Weekend - June 11, 2020

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Weekend

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| THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020

Laugh it up!

5 great comedy videos you might have missed, Page E2 PLUS

Perform-AThon will go on, Page E3

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The King of Staten Island,’ E6 BEER NUT: A six-pack of clever beer names, E10 WINE PRESS: 7 great Spanish wines perfect for summer, E10

E2 | THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020

WEEKEND

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

ON THE COVER

Laugh it up!

5 great comedy videos you might have missed

W

By George Lenker

Special to The Republican

e all love to laugh, and these days a good chuckle or 50 is definitely welcome as we ride out whatever state of lockdown society may be in.

It seems like there is a comic on every corner and it’s hard to keep track. And, of course, humor is subjective and personal, like taste in food or music, but most everyone likes something on the current smorgasbord of comedy.

We are here to help you find a few lesser-known gems.

So we thought we’d suggest five stand-up comedy specials for you to consider, highlighting a few that you may have missed. This means the list won’t be populated by comics who are legendary and universally known, so certain ones are off-limits. In other words, you won’t find George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart or Ellen DeGeneres, etc., on this list.

That doesn’t mean these will all be obscure folks you’ve never heard of, as they all have been around for years, and most have also done some acting where you might have seen them. But we are guessing that you probably haven’t seen all these specials, unless you are a true maven of the art of stand-up. (Please also note that some of these comics often veer into R-rated territory, so some might not be suitable for children or the easily offended.)

So in no particular order, here are five under the radar specials you might want to check out:

Kathleen Madigan (JASON DAVIS /

GETTY IMAGES FOR SIRIUSXM)

“Bothering Jesus” by Kathleen Madigan Madigan is one of those comics whose fans wonder why she isn’t a superstar. Her jokes are classics, her timing is impeccable, and in this set she delivers a performance that is worthy of any comedian you can think of. If you have never seen her, check this show out.

“Not Normal” by Wanda Sykes Sykes is maybe best known to some as Larry David’s outraged friend on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” but her stand-up allows her humor to shine beyond the confines of David’s obtuse (albeit hilarious) universe. She also was a writer and sometimes actor on the old “Chris Rock Show” (1997-2000), for which she won an Emmy as part of the writing team.

Todd Barry (PAUL ZIMMERMAN / GETTY IMAGES)

Marc Maron (BRANDON WILLIAMS / GETTY IMAGES)

“Too Real” by Marc Maron As the host of the wellknown podcast “WTF,” Maron has increased his popularity in recent years. But his real wheelhouse is onstage. While all of Maron’s specials are a special kind of cringeworthy hilarious, this one is the best.

Maron riffs on such topics such as how he doesn’t know how to have fun, musing that he didn’t know whether he’d even have bothered to come to his own show.

Wanda Sykes (VIVIEN KILLILEA / GETTY IMAGES FOR GLAAD)

“Spicy Honey”

by Todd Barry Like many on this list, Barry has been around for decades but never quite reached the level of fame he deserves.

His deadpan delivery adds an extra layer to his wry observations, which range from his lack of motivation, bad pizza, and, in a bit fitting for our times, being a germophobe.

“I Walked on the Moon” by Brian Regan Here is one from a comic who works almost totally clean in the Jim Gaffigan style — and he’s also hilarious.

While all of his sets are usually brilliant, this one includes the bit from which the title is taken, which is worth the price of admission alone.

His bit on food serving sizes is also Brian Regan (BRIAN FRIEDMAN / GETTY IMAGES) an instant classic.

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WEEKEND

THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020 | E3

SPRINGFIELD

Perform-A-Thon will go on virtually Community Music School of Springfield to stage event on website, Facebook today

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Community Music School of Springfield student Kayden Behan plays the flute. The school’s virtual Perform-AThon will take place today from 4-8 p.m. The event will feature live performances as well as previously taped performances.

By Cori Urban

Special to The Republican

espite the COVID-19 pandemic, Community Music School of Springfield’s Perform-A-Thon show will go on — on the school’s website and Facebook page.

Students from the Community Music School of Springfield perform during Springfield’s Dr. Martin Luthur King Jr. Day Celebration held at the MassMutual Center in January.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

EVENT INFO Event: Community Music School of Springfield “Lifting Every Voice” virtual recital and Perform-A-Thon When: Today, 4-8 p.m.

Live stream: communi tymusicschool.com and facebook.com/CMSSpringfield Donate: communitymu sicschool.com/donate

to bring these two concepts together virtually with a schoolwide Perform-A-Thon in support of financial aid.”

Community Music School of Springfield provides more than $100,000 in financial

aid and scholarships each year. Its mission is to provide an equitable and inclusive center of excellence in music education that empowers individuals, inspires creative passion and promotes well-being in the greater community. It serves more than 2,000 students annually at its 127 State St. location and in community partnership programs.

To donate, go to commu nitymusicschool.com/ donate.

The “Lifting Every Voice” school-wide virtual recital and Perform-a-Thon will take place today from 4 to 8 p.m. The livestream can be watched at communitymu

sicschool.com and face book.com/CMSSpring field.

For more information, visit the school’s website or Facebook page, or email ssimmons@communitymusicschool.com.

“This year, due to the pandemic we had to cancel the Spring Gala, but the need for our financial aid program remains.

At the same time, our school year concludes in June, and our Robyn Newhouse Hall is normally filled with joyful recitals and culminating events. We decided to bring these two concepts together virtually with a schoolwide Perform-A-Thon in support of financial aid.”

Eileen M. McCaffery, executive director, Community Music School of Springfield

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The virtual Perform-AThon will take place this afternoon and evening.

The event will consist of CMSS student and alumni solo performances spanning levels from beginner to advanced on a variety of instruments including piano, cello, saxophone and euphonium. Performances also will include voice and family performances, ensembles and the CMSS Children’s Chorus of Springfield.

Videos will include the Youth Wind Ensemble of Springfield and String City Orchestra in performances that took place before the pandemic. All videos will be streamed and hosted live from Focus Springfield’s studio by CMSS faculty and staff.

More than 100 performers are expected to participate.

This will be the music school’s first virtual Perform-a-Thon, though in its early years, it had a live a Perform-a-Thon.

