This one made the usual rounds on the awards circuit and was highly praised by Tyler Cowen on Marginal Revolution. It’s interesting to note that its rating on Rotten Tomatoes however is decidedly average. After watching it, it’s easy to understand why as its flaws are obvious. Still I found this to be incredibly engaging and authentic film and think that most critics are underrating it.
Hopefully this marks the start of a return to my usual posting schedule. Behind the Sun is another film by director Walter Salles, whose Central Station we watched only recently. They must have been part of a crop of South American works that my wife added to our list all at once. Interestingly, this one is based on a novel by an Albanian writer who set it in Albania. I guess Salles must have decided to adapt it for his native Brazil instead.
Like everyone else, my usual routines have been severely disrupted by the Chinese New Year holiday season. As far as I can tell, interesting science news is down this month as well as there are few really noteworthy announcements. The ones that I read this month probably belong more in the entertaining and sensational science news category.
As I’ve previously mentioned, there seems to be a string of good films coming out of New Zealand recently though their industry is still small enough that you quickly recognize the same familiar faces and names. Due to its title and it being directed by Taika Waititi, I honestly thought that this was another horror film. It turns out to be an adventure film with a heavy dose of humor.
Director Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation and About Elly are two of the best dramas I’ve watched in recent years. As such it was with some anticipation that I watched this, though it isn’t as notable as the previous two films. It’s also different in that it’s set in France and has a cast with a broad range of nationalities.
Yeah, so the only reason I would ever play this is because it was included as part of the bundle of narrative games and I’m still a completionist at heart. That’s a good enough reason for me to avoid buying those huge bundles. This one is a traditional adventure game with an original setting and production values that are meant to evoke the 8-bit era. I don’t much care for the nostalgic value of this style but I guess it does help keep their costs down.
We haven’t seen much of Dustin Hoffman in recent years but he was once considered one of the greatest actors in the world. This one was made even in his career shortly after the success of The Graduate and there’s even a scene here that obvious references in. Little Big Man counts as a Western but it’s not like any other Western I’ve ever watched and I believe it’s one of the earliest instances of revisionist films that are critical of the US government’s treatment of Native Americans.