Movie Review: Sinners

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An enjoyable period-piece anchored by strong performances and haunting music, “Sinners” endears itself to the viewer before the huge tonal shift in the final act of the film. The plot seems simple enough as two twin brothers work to setup opening night for their juke joint. The characters and their world feel lived-in and backstories that are explained just enough make this plotline interesting. But there’s just enough of a foreboding presence in the background that it’s not totally jarring when the story shifts gears into a full-on horror film. While the third act does have some unavoidable similarities to “From Dusk Till Dawn,” the characters are all fleshed-out enough that the audience is invested more invested in their fates. Music features heavily in the story, and the period-specific style works just as well in the modern era. All the actors do a great job, and even though Michael B. Jordan successfully makes the twin brothers he plays feel like two different people, in the back of your mind you know it’s still just the same person. There is a mid-credit scene, and it is the actual ending of the film, not just something tacked on.

*** out of *****

Video Game Review: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch)

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Taking the aesthetics and some of the general gameplay of the remake of “Link’s Awakening” and combining it with a few ideas from the “Breath of the Wild” era games, “Echoes of Wisdom” becomes a solid experience that makes up for the general lack of originality with a game mechanic that allows incredible gameplay freedom.

This game is pretty much what it appears to be on the surface, and that’s a game that was created after the team the remade “Link’s Awakening” decided that they wanted to use their game engine to make a new Zelda game. Aside from switching out Link for Zelda as the main protagonist, the basic plot and overall gameplay is the same as most of the installments in the franchise: You clear a series of dungeons, help out people around Hyrule and then move on to your final battle. While the dungeons unlock in stages as the plot progresses, you’re mostly free to explore the world almost from the start. And although the world seems fairly large on the map, it’s not as expansive as it seems and is nowhere near as big as the 3D Zelda versions of Hyrule. (Not to mention plenty of fast travel points all over the land.)

Where the game excels is the echoes gimmick. As you collect various echoes of objects and monsters, your gameplay begins to rapidly change. Depending on what order you proceed and what echoes you pick up, the way you approach puzzles, obstacles, and battles can vary greatly. (Even somebody who has the same echoes as you might approach things completely differently.) There’s a great feeling of accomplishment when you find the right combination of echoes to achieve your goal, whether you did it the way the game intended, or you found your own unique way that even the game developers never dreamed of. Unfortunately, this mechanic doesn’t translate as well for combat. While there are moments it’s fun to sit back and watch your stronger echoes carve through enemies, there are times when it’s boring to have to sit there and watch them do the work for you, often way too slow for your liking. The sword fighter mode makes up for this, but since the effects are limited and it’s much harder to keep the meter filled in the overworld, it’s not quite enough to balance out the gameplay.

The game is vividly colored with lush and varied environments, but the plastic, almost Lego-movie style of animation make you feel more like you’re playing with toys instead of journeying through the mystical lands of Hyrule. Also, even on normal mode, the game is relatively easy. The puzzles are usually kind of obvious, there’s so many different ways to heal that it’s not that hard to avoid getting killed, and with some fairly thorough exploring, you should find almost all the major collectibles without any help from walkthroughs. (Getting 100% is relatively easy, and there’s very little grinding involved.)

Princess Zelda’s first true solo adventure is a worthy entry to the franchise that’s named after her, and despite not having much innovation in the classic 2D top-down formula, the sandbox elements make the playthrough feel unique, especially with what feels like almost limitless possibilities of how you can use the echoes.

*** out of *****

TV Review: Daredevil: Born Again (Season 1)

**This review may contain minor SPOILERS**

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Beginning life as a soft reboot of the Netflix series, “Daredevil: Born Again” was infused with elements to turn it into a continuation that show instead. And despite the seams being visible where the two ideas were sewn together, the overall project works.

Initially this show was supposed to have no connection to the first “Daredevil” series besides the fact it starred some of the same actors. It was also meant to be an 18-episode season with smaller story arcs. With almost half of the season filmed, it was decided to retool it into more or less a fourth season of the Netflix show. Because of this, the plot of this season is a bit flimsy. While Daredevil and Kingpin each have their own season-long arcs, the show itself usually feels directionless. Factor in how rarely Matt suits up as Daredevil, there are moments were it just feels like nothing is happening. Only in the final two episodes, which were both filmed after the overhaul, does the plot really materialize. (The pilot episode was also added later, and a lot of it feels pointless until the penultimate episode where the mystery is brought up again.) There is also a subplot in the background teasing the villain Muse, but his story is a victim of the original episodic structure and just when it looks like it’s going to get good, they move on to the next story arc.

One thing both versions of this show had in common is strong character arcs. The basic concept is fine, as both Daredevil and Kingpin try to make new lives for themselves outside of their alter egos. While it is fun watching them get pulled back into their respective darker halves, some of the story beats are a little bland. Matt’s lawyer stuff is generally pretty good and so is Fisk’s awkward attempts to be a public servant, but both of their romantic subplots are uninteresting. (Although of the two, Fisk’s wife always shines in her scenes.) Most of the supporting cast is sparingly used and are fine for their roles in the story, but the major characters like Karen and the Punisher are huge standouts when they show up.

As expected, the acting from the leads is fantastic. Just about any time two of the main characters is together on screen, magic happens. The fight scenes are decent, but the editing makes it hard to see what’s happening sometimes. And while it’s nice to see Daredevil jumping and swinging around the rooftops, the CG looks mediocre and pulls you out of the moment.

Overall, “Daredevil: Born Again” works as continuing the Netflix series in a new direction, despite the fact that most of what we see was meant to be the opposite. The season’s major plot only seems to exist at the start of the season and the end, but the character stuff is usually enough to keep things interesting…especially with the leads’ great acting. The action is sparse and not as good as the old “Daredevil” series, so couple with the flimsy narrative, the show tends to drag at times.

*** out of *****