Each year the CMSS Spring Gala raises more $60,000 for financial aid and the scholarship fund for the next school year. “This year, due to the pandemic we had to cancel the Spring Gala, but the need for our financial aid program remains,” explained Eileen M. McCaffery, executive director. “At the same time, our school year concludes in June, and our Robyn Newhouse Hall is normally filled with joyful recitals and culminating events. We decided

(MASSLIVE.COM FILE PHOTO)

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E4 | THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020

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MUSIC

Iron Horse shows get moved again

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S SOCIAL DIStancing guidelines continue to restrict large gatherings, putting a damper on live music schedules everywhere, promoters are looking more and more to 2021 when shifting concert dates.

Locally, the Iron Horse Music Hall is now seeing a second round of postponements for shows originally scheduled for March and April.

Crystal Bowersox, once an American Idol runner-up (Season 10), has seen her March 24 date, which was first moved to Aug. 8, pulled once again for a 2021 date.

She will now appear at the Northampton venue on March 27, a full year after the originally scheduled concert.

Similarly, the Steely Dan tribute Hey Nineteen has moved from April 18 to July 10, and now April 10 of next year.

Tickets purchased for the original and second dates will be honored for the 2021 shows.

There are still June and July shows on many concert calendars. Why not move them all to 2021?

Probably because the advi-

Donnie Moorhouse LiveWire

sories around COVID-19 are ever-changing, and in some cases, a bit confusing. Music venues that serve food, like the Iron Horse, Theodores’ in Springfield, and Infinity Hall in Hartford, may be able to reopen in Phase 3 (end of June, early July). We have to assume that getting to Phase 3 means these limited gatherings are no longer a public health concern.

Why not slide the concert dates (when possible) forward a bit rather than closing out 2020 in June?

While this presents an inconvenience for the ticket-buyer, it’s a real hardship for a music venue like the Iron Horse that under non-Covid conditions is operating close to seven days a week.

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliot performs June 15, 2018, at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The massive hard rock stadium tour featuring Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison, and Joan Jett that was scheduled for stop Fenway Park in Boston on Aug. 25 has been canceled. New dates are being rescheduled. (MATT SMITH / NJ ADVANCE MEDIA)

Liner notes • It has been a lost summer for Jackson Browne who, like the multitude of other concert draws, has withdrawn from live performances due to COVID-19.

The veteran performer was scheduled to tour with James Taylor (including Fenway Park) and play a show at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

The Foxwoods concert has a rescheduled date.

Browne will now play the Grand Theater at the Mashantucket, Connecticut, casino on June 20, 2021.

Tickets for the original date will be honored at the new show.

Browne was a successful songwriter for artists such as The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and Joan Baez before signing with David Geffen in 1971 and charting with singles “Doctor My Eyes,” and “Rock Me On the Water.”

“We the Santana Band regret to inform you that we won’t be able to present our music to you this summer,” wrote Carlos Santana in a statement. “This is truly beyond our control and of course is for the safety and well-being of our beloved fans. We look forward to bringing you the sounds of Light and Love next year. We will get through this together and be stronger and wiser.

We wish you GOD SPEED.” Purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates when they are announced.

• Another summer stadium tour has lost the fight with coronavirus.

The massive hard rock tour featuring Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett was scheduled for a Fenway Park in Boston stop on Aug. 25.

“The new stadium dates are being rescheduled,” the four acts wrote in a group statement. “Your tickets will be honored for all postponed shows and refund policy information will be made available shortly. Stay tuned, be safe, and we will see you next year!”

The highly anticipated tour would have marked a return for the members of Motely Crue, who hadn’t shared the stage since the band’s 2015 farewell tour.

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Singer Crystal Bowersox will perform at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton on March 27, a year after her originally scheduled concert.

• Classic rock icon Santana has canceled his “Miraculous and Supernatural” tour, including shows in Boston and Connecticut.

The tour, also featuring Earth, Wind, and Fire, was scheduled to play Xfinity Centre in Mansfield on Aug. 12 and Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Aug. 14.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020 | E5

MUSIC ALBUM REVIEW

Run The Jewels’ new album is cathartic

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By Mikael Wood

Los Angeles Times

un the Jewels was supposed to be on the road right now with Rage Against the Machine — two of music’s most politically engaged groups barnstorming the country in the run-up to a presidential election that feels more consequential with every passing day.

Alas, the tour was delayed until 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet America’s other emergency sped up Run the Jewels’ plans: On June 3, amid nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, El-P and Killer Mike announced they were releasing their new album two days early.

“The world is infested, so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all,” the rappers wrote in a straightforward statement.

The duo’s fourth LP since debuting in 2013, “RTJ4” delivers on its promise of timeliness with lyrics about

Michael Render (Killer Mike) and Jaime Meline (EL-P) of Run The Jewels at the Orpheum Theater on Feb. 15, 2017, in Madison, Wis. (DANIEL DESLOVER / ZUMA PRESS / TNS)

breathe,’” he raps, “And you sit there in house on couch and watch it on TV/ The most you give is a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy.”

Then again, when in the past decade would those lines not have seemed timely? By saying “I can’t breathe” in a song recorded months ago, Killer Mike appears somehow to have anticipated one of Floyd’s final sentences; he’s also quoting Eric Garner, who died in similarly outrageous circumstances in New York in 2014.

Yet the men rap in the kind of crisp, booming cadences that have all but disappeared from hip-hop in the age of Drake and his countless sing-rapping inheritors.

Killer Mike and El-P, both in their mid-40s, come by their old-school flows honestly: Each was active for years before they formed Run the Jewels - El-P as part of New York’s Company Flow and as a solo artist running his own indie label, Definitive Jux; Killer Mike as a member of Atlanta’s Dungeon Family collective

80-year-old Mavis Staples. At a moment when rap is filled with teenagers vying for supremacy on TikTok, Run the Jewels proudly illuminates a more grown-up point of view.

“Not a holy man, but I’m moral in my perverseness,” Killer Mike says in “The Ground Below,” before finishing the couplet with a remarkable demonstration of his deep-seated humanism: “So I support the sex workers unionizing their services.”

