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The Re-Strandening Or Beach’s Revenge Straight out of the brain of Hideo Kojima comes the sequel to 2015's first ever “Strand” game. In it, we play as Sam Porter Bridges, (Norman Reedus), walking from place to place uniting the country by connecting them to the “chiral network.” This chiral network is essentially the internet, providing a way for people to spread information to one another. It’s a dystopian world where everyone is separated into bunkers, and to say the first game was prophetic in the way that it was pre-COVID 19 is an understatement. Now in the sequel, we are back in the shoes of Sam, continuing our expansion into other countries such as Mexico and Australia. Some would say everything that needed to be said was said with Kojima's first story of humanity’s need for connection, but our protagonist Sam is all too quick to quit his quiet life with his Bridge Baby, now regular growing child Lou, and start his journey once again. It’s here that we’re dropped back into our familiar walking simulator, and for those who aren’t aware, that’s exactly what this game is. Traversing difficult terrain while balancing a mini skyscraper of packages on your back again brings back a mix of wonder, scope and even comedy. Kojima has a real eye for creating serene views and moments during regular gameplay. So many times I'd be walking over a particularly rough area, cresting a ridge when suddenly the camera would pan out to a bird's eye view. Suddenly a swell of indie rock by Woodkid kicks in, and boom! We have this  breathtaking cinematic moment. On the other hand, watching Sam carry a comedically large amount of cargo, only to trip over every single tiny rock and collapse in a spray of packages like a buffoonish Mr Magoo is hilarious every single time.  While these things were all also part of the first game, the moments are expanded, as well as pretty much everything in the game. Before, combat was clunky and the fights were few, but now there’s a bigger focus on combat with a lot of new mechanics in play. If you know your Death Stranding lore, you are aware that killing someone can result in a voidout: a massive crater-inducing explosion that can wipe out an entire city. But now, there’s the ridiculous explanation that the world has developed rubber bullet technology that's been developed to such a point that you can eventually acquire a rubber bullet bazooka. Not since Batman Arkham Knight has there been such a ridiculous non-lethal MacGuffin created. Still, combat was always a sticking point for me in the first game and it’s been vastly improved with the rough edges smoothed off -- mostly. The control scheme is still awkward , and missing a quick select still gets punished like a criminal offense. Having to pull up the weapon wheel and click into three menus to get to your weapon is an avoidable chore, but here we are.  It’s a small transgression considering how much combat is de-emphasized, but it's still more of an issue than it was in the first game. What also has been expanded is the traversal. You could obtain trucks and bikes in the previous game but now it's trucks, the tricycle bike and even a monorail system for those sickos who really want to expand the Chiral network. You also get a ridiculous coffin surfboard to travel faster. There’s so many bizarre choices made in the game, like meeting a character named Dollman, a character whose soul or Ka is trapped in a doll. He can be thrown into the air to mark enemies on the map. He’s a ludicrous character in his own right, but giving him combat functionality is just out of this world.  Play It Again, Sam That shows the real highlight in the series: insane character work, and the second hits the same highs as the first. On our travels to unite Mexico and Australia, we amass a cavalcade of characters onboard our roaming base, the Magellan. We have, of course, Fragile played by Lea Seadoux who is doing her very best with the direction given, Tarman, modeled after George Miller but not voice acted, Rainy, and so many more characters, each with interesting backstories. After every mission, I would come back and just go person by person discovering new conversations and world building details. Troy Baker is back as our villainous Higgs, and he is absolutely chewing up the scenery every single time he’s on camera. Kojima really has combined an outlandish collection of stars and personalities. Whatever he’s done I’m eating up every single interaction. I believe in the principle there’s a point in which the wilder and more out of control media is, can increase my overall fun value and when there’s a character that has constant aging rain on her, or a soul inside a wooden doll like what are we even doing? I love all of it. I do wish it was a little more evenly distributed, as the plot really ramps up at the end, with a lot of the first half having very little as far as story. There’s a lot of info dumps happening in the game and people tend to talk at you rather than with you.  That does go into a lot of my feelings on the game as a whole. I am enraptured with the world of Death Stranding 2 and its very particular type of bullshit. You want to explain to me the difference between a Ha and a Ka and how they pertain to the Beach afterlife? Sure! On board.  You want to insert a certain beloved franchise character from a previous series in your game? Go right ahead!  You want to create a work-like walking simulator? I have been known to LOVE work-like games as a means to relax, and boy is this game relaxing. Have you curated and improved on the combat to make everything smoother? Sure did! But in that vein, I’m not so sure it needed to be safer. The particular jank with the combat was because this was a new dev team cutting their teeth, and the game originally didn’t have combat. It was something shoehorned in at the last second. Now it’s an integral part, but some of the charm is gone. Death Stranding 1 was a lovable underdog that tried so hard to be different, but now everything runs so smoothly together that it feels like less of a wacky experiment and more of a ho-hum average B game.  A Walk To Remember Despite all of this, I’m still in love with the world of Death Stranding 2. Delivering packages you find in the environment, or via missions is still inherently fun! Finding the most ideal routes, planning your monorail expansions and working towards that 5 star ranking for perfect package delivery hasn’t lost its luster for me. Maybe I’m Kojima pilled but there’s still so much fun to be found in just the simple act of walking. Hell, half the time the most fun I had were those unscripted organic moments where I was forced to improvise, create my own solution and figure out how to get somewhere while avoiding enemies or massive rivers that had formed during a torrential downpour. The stealth spooky moments are genuinely unsettling and effective, but the voice acting probably needed a touch more direction. Nevertheless, at the end the arduous journey that is Death Stranding 2, I had my loved ones to greet me on the Magellan, and that's all I could ever ask for. Death Stranding 2 is available now.

