Welcome back, readers. This week we return to our normal schedule of 3 different reviews. I hope you enjoy them!
Loving Vincent
"The film brings the paintings of Vincent van Gogh to life to tell his remarkable story. Every one of the 65,000 frames of the film is an oil-painting hand-painted by 125 professional oil-painters who traveled from all across the world to the Loving Vincent studios in Poland and Greece to be a part of the production. As remarkable as Vincent’s brilliant paintings are his passionate and ill-fated life and mysterious death."(From Letterboxd)
Loving Vincent is a visually beautiful film. Its incredibly impressive rotoscoped animation is unlike any other animated film I have ever seen. It cannot be understated that this film is a technical marvel and something that should be celebrated. The film is an embodiment of the phrase, "Every frame a painting".
Its story is somewhat interesting as it doesn't focus on Van Gogh's life, but rather on the aftermath of his death. The film follows the son of one of Van Gogh's friends as he tries to uncover what happened to Van Gogh. The son takes the role of a sort of detective as he tries to figure out the mystery of Van Gogh.
The film also progresses in a way that didn't work for me. For pretty much the entire movie, the son goes around town and asks people questions about Van Gogh. It feels like the movie is far more concerned with Van Gogh's death rather than the legacy of his art that this film is imitating.
Although the film does not give a definitive answer to what happened to Van Gogh. I found it to be a proper way to end the film.
Despite a weak story, this film manages to stand out from all other animated films due to its wholly unique and beautiful art.
Score: 7/10
Paranoia Agent
"Seemingly unconnected citizens of Tokyo are targeted for bludgeoning by a boy with a golden baseball bat. As detectives try to link the victims, they discover that following the assaults, the victims' lives have improved in some way."(From IMDB)
Today marks the day I finished a particular film goal that I have been working towards for the past month. The goal was to watch every Satoshi Kon film. I can now say that Satoshi Kon is my favorite director of all time. Every single film directed by him is a masterpiece. It's a shame he died tragically from pancreatic cancer at only 46 years of age.
The synopsis above doesn't really do this series justice. Paranoia Agent is a horror show like no other. Each episode focuses on a different victim of Shounen Bat(the boy with the golden baseball bat). Each character has their own personal or psychological problems that they are attempting to work through. This setup is endlessly engaging and you will be on the edge of your seat as you watch the mystery unfold. All of the characters are incredibly compelling, despite most of them only getting a single episode dedicated to them.
The soundtrack of this show is also stellar. The opening credits of the show are incredibly eerie with an upbeat and happy tone, but chilling lyrics. The song combined with the eerie visuals of the victims laughing maniacally as the city around them is decimated make for an incredibly memorable start to every episode. The music throughout the show also echoes the eerie tone. Especially Shounen Bat's theme which filled me with dread every time it played.
Instead of focusing on traditional fears found in horror, Paranoia Agent focuses on fear in the mundane and psychological issues in life. The horror of the show. is found in those real issues that many people face. Issues like bullying, abuse, and mental illness. These issues manifest themselves in vivid fantasy sequences that are a staple of any Kon-directed work.
Similar to Kon's other works, the show analyzes the relationship between fantasy and reality. And particularly, how fantasy and escapism are used to cope with reality. This is best shown through the myth of Shounen Bat. Everyone attacked by Shounen Bat is emotionally distressed in some way. After he attacks, that distress goes away for those assaulted by him. Throughout the series, the myth of Shounen Bat grows with every attack, and he is eventually perceived as a sort of liberator who gets rid of people's problems. People begin calling on him to save them from whatever is troubling them in the real world. People use him as a coping mechanism for their own problems. The myth becomes a collective fantasy that grows so strong, that it begins to manifest in the real world of the show. The other examples of coping through fantasy would require me to spoil major parts of the series so I won't reveal them here. You'll just have to watch the show yourself.
This analysis of how people cope with reality using fantasy was endlessly fascinating to me as I also use fantasy(in the form of entertainment such as film and video games) to escape from my own reality. We all need to escape from reality at some point in our lives. However, the show reminds us that we can't become obsessed with fantasy. It shows the consequences of relying on fantasy as a crutch to get us through life.
My biggest problem with this series is episode 9. Most episodes focus on one victim except for episode 9 which feels rather odd compared to the rest of the series. It feels the most like a filler story. In it, a group of housewives shares various, and likely fake stories about Shounen Bat and how he affected people close to them. I think the reason this episode feels out of place is that every other episode shows how the myth of Shounen Bat spreads while also focusing on how he affects a singular character. However, the episode does still tie into the rest of the series' themes so it's not that bad.
I honestly don't want to say too much about the series. It's best to go into it blind. All day, I've attempted to think of ways to describe what I loved about the show, but I don't think any of my words here will do this series justice. It's a show that begs to be analyzed in every way and I simply do not have the writing ability to describe everything great about it.
Score 10/10
Metal Hellsinger
"Slay to the rhythm of metal and vengeance on an infernal journey through the eight Hells. Make them fear the beat. Metal: Hellsinger is a rhythm FPS bursting with demons, badass weapons, and heavy metal music." (From Steam Store Page)
This was my favorite game from last year. Metal Hellsinger is essentially Doom(2016) crossed with a rhythm Toder to fire your guns, you need to shoot and reload the beats of the songs. Such a unique concept for a rhythm game, although it is not the first time this style of game has been made. The first was B.P.M. Bullets Per Minute which is also great. I love rhythm games and Doom(2016) and Doom Eternal are some of my favorite FPS games, so it's almost like this game was specifically made for me.
Of course, any good rhythm game needs a good soundtrack, and this game doesn't disappoint. The soundtrack for this game is filled with banger metal tracks from iconic artists such as Matt Heavy(Trivium) and Serj Tankian(System of a Down). Every track is fantastically mixed and adds so much to the game's energy and vibe. Although, I may have to dock points from my final score because the soundtrack is still not on Spotify after 7 months.
The story of the game is the weakest part of the game. It's perfectly serviceable, but it doesn't stick with me at all.
The game is very short clocking at about 5 hours to beat the main story. However, I think its short length is perfect for this type of game. If the game were any longer, it would have not been as good. Think of the game more as an interactive metal album, and the length feels very generous.
Even with its short length, the game is very replayable. The main reason to replay levels is to increase your score. You do this by staying on rhythm and not getting hit by enemies. This simple setup is incredibly addicting and has kept me interested since the release of the game.
Metal Hellsinger is a great game and one that I plan on replaying over and over again to increase my personal best score.
Score 9/10
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