Lyrically, the two seek to lay out how systems put in place yesterday — from redlining to mandatory sentencing to imbalanced access to health care — helped create the injustices we see today. (Like Run the Jewels’ earlier albums, “RTJ4” is available to download for who scored a hit in 2001 with free from the duo’s website, Run the Jewels’ music is all about the collision of then and his cameo on OutKast’s “The though it has already encouraged more than $100,000 in now. The bleak but muscular Whole World.” pay-what-you-want donaTheir vintage references production, much of it by El-P further reflect their age: Gang tions to the National Law(with help from Little Shalimar and Wilder Zoby), layers Starr and Ol’ Dirty Bastard in yers Guild’s Mass Defense squelching synths over frac“Ooh La La,” Public Enemy in Program.) tured beats in a way that never “Out of Sight.” A Gang of Four Yet the result is hardly dry or quite allows you to decide academic: The palpable anger sample drives “The Ground what was programmed and coursing through tracks like Below,” while “Pulling the what was played by hand.

“Yankee and the Brave” and Pin” has a chorus sung by

At a moment when rap is filled with teenagers vying for supremacy on TikTok, Run the Jewels proudly illuminates a more grown-up point of view. somebody texting “Stay safe” (as 2 Chainz puts it in a guest verse in “Out of Sight”) and about the caught-on-tape police brutality that Killer Mike vividly describes in “Walking in the Snow.”

“You so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me/ Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, ‘I can’t

“JU$T”— the latter featuring Pharrell Williams and Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha — feels as cleansing as an acid bath.

And fury isn’t the only sensation the group articulates on its most emotionally complex album so far. In “Goonies vs. E.T.,” El-P raps about the pressures city life can exert on a romance; an additional track with an unprintable title has Killer Mike pondering the residual effects of casual violence: “I still can’t seem to escape the panic/ PTSD, streets did the damage.”

The vulnerability in that line calls to mind Killer Mike’s recent speech at a news conference alongside Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, in which he told demonstrators that he understood their rage over Floyd’s death yet tearfully urged them “not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy.”

His appeal went viral online even as some condemned it as an accommodationist’s message. That Mike himself seemed torn was what gave him the air of a true leader.

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MOVIES REVIEW

Pete Davidson is ‘The King of Staten Island’ Film loses focus, but captures comedian’s charisma

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From left, Alexis Rae Forlenza, Pete Davidson and Luke David Blumm appear in a scene from “The King of Staten Island,” directed

by Judd Apatow.

By Katie Walsh

Tribune News Service

omedy impresario Judd Apatow has a penchant for a specific filmic formula: lightly biographical star-driven vehicles that are lengthy hangout movies with some flimsy conflict laid on top to keep things moving.

The best of these capture the essence of a performer, like the Adam Sandler vehicle “Funny People,” while the weaker entries (“This is 40”) just sort of exist. Fortunately, his new film, “The King of Staten Island,” starring “Saturday Night Live” enfant terrible and tabloid staple Pete Davidson, tends more toward the poignantly humanistic qualities of “Funny People.” But that doesn’t mean Apatow doesn’t

still get hung up on some of his peccadillos.

Apatow’s greatest strength as a filmmaker is an eye for charismatic performers who are just fun to be around, and “The King of Staten Island” is a testament to that. In Davidson, Apatow has a uniquely compelling young comedian with a tragic life story: Davidson’s father, Scott Davidson (to whom the film

(SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS)

What to stream?

By Michael O’Sullivan

/ UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

SEE ‘KING’, PAGE E7

Damon Herriman and Mia Wasikowska in “Judy & Punch.”

most famous creations: the hapless marionette Judy and Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in her abusive, slapstick-wielding Wonderland”) and Damon husband Punch, whose shows Herriman (“Once Upon a always end with the former Time in Hollywood”) play getting smacked over the head the title characters in “Judy & by the latter.

Punch,” married puppeteers But the titular reversal of who share the names — and a the names we know from the few personality traits — of their traditional “Punch and Judy” Washington Post

(MARY CYBULSKI

performances, which date to the 17th century, suggests a MeToo update by Australian filmmaker Mirrah Foulkes, who has turned the tale into a much more darkly comic and at times shockingly violent revenge fantasia.

Set in the fictional English town of Seaside (which onscreen titles tell us is “nowhere near the sea”), the story gets underway after the alcoholic, philandering Punch, who does not share his wife’s talent, accidentally kills their baby and, in a fit of guilty rage, beats Judy to a pulp, leaving her for dead.

Nursed back to health by a matriarchal community of outcasts who have been ostracized for witchcraft, Judy hatches a way to punish and/or teach Punch a lesson. Foulkes brings the atmosphere of a puppet show to Seaside, which is a place caught somewhere between Shakespearean times and the 20th century. Her command of the film’s tonal plate tectonics is sure, even when the film is shifting abruptly from the death of a toddler to broad comedy.

Willem Dafoe stars in “Tommaso.” (KINO LORBER)

Unrated. Now available on various streaming platforms.

Contains violence (both puppet and human), strong language and brief partial nudity. 116 minutes.

Indie filmmaker Abel Ferrara (“Bad Lieutenant,” “The Addiction”) hasn’t made a scripted drama since 2014’s “Pasolini,” about the controversial Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini.

His star in that film, Willem Dafoe — who has worked with Ferrara on several other projects

— returns in “Tommaso,” playing a version of Ferrara.

Dafoe’s character, a 60-something American filmmaker, lives in Rome, like the 68-year-old Ferrara, with his much younger wife (played by Ferrara’s actual wife, Cristina Chiriac, not yet 30) and their 3-year-old daughter (played by Ferrara and Chiriac’s real daughter).

The film was shot in Ferrara’s apartment, and Tomasso, like Ferrara, is an addict in recovery.

Tommaso spends a lot of the film in A.A.-type meetings. This is, however, no documentary. Many scenes appear to be dreams/ nightmares, fantasies, hallucinations or wish fulfillment. You might find it helpful to imagine that nothing on screen can be trusted to be, quote-unquote, true. In that sense, it’s mostly a story of an aging artist’s insecurities – creative, sexual, etc. — and the lies they feed him.

