Hello everyone. This week's blog may be less in-depth than the previous few. I have a lot of things on my plate right now, so I apologize if my reviews feel a bit more scattershot than usual. I hope that you can still enjoy it.
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
"BRACE YOURSELF FOR GREATNESS.
British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the Cold War during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one."(From Letterboxd)
This is not the average 60's spy movie. Based on the novel of the same name by John le Carre, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold serves as the direct antithesis to the popular James Bond franchise. Instead of treating spies like superheroes, this film takes a grounded and bleak look into the world of a cold war spy. Instead of the rich color palette of the Bond films, this film completely cuts out color to symbolize the darker tale.
Every actor brings their character to life in an incredibly believable way. Especially Richard Burton who does an incredible job as Alec Leamas(the spy). You can read his entire life story by just looking at his face. He doesn't feel like an actor at all. His character is so believable that it feels like he is a real person.
The cinematography is also incredible. The most notable example of this is the fantastic opening shot which slowly flies around and above the Berlin Wall. That type of grandeur is present throughout the whole film and adds to the sense of tension between the East and West.
My biggest complaint with this film is how long it takes to get to the main plot of the film. The opening 40 minutes were alright, but I would have preferred a slightly faster pace.
A fantastic and bleak spy film that continues to hold up despite its age.
Score: 9/10
Mandalorian Season 3
A surprisingly strong conclusion to a weak first half. I was pleasantly surprised by the final four episodes of what I thought was going to be an ultimately lackluster season. Spoilers coming up (Obviously).
I have already made my thoughts on the first four episodes in a previous blog post, so I won't repeat myself here.
These last four episodes were(for the most part) much better than the lackluster start of the season. The only one that still wasn't too great was episode 5. It felt very low stakes and I did not care about the plot of the episode at all. The pirates are boring and bland villains. Although the reveal at the end showing that some kind of Mandalorian group broke Moff Gideon out of prison was interesting.
Episode 6 is similarly low stakes but is ultimately more interesting than the boring plot of episode 5. Bo Katan and Din travel to Plazir-15 where they are trying to recruit her former comrades now being led by Axe Woves. The appearance of Jack Black and Lizzo was pretty distracting, but comical enough to get a chuckle out of me. The mystery of the episode is pretty nonexistent though with the only candidate being the guy in control of the security systems. I knew from the second they showed Christopher Lloyd, that it was probably going to be him. Bo Katan taking back the Darksaber and leading her people was very satisfying.
In episode seven we finally get to see Giancarlo's Moff Gideon again. I still have no clue why they didn't have him be a constant threat throughout the season. I think a constant central antagonist would have made the season feel more important. Bo continues to be the real main character of this season as she begins the retaking of Mandalore. Paz Visla goes out in a fantastic blaze of glory as he tries and ultimately fails to hold back the tide of both Imperial Mandalorians and Praetorian Guards. Definitely one of the best scenes this season. I also think that Moff Gideon's suit is simultaneously very goofy, but also very cool.
Episode eight was definitely the highlight of this season with tons of exciting action throughout. It was a very good-looking episode with quality practical and video effects throughout. Good character moments for Bo and Din also. I like how both of them are portrayed as equals as they both take on and defeat Moff Gideon. I also like how the Darksaber is destroyed and how that represents the new era of Mandalore that is soon to come. An overall great finale for the show. It also wraps
I enjoyed the continued focus on Bo Katan. This season has really been her show for the most part, and if they tweaked the season a bit, it could have easily been a spinoff of The Mandalorian. Her character has really grown on me over the past season. Katee Sackhoff does a great job portraying the troubled character of Bo Katan.
I also very much enjoyed how this show is setting up Grand Admiral Thrawn as he is my favorite Star Wars character. I really hope they do him justice in Ahsoka later this year.
Despite a strong final few episodes, I cannot give this show too high of a rating.
Score: 6.5/10
Thrawn Tangent
Sorry for the tangent, but I really wanted to talk about Thrawn. As I said earlier, Thrawn is my favorite Star Wars character. He has been my favorite Star Wars character ever since he was reintroduced into the main canon back in Star Wars Rebels. I've read the recent book trilogy and I loved all of them. Thrawn is such an interesting character to me. His ascension to Grand Admiral was rightfully earned despite all of the racism and other struggles facing him from within the Empire. He's competent, resilient, and determined to accomplish his goals. He isn't really a bad guy either.
He's definitely an antagonist, but he isn't evil. He treats both his comrades in the Empire and his enemies with great respect, unlike other Imperial warlords. I also really like how he isn't completely loyal to the Empire. In fact, the only reason he is in the Empire at all is that it directly benefits his own race, The Chiss. He is shown clashing with other warlords and even Palpatine at multiple points throughout the series. This dynamic introduced in the books makes Thrawn more of an antihero than a strict villain. I am really excited to see Thrawn in the upcoming Ahsoka series.
Vampire Survivors
"Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you."(From Steam Store Page)
Vampire Survivors takes large inspiration from Castlevania. Not so much in the gameplay, but definitely in the weapons and overall aesthetic of the game. I especially love the beautiful sprite work done for both the playable characters and the multitude of enemies you encounter throughout the game.
To beat those enemies, the game provides you with a menagerie of weapons and treasures to collect. Each gives a unique attack or buff to your character. You got whips, crosses, axes, holy water, and a whole bunch of other weapons and treasures to play around with. The coolest part about the weapons is the synergies that all of them have. Each weapon has a synergy with a specific treasure. When you have both in your inventory, they combine into a new, devastating weapon that completely destroys all enemies on screen.
The game has an insane amount of replayability with endless possibilities to combine different characters, weapons, treasures, and synergies.
And the best part is that it only costs $5. Even if that's still too much for you, there is an excellent FREE mobile port if you really can't spend $5.
My biggest complaint is that each run/level takes 30 minutes to complete. Every time I play the game, it feels like each run goes on for a bit too long. I think a 20 or 25-minute run would be better suited for this kind of game.
The amount of dopamine I get from this game is honestly quite addicting and quite concerning at the same time.
Score 9/10
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