Covid, Cruella and Edith Finch

Wednesday night, Glory took stock of the sniffles that had plagued her for a couple of days and used one of the rapid tests we have around the house - and sure enough, she tested positive for Covid. Audrey and I were negative when we tested the next morning, but she woke up with the sniffles Friday and tested positive that morning. By the end of the day, I had a sore throat and achey legs, so we are now treating the whole house as infected. Fun!

It really could be worse though - both girls are out of classes right now, and our symptoms are fairly mild (especially Fenya and I) except for an astonishing level of lethargy. 

Plus it gave us an excuse to watch a movie as a family for the first time in Lord knows how long. Audrey and Glory had chosen Cruella, the live-action prequel to 101 Dalmatians. I'm not particularly fussed about the live-action Disney re-makes, honestly,  but I adore Emma Stone and knew that Jenny Beavan, costume designer for Mad Max: Fury Road had won a second Oscar for it, so I was willing to check it out. Plus there was popcorn, so wins all around, really.

Turns out it is a tremendously good time; a PG-13 caper flick that isn't too cutesy, despite using too many CGI dogs. Emma Thompson does a great turn as The Baroness, the high-society fashionista who serves as inspiration, mentor and eventually rival and nemesis to Estella, the woman who will one day become the deranged, dog-hunting designer known as Cruella De Vil. Emma Stone is wonderful playing Estella and her alter ego Cruella, but the costumes and art design are the stars of the show. Even more delightful, the design notes are a blend of Mod '60s and the intersection of disco and punk rock, as this is a mid-'70s period piece after all.

And maybe it's because I wasn't expecting too much, but there were a couple of delightful surprises and a-ha moments I totally wasn't expecting, which is always a treat, especially in a family-friendly piece of IP leverage such as this. A good time to be sure, and I don't think that's the Covid talking!

The stranger thing we did was play a video game together. Sort of.

Fenya has never logged a lot of PlayStation time without me, but had expressed an interest in a game she'd read about called What Remains of Edith Finch, which it turns out I had either received free with my PS Plus membership or purchased on sale some time ago without playing.

It is a game that sees the title character, a 17 year-old girl exploring the unusual and immense family home that she and her mother had left hurriedly seven years earlier. As she does, she learns the family history her mother was not willing to tell her directly, and discovers that a lot of her relations perished early and unusually.

The level of detail paid to the house itself, in terms of personal items, photographs, and memorabilia makes the entire affair feel extremely intimate - there is a real sensation of peeking into the pasts of fully realized people, even though they are fictional characters. The textures, colours, materials and clever use of lighting provide a level of verisimilitude (in the setting, at least) that no amount of photorealism could hope to match.

There is little to no action, no tracking of points and no fatal mishaps to befall Edith as she discovers her peculiar family history and a bittersweet story unfolds. But all four of us sat and watched Fenya explore the secret passageways lining a mysterious and troubled.

The overall effect is almost like a magically realistic anthology, a familial Twilight Zone season, but as intriguing as the story is, I don't think it would work in any other medium. There is so much good work done by the excellent narration and creative uses of text that even as spectators, we found ourselves completely invested in seeing the tale through to its conclusion, even when doing so carried us into the very next day. 

It was a great experience, and if you enjoy video games at all, or are curious about ones that refute Roger Ebert's infamous assertion that they cannot be art, What Remains of Edith Finch is available on multiple platforms, and it comes with the heartiest recommendations from our entire family unit, even if you aren't housebound with Covid.

A Classic "Family" Game - Godfather Monopoly

Stat holidays are always great, but holiday Mondays are even more so, as they provide a rare opportunity to cook breakfast for the whole family (a rarity with Glory working most weekends at Hathaway's Diner). Today I fried some peppers and half an onion in some duck fat along with some shredded hash browns and diced chorizo, cracked some eggs on top of it and baked it all up right in the skillet. We served it along with mimosas and some toasted Easter bread and felt very satiated by the end of it all.

