#especially with their newfound ultimate fantasy of “freedom”

[ganondoodle]

the idea of playable zelda in itself is really cool, but then i think of how her 'type' of character typically gets animated/sounds/treated and i just shrivel up inside

the only way id accept if it was like fromsofts way of doing it, which is there is literally little to no difference no matter who you play as, but we all know nintendo would never lol

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Chronicle (2012)

Chronicle (2012)

Rated PG-13 for intense action and violence, thematic material, some language, sexual content and teen drinking

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/07/review-chronicle-2012.html>

Score: 3 out of 5

Back when it first came out, Chronicle was heavily marketed and often described as a dark superhero movie, a twist on the Spider-Man mythos that showed what might actually happen if you gave an ordinary, troubled teenage boy superpowers. It's an assertion that many people both then and now have disagreed with and challenged, most notably the film's screenwriter Max Landis, who argued for it more as a modern-day, gender-flipped version of Carrie and said that the only reason anybody considered it a superhero movie was because those were all the rage in 2012, the year it came out when the young Marvel Cinematic Universe was about to release the game-changing superhero team-up The Avengers. Nevertheless, both this film's director Josh Trank and two of its stars, Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan, soon found themselves lined up for superhero movies on the strength of their work here, and watching it again in 2024, while the Carrie allusions are obvious, so too are the stylistic influences from the superhero movies that had flourished since Sissy Spacek burned down her senior prom in split-screen.

Watching it again in 2024, it's also a film that doesn't entirely hold up. The entire found footage angle felt extraneous to the point that it was distracting, and the characters other than the film's three protagonists all felt empty and one-dimensional. Given how short the movie was (only 83 minutes including the credits), it felt like there were a lot of efforts to trim the fat in the editing room that wound up cutting into its muscle and bone. That said, the action and special effects are still quite impressive given the small budget, the three lead actors all do very good work that shows why there was so much hype around them (even if only Jordan's career lived up to the hype in the long run), and when it's focused on its protagonists, especially its main viewpoint character Andrew, its story about a kid getting slowly but surely drunk with power is still a compelling one. It's a movie that, even with its flaws, I'd still recommend to fans of superheroes who want a darker take on the genre that nonetheless isn't as violent as The Boys or Invincible.

Set in the suburbs of Seattle, the film revolves around three teenage boys, the moody loner Andrew Detmer, his more popular cousin Matt Garetty, and Matt's friend Steve Montgomery, who gain telekinetic powers and the ability to fly after discovering a strange artifact buried in the woods. For much of the first half of the film, it leans very much into the power fantasy side of things, as these three boys use their newfound abilities to pull pranks on unsuspecting people, flip up girls' skirts, do dumb Jackass-style stunts, participate in the school's talent show, try to find out more about how they got their powers (a dead end that ultimately turns up more questions than answers when they see that the cops are also snooping around the area), and generally enjoy the newfound freedom that comes with suddenly gaining superpowers. I bought these three as people bound together by their shared gift who reacted to it not with the idealism of Peter Parker, but with the exact amount of maturity you'd expect (i.e. something that they still need to learn through experience). Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan were both compelling and charismatic as Matt and Steve, the "cool" guys among the trio, but the most interesting by far, and the one the film seems most interested in, is Andrew. An emo kid with the Worst Life Ever, Andrew has few friends other than his cousin Matt, he's raised by an abusive, layabout drunk of a father while his mother is slowly dying of cancer, his neighborhood has drug dealers on his block, and he's started filming his day-to-day life seemingly because he has nothing else to do. Dane DeHaan may have been playing a walking stereotype of teen angst, but he makes the most of the role, first making Andrew feel like a guy who knows he's going nowhere in life and acts accordingly before letting him open up as his powers, and the influence of Matt and Steve, give him a new confidence in life -- before it all falls apart as he finds out the hard way that his powers haven't solved all his problems. By the end, when he's killing drug dealers and ranting about how his mastery of his powers makes him an "apex predator," I felt like I was watching a school shooter. DeHaan was scary as hell in the role, delivering the kind of performance that makes me wish he'd gotten a better movie than The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to play a supervillain in.

