Lunacid

Kira

Video Game

A great dungeon crawler in the real time tradition of, I’m told, King’s Field. The atmosphere in some of these places – notably the castle and catacombs – is really impressive and I’m really not one to gush about atmosphere, including some moments of horror that work significantly better than those in the dedicated horror title Lost in Vivo by the same dev. While the aesthetic is appealing, I really do love low poly stylings, some parts of it kind of grated like the dither filter that left a very clear pattern all over the screen, but that’s a nitpick and I know it. Only other complaint would be the rather sponge-y bosses but there are worse things. Well worth checking out.

Little Women

Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig, Based on the Novel “Little Women” by Lousia May Alcott

Film

A smart, slick reimagination with the paratext of the original story nicely wrapped into the narrative. The strengths of the book shine through, the sweet ensemble of the little family and their associates is preserved, but presented in a more complicated way to maintain pacing. The proto-feministic messaging of the original is expanded drastically and taken to the furthest extreme that could feasibly be done while retaining the core narrative. There is an argument to be had over if the inclusion of the paratextual elements can justify the “having-your-cake-and-eating-it” ending and while I think Gerwig pulls it off here very well, it would go far overboard in Barbie. Great adaptation for the modern times of a great book. Possibly even worth bumping up to a 9.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Directed by Chunk Jones and Ben Washam, Writen by Dr. Seuss, Irv Spector, and Bob Ogle

Short Film

A yearly watch for my family on Christmas Eve, and we love it every time. It’s perfect for what it is, and I hope it never loses its charm.

And with that we have reached the 50th daily media log from me! This has been both a wonderful and horrid experience, as forcing me to better reflect on media I engage with is something I should’ve been doing for a long time, but also it has been draining to force myself to write things when I’m dead-tired or just have nothign to say. This is why I am going to be moving to a end of the week round up model, with detail similar to the start of this venture – I know it declined massively over time – if I have stuff to say, and just an indicator if I don’t. First one will come out on the 31st, then every sunday afterwards.

I don’t expect, or even to a certain extent want, people to read these but if anyone did then thank you. I’m not the best at writing even when I know definitively what I think, and putting conflicted ones into words is even harder. It might have gotten slightly better here but who knows.