The Fog (1980)

“Eleven fifty-five, almost midnight. Enough time for one more story. One more story before twelve... just to keep us warm.” These simple words mark the beginning of what yours truly believes to be one of the finest ghost stories of all time. I’m referring to John Carpenter’s 1980 film The Fog. What brings this movie to mind currently is that we're fast approaching the perfect time to revisit this spooky tale. Why's that you ask? Well the film begins late on the 20^th of April and carries on through the next day. This year those dates happen to span the bridge of Saturday night through Sunday morning which as we all know is the optimal time for viewing horror movies. Whether you've never seen it before or are an old die-hard fan this is the perfect moment to revisit The Fog.

I do expect that there are many of you out there who have yet to see this one and I don’t blame you. Growing up I’d encountered most of Carpenter’s work, save for a few oddballs like Body Bags, on television or through my older brothers renting them. Yet for whatever reason I never caught The Fog through either of those means. Instead a DVD was given as payment for babysitting my nephew. I watched it that night with my sister and while I don't recall having a massive reaction to it, the damn thing stayed with me and has since earned regular rotation in my horror viewing. That’s because for what it lacks in pop-culture notoriety versus it’s siblings like Halloween and The Thing it more than makes up with a perfect campfire story aesthetic.

That campfire atmosphere is right up front with an old man telling scary stories to a bunch of children around a fire. I've heard that Carpenter considers this to be a kids movie which was closer to the original intent before reshoots lead to more scare and blood. When you consider how most of us as children heard tales of horny teenagers being dismembered by hook-handed psychopaths and ate it all up this still feels fine for a slightly younger audience. What makes this even closer to a kids film is that it's more simplistic and comfortable. Everything slightly innocent with the horror coming more from atmosphere than brutal violence. That being said there is one outstanding, if quick, bit of head stabbing. None of the deaths are all that bloody. Sex is implied more than it is shown. It may not conform to the typical notions of family friendly viewing but you could get away with nine-year-olds diving into it.

The narrative itself concerns the town of Antonio Bay which is about tot celebrate their 100^th anniversary. That would be all well and good if not for a sin from the towns past coming back with a vengeance by which I mean a batch of of bloodthirsty ghosts who dwell within the fog. It's up all manner of individuals ranging from the local priest to a radio DJ to keep everyone safe.

I’d like to clear the character element up for anyone who hasn’t seen it is this as it lacks the usual central protagonist. It’s much more of a group narrative like some of Stephen King’s more popular work. If one were to narrow the focus to a main hero it would like be Tom Atkin’s fisherman character named after director Nick Castle. Don’t think of him as too much of a hero however as he’s honestly just a very blue-collar kinda guy. He guzzles bear while driving, sleeps with hitchhikers, and smokes like a chimney. A real man among men. Orbiting him are Adriene Barbeau as a local radio DJ, Hal Hallbrook as a priest, Jamie Lee Curtis as the aforementioned hitchhiker, her real-life mother Janet Leigh as a busybody town official, and a few others for added fun. It’s rare for a story so short and straightforward to have a cast this large.

Location is a huge component of those flick as the majority of it was filmed north-west of San Francisco with open vistas and vast shorelines. It's an incredibly scenic area despite being so close to an urban nightmare. What still gets in my craw is how close I was to these sights just a few years ago. There's little chance of me returning either as I'm both a homebody and me & California don't mix well. Regardless, the dive bars, beaches, and lighthouses add to the ambiance of the film as it's all very real but for so many of us seems like a fantastical place to live.

Lord knows we can't forget about the music. John Carpenter is well known for scoring his films. Sometimes his musical efforts made for classic themes like in Halloween, on the flip-side are largely forgettable tunes for films like Vampires. With The Fog he was absolutely laser focused on creating outstanding mood music. It's rarely loud or overbearing but permeates every scene with slow piano notes along with his classic synthesizer work. To this day it ranks as one of my top choices for brooding over a stiff drink while I watch some dreadful weather through the window. Is that a thing normal people do? Have I based too many of my behaviors off of movies?

