Thursday, July 16, 2015

8-Bit World

by Melissa Uhrin
I belong to an elite group, with an entire “secret language” at our disposal, whom many find to be alien gibberish. No no, it's not Klingon, although I do love me some Star Trek TNG! The secret language to which I refer can most famously be summed up as this: UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A, START, SELECT. Elite group = NERDS.

Some of my most cherished memories are of playing video games with my brother, or watching my brother play while I assisted. (Look out behind that corner Tim, there's a bunch of dicks there!) Flashback to Christmas 1987, (or 1988), when our present that year was our first NES and Super Mario Brothers and our realization that toys for kids could also be toys for adults! (Imagine being a kid and having to wait until all your uncles passed the levels before you could have your turn!! With your present!)

Over the past few years, I spent week upon week working out of town with my brother, and 90% of our evenings I spent watching him play Zelda (Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time) or Final Fantasy (X or XIII), and I fully believe is is truly the best interactive movie style ever! Lately, however, I find it rather difficult to squeeze in any gaming (my current game of choice: Skyrim, of course!) when I am on a mission to watch ALL of the movies in existence. So how do I get the best of both worlds? BAM. Movies based on or about VIDEO GAMES! This has been the best week ever!

Let us go about these in chronological order, shall we? I know I missed a few obvious choices, but I was limited to what we could find to instantly stream or that was in our current film collection. (I'm talking about YOU, 1993's Super Mario Bros!)

The Wizard (1989)
I was down visiting family in Ontario a couple weeks ago and my new sister Steph and I decided to go get sister tattoos. I am happy to say that I now wear my nerd status proudly on my chest, in the form of 8-bit Zelda life hearts. If anyone was ever in doubt about me, this be the proof! This brought up much gaming talk, and eventually graduated into movies about vids. My new sister's hubby brought up The Wizard, which somehow or another it had escaped my radar until this point in my life. The film follows three kids as they travel across the States towards California to enter the youngest, emotionally withdrawn Jimmy into Video Armageddon (essentially a gaming competition, where the gamer who scores the highest amount of points moves onto the next round until a champion is ultimately crowned.) Starring Luke Edwards as Jimmy, (aka The Wizard), who has a remarkable gift of winning at all video games, Fred Savage, Christian Slater and Beau Bridges, I feel the movie earns an “OKAY” from me, and although many believe it was an hour and a half long commercial for Nintendo (the world's first glimpse of Super Mario Bros 3 has a five minute long cameo near the end), it brought up much nostalgia and made me want to bring out my old Nintendo and lose myself in an 8-bit world.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001)
Next up, and another first viewing for me, was 2001's Lara Croft Tomb Raider. The Tomb Raider media franchise began with the 1996 release of the video game and is widely considered to be an influence for many 3D Action-Adventure games that would soon come. The film version stars Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, and her performance was a highlight of the movie for me. What I loved most about this film (and many feel the opposite) was the video gaming style of action, and I could totally imagine how each big action scene would play out in the actual game. It made me want to play the game, so now I am on the hunt for it.

Resident Evil (2002)
When you think of the Umbrella Corporation, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Happy people walking around protected from the rain? Or a mutant T-Virus that turns anyone in its path into a wonderful killing machine? Give me option two any day. I for one LOVE splashing around in the rain! The Resident Evil media franchise all stems from the release of the video game in 1996 and has spawned many sequels, films, comic books, novels, and I'm sure I am missing a few more things. Years ago, Tim mentioned to me that playing Resident Evil was scarier than actually watching the movie, particularly the dark hallway being chased by the mutated-zombie dogs scene. The movie is good -- I love the gaming aesthetic to it -- but my brother is right, there's just something about playing a horror-adventure game where you are in control of killing the zombified rottweilers before they kill you that makes the horror aspect that much more vivid.

Doom (2005)
Next up, DOOM! Everyone should be well aware that my boyfriend The Rock holds a special place in my heart, even when he's being a dick and killing innocent people. Doom, the video game, was initially released in 1993 and, as with the previous two video games I mentioned, the franchise eventually created the film version. While I was not a huge fan of the movie, I did enjoy quite a bit of the video game styling in the movie. I think that is where a lot of video gaming franchises lose movie going audiences, when they incorporate the visual styling and interactiveness from the game into the film, but for me it works. If watching the movie makes me want to play the game, I say that's a win for everyone!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
This is by far my favourite of all the movies I watched for this piece. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is in my top ten favourite movies of all time. When it was first released, I bought a bunch of copies and gave them to almost everyone I knew that could even potentially like the movie. Turns out I was for the most part ALONE in my love of the film, aside for a couple people. And even with this re-watch, I found myself hysterically laughing at so many scenes, faces, jokes, nonchalant-ness of the character and moments, again ALONE. What the crap?! There is everything to love about this movie, from the crazy video gaming elements to the over-the-top “fighting” scenes to the hilarity of scene after scene. I feel like I could give this the Chris Farley treatment and never shut up about the awesome. If there was ever a movie created for me and my stylings, this be it.

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Another first-time viewing for me. I am not sure how I went a whole three years without seeing this!? HAHA! When I mentioned to people that I was doing a piece on Video Game Movies, everyone said WRECK-IT RALPH! I think my initial impression when I heard about it being released a couple years ago (based on its title) was that it was just another Cars-type movie, this time with some kind of Wrecker names Ralph at it's centre, and that's what steered me clear of it. HUH. My bad! I guess I should have done more than assume shit from a title! Knowing little about it aside from the fact that it was a cartoon, I jumped in face first and fell in love immediately! Voiced by John C. Reilly, Ralph is a bad guy video game character who wants to go good, and we follows his path to become so. This is on my re-watch list, most definitely!