It's in the film's structure that it kind of lost me, and much of it ironically comes down to its main hook. To put it simply, most of this movie's problems could've been solved by simply dropping the found footage conceit entirely and making a straightforward, traditionally shot movie. It's a conceit that the movie already strains to adhere to, especially by the end when it has to find a way to justify the manner in which it stages its bombastic fight scenes and dramatic speeches with all the flourish one would expect from the third act of a superhero movie. Despite the title Chronicle, almost none of the film feels like an actual, y'know, chronicle that these people had filmed themselves. Andrew's insistence on having a camera film him at all times in order to record his increasingly bizarre life, his powers letting him move the camera around to places where a human can't film from in order to get a better angle, is already a rather thin explanation, and it takes a turn for the ridiculous when he psychically seizes the camera phones of a bunch of tourists at the Space Needle so he can film his big speech with a bit more cinematic flair. I wonder if this is why the film was as short as it was, that there were originally supposed to be a lot more scenes fleshing out the supporting cast that they couldn't justify from the perspective of this being found footage. As a result, characters come off as either one-note stereotypes, like Andrew's abusive father who exists only to constantly treat his son like dirt and get his comeuppance later on, or one-dimensional ciphers, like Ashley Hinshaw's character Casey, whose only characterization is that she's Matt's on-and-off girlfriend and a vlogger in order to make her a Camera 2 for certain scenes.

If the film really wanted to weave the found footage style into a story that leaned into the dark side of the superhero genre, it could've just as easily done so by focusing more on Casey. Make her a full-blown secondary protagonist and as much a viewpoint character as Andrew, an outsider to the protagonists' lives and friendship who's witnessing the events of the film as an ordinary human, and then have her take center stage in the third act once the mayhem begins. Do what Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice later tried to do, or what Cloverfield successfully did with a giant monster movie, and show how terrifying a big superhero battle would be from the perspective of the civilians on the ground without superpowers. During act three, follow Casey as she and others fight to survive and not get caught in the crossfire of the mother of all street brawls, all while she tries to help her boyfriend out, cutting away occasionally to the combatants themselves as they settle their scores. On that note, more focus on Casey also would've fleshed out Matt as a character thanks to their relationship, and by extension the other people in their lives. After all, Carrie, one of this movie's main inspirations, wasn't told entirely from the perspective of its title character, but also from those of Sue Snell and Chris Hargensen, the popular girls whose actions wind up setting the stage for the tragedy to come. Finally, Casey's scenes, where she doesn't have superpowers that allow her to fly the camera around, would've made a great stylistic contrast with Andrew's, with her half of the film looking and feeling like a grounded, naturalistic found footage film while the other half had Andrew's theatricality.

At least said theatricality afforded the film some very well-done action scenes. Despite a budget of only $15 million, this was a very good-looking film, one of the benefits of the found footage style (and probably the reason why this movie used it) being that the lo-fi feel of the film makes it easier to cover up dodgy special effects. The seams are visible here, and there are quite a few shots where you can tell it's CGI, but the effects are never distractingly bad, and quite a few of them are very impressive, from the boys assembling LEGO sets with their minds to the scenes of them in flight. The shift into action and horror later in the film is also handled very well, as Andrew clashes with street thugs, bullies, the police, and eventually his friends in fights that range from gritty and vicious brawls to the genuinely spectacular. This movie may have felt like it had a few too many scenes cut for its own good, but it is remarkably straightforward about what it's about, never feeling like it's spinning its wheels and always progressing forward.

The Bottom Line

Chronicle needed another pass on its script, either abandoning the found footage angle entirely or finding a better way to make it work than they ultimately went with. That said, as a version of Carrie for the internet age that combines that classic story of teen rage with a superhero motif, it's still a diamond in the rough.

[moonlight-at-dawn]

Any recommendations for your followers things outside your main passions on Tumblr? (FFXV and Full Metal Panic!)

MOST OF MY RECS ARE SO OLD I CAN’T MAKE GRAPHICS FOR THEM AHHHHH

BUT HERE!!!

Video Games

Mana Khemia ~Alchemists of Al-Revis~

PS2/PSP

Robust NG+, Multiple Endings, Character Affection

Part of the Atelier series of games and my personal favorite of the lot

Cry with me over Cat Dad Sulphur

Atelier veterans can be amazed over PLAYABLE!!! PAMELA!!!! (and her SKILLS!!! SHE’S OP!!! AS!!! FUCK!!!)