That said, it’s enlivened by Dafoe’s head-on commitment to the performance as a man bewildered by his own self, and a filmmaking style that demands SEE STREAM, PAGE E8

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THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020 | E7

MOVIES DVD RELEASES

‘The Hunt’ not worth pursuit

By Katie Foran-McHale

Tribune News Service

“The Hunt”: Director Craig Zobel’s horror thriller following a group of “elites” hunting down “deplorables” has been cursed with bad timing. It was originally slated for theatrical release in September 2019, but Universal pulled it after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

It didn’t see the light of day until March 13, just before governors began shutdowns in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Its DVD release comes in the midst of nationwide protests and violence following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But despite the controversy that has surrounded the film, what resonates most after watching it is general confusion.

And creating confusion is the film’s biggest accomplishment, for better and worse.

The story takes wild turns once arriving at the “manor,” where the “elite” co-workers commence their human hunting spree, faking out the audience with false starts several times. The message appears to be that no one can be trusted, not even the camera.

This leads us to the movie’s one saving grace: Betty Gilpin’s captivating performance as the mysterious Crystal.

She handles weapons and her captors with a smirk, coolly alternating between taking and causing destruction, even through a deranged retelling of “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

Otherwise though, said confusion works against the film, largely due to the script and tone. It doesn’t work as satire; what the commentary is aimed toward remains unclear. The clunky dialogue does it no favors (see: “Climate change IS real!” “She’s unarmed, so have fun with it!”), eliciting as many cringes as its graphic violence.

Also new on DVD “Doctor Who: The Complete Twelfth Series”: The

Pete Davidson appears in a scene from “The King of Staten Island,” directed by Judd Apatow. (MARY CYBULSKI / UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

‘King’

Hilary Swank, left, and Betty Gilpin appear in a scene from “The Hunt.” (PATTI PERRET / UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) continues her TARDIS time and space travels.

“Lost in America”: Documentary follows the lives of teenagers experiencing homelessness in the United States.

“Outback”: A couple fights to survive in the rough Australian wilderness. Kym Cramp, Brendan Donoghue and Lauren Lofberg star.

“Think Like a Dog”: An experimental mishap results in a 12-year-old boy discovering a psychic connection with his dog. Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel and Gabriel Bateman star.

“Power: Season 6”: James St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick) is on a quest for vengeance in the final season of the Starz crime drama.

“We Summon the Darkness”: Three heavy metal-loving women (Alexandra Daddario, Maddie Hasson and Amy Forsyth) face a killing spree after bringing musicians to an isolated house.

Also stars Johnny Knoxville, Keean Johnson and Logan Miller.

Out on Digital HD “Here Awhile”: A woman with a terminal illness (Anna Camp) journeys to Oregon to seek death with dignity.

“When You Wish Upon a Pickle: A Sesame Street Special”: The 2018 HBO primetime special features celebrity guest stars Amanda Seyfried and Blake Lively as the Sesame Street gang meets a magical pickle that will grant their wishes.

“You Don’t Nomi”: Documentary follows the history and production of the cult classic movie “Showgirls.”

“Relic”: Three generations of women face terror in their rural home as Kay (Emily Mortimer) discovers it may be related to her mother’s (Robyn Nevin) dementia.

“The Departure”: A monk in Japan who helps people who are experiencing suicidal ideation examines what human beings owe to one another in this documentary.

Out tomorrow.

“The Soul Collector”: A man whose job it is to collect souls (Tshamano Sebe) asks for forgiveness. Out tomorrow.

anywhere. It’s a joy to watch him interact with the young children of his mother’s new CONTINUED FROM PAGE E6 boyfriend, Ray (Bill Burr), as is dedicated in memory of), he walks them to school; it’s was a New York City firefight- just that the entire premise of er who was killed in the Sept. him walking them to school is 11, 2001, terrorist attacks far-fetched and doesn’t ever while trying to rescue folks at end up paying off in any meaningful way. This could be said the World Trade Center. The about any number of the enscript, by Davidson, Apatow and “SNL” writer Dave joyable characters Scott passes Sirus, is a lightly fictionalized the time with: his pill-peddling buddies, his sister, his restaubiographical yarn. Davidson stars as a 24-year old burnout, rant co-workers.

The only scenarios that take Scott, living at home on Staten Scott on an emotional arc are Island, dealing with the loss his on-off relationship with Kelsey (Bel Powley), and his ‘THE KING OF begrudging friendship with STATEN ISLAND’ the guys at the firehouse, a place Scott avoids due to the rrrs trauma of losing his father. It’s Rated: R Running time: 136 min. only when his mother kicks How to watch: Available him and Ray (also a fireman) on demand and on digital out of her house for squabplatforms tomorrow bling that Scott ventures into this fraternity where he can begin his healing, 90 minutes of his father, a firefighter who into this two-hour, 16-minute film. It feels like the first and died in a hotel fire, which he second halves of the film are has never processed or come two different movies, as the to terms with. As his younger sister (Maude Apatow) moves grimy, good-natured hangout morphs into a heartwarming out and his mom (Marisa Tomei) moves on, what is Scott story of personal growth. to do?

It’s a testament to the power Scott’s coming of age can of the amazing supporting only come from reckoning cast that you just wish the with his past. That’s the truly film were a bit more focused. moving stuff at the core of the Actors like Pamela Adlon and film, but like Scott’s arrestMoises Arias are incredible, ed development, it takes its but we’re given just a small sweet time getting there. That taste, rather than any fully doesn’t mean it’s a bad time, developed storylines. This is though. The film captures Scott’s tale, and Davidson’s Davidson’s skinny, tattoo-cov- story, and while this memered appeal, and places oirist film strikes a singularly irreverent yet soulful note, it is him in situations where his hampered by a few too many natural charm shines. Those distractions. situations just don’t really go

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VIDEO GAME REVIEW

‘Trials of Mana’ is perfect little escapist fantasy

By Gene Park

for the PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

“Trials of Mana” is perfect for two types of players. First, there are folks like me who grew up with the 16-bit classics, and would love for a chance to dive back into that charming world of simple and immediate rewards. But

Washington Post

Role-playing games can be intimidating. They involve all this math, stats and different mechanics to memorize and track. Enemies might explode into a treasure trove of new items with benefits harder to read than your insurance policy.

