I found it funny and entertaining. You can tell the animators were having fun with it, which makes a huge difference in the quality! John Mulaney’s voice feels a bit out of place, but that’s my only real criticism.
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God I love Logan’s Run.
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Yes, the “utopia is a stealth dystopia” is a great prompt to build a story out of. Other examples off the top of my head (though not my favorite movies) are The Island - which would be heady science fiction if not co-opted into a Michael Bay “hang off the building explosion-fest” and I suppose The Time Machine.
I’m surprised Logan’s Run hasn’t been remade, although I’ve heard it’s been tumbling around and I think Ken Levine even did a screenplay. The world would lend itself well to a game similar to Bioshock, Prey, or Dishonored.
I'd secretly hoped they'd do a third spiritual successor to System Shock (spoiler-ish?)
Bioshock, Bioshock Infinite, and then I suppose Bioshock Eternity which would be set on a space station and basically revisit System Shock for modern audiences with all the technology and game-design prowess of today and the magic that is SHODAN who plotted and manipulated before GlaDOS even knew what a test was. I think Levine’s upcoming “Judas” might have grown out of what the third Shock remake would have been, just outside the license.
The gimmick I inferred from the Judas trailer is that they might be casting the player in the antagonist/Atlas role who actively takes down a ‘utopia’ rather than accidentally landing in the crumbling remains later after everything has already happened.
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Some not movie content
As a random, off-topic note about System Shock. My backing of the Kickstarter for Nightdive’s remake, way back in July of 2017, is finally bearing fruit. It should be out in May. To be honest, I stopped looking at updates because the project has been so messy.
I had just gotten my student loan check, so I pledged a whopping $150.00! Truly an LMAO moment
I have been disappointed by all of Levine’s content after System Shock 2. My favorite Bioshock game is Minerva’s Den, which Levine had nothing to do with. The ending of Burial at Sea… hm.
Prey, on the other hand, wow what a game. I finished it multiple times, got the plat, probably spent 100 hours on it. Just awesome, top-shelf video games.
Signed up for a free trial of Showtime to watch Everything Everywhere All at Once. What an amazing movie. I think… it is often better to be about serious things than it is to take oneself seriously. Callie and I both got choked up at the end. I think the hype is real.
Since we have the trial, we’ve been watching Yellowjackets. Pretty good, but grim. Yikes!
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Alright, the talking cat movie was good. Honestly worth the time and a cut above most animated films marketed to kids. Enjoyed the subversion of the comic relief. The scraggly therapy dog ended up being fairly relevant thematically and emotionally, despite being set up as the Jar Jar Binks of the film.
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Speaking of animated movies, I really like Ron’s Gone Wrong.
It’s funny, and takes some swipes at kids constant exposure to social media and corporate exploitation of the same. It has a decent parody of Apple as well.
“No problem.” - Ron
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I would recommend the movie “12 Angry Men.”
It’s old, but it’s a really great film about herd mentality, looking deeper into stories instead of just blindly believing headlines, and watching people from completely different backgrounds coming together to accomplish something amazing. I’ve watched it about about three times in the last year. Definitely in my top five for best movies ever and I’m 99% sure you won’t regret watching it! (It’s basically my life’s mission to promote this movie now lol)
Btw, if you do have the time to see it, I recommend subtitles cause there’s a lot of people speaking over one another haha.
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Heh, I had a brief draft of a bunch of IF folks stuck in an elevator at a Narrascope conference arguing about how best to get out. It ended up being a bit too on the nose and maybe more likely to set teeth on edge instead of make folks laugh, but the back and forth nature of this film was an inspiration for the idea.
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Best Nicholas Cage movie ever. Okay, that’s a pretty low bar, but still, this is a fantastic movie. Weirdest movie about orchids.
Screenplay by Charlie Kauffman, who also wrote Being John Malkovich.
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The Orchid Thief was on the bestseller list when I worked in the bookstore and we had “Soon to be a major motion picture” stickerage and everyone who worked there and had read the book was like “how in the hell is this a movie?” so it’s clever that Adaptation is exactly that!
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Ideas for IF percolating…
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Re: 12 Angry Men: I watched it after putting it off for about ten years. The main crime plot is kind of forgettable IMO, but as you say the themes of herd mentality are good.
The “just some guy who changed things” ending, the part after they walk out onto the street is kind of memorable too. (I say “kind of of memorable” because I had to look it up…I’m getting the sense this is part of the movie is more notable than I’m giving it credit for, because of the nameless jurors and all.)
If you enjoyed it I’d recommend No Way Out starring Sidney Poitier, also from that era. It deals with a black doctor accused of murder after his patient dies. Not a courtroom drama though. 1950s anti-hate race politics + medical drama + noir and more than the sum of its parts IMO.
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Sounds interesting! I’ll definitely check it out.
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Wow it is infor real interesting
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That would be Raising Arizona.
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Raising Arizona, Adaptation, and Red Rock West can all be Nicolas Cage’s best movie.
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You folks all have an awful weird way of pronouncing “The Wicker Man.”
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Not game related, so not my first answer. But now I think of it, if there’s one film I’d have on repeat it would be O Lucky Man!
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