Discussion of art
By Pixar
This one’s about in the same ballpark as Ratatouille. Pretty nice film, very well-made. Just felt like the characters were a little obscure, not that clear, and the pace was a little too quick for my liking.
7/10
8/24/2024
By Pixar
It was certainly a good film. Very beautiful, obvious care was put into the making of it.
But perhaps the premise is a bit flawed, the characters are a little obscure, and the pace is a little too all over the place for this to be considered another pixar masterpiece.
Less time with the rats, more time with the chef lady, and a different Linguini character (with perhaps a little more change) would have been enough.
I think the most egregious sin the film commits was the one scene where Linguini actually displays some regret for his actions, the film is too busy pulling some gag about a rat eating grapes to give it its full attention. When the film does deign to focus in on just one thing for a time, I am always entranced.
6/10
8/22/2024
By Pixar
8/10
8/21/2024
By Blendo Games
These games are very interesting to me, man.
For one thing, they’re extremely low-fidelity experiences. There are bugs everywhere, the scenarios are hacked together, and I’m uncertain as the player what is intentional and what isn’t. The best parts of this interactive experience are the parts which are staged and scripted, where you don’t have the chance to push the wrong buttons or have to figure out what you’re supposed to do. I really enjoy the tone and the essence of what these games are trying to do, but it’s hamstrung every step of the way.
Game-playing audiences don’t mind it, I guess. Quadrilateral Cowboy beat Inside and Stardew Valley for the Seamus McNally in 2017 (a relatively weak year, but still). This is a testament to how starved video games are for some authentic experience. You put together something which speaks a little bit to some part of the human soul, and people don’t even mind that it’s hardly playable. These guys are one of the only people doing this right now! It’s insane!
Now there are all sorts of game design questions these games bring up, too. Do interactive elements even belong in these experiences? Would they be better as short films? Can this experience be polished? Or does it rely on a sense of uncertainty? But I don’t need to ask too many questions, I just enjoy the ride.
Thanks for making these happen, Blendo. I, for one, got inspired by your games.
6/10
8/17/2024
By Pixar (Brad Bird)
Nearly perfect. Still holds up. One of the best of ’em.
Also, as a graphics programmer, I’ve got to hand it to Pixar. They did an incredible job in 2004. The water, the hair, the motion… Everything looks great, even today. The one thing they obviously didn’t have figured out back then was the lighting models. You just don’t get any depth out of a picture with Blinn-Phong on diffuse surfaces, and so every character looks a little dead. Also, the modeling is a little funny sometimes.
But the heart and soul of the actors and the writing makes every single moment jump out of the screen. Very good movie!
9/10
8/16/2024
By Klei
This game is a blast. It’s really good at what it’s trying to achieve. Perhaps too good. It turns me into a neurotic wreck, checking things and flying hopelessly into desperate situations.
I had to delete the game. It’s good, but I can’t do it right now! I can tell there’s something really special here if you are more patient, careful, and calm.
6/10
8/13/2024
This films is definitely grand, and the music is so good too. It gives me chills all the way through! One of the best animated films by far, and for sure the best that Dreamworks ever put out.
8/10
8/9/2024
By Fritz Lieber
Immaculate Fantasy! Spectacular little tales of sword and sorcery. It’s grit, reality (but not too much), and so authentic to a real experience.
Fritz Lieber obviously has the feeling that prose is poetry, not a separate art, and it’s well at work here.
8/10
7/26/2024
By From Software
I tried to get into this game 2 or 3 times before, but always felt like it was too bloated, too full of annoying systems and useless systems. I still think it’s full to bursting with nonsense, but I eventually learned how to work around it, and the rest of the game is a good time.
When I say “work around”, I mean ignoring collecting, crafting, most if the repeated dungeons and bosses, and a large majority of the user messages. It’s interesting to me how games today try to do everything all at once. It’s a shame, since it does most things at a lower quality than it could, but Elden Ring (and other good recent games, like Zelda TOTK) solves the problem by making all the nonsense systems completely optional. But any discerning player will see that the problem is entirely self-imposed, and I wonder who these systems are even for, in the end.