Meanwhile, every new town in “Trials of Mana” offers you exactly one new weapon. No need for spreadsheets on the “loot grind” and decoding cryptic algorithms. Just get the one sword, which you know is stronger because it has bigger numbers than your last sword.

The brilliance of “Trials of Mana” is how it distills several core gameplay features to its truest sense. The “loot grind” to gain more equipment really comes down to comparing smaller and bigger numbers. Sometimes towns really don’t function as much else besides places to stock up on things and maybe get some loose context for the world.

Sometimes, a simple classic like “Trials of Mana” is all you really need.

This game is mythical. It’s the direct sequel to the Super Nintendo classic “Secret of Mana,” a name whispered

Stream CONTINUED FROM PAGE E6

you keep your own wits about you.

Unrated. Available at afisilver. afi.com. and sunscinema.com.

Contains sex, nudity, violence and strong language. 116 minutes.

‘TRIALS OF MANA’ Developed by: Xeen Published by: Square Enix Available on: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows

then, it’s a great primer for anyone who’s been intimidated by role-play“Trials of Mana” distills several core gameplay features to its truest sense. ing games, or even more action-heavy (SQUARE ENIX) games like the “Devil May Cry” series.

Yes, this is a 2020 remake, but don’t with just a little less reverence than one great about the 16-bit era of role-playing expect anything as luxurious or literally game-changing like “Final Fantasy VII use for “Chrono Trigger” or “Final Fan- games. The game attained near-mythtasy VI.” Known as “Seiken Densetsu ical status for collectors and retro Remake.” This Japanese role-playing 3,” it was only ever released in Japan gamers, becoming a 16-bit milestone. remake is far more faithful, at least in in 1995, at the tail end of the Super Last year, “Seiken Densetsu 3” was spirit, to its classic roots. Super Nintendo role-playing stories were often mere Nintendo console’s life. Despite this finally released in the West as “Trials outlines of grand epics, and “Trials of lack of attention, Japanese gamers and of Mana” under the “Collections of Mana” makes little-to-no effort to upintrepid importers praised the game Mana.” And now, in 2020, here is a SEE VIDEO GAME, PAGE E12 as a celebration of all things that were full-bore 3D remake of that same game

secret government plan to end lawbreaking forever by broadcasting an electronic signal that makes it impossible to commit any illegal act. Bricke plans to go out in style by pulling off one last heist.

Unrated. Available on Netflix.

148 minutes.

documentary about Formula E racing, in which all cars are electric. According to Variety: “The film winds up working at cross-purposes, alternating between an enthusiastic advertorial for green technology and a highlight reel of the 2017-18 season. This cake-and-eat-ittoo approach thins out both aspects of the film, despite a few fascinating story lines that bubble up.”

Unrated. Available on Hulu. 99 minutes.

it never strikes you as a terribly interesting place to be.”

Unrated. Available on various streaming platforms. 108 minutes.

In “Phoenix, Orgeon,” James Le Gros plays a 40-something struggling graphic novelist who lives in a trailer. Variety writes: “To put it simply — and, yes, An African American college gratefully —‘Phoenix, Oregon’ student (Keith Stone) is errone“The Wild,” winner of the ously arrested, only to have the is the sort of movie a lot of us best environmental film prize at charges dismissed in “1 Angry need right now. It’s an undemandingly enjoyable and reaslast year’s Los Angeles DocuBlack Man.” Later, during an mentary Film Festival, looks at African American literature suringly predictable dramedy how the construction of North class, his emotions threaten to Adapted from Colin Wilson’s in which nothing, not even the America’s largest open-pit cop- boil over. The website Black Girl semi-autobiographical 1961 sourball attitudes of its comicalper mine threatens the world’s ly unpleasant malcontents, ever Nerds calls the film “impactnovel about the Beat Generful,” singling out its “cerebral ation in England, “Adrift in largest wild salmon run, in is allowed to get out of hand or discussions around race, class, Soho” follows an aspiring writer unduly strain credibility.”

Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Unrated. Available at afisilver. and society through the lens of (Owen Drake) who arrives in Rated R. Available on various afi.com. 65 minutes. liberal arts students.”

London’s Soho in search of streaming platforms. Contains Rated R. Available on various like-minded bohemians. “The strong language. 108 minutes.

Set in the future, and based streaming platforms. Contains characters are all manners, on a 2009 graphic novel, “The coarse language, including some no personality, and the jar“Feral” stars Annapurna ring new-wave style becomes Last Days of American Crime” sexual references. 92 minutes.

Sriram as Yazmine, a young exhausting,” according to the tells the story of Graham Bricke homeless woman who lives in Guardian. The problem with (Edgar Ramírez), a career Leonardo DiCaprio co-protunnels beneath New York City. duced “And We Go Green,” a the Soho of the movie “is that criminal who gets wind of a Film School Rejects says that,

“In stringing together a few moments in time with Yazmine, ‘Feral’ asks us to take note of the unnoticeable, and the result is a film that honors its character without turning her into an easily digestible message.”

Unrated. Available on various streaming platforms. 74 minutes.

The documentary “Spelling the Dream” examines the dominance of Indian American competitors in the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 1999.

Unrated.

Available on Netflix. Contains nothing objectionable. 82 minutes.

Structured as a one-way conversation with the filmmaker’s now 4-year-old daughter, the environmental documentary “2040” considers what the world will be like when she turns 25.

Unrated. Available at themira cletheatre.com. Contains nothing objectionable. 92 minutes.

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

WEEKEND

THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020 | E9

DINE & WINE

Outdoor dining comes with regulations, challenges for restaurants

W

Hugh Robert Off The Menu

One-way entrances and exits, controlled access to bathroom facilities, socially distanced waiting areas, and more will chew up available space and make overall operations more labor intensive.

charges onto customer bills for takeout and delivery.

Restaurant owners who were justifying the surcharges they were adding — in some instances up to 5% of the check total — talked about higher food costs, additional supplies needed for takeout service, or just a general need to survive.

As reported by “Restaurant Hospitality” magazine, customer reaction to such surcharges has been mixed — some are supportive, others take to social media where they savage the eatery involved.