What have I learned from my week immersed in movies based on video games? That I need to spend more time battling dragons in Skyrim, rescuing Zelda, and that the best birthday party you could ever throw for your nerd husband is a garage full of fellow nerds, food, televisions and Nintendo console gaming stations. Like I said, it's an elite club, one of which I am proud to be a part. And you are all free to join us, provided you know the secret codes.

21 comments:

  1. I don't really understand the hate for Scott Pilgrim. I'm always surprised by this because it seems exactly like the type of movie that the pretentious hipster movie crowd would like. I was ok with tomb raider when it was released and was excited about the casting of Angelina Jolie but its not a movie that I ever think about.

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    1. That's just it - it's hip to not like it now just like Donnie Darko. I love both of those films.

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    2. People are dumb. They should just like what they like and not be lemmings. There are SO many movies that I am literally the ONLY one laughing at whatever joke or dumbness is going on. This is probably why I have never fit in with the IN crowd. I unashamedly love too many things! HAHA!

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    3. Oh man, Scott Pilgrim is great - I assumed that was pretty universally loved. I love every minute of that freakin movie.

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    4. It scored 7.5 on IMdB, 69 on Meta, and an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. I'd say it is properly rated, as those are great scores for its genre.

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    5. The only thing worse to me is the opposite effect, when you're watching a movie and trying to take it somewhat seriously, but the "hip" people around you are ironically laughing in all the right, pre-planned places. The worst experience like this I can remember is American Werewolf in London, which I saw in a theater. Granted, that movie has a ton of comedy. But I was taken a little off guard when the somewhat serious ending was covered up by uproarious laughter and applause.

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    7. I've watched "Scott Pilgrim" three times, and each time I hated it more and more. And I love every other movie Edgar Wright has directed and grew up with videogames, which I still play (mostly older console games and portable systems like 3DS) from time to time. I just don't like any of the characters (except for Todd, because Brandon Routh rules!) or give two shits whether Scott and Knives/Ramona end up together. The sound effects/videogame visuals just seem tacked-on to a story/movie that would still suck if it were told straight... which only makes the added multimedia a stick-in-the-mud lipstick on a pig of a movie. Sorry, some of us see the world through different-colored glasses I guess.

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  2. Great minds think alike: Scott Pilgrim is one of my favorites of all time, too! Also, I unashamedly enjoy The Wizard for the gaming nostalgia bomb it always plants on me.

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  3. I really dig Scott Pilgrim as well and I think each time I re-watch it I notice new things and like it all the more.

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  4. My favourite thing about The Wizard was exactly that John! The music, the vids, everything threw me face first into my childhood. We even got my NES and SNES up and running again! Hooray! I am however, steering clear of listening to New Kids on the Block. Some things can remain memories HAHA

    YAY! I always notice new things when I give Scott Pilgrim a re-watch! So MANY MANY things to love!

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  5. 3 movies I genuinely love: the Wizard, Wreck-it-Ralph and Scott Pilgrim. When I saw the Wizard as a kid, I thought it was the greatest thing ever! Scott Pilgrim is one of the only movies I saw that I wanted to watch again, immediately. If you don't like it then you are not my friend. In fact, we were never friends to begin with. Wreck-it-Ralph is just great. Sarah Silverman is one of my favorite animated performances. Great article! You hit me right in the controller where my heart used to be. That last sentence makes complete sense. Don't overthink it.

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    1. I was a big fan of The Wizard too but it was one of the first movies where I noticed a lapse in logic: How the hell did he know that warp-zone flute existed, huh? How did he know?!

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    2. He was the Wizard...the Wizard!!! Not a wizard but the Wizard. He has knowledge we can't even fathom. His only kryptonite was the Power Glove...

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    3. Huh, 25-year-old mystery solved! Thanks Brent!

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    4. John Murphy sent me a video yesterday about all the mistakes the movie made with the video game timelines and scoring systems etc. The best part about it was all of the fake points given for discovering the warp whistle! HAHA!

      https://youtu.be/NrIn8hklG-I

      Daryl and I are thinking about creating a video about The Wizard's point system for Mario 3... (Running fast helps you accumulate points! BAM!)

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    5. Yay! Thanks for the shout out, Melissa! I just love that video every time I watch it. :)

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    6. I just watched the video and man he sucked at playing that game. He was no wizard...

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  6. Good article. I loved the references SPVTW made throughout the movie. Also, it's *select and then *start because you press select to choose 2 players and then start to begin he game. Sorry, I speak video game way more than I speak movie.

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  7. Having never ever played any video game except "Unreal Tournament" maybe 15 years ago, I am in no position to say anything about how good what movie is in relation to the game.
    But speaking only for the movies I can say this:
    I don´t know Wreck-it Ralph or The wizard
    Doom was terrible.
    Both Tomb Raider movies were also terrible.
    Scott Pilgrim was great, funny and totally surprising on first viewing.
    And the first Resident Evil was fine and still holds up today - at least for me.
    The other chapters are of varying quality from ok to bad but I have a soft spot for this franchise, although Paul W.S. Anderson simply isn´t able to write a good or at least a coherent script.

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  8. I only saw Scott Pilgrim once (when it came out) and remember being lukewarm on it. I don't know why because on paper I should love it. Maybe it was a backlash to the insane hype or maybe it was just the mood I was in. Will have to revisit.

    Also, never heard of The Wizard. That's going on the watchlist immediately. Sounds great.

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