I can’t complain about the core game itself, obviously the tightest souls combat thus far, but this game is sadly one more nail in the coffin for simple, elegant experiences.
6/10
7/24/2024
I know very little of the story this is based on. I’ve heard all sorts of hearsay. But this rendition is impeccable! It’s personal, raw, sweet, and mystical. It really makes the story seem huge.
The production is incredible too. The actors, especially Judas, are perfect, and their direction is excellent. And god, the editing! I can hardly believe some of the montages, the cuts, and the crazy ideas in this film.
I’d like to hear more about this story. Not the morals or the messages. Not the interpretations, but the mysteries themselves. I wonder what it would mean to really consider a story like this. To listen.
8/10
7/22/2024
This is my new favorite Disney animated film. So simple, so barebones, but the lightning pace makes everything fresh, the characters keep you involved, and the musical sequences are the best in any of these films.
I’m still a huge Alan Menken fan. This time, not for his melodies (they’re okay), but for the orchestration and the punch he brings to every moment.
-1 for the gargoyles. I’m still of the opinion that all of these films would be strictly better if you removed the comic sidekicks. No Mushu in Mulan, no raccoon in Pocahontas, no Danny Devito in Hercules, etc.
9/10
7/20/2024
By Akira Kurosawa
7/10
7/17/2024
This album is all instrumental, just three guys, and heavily improvised.
I think it might be the most sensitive album I’ve ever heard! The vulnerability of the players gives way to wonderful, simple sonic exploration, and the feeling which arises from it is that of sheer warmth, even in songs which are desperate, melancholic, and lost. There is indeed something warm in all three of those feelings, and these three guys reminded me of that today.
Favorite track: How Insensitive
8/10
7/15/2024
By Rupert Spira
This short book is an excellent distillation of Rupert Spira’s ideas, and he cares so deeply about making the teachings simple, plain, accessible, and yet still retain their depth.
This is my second read, and I still love this book!
8/10
7/14/2024
By Mamoru Hosoda
This film’s animation details are incredible! Such great unexpected tone, pace, and character changes. I think the main character is one of the most dynamically animated characters in animation.
It’s a shame the details are animating this stupid story, but this film has some really special moments that are worth watching. I especially like the scenes of high school after hours, when the evening sun is coming down, and everything’s sort of empty but so full of warmth at the same time. I’m a sucker for that stuff.
5/10
7/12/2024
By Mamoru Hosoda
Haha talk about a real thrill-ride. This film does everything you could possibly imagine, to the max.
It’s full of true stuff, lovable characters, and some pretty crafty cinematography. I guess I’m just thinking that this film has better shots throughout than any of Hosoda’s work with Madhouse otherwise. I wonder what was in the air in 2009. And I wonder how this guy could make so many good films, and now everything he makes is terrible.
7/10
7/5/2024
By Mamoru Hosoda
This one’s alright. I think it’s my least favorite of Hosoda’s four good films. I get some legitimate feelings from the montages, and that’s mostly due to Takagi-san’s soundtrack. Masterful as always! But most of it is pretty childish. The pacing is wonky and the story is dumb.
4/10
7/3/2024
By Jiddu Krishnamurti
Austere, annihilating.
A philosophy with no parallel. Unique, but utterly factual. Makes all other works into opinion by contrast.
While Krishnamurti does not exactly construct values himself, I would consider his spirit to be as close to Nietzsche’s Ubermensch as imaginable. In fact, he very nearly deconstructs that idea too. Of course, that deconstruction is a prerequisite for the ubermensch, but I didn’t expect a being this pure and simple to be the thing to reevaluate all values.
Read it, and disintegrate!