You'll notice I'm not going into deep ramblings about character-arcs or hidden meanings and that's because this isn't that sort of film. Sometimes it's better to just relax and let things wash over you. Especially when it's such solid entertainment that taps into a fairly universal feeling. How many of us have wondered what unseen terrors lurk about our foggy surroundings?

Just a typical Michigan morning.

Anyway this is your homework for the week. Settle in a few minutes before midnight with a bowl of popcorn and some beer to take in the sort of classic tale that would have thrilled you before you became a bitter adult. Unfortunately I give you this mission when it looks like no streaming services are currently hosting the movie. I guess you can do some digital renting or run out to a nicer movie store, sometimes FYE has a decent stock of Scream Factory releases. Whatever the method I guarantee this is a fabulous way to mark your halfway to Halloween festivities. Well that and waking up the next day to consume massive quantities of ham.

Ryusoulger Episodes 3-4

We can all agree there’s such a thing as being too busy. On the flip-side one can have far too little on their plate. What actually seems like the most damaging is when you have just enough of both to leave yourself totally distracted. That’s sort of what has happened this week when I found myself with enough extra time to dive into different side projects only to realize I’d completed nothing for the site. That doesn’t mean I haven’t done anything at all. In fact, the next month or so should see a good variety of articles now that I’m without a secondary home for my writing. Today however is about consistency as I hold up my new pace for Sentai recaps. Sorry normies but this one is all about that delicate mix of emotional turmoil and dinosaur spandex that only the Japanese can provide,

Story:

These two installments are primarily focused on bringing in Towa, the green and Bamba, the black ranger who right from the start aren’t very friendly. Right now they each show characteristics usually given to other colors and are a tad antagonistic towards the core trio. Each is far more adept at combat than the initial three however they opt for the path of least resistance noting that more lives could be spared by simply killing the person who’s been used to spawn a Minosaur rather than battle the monster itself. This is a creates an intimate debate for our heroes as their new friend Ui is the source of a new creature that acts like the Gorgons of old, demanding people look at it only to petrify them in seconds.

That debate reveals the morality of these characters with Koh and Asuna prefering to save everyone rather than trade lives. Melt is caught in the middle as he sees the logic in sacrificing one for the good of many yet can’t shake the feeling that such action is wrong. Things escalate further when Ui decides she may as well drown herself in order to stop the monster since she views herself as a screw-up. She’s stopped by Asuna who values her newfound friend too much to see them take this path. The day is saved when Asuna and Melt gain the aid of their dinoknights which in his case involves choosing a side in the argument. While it may be illogical in the long run, he would prefer to save everyone.

The following episode centers on Koh’s attempts to recruit the two extra rangers. More accurately it revolves around his attempts to convince Towa to join the team as he seems to be in charge despite being the younger of the pair. At first these idiots compete in a series of challenges to outdo each-other until the newest minosaur becomes a real problem.

The monster of the week comes from a father who regrets missing time playing with his son, a child who is seems to be in a coma or something to that effect. While Bomba is ready as always to strike the man down, Towa ends up being inspired by Koh to awaken his dinoknight and make things right.

Characters:

Immediately we have to talk about the bit with Ui. On a superhero program primarily produced to appeal to a five-year-old audience we saw characters hug it out in order to prevent one of them from committing suicide. For any of my readers who check out these reviews with a mild curiosity of what makes Sentai different from its Americanized bastard child, Power Rangers here’s a perfect example. A character like Ui is exactly what our kids shows need. She suffers from issues of loneliness and self-worth but is helped by the support of good friends. Once again I really hope she gets to join the team properly or prove herself as something more than a cute sidekick.

Towa and Bamba are a peculiar combo. Instead of the usual weirdo or bumpkin role green rangers generally suffer from, Towa’s a mix of the overconfident rival mixed with the childish energy of a red. Bamba is far more interesting to me as he seems like the true wise man of the team yet he let’s his younger, brash brother lead him around. Together they seem like some classic villain pairs where a smaller nasty one is under the protection of a fierce warrior. It was a risky move to make their first act a threat against another character’s life but it helped to show this series is willing to handle more serious subject matter. That being said I find Towa to be the least likable person on the show thus far. He’s got some work to do in the episodes ahead.