Infinite Undiscovery

XBox360

Writers are Shouji Gatoh (Full Metal Panic!) and Ryo Mizuno (Record of Lodoss War)

NG+, an amazing postgame dungeon that can make you cry if you’re as attached to a certain character as I am

Canon romance is realized before the end, so you get to experience some of it in more than just a ~happily ever after~ way :3

Fantastic cast, lore, cutscenes, an interesting battle system that I personally love and can be challenging at times, especially during the obligatory “separated from the party” section of gameplay

I can’t count how many times it made me cry okay

Lunar Silver Star (Story/Harmony)

multiple systems, best bet today would be PSP -Harmony version

A fucking CLASSIC, every JRPG fan should experience it AT LEAST ONCE

Okay I’ve sadly never watched in Japanese but TOMOKAZU SEKI’S FIRST(?OR DAMN NEAR?) ROLE WAS AS KYLE OKAY, I LOVE HIM, HE’S MY FAV SEIYUU

Disclaimer: Some of the humor… has not…. aged well… I realize. There’s some slightly predatory-gay/predatory-trans tropes in, but not every character views those random NPCs that way at least??? Jessica doesn’t seem to mind the trans priestess at least?

Look, I’m one of those people that tends to love the mascot characters that everyone else calls annoying, and I WILL DEFEND NALL WITH MY LIFE, YOU WILL RESPECT HIM, GIVE HIM FISH, AND THANK HIM WHEN HE RESURRECTS YOU GODDAMMIT XD

(And hug Nall in Lunar 2, Ruby isn’t as useful as he was, but she’s cool too)

Maybe I’m a baby but again, I cry, multiple times lol

LOVE STORY OF THE CENTURY, ALEX AND LUNA ARE GREAT AHHHHHH

Atelier Series in general

I recommend Mana Khemia first and foremost, but most of the Atelier games have their own charms :3

They all tend to have some angst, yes, but are ultimately feel-good and 💖~

Not as scary as all the time limits for jobs might seem. The time is very generous as long as you aren’t screwing around until the last minute lmao so it is great for casual gaming~

AUTHORS/BOOKS (I have a fantasy bias lol)

Tamora Pierce

I started reading her books something like 20 years ago, and I still enjoy them to this day

I bias towards Tortall books, but the Circle of Magic is also amazing (and one of the main 4 from it is a lesbian POC blacksmith~)

My favorite set is the Beka Cooper trilogy. These ones were also a bit experimental in style, in that they’re written as diary entries aND SO!!!!!! GOOD!!! It PAID OFF BIG TIME, I WAS BLOWN AWAY

Mercedes Lackey

I’ve only indulged in her Valdemar/Velgarth novels so I can’t speak on her other series’ bUT

I seem to have a thing for when authors break out of their comfort zone lol because my favorite of these are the Mage Storms trilogy. This one is very broad, focusing not just on Valdemar, but the main character is actually a Karsite (the historical enemy of Valdemar), and the Empire also plays a big role and just, ahhhhhh, I love seeing more than just Valdemar and the Hawkbrothers and Shin’a’in ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Magic’s Price ;;o;;

Brandon Sanderson

I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of his books lol

His Cosmere books all interlink so when you read outside of wherever in it you started, it’s really cool to see all the similarities and the few worldhopping characters that make appearances in multiple worlds

HIS WORLD BUILDING IS FUCKING IMPECCABLE OH MY GOD I COULD JUST STUDY HIS WORLD BUILDING TECHNIQUES FOR MONTHS IN FACT I HAVE BEEN

Really amazing and diverse cast of characters, social aspects of the ‘verse is almost never divorced from the characters, their experiences, and their story. It’s really amazing to see it all~

Magic systems involve clear rules for manipulation of existing forces. Things don’t happen just because ~magic~

Stormlight Archive is where I’ve started and I’d also highly recommend it just because I cannot stop loving this cast and revisiting it over and over and over I’ve listened to the audiobooks like 4 times and they’re all between, what, 38~52 hours long?

