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tmnyland
Reviews
The Grey (2011)
Masterful, Misunderstood Art
The Grey is one of the best films I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it's also criminally misunderstood.
It's not about wolves or their behavior. It's not about how to survive in the wilderness, nor the skills necessary to do so. Anyone experienced with the aforementioned will find it unaccurate and unrealistic. I know I did the first time watching it. But, again - it's not about that.
The Grey is about our need for purpose. It's about redemption, comradery, meaning, morale and pure instinct clashing with raw emotion. It's about faith and willpower, and the miraculous ways in which any situation can feel both easy and impossible. It's about the relationship between physical and mental progress.
The Grey is multi-layered to a point far beyond most films. The men's journey through unforgiving nature, fighting unyielding challenges, sees them grow and develop in both heartwarming and heartbreaking ways. The plot is clear and far from convoluted, yet there's a vast amount of poetry between the lines to sink your teeth into. Cinematografy is beautiful. Acting is fantastic.
The Grey is not a movie about survival in its most literal form, but survival in a much broader sense. No matter the world, context, or challenges one may face. Whether it be in endless frozen woods, or amidst the ever-expanding civilation. Survival, in its most poetic yet simplistic form.
Watch it.
Dark Souls (2011)
A Timeless Masterpiece
This review is spoiler-free!
This game isn't made for the masses, that much is certain. Although its marketing and public identity revolves around its difficulty, there's so much more to this experience than you could ever grasp without playing it for yourself. Difficulty is there pretty much just as a key storytelling device, and it's put to good use, too.
Dark Souls is mysterious, lonely, atmospheric, interconnected and difficult. That's how I'd sum it up in one sentence.
The few friendly encounters with NPC's will quickly imbed themselves in your memory. Names such as Siegmeyer and Lautrec give me goosebumps every time I speak them, simply because of how masterful the storytelling and character archs are in this game. Each of them are only given around 15/20 minutes of screen time, total. But the whole world around you and them help tell their stories in ways no movie could ever do.
Places like Darkroot Garden, Anor Londo, Firelink Shrine and Ash Lake (and practically everywhere else, too) will stay with me forever, as their individually unique and unmatched atmosphere, mystery, and lore is proof video games is an art form.
The music, aaah! There's FOUR places where music is played, apart from during boss fights. Four. It's nothing, I know! Other games have music playing through every tiny battle and inside every single tavern, but Dark Souls spends it sparingly, thus making it feel that much more impactful.
Dark Souls is such a fantastic metaphor for depression and loneliness. It doesn't welcome you with open arms in the form of a super easy tutorial, helpful ways of learning its mechanics or hour-long cutscenes explaining what you're even supposed to do. You best it as best you can, as is with the real world around us. The people and characters you share your place in the world with travel about, trying their best at carving out a meaning of it all, same as yourself.
Dark Souls is just so damn good, and there's no way of understanding it without actually playing it for yourself, and finding the many fantastically written storylines and lore within it.