It feels like an eternity ago that I last saw Phil Elverum's Mount Eerie  perform live. It was back in 2019, only a few months before the pandemic would shut things down for a while . It was also at Thalia Hall , the same venue I saw the band perform at earlier this month. I've been listening to Mount Eerie for what the calendar tells me is decades now, so when I saw them back in 2019 I wasn't surprised that it was a seated show or that the crowd skewed older. At that time he was coming off Lost Wisdom pt. 2 , his second collaborative album with Julie Doiron and his third album detailing his life after the death of his wife. That album alongside A Crow Looked at Me  and Now Only  are heartbreaking works and the mood for that December show was understandably somber. This time things were a little bit different. Immediately I was struck by how it was not a seated show and the crowd skewed much, much younger. But some things thankfully remained the same like the seemingly never-ending line pouring out of Thaila Hal l's merch room where Elverum sat as his own merch guy, talking with the fans as they purchased their albums, shirts and posters; and Mount Eerie's penchant for incredible songwriting finding another peak in Night Palace . The night started off with a pair of incredible sets from Precious Bane (who later performed as part of Mount Eerie) and Hana Stretton . Precious Bane's set started things off with a slow ambient vibe as their beautiful voice peaked through the dense fog of the droning guitar. Stretton followed up with a meditative set of her own, evoking her home life in Australia where she tends to an idyllic little society of cows. Her songs were underscored by the sounds of nature and people quietly living their lives, blending with her fantastic songwriting. These two sets were honestly the most peaceful I've felt in a long while. Elverum is touring in support of his longest album to date, Night Palace, which sees him resetting a bit after the aforementioned run of melancholic works. At just over 80 minutes, Night Palace has Elverum embracing every facet of his nearly 30 years of musicianship. The songs range from absurd ("I Spoke to a Fish") to haunting ("I Hear Whales") to politically charged ("Non-Metaphorical Decolonization") to calmly self-aware of the absurdity of existence ("Co-Owner of Trees"). His music is as beautiful as ever, maintaining an equilibrium between the gentle sparseness of his voice and the varied instrumentation that imbues this collection of songs with more complexity than most other musicians could only hope for. The night's setlist focused almost entirely on Night Palace , save for the Ella Langley cover "weren't for the wind". However with 26 tracks, not every track got its moment of glory. We didn't get to lose our minds to the short, monstrous, and sonically dissonant rage of "Swallowed Alive". Rather we were treated to the more straightforward cuts for the album, if that is something that can even be said of Elverum's work. I mean we got to bask in the vastness of the 12-minute-long spoken word "Demolition". The evening flow was carefully assembled, vacillating between the idealized indie rock gem "Broom of Wind" and softer tracks like "I Need New Eyes". There was a beautiful balance as the free and raw instrumentation of "Huge Fire" ran into the folkiness of "November Rain" very well. There is a general freedom of genre in his work—and especially on Night Palace —that the evening was determined to uphold and did so quite elegantly. The night came to a close with "Stone Woman Gives Birth to a Child at Night", the song on the album that sees Elverum lament the state of the world. "I never meant to pretend there's another world apart from this one we're in, but I was briefly adrift in a night sky before being re-immersed in this endless et cetera" he sings knowing that we can't ignore the harshness of our current climate. But for those brief hours that the crowd was at Thalia Hall, we were thankfully far away from that endless et cetera, but ready to eventually go back and try our best to make it better.

Ozzy Osbourne in front of his own artwork. The "Prince of Darkness" was auctioning the art for charity earlier this month. Image via Osbourne's FB page. To some of our parents, he was some shocking, Satanic figure. A guy who bit heads off on stage. There was blood and theatrics and dark imagery and angry sounding riffs and screaming. They didn’t like it, they didn’t get it, but we did. We understood the music as catharsis and metaphor and the stage show as good theater. But Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away today at the age of 76, was so much more than what he put on stage, though certainly he will forever be known as the grandfather of metal… He’s a person countless other performers came to learn from, be mentored by, and encouraged by as they went on to make their own marks on the metal world and the music industry at large. He also became a pop culture icon known for his nigh-unintelligible rants and heart of gold. He loved his family, he loved his wife, and though the Osbournes was a crazy reality show circus, you could see the love. And that love was mutual. It’s the same love fans and fellow musicians are pouring out onto social media as they learn of the loss of an icon, so soon after the farewell concert that returned this legend to his hometown of Birmingham. Among the tributes were some very heartfelt condolences from the likes of Aerosmith, Metallica and Pantera: But perhaps the most poignant was this one from his bandmates in Black Sabbath, having just come off what by all accounts was an amazing reunion for the recent farewell tour: Ozzy Forever, indeed.