Even when you might not like a character at first, revisiting their story is just… HNNNNN NEWFOUND LOVE AND APPRECIATION

ELHOKAR, I’M TALKING MOSTLY ABOUT ELHOKAR

One of the spren in this world, the Cryptics, represent “the fundamental mathematics by which natural phenomena can be explained” tO GIVE AN IDEA OF HOW ROOTED IN REALITY THIS STUFF IS LOL SANDERSON GOES HARD HE DOESN’T FUCK AROUND WHEN HE BUILDS HIS WORLDS

Uhm…. That’s mostly it for my recommendations I think lol, I don’t really watch much in the way of TV….. (I’d recommend NCIS seasons 3-11 though - Ziva David is my reason for life but her leaving made it hard for me to continue and then the writers broke their fucking promise not to do her dirty while she wasn’t around and while it made for a beautiful story for DiNozzo’s departure, THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT)

and when it comes to my taste in anime, it’s fairly easy for me to find stuff to reblog lol… so…

WELL NO, HERE

SWORD ART ONLINE

YEAH I SAID IT

It’s “cool” to hate on it but it’s not nearly so bad as people make it out to be. People just like to spread vitriol about it because it’s popular, and you know how popular shit gets treated like the fucking devil around here. Asuna’s not some damsel in distress not even when she’s a prisoner in the ALO arc, she’s always got her own agency and is always working towards her goals and freedom and victory

And wtf is this nonsense people like to say about Kirito cheating on her?????? HE DOESN’T. HE LOVES AND RESPECTS HER AND HE DOESN’T FLIRT WITH OTHER GIRLS YOU GUYS JUST DON’T HAVE A SENSE OF FUCKING HUMOR APPARENTLY CAUSE YOU THINK JOKING = FLIRTING

Anyways, great romance, I love the iconic line from BEFORE they got together when he says the whole thing about “Wouldn’t [learning something new about the one I love] mean that I get to love them even more now?” like HE’S SUCH A FUCKING CUTIE

*coughs* Don’t let the hate that spreads around about this (or anything else really) deter you from checking it. Wipe your minds of what you hear and let it stand on its own, decide for yourself how feel. Don’t go “Oh I hear they reduce Asuna to a crybaby in s2″ and then see it that way because it’s what you expect to see. This is a THING, by the way, if you get told something is great or bad for whatever reason, you’re a lot more likely to see it that way. So just, keep that in mind, and try to empty yourself of preconceived notions before looking at it, k? K. That’s my last recommendation for this post lol cause I’ve rambled on forever.

Let things stand for themselves, not on the backs of hearsay.

[winterscream4]

A DYNASTY OF WINTERS (Part 2)

There was little to no discussion, when it came to Robert’s father decision to send him to Harvard’s business school in that September night of 1931. Although that year had been good for Robert, initiating with him taking a tour across Europe, starting from Millan where he witnessed the illustrious antecedents of the Midvintersville Opera House, followed by a sojourn across the Basque country and the Winter’s ancestral castle in Westphalia, till finally coming to a climactic close in Berlin, where Robert watched his first moving-picture in the infamous Marmorhaus theater. With Ufa, Germany’s largest film company, gone bankrupt, the once illustrious theater had resorted to making the occasional inklings of revenue out of reruns. Capitalizing on the derelict remnants of artistic guilds like the Novembergruppe and the deep pockets of naïve tourists aching for continental thrills, Marmorhaus executives had decided to unearth a film released eleven years ago, titled “Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari”. Albeit the movie’s ending puzzled him greatly, the sheer enchantment of witnessing reality transfigured through a lens of light and shadow, amazed Robert right down to his core.

“This!” he exclaimed, upon the film’s closure, amidst vigorous applause. “This is what the world should be like!”

It was that very youthful excitement which made his return to the money-oriented, narrowminded cosmos of his father all the more grounding. Robert’s old man was no talker and certainly he was no artist. Each attempt his son had ever made to convey the meaningful symbolism he found in a painting or a book, were met with the same answer.

“It’s about time you do something useful with your life!”

Oh yes. Robert’s father was no artist. Perhaps he was no father either…No, he was a commander. And Robert was the undisciplined private who had to be beaten into shape.

As Robert narrated his European escapades, his father remained a frigid monolith, lest for the furrowed unibrow darting down on the boy, akin only to the way the All-Mighty might have starred at Judas on the final day of judgement. His glance remained unchanging as he slid the folder, from the other side of the dining room till it wavered over Robert’s plate. His father’s abrupt gesture took Robert by surprise albeit it was soon surpassed by the overwhelming shock that encumbered him as he gingerly unsealed the envelope and glared down in horror at the papers, branded with Harvard’s “veritas” insignia.