The restaurants who adopted COVID-19 surcharges reportedly planned to adjust the level of the add-on in response to changing wholesale prices.

• Mel’s Restaurant in Holyoke is no stranger to the takeout process. Providing food to-go is such an ingrained part of that operaExperience with outdoor tion’s operating philosophy dining in states where it has that it already had a separate already been permitted has takeout window when the been mixed. pandemic began.

Some operators report that Mel’s continues to offer a it has worked well, bringing substantial assortment of patrons and their dollars back. takeout options. The selection Others remain skeptical of is dominated by old school outdoor dining’s potential as Italian-American favorites a long-term solution, citing like ravioli, veal cutlet, meat increased costs as well as con- lasagna, and chicken parmecerns about the seasonality of san. outdoor service. At best they Its takeaway repertoire also see it as a temporary expediincludes interesting options ent that provides experience such as chicken livers with in operating under social spaghetti and simple-butdistancing. tasty favorites like hamburg The full text of the Baksteak and pork chop dinners. er-Polito administration’s Mel’s is open for takeout guidance on restaurant Wednesday through Sunday reopening can be found from 3 to 7 p.m.; orders can be at mass.gov/doc/restau called in to 413-532-1477. rants-checklist-english/ No delivery service is available. download.

• After suspending operations during the early part of “stay-at-home,” Posto in Longmeadow reopened in late April, providing takeout,

online at postoitalian.com; delivery is available in Longmeadow and East Longmeadow.

• With the unofficial, post-Memorial Day arrival of summer, restaurants offering takeout are finding there’s a market for warm weather foods.

Leone’s in Springfield, for example, has been offering a summer barbecue plate special that includes barbecued ribs, corn on the cob, and baked potato; fried clams with coleslaw and fries have also SEE MENU, PAGE E11

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curbside, and local delivery.

Reflecting the operation’s “new Italian” focus, Posto is offering entrees such as parmesan potato gnocchi and whipped ricotta ravioli as well as grilled tuna, wood oven roasted half chicken, and grilled beef taglitata.

Pizza prepared in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven is featured, as are an assortment of “small plates” and snacks.

Posto’s current hours are Monday through Thursday 3 to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 3 to 9 p.m., and Sunday 2 to 7 p.m.

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HEN MASSAchusetts restaurants open for on-premises dining, owners and operators will face a host of challenges — staff recruitment and training, still-closed bars, mandatory social distancing, and a host of operational mandates.

The commonwealth’s Phase 2 reopening plan for restaurants first authorizes on-site outdoor dining. A later rollout of inside seating depends on continued improvement in the public health metrics surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to provide outdoor seating, restaurants are expected to follow all the rules of social distancing — tables will need to be 6 feet apart, servers will need to wear masks, and the size of seated parties cannot exceed six in number.

The practices and protocols developed by the Governor’s Task Force on Reopening Massachusetts will create significant compliance challenges for restaurants that attempt to observe them.

First of all, the variability of New England weather is going to make the provision of outdoor dining an on-again, offagain proposition. Heat, wind, bugs, and sudden rain will all be obstacles to a smoothly executed outdoor dining strategy. Some restaurants, moreover, don’t have significant outside space that can be transformed for al fresco dining; others might not have furnishings that can be repurposed for outdoor use.

The regulations governing on-site dining impose staffing and operational burdens.

One-way entrances and exits, controlled access to bathroom facilities, socially distanced waiting areas, and more will chew up available space and make overall operations more labor intensive.

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E10 | THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020

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DINE & WINE

A six-pack of clever beer names

I

RECENTLY CAME across a mention of two beers by Easthampton’s Abandoned Building Brewery, and I was tickled by the names of the brews: Temporary Sanity and Must Be Nice.

The two beers got me thinking about some of the more cleverly named brews I’ve encountered. I obviously havGeorge Lenker en’t had a lot of these because Beer Nut they’re small breweries, but I’ve come across these names another favorite beer name and thought I’d share today.

Let’s kick off my list of favor- that has been around for a ites with a classic name from while: Black Sheep Brewery’s Great Lakes Brewery: Audrey Monty Python’s Holy (Gr)Ail. Hopburn Beligian IPA. Audrey I can only imagine Terry Jones Hepburn was one of my favor- and Neil Innes sitting around ite actors and of course was one in the afterlife, raising a glass of the classiest humans to ever and toasting their good fortune walk the planet. While IPAs are here on earth with a hearty, “I commonplace, the Belgian as- fart in your general direction!” pect gives this a touch of class, As a fan of the band that is bejust the way the star of “Break- ing referenced here, I can’t help fast at Tiffany’s” but enjoy Tenaya While would have wanted Creek Brewery’s it. Hey, Great Lakes Hauling Oats, an IPAs are Brewing: How about oatmeal stout from commonplace, the Nevada-based a companion brew the Belgian company. The brewnamed “Breakfast Stout at Tiffany’s”? aspect gives ery could expand Since we are in an on its musical duo this a touch of theme with names election year, we class, just the like Simon and Garmight as well jump into presidential way the star dunkel, Brooks & Dunkel (lots of Dunpolitics, and this one of “Breakfast kels in this category, gives a nod to a popular POTUS of last at Tiffany’s” I guess) and Godley century: Iron Monk would have & Creme Ale. Brewing’s Bright D. Rounding out our wanted it.

WeizenSour. There funny name sixis a lot to unpack in pack is a clever twist that name beyond the pun: The on a common phrase: Halfbrewery is describing the beer penny Brewing’s The Shirt Off as “bright” and also letting you Maibock. While I was tempted to go with Sidetracked Brewknow it’s both a weizen and a ing’s Thomas the Dank Engine, sour. Well played, folks.

While we’re on the subject of I felt it might be best not to use politics, another favorite might a name tied into a children’s describe some politicians we book character. Not that there know: Dock Street Brewing is anything wrong with the Co.’s Pathological Lager. The Sidetracked Brewing name, but extra layer of humor comes I felt Halfpenny’s name was a from the fact that the name bit more crafty for a craft beer itself is engaging in mendacity: moniker.

The brew is an ale, not a lager.