It's 10pm and something doesn't smell right but I can't put my finger on what. I take a big, deep breath through my nose, REALLY inhaling. "You really don't smell that," I say to my partner. I sit down on the couch next to her and for the first time feel how sore my legs, feet, and arms are. After another minute the familiarity of the odor washes over me and I realize - that's the all too familiar smell of spilled beer and sweat drying on fabric.  I'm typing this with aching bones over coffee. I'm a middle aged guy, well into my mosh retirement years, and everything still feels sore. But it's the good kind of sore. The kind burned so deep into my muscle memory it's in my bones.  "We fuck with you, Chicago," vocalist/guitarist Coco Kinnon told a packed, sweaty, and beer soaked sold out crowd at Subterranean.  The Chicago love was all over the menu on one of Winona Fighter's last stops on their "Yes, Chef" tour, which Kinnon told the crowd it felt like their millionth day on. But despite being on tour for months, this isn't a band that shows fatigue. From the opening chords of "You Look Like a Drunk Phoebe Bridges" to the last notes of "HAMMS IN A GLASS," the Nashville punks shredded their way through the entirety of  My Apologies to the Chef , along with a newly released song, "(Don't Get) Close," from their upcoming deluxe edition of the album, and an incredible cover of the Beastie Boy's "Sabotage."  The sheer force they bring to the stage is complimented by a genuine down to Earth nature that feels downright midwestern. In between ping-ponging between the stage and the shoulders of the crowd, Kinnon and company made sure we all felt loved by a band who absolutely loves what they do, even when they tell us to hit somebody on the dance floor.  Along their tour, Winona Fighter has been helping to spread love for local acts, and at Subterranean we were treated to an opening set by Chicago's Pure Intention, a ferocious trio who blasted out songs that were equal parts punk and thrash run through a blender with the best and loudest parts of the 80s, 90s, and early aught's.  I don't get out to see as many shows as I'd like to these days, and I've shot even fewer as of late. But Winona Fighter was too incredible to see just once, so my partner and I packed up and jumped on an Amtrak to see them the very next night at the Vivarium in Milwaukee. This band is so good I immediately needed a second course. And while the Yes, Chef tour might've ended over the weekend, I expect there will be more opportunities once the deluxe version of  My Apologies to the Chef drops in early September. Don't sleep on it. All photos by Aaron Cynic

It feels a little crazy to say that I've been listening to Basia Bulat  for over half my life, but after doing the quick math it turns out to be true. Since her debut self-titled EP, I've been enamored with her gorgeous songwriting and that attention has only grown with each passing album. Despite that fandom, I have seemingly always missed my opportunity to see her perform live, but when she was announced for the  Old Town School' s Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall, I knew this would be the perfect setting for her incredible sounds. Turns out, I was 100% right. Opening up the night was Maia Friedman , who quickly grabbed everyone's attention with her quiet and tender songs. The set was short and quiet enough that you could here a pin drop, but I assure you this is a compliment of the highest order for both Friedman and the crowd. Performing tracks almost entirely from her upcoming album Goodbye Long Winter Shadow , Friedman gently lead the the respectful crowd through songs about her recently deceased cat (" Russian Blue ") and a song written about a friend who also recently died (" On Passing "). "There's a bit of a theme here" she softly remarked, getting a solemn giggle from the crowd. "In A Dream It Could Happen" may have been the biggest highlight of her set as its lyrics have been swirling around in my head since the show. When it came time for Basia Bulat  and her full band, which includes her husband Andy Woods, the reverent crowd couldn't have been more ready, but I'm sure that "Heart of My Own" caught everyone off guard coming so early in the setlist. It's one of the songs that feels synonymous kind of strong and rare folk strings that lead into Bulat's singing at her most full and vibrant. Live, the song retains all the vulnerability in both the lyrics and her voice and the slight vibrato in her voice filled the venue. It's a song near and dear to my heart, and hearing it performed by Bulat and her full band was breathtaking. That seemed to be a constant throughout Bulat  's set as she has a way of completely enthralling a crowd with her songs. Right in the middle of the set, the band exited the stage to allow for a brief solo performance from Bulat. She opened up the setlist to the crowd, asking for requests, which immediately poured in. After the instant shouts of "Little Waltz" were satiated with a fantastic rendition, "Five, Four" was shouted out by an eager fan. "That was said with such conviction I have to play it now," she joked before diving in. But it was "In the Night" where everything fell into place. On her debut album Oh My Darling , the song is jangly and uplifting despite its melancholic lyrics; live it hit with a little more emotional weight as her fingers strolled across her strings and her voice rang out "I can tell you are a long way from the one you love". It honestly brought a tear to my eyes hearing her put every ounce of herself into that song. The second portion of the night saw Bulat  at her utmost comfortable, laughing and joking with the crowd in betwen songs as if we were all old friends. As the band returned she finally introduced herself "My name is Basia Bulat", pronouncing her name like many first time listeners likely did (Bah-See-ah Boo-Lay), before quickly saying "no it's not" as the crowd laughed. "If you get to hear my deep cuts you get to hear all my jokes too. She would double down on the joke later on between "The Last Time" and "Baby", giving an ironic nod to Chicago's history: "I get asked a lot about my name. It's a Polish name. I'm sure you don't get a lot of Polish here in Chicago." She flashed a knowing smile that was reciprocated with a hearty guffaw from the crowd. The rest of the show felt like a beautiful blur. Newer songs of   Basia's Palace   like the aforementioned "Baby", a song that she felt she couldn't get right until she was older, to "Disco Polo" and its connections to her father felt like welcome additions to her varied repertoire. "It Can't Be You", a tried and true favorite came at the end of the set but it wasn't all said and done until Bulat  found herself perform alone again for a second time during the encore. She eventually found herself in the crowd and bringing every one to harmonize in a communal moment fitting of Old Town School of Folk Music. This review originally appeared over at Third Coast Review