“It’s about time you do something useful with your life…Boy!”

Robert attempted to respond, but there was no saliva left in his mouth. Upon regaining his senses, he made an effort at bargaining for his position, but a sonorous strike against the oaken table buried all his hopes for debate deeply underground.

“The car is waiting outside…” were his father’s last words, before casually turning his chair away from his son and towards the blazing embers, crackling in the mansion’s ornated hearth.

Robert’s soul was crackling too, or so he would confess to me many years after.

Five tortuous years ensued. Overloaded duties, forced sociality, classmates’ mockeries and professors’ beatings were the order of the day. Robert’s routine bore all the marks of the inferno checklist. Humiliation, Depression, Frustration, Physical and Psychological Suffering. Lack of Freedom, Lack of Joy, Lack of Choice, Lack of Hope. A mélange of all things that Robert actively strived to avoid in his life, and worse of all, a constant appraisal of his brothers’ achievements followed by the debasement of his own. Ultimately, the repetitive pattern of it all, brought Robert to his knees. By the time those dark years came to a close, Robert had abandoned his artistic fantasies, transfiguring his personality into that of a cold, relentless, calculating entrepreneur. The flames that once heated his veins with passionate visions had been quenched. Piles of paperwork, business folders, softball matches and endless locker-talk among the wealthiest and crudest of America’s youth, had finally inhumed the summers that once burned brightly in his heart. As Robert himself put it during his graduation speech:

“Now, I am finally a Winter.”

His father’s absence during the graduation ceremony was almost welcome. Perhaps in part, Robert feared that even after all he went through his father would still make a show of his all too usual disapproval. On the other hand, the jungle known as business school, went to great pains to teach its students the fundamental rules of the Darwinian arena known as life. The young, must always devour the old. And Robert’s throat was salivating like Pavlov’s dogs, his teeth aching to rip the flesh of anything old or young foolish enough to oppose him.

“Even his own family?”, one might perchance wonder.

Especially his own family.

Naturally, when the administrations secretary yelled the words “Call for Robert Winter!”, the newly crowned alumni froze. At the time, he was leaning against an elder hickory with a wolf-pack of other post-graduate wealthy-dirtbags-in-the-making, loitering in small-talk while suckling on a lucky strike and taking the occasional zip of bourbon from a shared flask. After all, the laws of the prohibition rarely applied to those who could afford the fines. The secretary’s words pierced his throat, worse than the adulterated moonshine, his classmates would often sneak from the blue-collared staff. For a few seconds after his speech, he dreamt that he had gained the upper hand, that he’d return to Midvintersville a changed man and like the Count of Montecristo, not even his family would recognize him. He would have made his own business first of course and he’d make his entrance descending down the spiral staircase of the family mansion, with a Franklin Roosevelt attitude and a Katharine Hepburn wife and Rockefeller money and everyone would scream in fright and awe as if they’d just seen Lon Chaney back from the dead and into his new make-up!

Don’t step on that spider, it might be Robert Winter!

Robert’s daydreaming was cut short when his father’s voice echoed at the other end of the line. The voice inquired of his whereabouts in a manner that sounded, not so much like genuine paternal interest but rather, like an Ellis island committer filling an immigrant’s eligibility report. Of course, Kristoff Winter, was never a man to beat around the bush, thus the real purpose behind his call was almost instantly revealed.

“There’s an investor coming to town. It’s a woman and she’s European…Can you believe that, women in the industry…that’s what the world’s come to! She’s exporting artworks from Germany. Them Hebrews are selling it all, for scraps, just to get out of the continent! Samuel, yeah, Prospero’s kid will tell you more on the way.”

Robert was stunned. Before he could muster a word, his father continued.

“Robert...”

Will it be? Could he…might he…apologize? Robert nearly shivered in anticipation.

“This woman… She’s into your thing, you know, the artsy stuff! Brush them up, we need to make a good impression. I guess a part of that money I spent on your dumb books and pictures might be reimbursed to me after all.”

“…”

“Be on your best behavior but don’t sweat much about it. Just don’t get inside of her if she asks you to. There can be inopportune complications. Have you been taught what a felatio is?

“Er….”

Robert mumbled in discomfort mixed in a brew with all kinds of embarrassment as profuse perspiration gathered round his leather suspenders.