10/10
6/30/2024
By Akira Kurosawa
This movie is hilarious! The funniest one I’ve seen by this guy Kurosawa.
The film feels like D&D should be. Crazy plans, going awry, and then improvisation. Character dynamics and growth. Nothing flashy, just plain and simple fun.
Huge fan of this one, even over Yojimbo. Also playing a part in that is the 90 minute runtime. In a toss-up, I’ll always back the shorter film.
8/10
6/23/2024
By Steven Spielberg
I wasn’t really gripped by this film, but we had a really good time together.
I guess it was sort of a mixed bag to me. The best violence I’ve seen in one of these war pictures. The worst camerawork. The sweetest characters. The weirdest conversations in the strangest places.
Anyways, I liked it, but I didn’t get choked up, so I’d say the film didn’t really work for me.
5/10
6/23/2024
By Akira Kurosawa
Wow! Now that’s a movie. I think this is my new favorite Kurosawa film. I think I generally like the modern-times films even more than the samurai films, since Kurosawa’s characters are so relatable and sweet in the modern day.
The first half of this film is unparalleled. The back half slows down just a hair, but I’d say it still works.
I particularly love the silhouette work in the house. I guess I’ve been watching these one-room dramas recently, same basic premise as in Reservoir dogs. This one’s tension is so much more relatable to me though, and truer and more pure, too.
9/10
6/23/2024
By Quentin Tarantino
I liked the film, quite a lot! I thought the cast was so cool, and the setup is pretty crafty. I think the flash of this film is sort of worn off today, but I can see its influence now.
6/10
6/23/2024
This film is really sloppy, and it doesn’t have much to teach.
Choreo is great, though, and the intensity of the filmmaking style along with Bruce Lee’s performance is pretty cool.
On that note, I’ve also been reading that book Striking Thoughts, which is just Lee’s journal, and it’s pretty much what you’d expect. I guess Lee has a lot of ideas in a lot of areas, but I’m only really interested in his intensity. I have little to learn from his thoughts.
I guess that’s how I feel about a lot of things now. I don’t care much about the actual ideas of the heroes - of Nietzsche, Emerson, Adler, more modern folks like Jon Blow, Derek Yu, Naval Ravikant, Derek Sivers… All that matters to me is their intensity. Their single-minded focus, or their absolute confidence in life’s value, or their unwavering determination towards some specific end. It’s focus, pure and simple.
These films show that intensity, but are otherwise pretty hard to watch. I think I like Enter the Dragon a little bit more.
3/10
6/22/2024
By Ojiro Fumoto
This game is everything that I love about video games.
Simple, honest, clear premise. A chance to push yourself. It’s all up to you!
I’d probably consider this to be my favorite game these days, and I haven’t even gotten past the halfway point.
It’s clear that this game came out of a long run of game-a-week style projects. The thirteenth, I believe. That’s great. A season of games! Then this. Very cool.
Thanks, Fumoto-san.
9/10
6/22/2024
Film’s real good. I was expecting it to have no edge at all, but yeah, Matt and Ben do a great job bringing this thing down to earth. I can tell these guys really felt that way about that time and place.
I think the Elliot Smith soundtrack is pretty good too. I like soft songs over films a lot.
7/10
6/20/2024
By Disney Animation Studios
Alan Menken, the songwriter for this movie, must be a genius. The songs are so simple, and yet they force me to consider such intricate and emotional subjects of my own soul, that I almost can’t believe he can do it.
The plot is contrived, of course, and the characters are silly, but who could ask for more?
The songs in this film, and their accompanying animations, are as close to Wolf Children’s segments that I think anyone’s made. I love these sections more than anything, particularly in this film, the Colors of the Wind.
7/10
6/19/2024
By Parquet Courts
Punk is great, man. I think this album is actually bringing me around on making art again. It’s this line, mostly: “Open your mouth. Pollinate your peers.”