Well, it’s finally here for everyone to see: Superman . Editor's Note: This review contains spoilers for the film!  James Gunn always had an uphill battle ahead of him. Not only did the DCEU die with a whimper, but at the same time, the MCU appeared to be alienating its fans and pushing out content in quantity over quality. While this reviewer might go against the grain a bit (I liked She-Hulk and thought Daredevil: Born Again  was a decent start at a new thing) the MCU definitely lost its footing and appeared to be making a huge stumble. It’s ironic, then, that Superman is coming out at a time that the MCU is starting to pick up steam again.  Superman doesn’t start off well. It’s never good for a movie to go straight into an info dump. This thankfully spares us from another vision of the planet Krypton exploding. But it’s a little bit too much. Even Star Wars’ famous scrolling text didn’t attempt to set up 300 years of backstory. It does a whole lot of telling, and not a lot of showing. But, I get it: we all know Superman, so let’s just dive right into it. Superman feels like you’re starting to watch a TV show for its second season, without even a visual recap. If it would have started with Superman’s actions in Boravia only to show its real world consequences, we could have been spared what felt like the titular super hero being lectured to about how “doing the right thing” doesn’t always result in the best outcome.  It might sound like I hated Superman , but despite its weak beginning, it does ultimately deliver on showing its message that doing the right thing is the right thing to do. Superman shows its titular hero making mistakes in very human ways. He means well, and tries his best to do what he thinks the “right thing” is, based on his midwest rural upbringing and bolstered by a fragmented message his Kryptonian parents left him. ut the messaging is muddled when it turns out Superman was manipulated into doing that “right thing” so it can serve the best interests of the nefarious. Superman wins in the end, but only because he’s Superman–not because his morality wins out. Ultimately, though, it's because the villain was just so villainous he foiled his own plans.  While the film shows Superman preaching better practices–like when he suggests more humane ways of dealing with a massive monster threatening Metropolis–it falls on deaf ears as the other metahumans around him dispense justice in their own way. There’s even a scene at the end of the film where Hawkgirl commits a political assassination that is very much extra judicial, and while it’s in line with Hawkgirl’s character, it definitely flies in the face of the film’s center message. Gunn might insist this is a Superman film, but it’s definitely an ensemble movie. Something Gunn does a great job of with Superman is creating a cogent world full of monsters and heroes, if you’re willing to accept it all at face value. Despite what little screen time you get with each of the major players, you get a good sense of what each one of them is about. Again, Despite Gunn insisting that Superman will be a film about Superman, its very much an ensemble film that takes place in an established universe Lex Luthor is portrayed by Nicholas Hoult who does a great job showcasing Lex Luthor’s evil nature as well as his ultimately pathetic hubris. This version of Lex Luthor isn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty, either, as he literally shoots a man in the head in cold blood while trying to get information from Superman. It's a Lex Luthor who has had years to hate Superman, even going so far as to clone him to create this universe’s version of Ultraman. This Ultraman is hardly a character at all, and more like an automaton that responds to shorthand commands that coincide with predetermined attacks. This is corny and clumsy, and falls apart logically the more I think about it. Sure, Lex Luthor is a genius and obsessed with Superman to the point where he cloned a version of Superman that can respond instantly to a huge library of predetermined attacks, but he doesn’t even seem to understand too much of what’s happening around him. It’s just too unwieldy to accept. David Corenswet does a good job of portraying the man in the trunks. He’s not naive, but he’s definitely trusting. This is also a Superman that doesn’t appear to be at the height of his powers. He’s portrayed as fallible, and able to be beaten–and a Superman that can actually lose a fight is a little more interesting than a Superman that would be at his full comic powers. Corenswet is also great opposite Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, who plays the part perfectly. It’s also great to see some characters like Guy Gardner, Mister Terrific, Metamorpho and Hawk Girl get some live action screen time. Nathan Fillion does a great job as Guy Gardner, and I can’t wait to see more of him in the upcoming Lanterns TV show. And Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific plays a central role in the film’s plot. Superman is definitely a product of James Gunn–for good or for worse. The first live action film in this new DC Universe can finally be scrutinized by fans, and I don’t think it’s going to be converting any of those in the Snyderverse enclave. And don’t expect Superman to be the mold for DC films going forward. If you didn’t like its ambitious tone, James Gunn himself said that each DC film will be tonally different. Overall, Superman is a fun moviegoing experience. It’s just not the tightest film. With the new Fantastic Four film coming out in the next few weeks, it appears as though comic book films could be entering a renaissance period. Either that, or it’s the last shot of adrenaline before they crash out and leave our cultural zeitgeist for good.