“Them European dames are pretty decent at it. They know no morals or restraints. You just slid some beluga and champagne into their mouths, and they are open for business.”

“I…” Robert gathered himself. Conflicting emotions soon melted into the recollection that this is how his father used to address his brothers. Perhaps all that Harvard locker-talk did serve a purpose. To teach him the language that binds fathers with their sons; To initiate him back into the family; To dwell as a stranger no longer but as one of their own.

“Yes. I’ll make a note of it” he replied with newfound determination.

“Good. Cause if she gets pregnant, I am not paying for the abortionist. You’ll have to scoop it out yourself with a coat-hanger. Do you understand what I am telling you, boy?”

“Yes. Sir.”

Just as Robert expected, a pause of satisfaction followed from his father’s part. All those times he’d turn his face red with the palm of his hand for not being addressed as sir, were coming back into the minds of both men. One, smiled in self-reaffirming indulgence. The other bit his lip in resentment, till droplets of blood began trickling down his chin.  

 ❆ ❆ ❆ ❆❆ ❆ ❆ ❆❆ ❆ ❆ ❆❆ ❆ ❆ ❆❆ ❆ ❆ ❆❆ ❆ ❆ ❆❆ ❆ ❆ 

[itsdisneymydudes]

4 Reasons Why A Goofy Movie is the Most Powerful Disney Movie Ever

If I asked any Billy Joe-Bob off the street what their favorite Disney movie is, chances are they would name one from the Disney Renaissance. This period of great animation during the 1990s is marked with a plethora of defining Disney films from Mulan to The Little Mermaid (ok, it actually came out in 1989 but that’s close enough. Sue me.).

But there is one Disney film from his era that is notoriously underrated and, unfortunately, forgotten: 1995’s A Goofy Movie (here’s the wiki if you’re uncultured). Now you might be thinking, “Well if it’s always forgotten, then it must be pretty forgettable, right?” Wrong. A Goofy Movie is one of the greatest Disney films ever made, and here are 4 reasons why.

Prepare to get goofy, y’all.

1.       It’s grounded in realism

For nearly a century, Disney films have been hailed for their beautiful capturing of fantastical stories from curse-induced slumbers to super powered families. Because of that, the Disney brand is often associated with “magic” rather than “reality.”

Thus, when moving messages about life are made, there always exists a disconnect between the viewer and the story because, well frankly, I’d understand true freedom too if I had a magic flying carpet of my own (looking at you, Aladdin).

So for all of the trophies that exist in Disney’s cinematic pantheon, their fantasy tales aren’t realistic enough to completely click on all cylinders for a general audience. And that’s why A Goofy Movie is so great. It prides itself with how relatable it is.

Director Kevin Lima’s choice to take Goofy and Max, iconic Disney characters known especially for their wacky antics, and highlight their single-parent dynamic makes for a substantially more compelling movie. The two tackle real and universal problems that countless families around the world face every day.

They grapple with Max’s changing perspectives as he progresses through his teenage years, Goofy’s forced changes to his role as a father because of Max’s growing up, and ultimately how the two can salvage their relationship.

There are no evil queens or fire-breathing dragons here but some of the most down-to-earth problems pitted against protagonists who express genuine desires and depressions that all of us feel in our lives. Now that’s some deep stuff, and that’s what makes the movie so relatable.

2.       Goofy is parenting done right

It really can’t be sugarcoated: parenting is hard.

There’s no “absolute formula” for it, any advice book is just filled with fluff, and all your efforts may still come to no avail. And yet Goofy serves as a paragon for everything a parent can do right.

In Disney films, fathers serve as “caring rulers” for their children and “insight providers.” However, as seen in many Disney films about rebellious teenage youth *cough cough* The Little Mermaid *cough cough*, being an imposing figure in children’s lives no matter how caring you are is not the most effective way to parent.

And that’s what Goofy changes about the formula. When his friend Pete suggests that Goofy “keep Max under his thumb,” Goofy attempts to be a no-nonsense father that orders Max around.

But Goofy later realizes that that isn’t the kind of relationship he wants with his son; Goofy would rather have a healthy connection with Max based on mutual respect and trust—not fear and subordination.

Goofy stops trying to be what he is not, and his relationship with Max begins to heal. In fact, the two go on a music-montage filled with activities that both of them can enjoy together. Now if that isn’t some good-ol’ father-son bonding, then I don’t know what is.

