedition - 2nd Place This game marries a few mechanisms in an interesting way that creates an excellent race-style game as players recruit specialists to aid in their journey up river to Fort Clatsop. Specialists are represented by cards that are added to your hand where all cards are accessible to you on your turn. When taking actions, cards can be used in multiple ways: (a) as support to "charge/power" other action cards (allowing you to take an action 1-3 times based on strength of charge), (b) as tools to acquire new specialists, and/or (c) as actions for which you can use other cards and native American tokens to support the strength of the action. The theme of this game is not the most interesting to me personally; however, the mechanisms it employs have warranted repeat plays in our house. I would only recommend this game to board game hobbyists or history enthusiasts with a tolerance for a moderately dense rulebook.

Chronicles of Crime - 1st Place This game does so many things right with regards to creating a cooperative, deduction-based experience. I was primarily interested in the fact that this game utilizes a deck of character cards, featuring nothing but a portrait and a QR code. These cards, in combination with the free app, provide endless possibilities for new character identities, backstories, and motives dictated by the mystery scenario you select on the app. This game's use of an app makes it somewhat divisive in the board gaming community, supposedly threatening the disconnect from technology that analog tabletop games provide. However, I don't know how a game like this could work WITHOUT the use of technology. In this game, you can question suspects you uncover, explore crime scenes via virtual reality tech (i.e. 360 degree scenes visible through a smartphone, tablet, computer, TV screen, etc.), and attempt to solve the crime before time runs out (i.e. predetermined number of actions based on the scenario selected). One of the coolest things about this game is that the story builds as time passes. For example, you may have visited a crime scene early in the game. However, revisiting the scene after discovering a clue elsewhere could trigger the appearance of a new character or piece of evidence not found there before! This game tows the line between a deduction, strategy, and party game that I think makes it a perfect game for newcomers, casual gamers, and hobbyists alike!

In July of 2020, I watched the following:

Scrubs - Season 1 & 2 We started rewatching Scrubs after listening to Zach Braff and Donald Faison's podcast; Fake Doctors, Real Friends. The podcast does an awesome job of sharing behind-the-scenes details concerning each episode that gives me a new appreciation for the show. I was all about this show in the mid-2000's and can't wait to bust out my dvd collection. Scrubs had some of the coolest dvd packaging. Eaaaagle!

Guns Akimbo I was excited to see this film when I first heard about it. A guy wakes up with guns bolted to his hands who must survive being hunted for sport??? At the end of the day, this film was fine. It had the mayhem promised by the trailer but the movie was more style than content. I loved the performance provided by Samara Weaving but Daniel Radcliffe had done better work in the past.

Freddy vs. Jason My wife had never seen this... gem. We turned it on one night as we were going to bed. She didn't make it very far into the film before she fell asleep. I lasted about an hour before I got annoyed with myself for continuing to watch. I remember reading about rumors of a versus film when I was in middle school. I had no idea it would actually happen a few years later. I probably enjoyed this film more as a teenager. It is super campy and borderline insulting in the way it spoon-feeds you the plot through narration in the opening scene.

Desperados This film happened to me thanks to my wonderful wife having control of the remote. This film was painful to get through and gave me a STRONG Hallmark/Lifetime vibe. If you love films where the female protagonist throws herself into awful/humiliating situations with the hopes of preserving her first impression with a guy while ignoring the kind-hearted, male friend that is obviously going to end up her love interest by the end of the film then... this is your jam. I truly don't understand why movies like this get made. The writer can't possibly have felt like they had something important to say with this film. I can't recommend avoiding this film enough... unless you'd like to see a woman get turkey-slapped by a Dolphin. On second thought... this one may be worth a fast-forward just for that scene.

Palm Springs I have liked Andy Samberg since college. I was surprised to see how reserved he was in this role. The real star of this film is Cristin Milioti; she does an awesome job complimenting Samberg's range of chaos and comedy. This film is a bit like Groundhog's Day or Happy Death Day. If you like that type of film or just want a light, sci-fi comedy, check this out!

Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! I stumbled across this on Youtube and had no idea that it existed! This film is very different from the original Super Size Me, focusing on Morgan Spurlock's journey from acquiring a chicken farm to opening a restaurant similar to that of Chick-fil-a. This film has a super amusing ending and I highly recommend watching if you love documentaries and/or chicken sandwich chain restaurants!

Cabin in the Woods My wife and I love this film and tend to watch it once a year. This most recent viewing was inspired by a board game, Monster Slaughter, that seems to replicate the premise of this film. Cabin in the Woods is an excellent blend of horror and comedy. I recommend this film as a perfect watch on Halloween!