It's always a treat to see bands that ushered me into a completely new world of music at a young age. Both Cursive and Bright Eyes  released some of their most beloved albums during my high school years ( The Ugly Organ and I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning / Digital Ash in a Digital Urn  respectively), undeniably establishing themselves as bands that would become staples not just in my life but for a huge chunk of my generation. And judging by the packed Salt Shed earlier this month, that assessment was an understatement. Normally you'd expect a smaller crowd for an opener but that certainly was not the case. Especially when that opener is Cursive, you simply can't help but feel like it's more of a double headliner sort of show. Tim Kasher embodied the duality of that perfectly, giving his props to Conor Oberst (his friend, former classmate, and occasional bandmate) throughout the set and even commenting on the vastness of the venue: "This isn’t Bottom Lounge. This isn’t Empty Bottle." But Kasher also commanded the stage like it was all his own, feeding off the devoted crowd's energy. Having seen him just last year at Riot Fest, I was expecting nothing short of greatness and Kasher delivered. The setlist was a great dive into Cursive 's catalog with plenty of old favorites like "The Martyr" and "Art Is Hard" meshing well with tracks like "Bloodbather" and "Dark Star" from the band's latest album Devourer . But of course "The Recluse" got the most attention in the set as it's that one track that transcends Kasher and Cursive and is as iconic as iconic gets. Even the most deep-cut fans cannot deny its power. Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes had a pretty high bar to meet after that set and it was no surprise that they came to the stage ready to meet it. Much like Cursive, Bright Eyes' setlist was a great journey though the highest highs of their discography. Starting off with a one-two punch off last year's Five Dice, All Threes , "Bells and Whistles" and "El Captain" got the crowd hooked before Oberst pulled out "We Are Nowhere and It's Now." The I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning  track exudes a strained optimism in a time when personal turmoil that feels all the more relatable as time moves along. The highlight of the night was the back-to-back pairing of "First Day of My Life" and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)". The songs are implicitly tied together as the appeared on simultaneously released I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning & Digital Ash in a Digital Urn  and seemingly speaking of the same day. A rainy day turned sunny seems to be the fork in the road where "First Day of My Life" leads to a a new and mutually loving relationship while "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" goes down a path of one night stands and emotionless hookups. The set featured a nice addition as Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff performed along side Oberst for "Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed), the intimate and tender "lua", and later one in the encore a cover of Blondie's "Dreaming". The pair played off one another beautifully, especially on "lua" as they traded off verses and embodied the song perfectly. While the night certainly hearkened back to my youth, it made me incredibly happy that these acts are as strong and impressive as ever. All photos by Julian Ramirez. This review originally appeared over at Third Coast Review

Ah yes, it's that time of year that physical media fans relish and their wallets fear. Twice a year Barnes and Noble have a month long sale that puts the often lauded, occasionally sneered, Criterion Collection on sale! The typically $40-$50 releases (and much more if boxsets are your jam) get slashed in half and end up in a much more manageable $20-25 range ( 50% off for those who didn't catch that ), letting watchers of fine films watch them in amazing quality with a bevy of features to boot. Criterion Collection aims to curate an ever growing list of titles that they deem worthy (and available to license for physical release). There is always a conversation going on about whether their selections are diverse enough, if their encoding of the films and disc mastering is up to par with other big boutique labels. The answers here are complicated and often vary between releases. But like every company there are pros and cons and I tend to think that Criterion ends up come out ahead more often then not. Below are a few recommendations from my collection mixed in with some releases that I am looking forward to possibly getting during the sale. While it's always best o buy from the label directly (they have multiple one day sales throughout the year), B&N is you next best bet! (no matter how low the Amazon and Walmart algorithms go...and they do go low.) Sorcerer 4K A reimagining of The Wages of Fear directed by master filmmaker William Friedken, scored by the fantastic Tangerine Dream, starring Roy Scheider, and honestly what more could you ask for?! This is one of those releases that best exemplifies Criterion's releases in practically every way. The film has been restored in 4K and in a different aspect ratio (1:85, formally 1:78), but apparently has some typical teal leaning color grading that has been running rampant in recent memory (although the previous Blu-ray had similar color timing). It comes with a Blu-ray copy for those still waiting to upgrade to 4K and an additional disc of special features including a full length documentary Friedkin Uncut and a handful of interviews likely including this conversation from 2015 between Friedkin and filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn that is as informative as it is uncomfortably entertaining. Punch Drunk Love 4K This is a big one for me. In a career that is constantly getting masterpiece after masterpiece add to it, Punch Drunk Love is an interestingly high watermark for Paul Thomas Anderson. PDL is an beautiful film that is strange, funny, alien, loving, and above all else expertly made. The Blu-Ray is gorgeous as is and recommends that you watch the film at high brightness and extreme saturation, which I would be interested in seeing if it translates to a 4K Dobly Vision version of the film. Mulholland Drive 4K David Lynch's TV pilot turned early 21st century masterpiece is a must for film fans. It's a wonderful distillation of Lynch's most constant themes (women in trouble, duality, complex narrative structure, emotional extremes, guys in unique outfits says mysterious things, etc) sent through the most complex filter that, to Lynch, couldn't have been more simple. The film's logic relies on emotional resonance over direct narrative logic, making for a intense experience. Confusing as well, but only if you let it be. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Realistically, you should get any or all of Perdo Almodovar's films in the collection, but there is something special about his final movie of the 80s. I think a lot of analysis of the film's themes lose something in the translation, but this suicidal turned murderous portrayal of a woman scorned and all the speed bumps along the way is hilariously fun and looks utterly fabulous. The movie just screams 80s via Spain and is just marvelous to look at. Something Wild Jonathon Demme's wild ride is far more than it seems. Mild mannered Charlie Driggs (portrayed by Jeff Daniels) gets whisked away from his by the number life by Lulu (an amazing Melanie Griffith) and careens in to a sex filled journey into the south. As the film peels back layer after layer to expose more and more complexities, Something Wild becomes essential viewing. It's a journey of self discovery well past the point one ever thinks of having something new to discover. This is also Ray Liotta's second film and is so fully formed as his character it's honestly scary. Let's not forget the stellar soundtrack which is massive and eclectic as all get out. I could go on and on but I'll leave you with a rap[id fire list of other titles you should be on the look out this Barnes and Noble 50% Criterion Collection Sale season! Before Trilogy - Richard Linkater's first go at in-real-time film-making that eventually won him an Academy Award with Boyhood . Blood Simple - The Coen Brothers' first film and by sheer coincidence, their first masterpiece. Brazil 4K - Terry Gilliam's bureaucratic nightmare in 4K is a must! Broadcast News - Prescient and a realistic look at complex adult relationships and the new industry by the incredible James L Brooks. Crash - Cars, sex, and Cronenberg. Need i say more? Godzilla vs. Biollante 4K - Easily one of the best Godzilla Movies Le samouraï - The ultrimate cool, silent protaganist movie! The Tree of Life - Terence Malick at the height of his "find the movie in the edit" film-making. Thief 4K - A neo noir set in Chicago filmed by a young Michael Mann? Yes please.

Millions of people in cities and states across America hit the streets on Saturday for one of the nation’s largest mass mobilizations in years. Dubbed “No Kings” by organizers, the protests were the latest escalation of people organizing against President Donald Trump, and the raids and kidnappings being carried out in his name by ICE, as well as fascism at large. The front of the "No Kings" march in Chicago on Saturday, June 14th. All photos by Aaron Cynic. More than 75,000 people marched in the Chicago Loop, according to organizers. Here's a little of what we saw. "No Kings" demonstrators marching south on Michigan Avenue in Chicago as throngs of other demonstrators can be seen marching north on several streets west. For more about the No Kings march and future events, click here.

We are closing out on the second of three Steam Next Fests of the year.  This is the magical time when we are blessed with a festival of demos for games that are coming out this year. It’s always a treasure trove of indies and unheard of gems you'll only uncover if you are willing to dig through them. Fortunately for you, we've done some digging for you. Here's what we loved from June's Steam Next Fest.  Baby Steps Screenshot: Baby Steps. Via Steam. From the twisted minds of Bennet Foddy  and Devolver Digital comes Baby Steps . It's the story of a man who just hasn’t walked in a long time because he spends all his time watching TV. You wake up in a cave and you have to take your first steps in some time. You'll do that by moving the sticks and controlling one foot at a time with the triggers, using the game's ridiculous physics to take your baby steps and make your way back home. It’s fun and absurd in all the best ways. Even the very minimal dialogue had me cracking up at how little our protagonist cares for really anything. It’s fantastic.  Possessor(s) Screenshot: Posessor(s). Via Steam. When the world is invaded by demons, your character is stuck without any choice but to be possessed by a demon or die. In this case, his demon is a charismatic one with an agenda to figure out why the mysterious lab in town’s experiment led to the invasion in the first place. Mechanically it’s a 2D metroidvania with a massive map to explore, but it also features beautifully animated cut scenes and art, with fantastic voice acting that when put together leads to a fully realized package. It's an intriguing premise that's animated so well we’d watch a whole series based on this story and its characters. Possessor(s)  definitely stands out.  Dispatch Screenshot: Dispatch. Via Steam. In the vein of the TellTale series, there's Dispatch , a story driven narrative adventure about a former hero who was forced into retirement early. Now all that’s left is to work the dispatch and send out different heroes for different emergencies in hopes he can one day become the hero he once was again. What makes this stand out is the hilarious work place comedy that exists within the game, with top notch voice acting from tons of big names but notably Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad  voicing the protagonist. This one will definitely break into the mainstream.  Hotel Barcelona Screenshot: Hotel Barcelona. Via Steam For those not in the know, one of the many prolific names in game directors is Hidetaka Suehiro, AKA SWERY. He is responsible for some of the most ridiculous and out there games to the point that he is in the Guinness World Records for the “Most Critically Polarizing Survival Horror Game” with Deadly Premonition . Now he has brought us Hotel Barcelona , a 2D Side Scrolling combat rogue like, but set in a mysterious hotel. Your job is to explore the hotel, but when ready, jump into movie posters and take on the enemies and bosses that live within. All the while finding new temporary upgrades and bonuses for the run. It’s got a lot of depth but the mystery of the  hotel is so creepy that I didn’t even care much about the levels and just wanted to dig deeper into finding clues as to why I was there. This one grabbed my detective brain and didn’t let go.  Space Adventure Cobra- The Awakening Screenshot: Space Adventure Cobra- The Awakening. Via Steam. If you were ever a fan of 80s anime, Space Adventure Cobra-The Awakening  is perfect for you. A 2D platformer and shooter, it’s also intrinsically an '80s anime, with long cut scenes and action, complete with City Pop  interludes that really make this game bang. The gameplay is secondary to what I was there for though. I just wanted full episodes of this show, and since that became my motivator, I didn’t want to stop playing it! Beautifully voice acted and fully realized as a perfect addition to the '80s anime oeuvre, I can’t get enough of this one.  What did you guys think of Steam Next Fest? What were your stand outs? Leave a comment and let us know below!

