Weekend in Review

So, this weekend I was able to play 2 games of Jambo, watch 3 movies, and visit the State Museum.

Jambo is a great 2 player game that does an excellent job of capturing the feel of Magic. In fact, I would argue that this game succeeds where Race for the Galaxy and Dominion do not. I'll write more about this point sometime, but basically, I think that there are a number of board gamers who will simply not admit to themselves that they want to play Magic again and instead play these alternatives that never quite scratch the itch.

The goal of Jambo is to be the first person to collect 60 gold coins. This is done by purchasing and then selling different combination of goods via your market stall. The different people, animal, utility, and market cards can be manipulated to set off some neat combos, which makes the game a true pleasure to play.

I recently acquired the expansion to this game and my goal had been to play the base game a couple of times so that I could then break out the expansion. So...stay tuned.

In addition to gaming, I saw three movies this weekend: District 9, The Soloist, and Inglorious Bastards.

District 9: Very entertaining and definitely worth a watch. I have no idea how this compares to the "short" that it is based on, and I don't care. The "long" movie was enjoyable. This is a unique take on the whole "aliens come to earth" genre of Sci-Fi movie, perhaps tapping into the true power of the Science Fiction genre in a way that has not been done for some time. While the social commentary on race relations and corporate responsibility (or irresponsibility) seemed tacked on at times, it was never so ridiculous that I stopped believing. The documentary style of the movie was fleeting and I wish that they had been able to maintain this for the entirety of the film.

The Solosit: Starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr, this is an excellent drama about an extremely talented musician who goes a bit crazy and ends up living on the streets. He meets up with a reporter who chronicles his life, becomes famous, and ends up helping the homeless out and raising awareness of their problems. I have trivialized the plot, so let me reiterate that the movie is touching, funny, kind, and an all around nice movie. We don't get enough of these movies anymore. It is "good" without being "sappy" or cheesy. Watch it. Live it.

Inglourious Bastards: Well Quentin, you have done it again. I was worried. I did not know if you would entertain me as you once did. But in the end, Inglorious Bastards was a delightful romp through German occupied France during World War II.

This is not to say that the movie was flawless; it wasn't. The saving grace, for each flow, was that they only exist because of an attribute. Shall we begin?

1. There were scenes where I could not help but feel that Tarantino was a bit full of himself. The dialogue, though good, was rambling. Was he showing off? Is he so proud of his profound ability to craft witty lines that we, the audience, must now sit through a 10 minute scene that could have easily accomplished the same effect in 5? But the line between good and bad was only slightly crossed, he pushed it, but I was never entirely upset with a scene. Just when I was on the verge of boredom, the scene ended and the movie moved on.

2. The movie was full of excellent characters, but I was left wishing that each one had been developed just a little bit more. The bad guys is cool. The main good guy (Brad Pitt) is cool. His troop of good guys are cool. And the main French chick is cool. There is a lot of cool going around, but we never get to.....(I'm having trouble finishing this terrible metaphor)....bite into the creamy center of the ice cream treat. Sorry. But, my point is that they are great characters and an entire movie could have been written about each one. Instead, they are flashed before our eyes and then taken away before we ever get to know them or understand just how many more witty statements Brad Pitt could have made. For shame.

3. The same thing goes for the plots. Tarantino loves intertwining plots, but in the past, he has spent more time developing those sub-plots and then fully crafting that point when all of the different plots crash together in that spectacular cinematic moment. This never happened in Inglorious Bastards. Or, it did.....no, it didn't. They sort of converge and then slip between the cracks, connecting but then flashing by each other. Did he intend to do this? I don't know, but either way, I wish that he had taken the time to finalize the threads.

So, I listed three negatives that were composed of excellent sub points. The plots didn't connect, but each individual plot was outstanding. The main characters were never fully developed, but they were brilliant and interesting. The dialogue was sometimes to the point of absurdity, but it never exactly hit that point and was often incredibly engaging.

Thus, a good movie.

Finally, I went to the PA state museum on Saturday. It is old and boring. They have not updated place in about 20 years and now they are charging money for it. Well, let me tell you, they had better start to install some new exhibits. You have my money, now use it.