On top of this, Goofy easily fulfills the second pillar of fatherhood; Goofy frequently provides meaningful messages for Max.

From the onset of their road trip, Goofy tells Max that the reason they are going on this trip is because Goofy is “not giving up on [him],” and they “are going to work this out.” Goofy explains that he doesn’t want their relationship to die and is determined to make it better, perfectly addressing the elephant in the car that the two will eventually have to face.

Furthermore, Goofy gives the most powerful and moving messages of the movie during the climax. As the father-son duo careen down a tumultuous river (a not-so subtle metaphor for their relationship), Max asserts that he has grown up and is his own person now. To which Goofy drops this tear-jerker of a response, “I know that; I just wanted to be a part of it. You’re my son, Max. No matter how big you get, you’ll always be my son.” Brb, crying right now.

Goofy articulates the heart-and-soul moral of his adventures with Max in the simplest and yet most moving way possible. He cares for his son without ever domineering over him. Face it: Goofy is the best Disney dad ever. Just look at him.

3.       It’s a father-son road trip movie

Now I know what you’re saying. How is this an important reason? Well let me explain. Road trip movies (when done correctly) can be a great metaphor for the passage of time/change between the characters on the journey.

For fathers and sons, it tends to be about the changes that have come into their relationship due to their growing up over time. Sound like something familiar? Hint: that’s the plot of A Goofy Movie.

The road trip genre has been a tragically underexplored by Disney films so this movie provides a new type of film with a compelling story to pull viewers in. On top of this, it follows the same tropes of any other great road trip movie: a father and son with a waning relationship go on an adventure together, both are apprehensive on how it will go, their interests clash due to the differences that have come between them from time, they reassess where they stand together, they walk away from the trip with better senses for who they are as individuals and as a family.

Goofy and Max undergo this experience and, in Disney-happy-ending fashion, leave their trip with a newfound understanding of each other: Goofy realizes that Max isn’t a little boy anymore and has his own independence to follow while Max realizes that Goofy just wants to be there and go along for the ride with him.

A Goofy Movie is a gold standard for road trip movies.

4.       It has a message for parents as well as their kids

A lot of times, people associate Disney films with solely a child-based audience. If there are any parents in the theater, it’s because they brought their kids there. But A Goofy Movie changes this.

Sure, it has a message for its younger audiences (“don’t be a jerk to your parents” or “don’t lie to your parents”).

But it also has a poignant message for the adults watching: your kids are going to grow up so don’t fight it—grow up with them.

A Goofy Movie was making parents cry long before the opening sequence in Up.

This is perhaps the greatest reason why the movie is so powerful. It is so relevant to the lives of so many people from single fathers to angst-y teenagers to regular family units out to a movie.

A Goofy Movie takes the lighthearted Disney brand and makes it into something so very real and so very moving for a lot of people. I saw my parallels in the Goof family; didn’t you?

It’s about time we all got a little very goofy.

[nazih-fares]

After a successful port to the PlayStation 4 of the excellent Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, recently reviewed on our site, the Yakuza franchise is back for its ultimate and final episode, supposed to put an end to the Kiryu Kazuma saga. Released back at the end of 2016 in Japan only, the game is finally available in the West thanks to SEGA, with numerous localization updates and changed for our region. Is this the final chapter the series deserve?

If you are reading this review, you are probably familiar with the Yakuza series. For the brave few who would like to start straight away with Yakuza 6, here’s a short summary of what happened so far. In the Yakuza games, you follow the adventures of probably the classiest and most badass of all yakuzas, named Kiryu Kazuma. When he does not kick ass and beat goons, Kiryu takes care of his adoptive niece, Haruka Sawamura. I will not dwell on her story, to avoid any major spoilers, but I will just say that numerous people wanted to see her dead throughout the series.

Yakuza 6 starts right where the 5th game ends. Kiryu is in a bad state and Haruka decides to leave her dream job of being a pop idol to return the orphanage she opened with our favorite Yakuza. Unfortunately, not everything goes as planned, with Kiryu sentenced to 3 years in prison for his actions as a yakuza. At the same time, stalkers start attacking Haruka and the orphanage where she is living a peaceful life, mainly because her choice to no longer be an Idol is much more difficult to assume, with heavy harassment in the media and on social networks. Haruka decides to flee the region to avoid bringing her problems to the orphanage. Three years later, when Kiryu is finally released from prison, he discovered that Haruka is in a coma after a car accident, and that she gave birth a year ago to a baby boy named Haruto.