Koh is walking a tightrope when it comes to likability as well. On the one hand I’d like to encourage the sort of forgiving and hopeful attitude that allows him to work with the newbies yet it just feels wrong to want to make friends with guys who just threatened to kill someone he care about. Also his rivalry with Towa is going to have to be doled out in small doses or else it will become too much to bear.

I’m interested in seeing where Melt goes as a character. While his type is the logical and calculating member of the group he’s already broken from this path to fallow his friends in the pursuit of pure heroism. He seems more like a philosopher attempting to piece together a greater truth rather than traditional wisdom.

Right now Asuna is walking away with the MVP award. For as much as she may doubt herself, and tie her personal worth to her femininity, her moral compass is straight and true. She’s got more of the bombastic personality traits of someone like Leo from Zyuohger. And I consider that a good thing, especially represented in a heroine.

Villains:

Nothing much to report on this front. The two current commander haven’t received any notable developments. The Minosaurs were interesting though I’d like to see one that gets a larger narrative arc.

Action:

The action beats across episodes three and four aren’t as good as the previous installments. Mostly this is due to the flashy tools being trimmed down to focus on relationships. That doesn’t mean these are bad, the giant robo portions are still fine examples of their craft. What does concern me right now is that none of the enemies have come across as all that deadly, Sentai is often at its best when the heroes struggle to win so I really hope the threat level is boosted soon.

Overalls:

This pairing of episodes was almost evenly split down the middle. There’s much to enjoy from part three between the moral debate and suicide attempt whereas part four was just a bit too childish and empty. What sticks out the most is that this series currently has the grapes to tackle serious emotional content, mix up the traditional character roles, and let heroes voice unpopular opinions. Outside of those that begin as evil, how many rangers kick-off their tenure by raising a sword to an innocent girl? The influence of a new creative crew is clearly visible thus far and I hope episodes like four are a rare misstep.

That’s all for this recap, kiddies. I’ve been up all night and am in great need of some beauty sleep. Next week should be a special tribute to a timely movie, and maybe I can get something Easter themed posted before the next recap. Nothing witty to send us out. Gotta get this uploaded before I pass out on the keyboard.

The River Board Game Review

A few months ago I was awarded a rare luxury in that after accomplishing plenty of responsibilities I realized there was still a clump of credit waiting at the friendly local game store. Not one to turn down the chance for some materialism I went looking for my reward. Problem was; what should I choose? There was so much available from the beautiful Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, the bizarre dexterity game Tokyo Highway, or the lovely and complex Coimbra. Yet out of all these titles the one that kept calling to me was a rather unassuming thing that has thus far garnered the cold shoulder from much of the gaming population. I speak of The River from Days of Wonder. Despite all I had heard about this being a lackluster release something told me there was more to this game than reviews were letting on.

Coming from two Swiss designers, Sébastien Pauchon who's given us game like Jaipur and newcomer Ismaël Perrin The River is a entry-level worker-placement game that proves how important little details are. What at first seems like a very basic title reveals more thought and attention to detail than so many of the flashy titles currently crowding the market.

Opening the box you'll encounter those two items that create the first impression of any game. The insert and instruction manual. The former is well laid out with a space for everything and actually a little room for more cards and maybe a few extra titles should a small expansion ever come to pass. Much like Quadropolis, another Days of Wonder title, the punch boards can be placed underneath the insert to make everything flush with the lid, brilliant. Instructions are nicely illustrated and plainly written. I never had any odd lingering questions about any aspect of gameplay and the final page explains every special tile available. Rulebooks like this are far too rare and the results speak for themselves as I made it through the first playthrough without any issues.

Presentation is not just well done but most importantly, charming. Everything is clean and simplistic with just enough little touches to make it shine. Take for instance how the player boats that store worker are each different right down to the number of barnacles underneath. Best of all are the colors with rich hues of green grass, blue water, and red sand. The look in person is above and beyond what comes through in photos. The purple hue of sunset on the box alone is breathtaking. The components while nothing earth shattering are uniformly high-quality. This doesn't suffer from some random piece that doesn't stand up under scrutiny like the rubbish tower from Stained Glass of Sintra or those floppy player boards from Quadropolis. Every piece is thick, sturdy, easy to recognize and understand.