It’s hard to look at the Switch 2’s  launch line up as anything but sparse. With a smattering of game ports and one new game in Mario Kart World , its slim pickings for what was ultimately a very successful console launch. Despite all of this, Mario Kart World  stands as the beacon of hope that the Switch 2  can bring similar levels of joy as its predecessor.  Screenshot: Mario Kart World Mario Kart 8  originally released for the Wii U  back in 2014 but has seen new life being ported and expanded on the Switch . It’s been a powerhouse staple of most households for ten years now, but can anything steal the limelight away from such a dominant family party game? The answer is a resounding yes! Mario Kart World  is a worthy successor, but stumbles in a few key areas. Still, let’s dig into what makes this new entry into the Mario Kart  series so great.  Mario Kart World is, at its core, the same great Mario Kart  we all know and love. Classic kart racing action, now with 24 racers per race (up from 12 in Mario Kart 8 .). In the main Grand Prix mode, you race in 4 separate races per cup, with 8 cups available. That's a pretty straight forward concept, except that the races are actually STRAIGHT FORWARD. Most tracks aren’t circular tracks, but straight lines in an interconnected world, hence the title. So the four races in a cup are part of a larger world map which does come into play later, but the idea is that laps on a track don’t often lead to repeated environments. This is both good and bad because if you wanted to master a specific lap or part of the track, you would have to start the race over entirely, but it leads to a lot more track variety and unique experiences throughout a single race.  Screenshot: Mario Kart World There is still a lot of track variety, as well as activity in the tracks. Things like hidden helicopters and UFO’s make for interesting set dressing, and there are a lot of new ways to interact with the tracks themselves. New abilities like grinding rails and wall riding provide new boosts to already elaborate courses, and the increase to racer numbers ramps up the race chaos. The skill ceiling is really high, (Cue tons of Mario Kart World  trick videos on TikTok ) We still are privy to the usual Mario Kart shenanigans of Blue Shells, or constant Lightning but that’s par for the course, so to speak. There’s still so much variety, including unlocks. As far as unlocks, you can unlock different karts and character skins. The issue here is that: 1. You cannot customize your karts so stats are on the type of kart, not even the characters anymore so it’s very dumbed down, and 2. Instead of having a character and selecting their costume, each costume is considered a playable character and thus makes for a relatively big and cumbersome character roster to click through. Obviously these aren’t major issues, just notable for some of the ways that Mario Kart World  stumbles in a few key moments.  One of the biggest new additions to Mario Kart World is the new “open world” mode. Here you can explore all the stuff surrounding the tracks you’ve been racing, digging into each nook and cranny for more. Sadly, there really isn’t much to the exploration. There are of course occasional mystery box challenges or blue coin challenges, but they roughly equate to nothing but sticker cosmetics for your karts, and these challenges are hardly tracked, with minimal indication on whether you’ve gotten any challenges in that vicinity. When jumping into the open world and exploring, I would find the challenges, but knowing I would never be able to come back and know if I completed a track by looking at the massive map, meant the completionist instincts in me never kicked in. Why would I do any bonus challenges if it was impossible to know if I finished them all? I’m sure this would be a more fun experience if you had your friends with you, but this really only works well via online, and not split screen, which is its own annoyance. Overall I’m more confused as to the purpose of the open world except for kids. Putting them in the open world and telling them “go nuts” seems to be the move here and one I will employ as soon as my daughter is old enough to get into this. Otherwise, the open world is absolutely superfluous.  Screenshot: Mario Kart World There’s also a new knockout round mode that acts as a sort of battle royale of sorts, where after each race you continue racing to the next track and the lowest positions are continuously dropped until you only have a few left in the final race. It’s an intense endurance test of sorts that’s tons of fun with friends but can be arduous online solo. Still, if you are looking for something different that puts your skills to the test, this may be the mode for you. I really enjoyed the variation of modes, but also only really wanted this in short bursts as opposed to the classic grand prix.  Outside of the gripes, Mario Kart World  is a stark reminder as to why we fell in love with the series in the first place. These games are like pizza, so even when they are bad, they're generally pretty good and this is a really good one of 'those.' Am I going to 100% the open world? No. But I will play this with my kid or anytime a friend’s in town and wants to play a game together. It's a perfect easy to pick up party game. Especially for those who aren’t necessarily gaming inclined, the handicap options that were perfected in Mario Kart 8  make their returns here so it’s perfect for all walks of life. It’s not the best in the series, but Mario Kart as a whole is always a fantastic time and Mario Kart World proves no different. A welcome opening salvo for the launch of the Switch 2 . Just like in the Switch era, this will be installed on my console for the entirety of its lifespan.