Favorite songs: Almost Had to Start a Fight, Total Football, Tenderness
9/10
6/16/2024
I have less than no interest in the stories of human dominance at the moment. I don’t know what it is about films like this that just don’t do anything for me.
It’s sort of like Television - plus documentary. I guess it’s like those History Channel drama-docs, where every scene is as tense as it can be, and every character is trying so hard to impose their will on every other character.
Just sick to death of this sort of thing. Could have had a glimpse into this guy’s heart - into this guy’s mind…
2/10
6/14/2024
By Francis Ford Coppola
A man can only take so much of this gnarly noir stuff. But if it’s this kinda film, I like it.
Performances in these movies are always pretty weird. Stilted, sexual, and inhuman. I think the actors are mostly trying to put you at unease, rather than portray a real guy or gal.
Audio in this film is impeccable, though. I can’t believe they were able to pull this off!
6/10
6/9/2024
People back in those days talk so funny, I just can’t help but chuckle. Great work, Herman.
7/10
6/9/2024
By Leni Riefenstahl
By far the most beautiful film I’ve ever seen, visually. Also, some incredible cinematography, and the athletes are the best characters you could imagine.
The film has a big impact on me, both in what I think is possible, and in what I think is valuable.
8/10
6/1/2024
By Makoto Shinkai
This film is like a dream. I think this film is part of my heart forever now.
9/10
5/27/2024
By Makoto Shinkai
I’m sure that Makoto Shinkai’s heart is still in this film somewhere, and i see where he’s coming from with the whole Kafka on the Shore angle, but these films these days… how can they keep doing all this fantasy nonsense?
I don’t even really know what it’s all for.
The plot of this film reads like Final Fantasy. The Anime bullshit is off the charts. There’s some sweet characters, but they’re constantly just left baffled by the main character’s inability to communicate her weird fantasy situation, so they can only get so close.
Again, this film has some decent qualities, like the pace and the look, but i can’t cut it these days with the fantasy/anime stuff man, just can’t cut it anymore.
4/10
5/27/2024
By Francis Ford Coppola
Second watch.
Thing I noticed this time around: Michael is talking to his dad near the end, and Vito says that he wanted Michael to have the keys to power. He wanted his boy to be a senator, governor…It’s like the reason for all this power brokering is made clear. Vito’s whole dream is that the little guy can grow to pave his own way. It’s nicely explored in the second film, when Vito’s young, but it makes a little more sense why the Corleone do what they do in this film.
On that note, I still do think these guys are weird. The Sicilians, no matter their declarations of focus on family and honor, are still doing nasty stuff.
7/10
5/26/2024
By Intelligent Studios
Game is alright. Only a few hours played.
I think the trouble with this kind of game is that the whole thing is just stringing you along, trying to get you to be excited about stupid things.
It’s a subtle form of disrespect, and I don’t like it!
2/10
5/26/2024
By From Software
A marvelous game. Maybe my favorite of the bunch.
7/10
5/25/2024
By Davey Wreden
This game single-handedly restored my faith in the narrative game. It’s very constrained, and it isn’t really interested in the sorts of ludo-truth that art games tend to exploit.
Rather, it’s more like Everyday Shooter. A game which is more about a subtle feeling than any obvious truth in its mechanics.
Every time I hear about games like The Marriage or Passage - games I’m most certainly in favor of, by the way - I think: “Yeah, it’s meaningful, but isn’t it obvious?”
The games have a “moral of the story”, which is communicated in the language of games, but it’s still just a moral of the story. Like a children’s fable. It’s not subtle, or deep, or continually interesting. It’s cool, and it’s on the right track, but we haven’t communicated subtle things like feeling through mechanics yet.
This game, The Beginner’s Guide, doesn’t try to use the language of games on their own. It’s whole-heartedly a hybrid project between literature and games. And I’d say it works wonders in that niche.
While we still have a ways to go in developing the language of games in themselves, keep in mind, my friends, that most every film worth watching is also a script and a dance and an engineering effort.