What are your favorite beer With two Monty Python names? Let me know at geolenker@yahoo.com and maybe I’ll do alums dying in the past few a readers’ choice column. months, it reminded me of

Seven Spanish wines recommended this week. (PHOTO BY KEN ROSS)

S

7 great Spanish wines perfect for summer

PAIN WAS ON MY mind this past weekend.

It didn’t take much to think about this amazing country filled with vibrant cities, delicious food and wonderful wines.

All it took was watching a replay this past Saturday of the 2006 French Open men’s tennis final.

Instead of a live French Open final this past weekend (that will have to wait until October, hopefully) the networks decided to dredge out an old snoozer between two players you might remember — some Swiss guy named Roger Federer and a player from Spain called Rafael Nadal.

OK, who am I kidding? It was a fantastic match between two of the greatest tennis players of all time.

In fact, it was their first Grand Slam final against each other, the beginning of one of the greatest rivalries ever in sport.

Little did we know that match would turn out to be the first of nine Grand Slam finals between these two seemingly timeless players.

And while this match was thrilling, it’s not even the best Grand Slam final between Federer and Nadal. (For me

Ken Ross

at Roland Garros, the official name of the French Open championships.

So what does all of this have to do with Spanish wine?

This column’s in honor of you, Nadal, and here’s hoping we get to see you and Federer in another vintage Grand Slam final together sometime later this year.

Spanish wines recommended this week Red wines: and many others, nothing • 2017 Castano Monastrell compares to their epic, 5-set, ($7.99 at Table & Vine in West daylong battle at Wimbledon Springfield) in 2008.)

• 2017 El Circo Acrobata Early on in the 2006 French Open final, it looked like Fed- Garnacha ($8.99 at Table & erer might easily win their first Vine) final together and his eighth • 2016 Casa Castillo Jumilla Grand Slam title. The graceful Monastrell ($11.99 at Table & Vine) 24-year-old Swiss easily won • 2016 Vina Pomal Crianza the first set 6-1, making everything look effortless.

Rioja ($17 Suggested Retail Price) But it didn’t take the • 2016 Dominio Fournier Crianza Ribera del Duero ($30 20-year-old Spaniard long SRP) to show why he’s considered • 2014 Dominio Fournier “The King of Clay” and the greatest Spanish athlete in his- Reserva Ribera del Duero ($50 tory. Nadal sliced and slashed SRP) his way back into the match, sliding across the clay like White wine: • 2014 Capellania Marques Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire.

Now, 14 years and 12 French De Murrieta White Reserva ($33 SRP) Open titles later, it’s impossible to imagine anyone beating SEE WINE, PAGE E11 Nadal on the famous red clay Wine Press

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Wine

WEEKEND

Region: Rioja, Spain Grape: Tempranillo Tasting notes: Some wines CONTINUED FROM PAGE E10 can be much more challengWine tasting notes ing. Instead of being friendly 2017 Castano Monastrell and inviting, some can be Region: Yecla, Spain stern and tough and difficult Grape: Monastrell to warm up to right away.

Tasting notes: One of the That’s what frankly intrigued best bargains out there, this me about this wine. This is a charming, delightful wine has 2016 Casa Castillo Jumilla big, powerful, intense wine a bright, refreshing taste — Monastrell that requires patience. But for especially if you give this wine Region: Jumilla, Spain those willing to wait (two to a little time to adjust to life Grape: Monastrell four hours after opening the outside of the bottle. At first, I Tasting notes: Many people bottle) you will be rewarded found this wine a bit too sweet want a great, affordable wine with a luxurious, fascinating, with a hint of caramel. But after straight out of the bottle. complex wine. Long, dry finish. Austere, flinty with hints being open about an hour or Fortunately, this wine shares of dried cherries and roasted so, the wine is just marvelous its secrets right away — as plums. Truly delicious.

— slightly flinty with hints of well as several hours after ripe plums, almonds and fresh opening the bottle. Either way, picked raspberries.

2016 Dominio Fournier this fleshy, round wine has Crianza Ribera del Duero no rough edges. Instead, this 2017 El Circo Acrobata Region: Ribera Del Duero, wine abounds with ripe plum Garnacha Spain flavors mixed with cherries Region: Aragon, Spain Grape: Tempranillo and a hint of candy apple.

Grape: Grenache Tasting notes: I thoroughly Tasting notes: Another 2016 Vina Pomal Crianza enjoyed getting to know this wine that benefits from being Rioja bright, lively red wine with open for a while (at least an hour, ideally) this well-balanced, flavorful red wine has a beautiful, slightly floral bouquet and a wonderful blend of different flavors, including fresh-picked strawberries with earthy overtones and a hint of milk chocolate.

Menu CONTINUED FROM PAGE E9

proved popular with those patrons stopping by for “curbside.”

Teresa’s Restaurant in Ware has featured a classic lobster roll combination, prepared either hot or cold, as part of its eat-at-home menu.

Villa Napoletana in East Longmeadow has gone all-in with summer-themed takeout options.

Its Summer Family Bundle menu gives those ordering a choice from five main entrees — rack of ribs, BBQ chicken thighs, shrimp kabobs, grilled sausage, or steak kabob.

Salad selections include picnic favorites such as coleslaw and potato salad. Corn on the cob and chilled broccoli with lemon are additional options, as is a choice of potato or mac & cheese.

Dessert in the form of frozen spumoni, Italian ice, or cannoli is also included in the Bundle’s price.

The Summer Bundles are sized to serve four; individual portions can also be ordered.

Contact Villa Napoletana at 413-7329300 to place your order.

• La Cucina di Hampden House in Hampden is open for pickup daily from 3:30 to 8 p.m.

The restaurant’s menu of portable options includes main dish selections

THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020 | E11

2014 Capellania Marques De Murrieta White Reserva Region: Rioja, Spain Grape: Viura Tasting notes: I’ve been waiting for just the right time to write about this out-of-this world Spanish white wine.

This week, I decided to unleash this winner like a Nadal forehand down the baseline.