This 6th episode of the Yakuza franchise is a heavy load of emotions. You’ll be dealing as mentioned with subjects as sensitive as that of young teen moms, but also a Kiryu that cannot relax, as he needs to fight against the Chinese mafias and Korean, while improvising his skills a newfound adoptive father to Haruto. If the storyline may seem absurd, it’s because it is, but that’s the beauty of the Yakuza franchise and their insane plots! Faithful to Japanese crime movie influences, with its effective dialogues, its controlled sets and a gameplay of a rare quality in video game productions, the story of Yakuza 6 is a beautifully rendered one. The Dragon Engine, specially built for this episode, does a great job at transcribing the emotions and details on each of the protagonist’s faces. However, I’m slightly disappointed by the rigidity of characters in some scenes, especially when you start comparing them to other Japanese productions that are close to lifelike such as the recent Final Fantasy XV.

The Yakuza series is not only famous for its storyline, but also for its fighting system that is inspired by street fighter games and other beat’em all. Kiryu will not hesitate if necessary to take on three or even ten opponents at the same time, with a facelift of its fighting system and camera features which were one of the weak points of the saga. Much less capricious than in the past, it now features the typical mixtures of quick and heavy attacks, with grabs and new contextual actions such as crushing an opponent’s head against a wall. Unlike previous versions, there is no loading time when you take part of a fight, a transition takes place naturally and instantaneously. Passers-by gathers around you and your opponents to create a makeshift street fighting arena. Chain the basics with the square button and finish your opponents with powerful shots by pressing the triangle button. The fighting is enjoyable and, although there is only one fighting style, it is rare to feel that Kiryu is overpowered in front of enemies. In addition, any object within range can be used to defend you whether it is a bike, a traffic cone or even a beggar sleeping in the street. While it’s definitely not the rigid battles of the previous games, there’s still a lack of fluidity at times where other games like Sleeping Dogs managed to shine.

Each end of a fight will give you experience points divided into different categories to assign as you see fit. This small RPG component is nice but anecdotal because all of your actions in the game give you experience points. Players are never short of experience points and I can maximize Kiryu’s skills a bit too easily (especially with the grinding system). That’s the thing because fighting, completing sidequests and activities, or even taking care of baby Haruto will gain you experience.

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On the front of side activities, few titles are as generous as Yakuza 6. The amount of sidequests available is simply breathtaking and the storyline behind them are sometimes hilarious but can be emotional as well. These quests involve things like managing a cat cafe (which I probably wasted too much of my time in), or just simply have fun in one of the Kamurocho arcades. The latter has a fine list of Arcade versions games such as Space Harrier, OutRun, Puyo Puyo and even Virtua Fighter 5 which are all playable as two players! For those wishing for something more “mature”, then you can always go out with hostesses saga, or even play a new minigame which is a live chat app with real women ready to get naughty.

Finally, how can I finish this review without speaking of the way Kabukicho and Hiroshima were reproduced in the game. Yakuza 6 is a beautiful love letter to Japan and all its peculiarities that make it a country as intriguing as it is charming. The sounds, conversations, billboards, bright neon and the architecture of buildings are just amazingly redone in the game. The environments are finally at its best and every little change is appreciated at its true value, offering much more freedom than previous episodes, and you will take a pleasure to get lost in the streets and alleys of these two cities, even if there’s rare invisible walls in some parts. The majority of stalls and shops are accessible without loading time, helping deeply with the immersion, and you can simply order food, or play a little bit and then resume the course of your core activities.

YAKUZA 6: The Song of Life was reviewed using a PlayStation 4 digital download code of the game provided by SEGA. The game was previously only available in Japan, released on the 8th of December 2016. We don’t discuss review scores with publishers or developers prior to the review being published (click here for more information about our review policy).

The most beautiful experience in the series, YAKUZA 6: The Song of Life is great way to close the Kiryu's story in style, with a fun and long adventure, full of content and side activities. Even if you didn't play the previous games, you shouldn't miss this goofy yet also mature and serious game. After a successful port to the PlayStation 4 of the excellent Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami…