THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, APRIL 13TH, 2021
APRIL 13 - APRIL, 19, 2021
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UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
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Movie Analysis: Promising Young Woman
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Hitbox Review: Monster Hunter Rise - A steep climb
Godzilla vs. Kong success suggests audiences may be ready to return to theaters By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
The movie theatre experience was thrown to the wayside early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Packing a room with people, likely without masks to enjoy drinks and popcorn, just didn’t make sense. Films released during 2020 found very little success, and many studios pushed their films further and further, no one knowing when the public would feel comfortable attending movie theatres again. Even with vaccines being rapidly administered, in Alaska and throughout the United States, it still seemed unclear when the right time would be. The overwhelming success of “Godzilla vs. Kong” suggests it may be sooner than later. “Godzilla vs. Kong” released Wednesday, Mar. 31, taking advantage of the Easter weekend. In America, the giant monsters brought home nearly $50 million by the end of its opening weekend. These numbers don’t hold a candle to the totals films were pulling before the pandemic, like “Avengers: Endgame,” which had earned $357 million domestically by the end of its opening weekend. However, compared to other films released during the pandemic, it’s a shining beacon
PHOTO COURTESY OF CBR.COM
While films like “Tenet” and “Wonder Woman” failed to draw audiences in a world caught in the throes of the pandemic, Godzilla and Kong have found overwhelming success.
of hope. Veteran director Christopher Nolan hoped to lead the charge back into movie theatres with his film “Tenet,” refusing to allow a streaming option when the film
was released in theatres Aug. 12, 2020. Tenet opened to less than $10 million. “Wonder Woman 1984” was the next to take up the cause, and superheroes are a pretty safe bet. The DC superheroine only brought in $17 million when the film released on Christmas day. At $50 million, “Godzilla vs. Kong” made more domestically in its opening weekend than either “Tenet” or “Wonder Woman 1984” did in their entire runs. This is a great sign for movie theatres in America, indicating that an increasing number of people are ready to get back into theatre seats. It’s also worth noting that “Godzilla vs. Kong” accomplished this despite being available to stream at home with an HBO Max subscription. Audiences clearly want to see the big spectacle on the big screen. April is a quiet month for movies, the only big-budget film being released is “Mortal Kombat.” President Biden has announced that every American will be eligible for a vaccine on Apr. 19, and it seems studios are willing to bet that audiences will be ready to come back to theaters in May, with films like “Cruella,” “A Quiet Place Part II” and “Peter Rabbit 2.” Starting in June a big movie is releasing every weekend, a streak maintained into Feb. 2022. There are four Marvel Studios films
scheduled to be released in a span of only five months, July to November; “Black Widow,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “The Eternals.” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Tentpole films “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Dune,” “No Time to Die,” “Halloween Kills,” Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “Resident Evil,” “The Matrix” and plenty more are releasing only weeks apart from one another. The younger demographic is set to be well served too, with films like Disney’s “Encanto,” as well as new entries in “The Boss Baby,” “Hotel Transylvania,” “The Addams Family,” and “Sing.” In Anchorage, Century 16 is the only theatre currently open and showing movies. The three other theatres, Regal Cinemas’ Tikhatnu Stadium 16, Dimond Center 9, and Totem 8 are all closed, per Regal Cinemas policy, with no opening on the horizon. Around Anchorage, Coming Attractions’ theatres are open, the Valley Cinema in Wasilla, and the Kenai Cinema in Kenai. All three chains, Cinemark, Regal, and Coming Attractions are members of Cinemasafe, an initiative that sets a standard for cleaning procedure, crowd control, and other COVID mitigation measures, designed to help convince the public that movie theaters could be safe during the pandemic.
PHOTO COURTESY CINEMASAFE
Cinemasafe is a program created by a coalition of theatres to establish rules for safe moviegoing. All of the major theatres in Alaska are compliant with Cinemasafe standards.
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Media Consumption Guide: April 2021 By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
April, like most months during the pandemic, is relatively light on noteworthy media releases. The film, television and video game industries are still slowly recovering and adapting to the ongoing pandemic, even over a year since it began. Picking up the slack this month is UAA’s own Department of Theatre & Dance, debuting two productions, viewable from the safety of home. At or around UAA The UAA Department of Theatre & Dance will be debuting both a dance and a theatre production this month. Both will be made available for a limited time to view as recorded and edited shows, via streaming. The theatre production will be Sophie Treadwell’s “Machinal,” which loosely adapts the story of Ruth Snyder, a woman executed for the murder of her husband. The dance production is set to premiere Apr. 9, while “Machinal” will premiere Apr. 16. Attending these shows is a great way to show support and demand for Theatre and Dance at UAA. Further information will be available on the UAA Department of Theatre and Dance Facebook page. UAA at the Movies is being held by UAA Student Activities and Commuter Programs. UAA students can take advantage of discounted ticket fees to see films every Friday in April at Century 16. Featured films include “A Star is Born,” “Mortal Kombat,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Clueless.” More information can be found on the UAA Student Activities Facebook page. Outriders A third-person loot-based shooter from developer People Can Fly, “Outriders” has earned considerable attention in the lead up to its Apr. 1 launch. A free open beta gave a taste of the game’s dynamic combat. Set in a dystopian sci-fi future, “Outriders” puts players into one of four classes, the time-warping Trickster, the destructive Pyromancer, the gravity-manipulating Devastator or turret building support class, the Techno-
PHOTO COURTESY UAA DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE
mancer. In a huge win for Xbox players, the game is free from launch to members of Xbox Game Pass. Mortal Kombat The Mortal Kombat video game franchise is known for its brutal fighting, surprisingly complex lore and iconic characters. The new Mortal Kombat film, releasing Apr. 23 in theaters and on HBO Max, hopes to tap into the recent success of the games. The first red-band trailer for the film did a lot to instill confidence, promising over-the-top action and a much more serious tone compared to the previous 1995 film. Could Mortal Kombat be the first great video game movie? The Mitchells vs. the Machines “The Mitchells vs the Machines” at first glance looks like it could be a pretty basic, inoffensive children’s movie. The pedigree of the creative team behind the film suggests that it could be something truly special. Produced by Phil Lord and Christoper Miller, a filmmaking duo behind films like “The Lego Movie” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” and written and directed by Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe, both of whom made their names writing the excellent Disney series
The theatre and dance productions are prerecorded and available through streaming, viewable at home.
“Gravity Falls.” The film follows a family that finds themselves the last free humans on earth following an uprising of every computer on earth. Originally planned as a theatrical release, but delayed by the COVID pandemic, “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” was purchased by Netflix, and will release exclusively on the platform Apr. 30. Streaming Highlights
Netflix debuts the second season of its hit reality series, “The Circle” on Apr. 14. The streaming platform also brings popular genre films this month like “Insidious,” “Crimson Peak” and “The Time Traveller’s Wife.” As well as 2000’s era comedies like “Legally Blonde” and “Yes Man.” Disney+ continues its weekly series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.” Legacy content coming to the platform this month includes Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Star Wars: Clone Wars,” a 2003 animated short series held in high regard by many Star Wars fans, as well as the first two “Night at the Museum” films. Amazon Prime continues its weekly
series “Invincible,” and brings “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Inception” this month. Hulu continues to maintain its niche as a place to watch premiering network television, bringing each episode of the new “Law and Order: Organized Crime.” The fourth season of acclaimed “The Handmaid’s Tale” debuts Apr. 28, and Shrek 2 comes to the platform. Gaming Highlights The game industry continues to struggle to make up for time lost during the shift to working from home during the pandemic. April is exceptionally quiet, though there are a few standout releases. “NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139...” releases Apr. 23, modernizing and localizing the formerly Japan-exclusive precursor to 2017’s incredible “NieR: Automata.” “Automata” represented some of the best and most innovative storytelling in video games, and I’ll jump at any reason to return to that world and combat. “New Pokémon Snap” comes to the Nintendo Switch Apr. 30, and promises to give players a glimpse into the natural habitat of the popular creatures, armed with a camera. Nature photography, but make it “Pokémon” is a very strong pitch.
PHOTO COURTESY OF REPUBLICWORLD.COM
The brim of this hat is actually a finely honed blade. Mortal Kombat promises inventive, bloody, action.
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Movie Analysis: Promising Young Woman By Daisy Carter news2@thenorthernlight.org
For women’s history month I wanted to finish with a strong film that depicted women’s struggles, so I decided on “Promising Young Woman”. The following movie analysis has references to sexual asult and rape. This film is an in depth look at what happens when victims of sexual assault or rape don’t get taken seriously. This is a very hard movie to watch, but I think it will be a new standard that we set on how movies about these topics are handled. “Promising Young Woman” was released on Dec. 25th 2020 and was written and directed by Emerald Fennell. So far this Crime, Drama Thriller has grossed 5 million in the US and 10 million world wide. The film stars Carrey Mulligan as Cassandra, Bo Burnham as Ryan and Alison Brie as Madison. Although it’s recent debut, it has already gotten 87 awards and 180 nominations including 5 Oscar Nominations. The nominations for the film are for Best Motion Picture, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Achievement in Film Editing. According to IMDB, the film only took 23 days to film, which is a very quick turnaround time for an average film. Although it alludes to it quite heavely, the words rape or sexual assult are never said in the film. “Promising Young Woman can be viewed on Youtube. Going into this film I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but I was surprised at every turn. A notable scene that I really liked was the beginning when they were showing business men gyrating their hips like how we would traditionally see women in the beginning of some films. I think this set up the tone of
the movie quite well. If you couldn’t handle that beginning scene, this wouldn’t be the movie for you. Though the movie the cinematography greatly captures how alone Cassandra feels after losing her friend. I also like how you don’t get told out right what happened to Madison in the beginning, you are expected to put the pieces together as the story goes on. I think what’s been interesting about this film is how it portrays “nice guys” In the movie all the guys are “nice” but they do things that clearly aren’t ok. Even the character that you think won’t turn out to be the bad one is. All the men in the film at one point say that they are nice guys and it’s such a good way to talk about this issue. Most men who assault people claim to be “nice guys” and don’t understand the harm that they do. Another thing that the film does is address internalized misogyny. I think a part of the film that brought chills to me the most was when the superintendent in the film was talking to Cassandra about how she didn’t want to ruin the boy’s life. It wasn’t until Cassandra talked about how the superintendent’s daughter was alone with alcohol and a group of older men where with her that she finally took Cassandra seriously. This was extremely frightening and a conversation I bet many women have had to hear. The way that they executed this part of the movie was also excellent. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone. I think stylistically it’s really amazing, and accompanied with amazing acting and writing. Do you have any recommendations on what films I should look into next? Send your suggestions to news2@thenorthernlight.org
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BLOGGING BANSHEE.COM
Promising Young Woman is a film about a woman who deals with a great tragedy that everyone has forgoten about.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GUARDIAN
Carey Mulligan plays Cassandra in the film, but faced criticism by many male audiences for looking too old.
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Hitbox Review: It Takes Two - cooperative excellence By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Developer: Hazelight Studios Release Date: Mar. 26, 2021 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Playstation 5 [Played], Xbox One, Xbox Series X & S, PC “It Takes Two” is one of the best coop games I’ve ever played. The game features beautiful visuals, inventive environments and gameplay that changes radically section by section. All of this is wrapped in a story that became surprisingly touching by the end, making for an excellent complete package. “It Takes Two” really does take two, only playable with two players, locally or online. A Friend’s Pass allows two players to play online without requiring the purchase of two copies of the game. No random matchmaking is available, however, so players without access to a partner will find the game wholly inaccessible. Relationship is the core theme of the game, starring May and Cody, a married couple who have decided to divorce. Their daughter Rose wishes upon the Book of Love for her parents to become friends again, and Cody and May find themselves transformed into dolls. Guided by Dr. Hakim, the Book of Love personified, Cody and May have to navigate through their home and the surrounding area, while working to improve their relationship. Cody and May travel through several locations throughout their adventure, and each is stylized and unique. Rose’s bedroom is a standout, as the child’s toys make for the most varied locations, like space, a circus and a magical castle. Every chapter feels unique, and each further
PHOTO COURTESY OF EA
Gameplay never grows stale when new mechanics are introduced that change the game section by section. For example, a level riding frogs through a giant greenhouse.
explores the relationship of the two leads. The story mostly takes a backseat for the first half of the game, while Cody and May are simply trying to figure out what happened to turn them into dolls. When Cody and May actually begin discussing their failed marriage, and receiving silly but important therapy sessions from Dr. Hakim, the writing really shines through, and the game ends on a high note. “It Takes Two” is colorful and inventive, with an art style that draws flattering comparisons to Pixar films, but the game isn’t necessarily suited for children. While much of the game is filled with animated hijinks and innovative concepts, the story does get shockingly dark in one sequence, and there are a couple of instances of strong language. Josef Fares, founder of Hazelight Studios and director of “It Takes Two”, prom-
ised throughout the game’s promotion that he will give $1000 to anyone who gets “tired” of the game, who can honestly say the game doesn’t surprise them. It’s easy to see why he was so confident in this claim, “It Takes Two’s” gameplay is constantly changing, new concepts being introduced and thrown away with reckless abandon. Each section of the game usually comes with new tools for Cody and May, for example in the shed May wields a hammer, while Cody is equipped with nails. This variance between characters also adds replay value, as both playable characters have unique gameplay. Impressively, not one of the gameplay mechanics introduced feels lesser than any of the others, each feels wholly fleshed out and unique. Most of the game sticks to a baseline of the 3D platforming genre, but some sections eschew it,
taking instead to a 2D fighting game like “Mortal Kombat” or an isometric dungeon crawler like “Diablo.” The game is fairly long, at around 12 hours to complete, but absolutely stays fresh by constantly adding and removing mechanics and concepts. There are also side minigames that can be found in each level, that pit both players against each other in several competitive games. These include cart racers, third-person shooters and chess. “It Takes Two” is a masterpiece. The game is constantly throwing new and interesting ideas at the players, without ever missing a shot. The story of Cody and May takes a while to find its stride, but really uses the game’s runtime to tell a nuanced story about married life.
PHOTO COURTESY OF EA
It Takes Two gives its two players different tools, giving both May and Cody unique paths through the game.
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Hitbox Review: Monster Hunter Rise - A steep climb By Jake Dye arts@thenorthernlight.org
Release Date: Mar. 26, 2021 Developer: Capcom Platform: Nintendo Switch The “Monster Hunter” franchise has been around since 2004 and has always been known for its high barrier of entry. Developer Capcom has put considerable effort into making the franchise more accessible in recent years. There is still a massive hurdle for newcomers, in the form of countless tutorials, information screens, systems and combo lists. Players who can overcome the steep learning curve may find themselves enamored with the simple but compelling gameplay loop of “Monster Hunter Rise.” Story is at best an afterthought in “Monster Hunter Rise.” Set in the small Kamura village, players embody a freshly certified monster hunter. An overarching plot involves the dangerous rampage, where hordes of monsters flood across the land, but the phenomenon is never fully explained, and credits roll abruptly after a big hunt, without any real resolution, the rampage ostensibly still a threat. The game’s second post-launch content update is promised to include the game’s actual ending. No effort is made to disguise the fact that the only focus of this game is hunting big monsters, and there’s not necessarily anything wrong with that. The monsters that need to be hunted are all suitably imposing, and each hunt is effectively a boss fight, taking around 10-15 minutes in most cases. “Monster Hunter Rise” features a selection of dinosaurs, dragons, birds and bugs, with more to be added in post-launch content. One standout is the khezu, a hideous fleshy dragon-looking monster with a long neck, no eyes and big teeth. Players hunt monsters to harvest parts, like horns, hide or scales, which they can use to craft weapons and armor. Taking on stronger monsters takes stronger equipment, and so the gameplay loop thrives. Hunt monsters, gather parts,
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPCOM
forge equipment, hunt bigger monsters. This all works because combat is deep and satisfying. Players can choose from fourteen weapons, each with its own unique systems. The charge blade begins as a sword and shield, which are charged by striking the monster, then combined into a comically large axe for a flashy finisher. Fighting with the hunting horn is all about mixing attacks to play notes that apply buffs to the whole party, very valuable in multiplayer. Other weapons include swords of different lengths and sizes, hammers, bows, guns, even a long stick with a bug on it. It’s very easy to switch weapons, so players are never forced to commit to a certain playstyle. The main story of “Monster Hunter Rise” is told within the village quests, which are played solo, with the assistance of buddies. Buddies take the form of a palico, a bipedal cat that can talk, use tools and otherwise provide support, and a palamute, a big dog that can be ridden
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPCOM
New to “Rise” are the palamutes, big dogs that will join players in the hunt. They’re all good dogs.
Monster Hunter knows exactly what it wants to be. A game about hunting monsters.
like a horse. Parallel to the village quests are the hub quests, which are much harder, feature much less story, and are designed to be played with multiple players. The implementation of multiplayer in the game isn’t great. Where in other games players might choose a hunt and then enter matchmaking, “Monster Hunter Rise” only offers lobbies, where players can group up and then select hunts. This works great for premade groups of friends. Unfortunately, without voice chat or even the ability to type messages, it is difficult to coordinate, or even to find lobbies with random players looking to clear specific hunts. Without a story to carry the action, the world itself becomes a much larger part of the experience. The “Monster Hunter” world has a lot of unique personality. Palicos make up nearly half of the population of Kamura village, and their dialogue includes tons of silly meow puns. Every character is upbeat, and the themes of
the game center on collaboration. Before each hunt, the player can order food, and skippable cutscenes play where a young girl and two palicoes sing and cook it up. “Monster Hunter Rise”always maintains a bright and silly tone, and focuses on hunters working together, it feels like a perfect foil to our world, caught still in the throes of the pandemic. If only COVID could be slain with a big hammer, as easily as the rathalos. Beginning “Monster Hunter Rise” involves more reading than hunting, as the player is constantly faced with too many tutorials. The first few hours of the game are much harder to overcome than they should be. This game deserves a lot of criticism for its onboarding experience, but it’s worth fighting through it to get to the meat of the gameplay. This was my first “Monster Hunter” game, and though it took some work, I pretty quickly found myself constantly going on “just one more hunt.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPCOM
Monster Hunter is at its best when playing with others, unfortunately the game isn’t very good at grouping random players together.
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