After eating we discovered that no one had any plans for the early part of the afternoon, so we trotted out an unlikely board game choice from our library of 60+ games: The Godfather Edition of Monopoly. 

For most people my age, Monopoly is probably one of the first three board games we learned to play. but neither Glory nor Bobby could recall ever having played before, at least, not by the published rules. And basic Monopoly enjoys a chequered reputation due to two major factors: 1) the fact that you normally need to eliminate all other players in order to win the game, and 2) the hours (sometimes days) it can take to do this. Thankfully there are ways around both of these factors.

The first step is to eliminate all house rules; that's right - no money for landing on free parking, and all taxes and fines go straight into the bank. Unpurchased properties are auctioned off if the player who landed on it declines to pay, and no loaning of money to other players either.

The second step is to play the officially published "Shortened" version of the game rules - everyone starts with three randomly dealt properties, and you either play to a time limit or until the first bankruptcy, so everyone stops playing at the same time.

Honestly, player elimination mechanics are a brutal way to find entertainment - in a six-player game, two-thirds of the participants are sitting on the sidelines or have wandered off before a victor is ever declared. This is something that modern board games had to overcome on their way to becoming the entertainment juggernauts they are today.

Like most of the 300+ themed versions of Monopoly, The Godfather edition has renamed all the properties to match locales from the movie trilogy, from Hyman Roth's modest Miami bungalow to the Corleone family estate in Lake Tahoe. The railroads become various vehicles from the films, while the utilities become the Police and Politicians. All the player tokens are replaced with thematic metal pieces as well, from the ominous sedan and ubiquitous tommy gun to the cannoli and, of course, the horse's head.

In addition to these cosmetic changes though, Godfather Edition Monopoly makes one significant addition in the form of Don Cards. Randomly dealt at the start of the game, these cards assign the bearer a power associated with one of the crime families from the movies which can be used once per game. These add a new level of strategy and unpredictability to the game, and are also completely ruthless and cutthroat, in keeping with both the history of Monopoly and the world of The Godfather.

For instance, near the end of the game, I used the Stracci power of Blackmail to unilaterally trade Hyman Roth's Home (normally Baltic Avenue, the cheapest property in the game) for the Corleone Estate (Boardwalk) that Fenya had just purchased the turn before, She handed it over without complaint (because doing so would have cost her another $100, as clearly noted on the card).

A few turns earlier Fenya had used her own Cuneo card to force Glory to return her highest-priced yellow property to the bank, which Fenya then landed on it on her very next roll and bought it herself. Had Fenya landed on it with three hideouts (houses), she would have owed Glory over $800...

There was much back and froth like this over the course of the game. Tragically, Audrey and I, starting as players 4 and 5, were never really in it, but the last few turns saw the three younger players frantically exchanging money and property as the clock ran out.

When the properties were all added up, Glory had just managed to edge out Bobby for the victory, with Fenya not too far behind.

It was a great time revisiting the people and places of my favourite movie and its sequels as it turns 50 this year, and the quotes on the property cards add to the experience as well. But best of all was proving that a game of Monopoly can be fun even if you don't end up winning the game.

A Large Undertaking of Tiny Things

I want to blame the algorithm, but I feel it would be pointless.

What earthly reason could there be for including a link to an expired Kickstarter about a fantasy/historical game set during the Hundred Years War in my Google Discover feed back in 2019? Better still, what reason could I possibly have for visiting the site?

But I did, and showed it to Audrey and she agreed it was a great-looking game, having an interest in the period as she does. So when the cunning rascals re-launched a new-and-improved version of it later that year, Audrey agreed that it might make a could hobby project we could work on together over the long term as we eventually transition to being empty-nesters.

I backed the Kickstarter for Time of Legends: Joan of Arc, a game ostensibly set during the wars between England and France in the 14th and 15th centuries, but incorporating the mythological views of common folk at the time as various fantasy elements. So in addition to the knights, archers and peasant levies you might expect, the battlefield also teems with angels, devils, griffons, witches and all manner of Apocalyptic creatures.

It certainly captured the imagination of Audrey and I, and we ended up ordering the game as well as three expansions: a Village scenery kit including a variety of quaint buildings and livestock, the Siege expansion with castle walls, trebuchets and a siege tower, and the Apocalypse set, full of creepily interpreted content from the Book of Revelations, including the Four Horsemen.

The original arrival date was scheduled to be October of 2020, but then the pandemic happened. And then production issues occurred. And then the game's designer got into loggerheads with the publishers and they ended up parting ways (and taking with them my chance to grab the Teutonic Knights expansion at some later date). And finally, a worldwide shipping crisis and supply chain issues. 

All told, I was just happy to get the stuff at all when it showed up in a pile on our doorstep in late January - and such a pile:

(Canéla for scale)

Once unpacked, it looked a little more manageable, but still pretty daunting.

(The bottom box is actually just for storing the cards and counters from all the other boxes)

Needless to say, Audrey and I can expect to be painting and playing for quite a while.

Once we got the core box unpacked so we could look at the rules and scenarios, we figured the best course of action would be to paint the pieces needed for the introductory scenario, the Siege of Rennes, including the needed scenery. Then we could play it out a few times before moving on to the next-easiest scenario, and so on.

The scenario itself doesn't need a lot of pieces, but we figured it made more sense to paint all the bowmen instead of a portion of them, and same for the knights, etc. But even this tiny subset of the core box presents a pretty daunting amount of hobby work:

The good news (mostly good, anyhow) is that the figures are 15mm scale, about half the size of the Warhammer and other figures Audrey and I have both painted before, with both less area to paint and fewer details to pick out.

The bad news is my eyes are nowhere near capable of working on such tiny things anymore, and so I ended up purchasing a magnifying visor. For years I resisted using any sort of magnification when painting, since no one would be looking at them that close when they were on the tabletop. Now, I need it just to make sure the brush is going to the right place on the model. 

But I am very happy with it! Although it makes my mistakes even more painfully visible than before, the visor has restored a lot of joy and comfort to my painting, and I am grateful for that. Good thing I don't worry about looking cool when I paint though.

We also employed a trick I used as a teen when I first started painting 25mm D&D figurines from Grenadier Models - before priming them, I attached 2-3 figures onto a popsicle stick with a tiny drop of hot glue. It took a while but I know I will gain that time back by not having to drop to my hands and knees to search for a dropped model quite as often as I might otherwise!

We are also trying a new technique to speed things up a bit - after applying basic colours to the models, we are soaking them with a type of wash called Quckshade, by Army Painter. It tints everything down a bit but adds tremendous shade and depth in very little time at all.

Magic, as near as I can tell!

Audrey will be painting the rest of the bowmen while I work on the Sergeants-at-Arms and mounted knights. The relatively small numbers of sergeants let me get through them pretty quickly actually.

Units are fielded as two (for cavalry) or three (infantry) models mounted on a circular base. Although I haven't based models wargames-style for I dunno how long, my first efforts turned out all right.

And there are even a few individual figures to break up the monotony of painting larger units, like the ten sticks (20 figures) of mounted knights I keep procrastinating on. Painting a mdeival priest, or blacksmith or merchant girl is a great way to change things up. And I know Audrey is looking forward to painting up the two houses the scenario calls for, as well as the church that will come later on.

Audrey and I are hoping to get in a few more 'paint dates' before the weather nicens up, but if we don't get to play the Siege of Rennes until the snow flies, that is absolutely fine.

Hopefully, we can get through all the scenarios of the war in less than the actual Hundred Years!

Just Dark Enough - The Batman, Reviewed

 It is astonishing to me (and many others) that a new Batman film opened up almost a month ago and I hadn't seen it until yesterday, but it's true. Partially it was due to pandemic inertia making it difficult to get excited to go out anywhere and do anything, but no one else in the house was excited about it and I dislike seeing movies by myself. But when our church's choir director told me to tell Audrey that she had enjoyed it despite her reservations, Audrey was willing to give it a shot. Thanks Margaret!