Playdate Okay, I know by the time this goes live week two games are available for Playdate Season 2 – and maybe even week three games. But if, like me, you’re just getting into Season 2, I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m going to stick to talking about Fulcrum Defender, Dig Dig Dino!, and Blippo Plus. I can’t believe the PlayDate is already three years old, but here we are. It’s about time we got a Season 2! And there’s been a lot of stuff that happened since I last checked in on the PlayDate. For one, the dock was canceled, so that’s a bit of a bummer. But there’s also been a whole bunch of cool games that have been released on the PlayDate catalog that I’ve been checking out. And while I want to talk about that more at another time, we’re here to take a look at PlayDate Season 2. Dig Dig Dino. Via Playdate The first game I’m going to talk about is Dig Dig Dino. It’s a cute little game all about digging. You and a team of anthropomorphized paleontologists are working to uncover the world’s underground secrets. At first, you’re limited by your tools and how much energy you have, but as you collect more underground treasures, you’ll get more money, which you can exchange for upgrades to your various tools. Your shovel digs through dirt, while your drill takes out rocks and crystals. There are a few other tools, like radar to let you know if there’s stuff under the dirt, and even a dog that helps you find bones. You’re not timed, but you’re limited in how much you can dig by how much energy you have. Once all of that is expended, you collect anything left sitting around and tally up your total. You then use that money to buy upgrades, dig, and repeat.  Not only is there a satisfying game loop for Dig Dig Dino, there’s also a mystery beneath its surface. You’ll uncover more as you literally piece together clues from artifacts and bones you collect. It’s a fun, casual, no pressure game that is satisfying to play. Fulcrum Defender. Via Playdate Fulcrum Defender , on the other hand, is high pressure from moment one. Made by the developers behind FTL: Faster Than Light and Into the Breach, Fulcrum has a fantastic pedigree, even if it doesn’t match elements from those other games. Instead, Fulcrum Defender is a type of 360 degree defensive shooter. I don’t really want to call it tower defense, since you’re in control of the only tower, and the enemies can come from all directions.  You use the crank to aim and the D-Pad up to fire. Bullets have a travel time, and you only have so many shots before you overheat, so you have to time your shots wisely. As you play, you’re given the ability to choose between different power-ups. Some of these upgrade your main gun, while others give you new weapons. If you are lucky and combine the right weapons, you can create a pretty unstoppable synergy. I actually found Fulcrum Defender to be easier than I expected. On medium difficulty I never actually failed a run before the “You Win” screen. Of course, after you “win” the game doesn’t stop. It continues on to see how high a score you can achieve.I think that’s where the real difficulty lies, and there is some potential for some great high score moments. Bummer, though, that I’ve had a few PlayDate crashes in these later levels, especially when my weapons and abilities add a bunch of chaos to the increasingly busy screen. And when the PlayDate doesn’t crash, it sometimes chugs under the strain of Fulcrum Defender’s drain on its resources.  Fulcrum Defender is a great “one more round” type game, and I lost hours trying to beat my high scores. Blippo+. Via Playdate And finally there’s Blippo+ . Inspired by broadcast television and all of the non sequiturs and just plain weirdness that come with channel surfing. I have to say: Blippo + hits me in the nostalgia feels pretty damn hard. I’ve even watched TV on my Game Gear back in the day with the TV tuner add-on, so I have hard nostalgia for handheld console tv viewing–as weirdly specific as that might be.  And despite it being “broadcast” as “1-bit” television, it’s surprisingly watchable and even looks pretty good on the PlayDate screen. It’s unfortunately hard to translate to larger screens. Blippo+ has an entire 11 week broadcast schedule, so you can expect some fresh programming for the next few weeks. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Blippo+ after they run through their broadcast schedule, but it would be great to see it stick around in some form or another. Even if the content is extremely strange. It all feels very public access, and I think that’s the feel that Panic was going for, and they’re obviously pulling it off.  In fact, it was just announced at the PC Gaming Show that Blippo+ will be going color and coming to PC and Nintendo Switch!  Each week during Playdate Season 2 you will get two more games until you get them all. And there are definitely some games coming up that i”m excited for, like Shadowgate PD and Taria & Como .