2014 Dominio Fournier Reserva Ribera del Duero This white wine has everything I crave when it comes to Region: Ribera Del Duero, complex white wines. It has Spain earthy overtones with hints Grape: Tempranillo Tasting notes: This intense, of sea salt, melted butter and a delightful fog-like finish. It powerful, hearty red wine has finesse and grace and yet shows how a few extra years can often add complexity and it’s hearty and robust and lively from start to finish. Truly balance to a wonderful wine. one of the best Spanish wine Extremely smooth and yet slightly spicy at the same time, wines out there.

Cheers! what I enjoy most of all about this wine is the way the flavors Wine Press by Ken Ross linger long after each sip. appears on Masslive.com every Roasted blackberries mixed Monday and in The Repubwith dark chocolate notes lican’s weekend section every make this wine an absolute Thursday. winner.

wonderful fruit flavors. A bit zesty and slightly effervescent at first, this wine smoothed out nicely after an hour or so, revealing its fresh cherry flavors and other hints of ripe fruit.

Great now but may benefit with a few more years of aging as well.

include sirloin steaks, sweet Italian sausage links, and chicken kebabs as well as side dishes such as lobster bisque, homemade pasta salad, and garlic butter for basting.

The operation’s takeout menu has plenty to offer as well — fish & chips, fettuccini and meatballs, chicken cordon bleu, and seafood casserole.

Orders can be placed online or by phone at 413-277-0707.

Local delivery in the immediate vicinity is available.

The restaurant’s web address is hannadevines.com.

• Taco Bell locations have made two additions to their menus.

A Nacho Cravings Pack features two boxes of Grande Nachos — tortilla chips garnished with seasoned beef, refried beans, nacho cheese sauce, The variability of New England weather is going to make the provision of outguacamole, sour cream, and pico door dining an on-again, off-again proposition. (ROB DELUCA PHOTO) de gallo — and two medium drinks.

Suggested retail price for this package like chicken francaise, braised short La Cucina di Hampden House anis $10. swers at 413-566-8324; local delivery ribs, and a six-ounce filet mignon.

New on Taco Bell’s summer drink Rigatoni Bolognese and Crazy Alfredo is available. menu is the Pineapple Whip Freeze.

Made with crushed pineapple in syrup • In addition to offering takeout are the two pasta options available. and a creamy base, the drink comes in during the restaurant shutdown, Pizza selections range from the Hanna Devine’s Restaurant in Ware two sizes. familiar (pepperoni-garnished and a has branched out into retail, offering Cafe Combo) to the unconventional Hugh Robert is a faculty member in “restaurant quality” meats and sides. (pistachio and basil topped).

Vacuum sealed to ensure freshness, Holyoke Community College’s hospitalEight family style meals, which include salad and bread, are also part of Hanna Devine’s is featuring its signa- ity and culinary arts program and has the pick-up program. The restaurant’s ture marinated steak tips, packed and nearly 45 years of restaurant and educational experience. Robert can be reached sold by the pound. entire To Go menu can be seen at its Additional “Ready to Grill” offerings online at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com. website, lacucinahampden.com.

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E12 | THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020

Video game CONTINUED FROM PAGE E8

date its dialogue and writing.

What’s different, then, is how it implements modern action role-playing design concepts into an old but classic formula.

The combat is now fully 3D and moves in real time like an action game. There’s one button for basic attacks, another for slower attacks that hit harder, a jump button and a dodge button. Big enemy attacks will be telegraphed by red flashing lights on the floor, which is the player’s signal to move. Massive multiplayer online RPGs have used this system for years, and it’s a neat visual trick to implement in real-time combat.

It’s almost impossible to get lost in this game. There are no side quests to distract your attention, and every quest is a simple matter of getting from Point A to B, another example of this game’s ability to distill gameplay concepts to their barest core.

All of this is introduced pretty slowly, but certainly not slower than some of the tutorials in today’s most complicated games.

And the game is easy, even on its “hard” difficulty. Players who want high-octane engagement need not imply, but what if those new to the genre suddenly get bored halfway through the game?

Well good news, it just means you’re probably primed for something more complex and challenging! Did you think the dungeons were too straightforward? Maybe it’s time you finally checked out one of the 17 phenomenal “The Legend of Zelda” games. “Mana” offers similar gameplay, movement and combat (complete with a lock-on targeting system for enemies). But the “Zelda” dungeons also have puzzles to solve, and enemies to beat that require a bit more thought than a simple button press.

Maybe you liked the combat and wish it was more exciting?

You’ve got an entire genre of character action games to explore, from the five “Devil May Cry” games that created and innovated the genre, to 2018′s award-winning “God of War” for PlayStation 4.

If you enjoyed the character customization and loot grind,

you’re probably ready for “Diablo 3,” another simple action role-playing adventure. Its loot grind is infinitely more complicated, but “Trials” teaches you basic concepts like “strength” and “magic strength,” more than enough information to tackle anything Diablo throws at you.

That’s not to say “Trials of Mana” offers little. On a normal difficulty, it offers at least 20 hours of gameplay, including a new chapter. And like the original game, it offers you six heroes to choose from, all with their own stories, abilities to learn and weapons to gain. You can take up to three of the characters through the whole game. And each character comes with at least six different classes, only widening the combat possibilities. The game’s combat is basically a simple “Streets of Rage”-type brawler with RPG mechanics, but the combat and class variety spices things up considerably. New Game Plus, meanwhile, offers players to run through the story again (with different lead characters if you want) with all your items and stats intact.

The graphics are pretty, but rely mostly on the strength of its colorful character designs. Good art direction goes a long way to hide any technical issues, and Square Enix’s designers were on fire during the ’90s. Some characters look a bit outdated (notably the huge busts on the warrior princesses), and one character’s voice acting is irredeemably terrible in English. Otherwise the game is on a pretty small budget, looking only a little bit better than what you’d find on an old Xbox 360.

But “Trials of Mana” was never meant to wow anyone with fireworks. It’s a simple updated remake of a legendary game.

Time has humbled its legacy, as developers and studios iterated on the formula of the 16-bit adventure. Modern classics like “The Witcher 3″ and “Skyrim” have done wonders to build believable characters, settings and compelling context for adventure.

“Trials of Mana” reminds us of why we fell in love with these games in the first place. The rules are simple, the rewards are immediate and obvious. There’s no better formula for escapist fantasy.

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