Gameplay should be easy to understand for any long-term gamer but seeing as this is meant as an introductory game I will explain the basics for those who don't regularly spend time gaming at the table. The core concept of a worker-placement game is to take one worker from your limited personal supply and place them somewhere on the board to carry out the action listed there. This can be anything from gathering resources to constructing a building or discovering more land along the river itself. There are a couple of twists to the formula here such as spaces usually having spots for two-players with the first receiving a bonus of some kind. Another twist is that the amount of a given resource you gather is equal to how many of that symbol are on your player board. It's entirely possible that you may have discovered a combination of land tiles offering plenty of stone but no bricks which forces you to take the brick space before anyone else as the bonus will at least give you one to work with. Likewise the amount of resources you can store on your board is dependent on how many barns you've discovered. Players keep sending out and retrieving workers round after round until someone has either constructed five buildings or reached the end of the river.

I've seen may complaints that the theme is pasted on but I daresay that's far from accurate. With any good game the theme and gameplay should work together and that is very true here with only one possible exception. Remember that we are a group of people traveling downstream. As we go there are opportunities to pick up new people and lose others as they settle in the newly discovered lands. Each of us finds difference opportunities to benefit from the land along our own route downstream. The limited resources are a beautiful representation of this unity as our continuing journey down the rapids limits the time we have to obtain supplies. Even the seemingly oddball scoring bonus for having each column of land match by terrain is secretly smart. Think of the leftmost side of the board as Nevada and the rightmost as Iowa. Wouldn't it seem strange when looking back on your journey if the return to Nevada was greeted by green pastures? How about regaling folks with tails of the treacherous Iowa mountains? This leads to the strange gameplay option to reorganize two tiles on your board. Thematically it can only be written off as correcting your story so as to not mistakenly praise the lush forests of New Mexico. From a gaming standpoint this is a necessary evil to balance out the luck factor. Above all my favorite melding of form and function is that the display of tiles is wiped every round. You're traveling down river after all, that scenery isn't going to wait for you. Which is further augmented by only having the opportunity to grab two tiles max per round. If you see something you want you'd better get it, just remember that doing so may cost you that building or resource you're chasing as well.

This bring us to another topic. As a very amateur game-designer I love it when the care to balance the game is clearly visible. In a good share of games there are cards or tiles that seem like a possible loophole, a weakness to exploit and build upon to conquer your friends. Here that's never the case. Each piece is tweaked so as to never seem like that key to a perfect strategy. You have to live in the moment, battling for your life on the frontier. For some this can lead to the downside that many pieces don't feel very exciting. At the same time this allows for a friendly comfortable game where you're safe in the knowledge that another player won't simply luck into the perfect card and destroy your plans.

The player range is 2-4 with the game shining on the higher-end. Two-Players is by no means a poor choice but you end up losing elements like the first placement bonus. Not to mention there are countless better titles for one-on-one showdowns. So long as you have at least three people the game will prove to be tight and competitive. In fact most of my plays thus far have seen the winner pull ahead by a single point, even in the more relaxed two-player approach.

Another question we have to cover is does this have a place in your gaming library if you already have other worker-placement titles? That depends a little on which ones you have and why you enjoy them. I have Lords of Waterdeep and its expansion which offers one or two hours of fairly straightforward play. Then I have Yokohama which is at least ninety minutes of brain-melting puzzle. The River is much more relaxed than either of those and comes in at only half-an-hour. I can teach absolutely anyone how to play it and have it finished in no time. It comes in at the low end of complexity and playtime but occasionally that's what you need. If life allows me the freedom I'll bust out Yokohama, if I want something big but less complex then it's Waterdeep for sure, when just want a quick play it's gonna be The River.

If anything The River is a victim of the current state of gaming. In a time with app-assisted experiences, disposable escape room simulations, and overpriced deluxe Kickstarter editions, this title gives us exactly what drew us into gaming in the first place. It's a beautiful, elegantly designed experience that can be enjoyed by anyone quickly all in one box for a relatively low price. All those who complain that it's a bit to simplistic or has a boring theme should understand those reasons are why this has a safe and comfy spot in my collection. It fits any situation and offers a big yet friendly experience in a playtime that can fit into everyday life.