Now, me and Batman, or the Batman if you prefer, go back a long ways, and my favourite comics character has a, let's call it chequered history of being adapted to screens both large and small. I greatly enjoyed Christopher Nolan's trilogy from -wow, Batman Begins was from 2005?! - a ways back, and was eager for a new interpretation.

Leaving the theatre, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Batman. I was also surprised to discover it was nearly three hours long, as I had thought it was a standard-issue 2.25 hour affair like most blockbusters. At 145 minutes I thought it felt a smidgen too long, but for 175 minutes, it feels just about right.

More important than the pacing though is the overall feel of the movie. Far from the "joyless slog" I had seen described in other reviews, I found an intense crime drama that eschewed a lot of superheroics in favour of languid pacing, moody cinematography and complex characters. There is a definite nod towards noir overtones but also comic influences like Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween. The cape's collar is even an effective homage to Mike Mignola's brilliant Gotham by Gaslight which set the character in Victorian times.

Some people might be disappointed that Pattinson didn't undergo a physical transformation like Chris Evans' Captain America or even his cowled predecessor Ben Affleck, but he is still a compelling and convincing Batman. Pattinson's two superpowers appear to be silence and intensity, and choosing to introduce him in a crime scene filled with resentful cops instead of a needless action sequence gives him ample opportunity to display both - a bold and brilliant choice by director Matt Reeves. 

Not to say the action sequences aren't good -the many fight scenes are fast and brutal, with the Batman displaying a savage and skillful ferocity and not flashy martial arts abilities. Punches, grapples, throws and clubbing, all designed to bring an opponent to the ground as swiftly as possible. I don't think you ever see the hero throw a kick higher than the knee in the entire picture, but don't hold me to that until I can see it again.

Sometimes a great Batman makes a poor Bruce Wayne, but Reeves' choice to make Bruce a recluse, rarely seen in public and increasingly consumed by the work of his Batman persona means there is very little Bruce Wayne to see. The glimpses we get, though - the moments of doubt, the sympathy for an orphaned boy - are consistent, and wholly in line with the director's vision of Wayne as a reflection of a troubled Kurt Cobain.

A great supporting cast, from Jeffery Wright's Lt. Jim Gordon to Zoe Kravitz's Selina Kyle helps bring a bit of depth and motivation to multiple angles of the story. And such a rogue's gallery! I was prepared to be impressed by Colin Farrell disap[pearing into his very convincing makeup as the Penguin, but had no idea John Turturro was portraying a prominent member of the Falcone crime family, another hat-tip to Year One. But Paul Dano's Riddler is a far cry from the goofy hijinks of Frank Gorshin and Jim Carrey, having more in common with the Zodiac killer and mania that contains the same ominous playfulness as a cat toying with a mouse.

I think my only two gripes would be the overall length (but damned if I know what I would cut!) and the fact that in a story filled with realistic motivations it is disappointing to see so many storylines dovetail together quite so neatly (like Jack Napier killing Bruce Wayne's parents in Tim Burton's 1989 outing) but it is not as bad as making Bond and Blofeld related so that feels a bit like quibbling.

And I was prepared to dislike this version of the Batmobile as well, despite my fondness for muscle cars, but when I read a description of the car as just one more tool an anguished Bruce Wayne hopes to use to inspire fear in those pursued by the Batman, I warmed to the idea. Seeing it in action in the film has made me love the car - it could end up being my favourite.

What I appreciated the most though, was how un-Marvel the movie felt. Don't get me wrong, I am still a fan and am enjoying Moon Knight immensely after one episode, but the lack of banter felt like a real departure for a comic book movie. There is a palpable sense of danger in most of the action scenes and a finale that, despite its scale, still felt all too real and frankly terrifying for me to be thrilled by it - just as Reeves intended, no doubt.

All in all, a great platform for the Darknight Detective, and the first time on the silver screen where we see him actually being a crime solver as well as a crime fighter. Well worth seeing, and on the biggest screen you can manage.