Good art is a mix. Let’s not forget that in our pursuit of art in games.
8/10
5/21/2024
By Jonathan Mak
This is a game with a feeling, an essence, a philosophy, and a clear passion.
9/10
5/18/2024
By Haruomi Hosono
Low-key-est album ever. I love this thing.
I want to learn how Hosono produces music. It’s always the most low-volume stuff ever, but it still feels full. His instruments are so simple, and he makes such good stuff out of em.
9/10
5/18/2024
By Masaaki Yuasa
This film is TO THE MAX!!! Probably my favorite movie these days.
Endlessly relatable, filled with real-life stuff, and just non-stop punches in the face.
Also check out Yuasa’s shows. Ping Pong and Tatami Galaxy are both great.
9/10
5/18/2024
I think this talk is probably a must-watch for creators of all types.
Essentially:
This talk is also pretty well expressed by John Cleese’s book on Creativity, and David Lynch’s Catching the Big Fish.
8/10
5/18/2024
If you’re into video games, this is required viewing. Classic talk.
7/10
5/18/2024
By Derek Sivers
Derek’s best book. You’ll be thinking all sorts of stuff by the end.
8/10
5/18/2024
By Bethesda Game Studios
Morrowind is a weird combination, but it turns out to be pretty much the best RPG ever made.
Shitty tabletop-simulator combat, wikipedia hyperlink dialogue where everyone says the same thing, endless copy-paste content, and early 3D-accelerator era graphics. Sure, sure, it’s got flaws. But what Morrowind does best is its obtuse mechanics. The weird stuff.
The fact that your starting movement speed is a snail’s pace; the way you have to learn how to ride the bus to get anywhere; the quest writing - this is a game with more weirdos than Zelda.
There’s a whole culture of people who know how to levitate, so they don’t build stairs into their houses. If you want to talk to them, you have to be able to levitate. If you can’t, you’re out of luck.
These sorts of obtuse things are dying out in video games. The sharp edges are smoother now than ever.
That’s why you should play Morrowind.
9/10
5/18/2024
By Mamoru Hosoda
This was my favorite movie for a couple years. I think I watched it seven times in a week once.
It’s so earnest, full of heart, and simple! It’s a story with no conceits, a simple outlook, and a real sense of people. Pair that with Masakatsu Takagi’s beautiful score, and some of the best montage sequences in animation.
Anyways, I love this film. I also really like Hosoda’s The Boy and the Beast and Summer Wars, but his new stuff pretty much universally sucks. I just don’t know how a guy can make a film like Wolf Children and then also make a film like Belle…
9/10
5/18/2024
With Steve Swink, Kyle Gabler, Jonathan Blow, Jonathan Mak, and Jenova Chen.
This panel shakes me up every time I watch it! Five legends of indie games, essentially agreeing that what matters in game design is not innovation, but rather the essential nature of the game you’re designing.
Mak’s perspective is my favorite of the bunch. Can’t wait to see what they make next. Also really good is Chen’s perspective on entertainment being like food for the soul. This is operationally true, and seems more intuitive every time I watch this talk.
For more on this topic, check out Jonathan Blow’s page on games and feeling.
8/10
5/18/2024
By Shigeru Nagata
This album is an absolute classic. It’s been my companion for years now. So laid back, playful, exciting, refined, and simple. It’s the pinnacle of 90s Yamaha synth music, and the sounds are unmatched.
Bonus points if you also check out the terrible Studio Ghibli movie that this soundtrack is attached to. Super weird combination - the film and the OST both have a real sense of nostalgia, but go at it in different ways. OST succeeds, film fails. It’s pretty funny to watch, though.
9/10
5/18/2024
By Ichiro Kishime and Fumitake Koga
This book made my life go from sad to glad! If you read this book and try to really think about it, I think you’ll be glad too.
Basically: life is real simple, and human beings are free.
If you read one book ever, it better be this one!
10/10
5/18/2024