Norsemen: Season 3 This show is excellent. Despite its theme, the show is hilariously silly, vulgar, and violent. If you've ever been curious what it looks like to whip a scrotum in a vice with a stick... this show is for you!

Ip Man 4 I've been a fan of the Ip Man franchise despite the films showing a dip in quality with each installment. The fact that this film pales in comparison to Ip Man 3's final showdown with Mike Tyson should tell you something about it. Donnie Yen is excellent as Grand Master Ip Man, the man known for training Bruce Lee. If you like martial arts films, check these films out!

The Rental This was one of the few films that we've seen in theaters since the pandemic hit. The Rental is the directorial debut of Dave Franco and has a pretty awesome cast, including: Alison Brie (Glow), Jeremy Allen White (Shameless), and Dan Stevens (The Guest). Throughout the film, I tried to predict the end of the film several times. What ends up happening was not entirely satisfying but I understand the feeling of paranoia that Franco was trying to achieve. If you frequently stay at Air B&B's, this may be a film you want to avoid. If you don't scare easily though... check it out!

The Wrong Missy I haven't really liked David Spade since his days as Joe Dirt but this film restored my faith in him. The Wrong Missy follows a similar formula to other Happy Madison films with the main protagonist attracting the attention of the woman of their dreams with an inevitable vacation to a tropical location. David Spade was fine in the film but this is Lauren Lapkus' film. She is insane as THE wrong Missy. There is a fair amount of cringe in this film and it 100% has the same tropes I mentioned being present in Hallmark/Lifetime films. Maybe I just identify with this film more than I did with Desperados. Either way, this film is a fine way to waste a Sunday afternoon.

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

The Sandman Omnibus: Volume 2 Finishing the first omnibus in this series was quite an accomplishment for me. These books are enormous, 1000+ page books that weigh in at about 7lbs each! The Sandman was my first exposure to Neil Gaiman's work so I was not sure what to expect. This story follows Morpheus a.k.a Dream a.k.a The Sandman; one of many immortal elder gods who has dominion over the dreaming world all living creatures. These books have an overarching story that often seems to take a backseat to countless short stories that involve Morpheus in one way or another. As I've currently finished 1/3 of Volume 2, this form of storytelling has not changed. I am committed to finishing the series but I'm not sure that I'll hold onto these books longterm. I found myself more entertained by Neil Gaiman's American Gods Volume 1 and plan on reading the 2nd volume next month!

Rising Rebels I backed this comic on Kickstarter based on the promise of some pretty gnarly imagery. This comic delivers that in spades. I would have liked the book to be a bit longer; however, it kept a nice pace and did something interesting with a meta angle in which Rising Rebels focuses on a father and son starting to watch an old VHS tape of the same name; the film is about a Louisiana spirit that rises from the swamp as an amalgamation of dead bodies, swamp critters, and plants (think Swamp Thing meets The Thing). This book was so good that I read the entire thing in one sitting. Every page was full of vibrant illustrations and intense gore with a voodoo revenge theme. I would welcome further installments as this book for sure!

The Punisher - In The Beginning I had read that Garth Ennis' take on The Punisher was excellent and, while I don't really care much for the character, I love me some Garth Ennis! This first book focuses on an older Punisher in his 50's. Having lost his entire family in a violent shoot out, we find the Punisher years later after the extermination of everyone and anyone involved with his family's murder. The Punisher is now at war with mafia families, hired mercenaries, and an overbearing CIA threatening to put him down for good. This book is plenty violent but also has a fair amount of heart behind the writing. The Punisher reminds me of another Garth Ennis character, Billy Butcher of The Boys; a man in a perpetual war because he has nothing left to live for but carnage. I am very excited to continue reading this series and thankful that I was able to obtain the entire 13-volume set roughly 16 years after its initial publication!

Crossed: Volume 1 I discovered this series during a random Google search for Garth Ennis' Punisher series. I found a frame from the comic of a hulking redneck with a cross-shaped rash on his face, swinging a severed horse penis at a frightened man. I had to know what this was! I was super excited to find reviews for the series claiming that this was Garth Ennis' most insane work to date. This first book did not disappoint! I have said that this book makes The Walking Dead look like a Disney production. It centers on a small group of survivors in the midst of some sort of virus outbreak that spreads via the exchange of bodily fluids, turning individuals into crazy, cannibal rapist... yeah. Unlike traditional zombie stories, these infected individuals seemingly retain their intelligence and past memories, acting on the most depraved and vulgar impulses imaginable. It gets pretty gnarly in this first book. I would never recommend this book to anyone unless I knew they'd enjoyed other works by Garth Ennis; however, I absolutely loved this first book and have already added the 20+ books from this series to my Amazon wishlist!