Last updated on December 2, 2012
Welcome to Monday Update, where I badger you with my personal interests! No offense meant!
For Greater Glory – Should it surprise you in anyway that the advertising byline in the movie has almost nothing to do with it?
This is, for better or worse, a religious perspective at the events in Mexico within the late 1910s and the 1920s. Plutarco Elías Calles, the president elect of the time, begins a government crackdown on Catholic institutions and officials (which, apparently, was in their constitution since 1917, but never enforced until his term). It should surprise no one that Calles was an atheist, spurred on to banning religious expression by his own beliefs. Unsurprisingly, the uprising began immediately; still, no violent conflict occurred until 1926, when a peaceful uprising turned into a brutal display of violence on both sides. The Catholic Church refused to takes sides, and the cristeros took the conflict into their own hands. This would become known as the Cristero war.
Of course, that’s not really what the movie’s about. It centers around two characters: a young boy named José Sánchez del Río and a retired general-turned-freedom-fighter named Enrique Gorostieta. I would recommend you not read those Wikipedia entries if you don’t want to spoil the whole movie for yourself.Their paths don’t cross until halfway through the movie, yet you see a substantial development of character. Gorostieta, for all intents and purposes, was a complete atheist; though his wife was of Catholic faith, he refused to parcipate and believe in the Christian God after his experiences in several wars. Even when he’s hired by the resistance, he asks for monetary compensation – he’s not a believer in the religious facet of the war, by any means,
On the other hand, we meet a young boy named Jose. He’s just a bad kid, but the kindness of a Catholic priest changes him. The experiences (depicted in the movie, which I won’t spoil) change him to the point of creating a fervent Christian advocate, and he goes to the Cristeros to serve them in their cause for religious freedom. Gorostieta, who had no male children, takes to him like a father to a son. Fate, however, has different plans for the two of them. They both meet the same end, granted, but for different reasons and in different circumstances.
One of the things that was so remarkable, in fact, was the deft handling of religious faith. How can you be so sure? Where does such confidence and grace arrive? What of the supernatural? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? There’s a pro-Christian subtext to the whole, of course, but the questions are stinging and poignant. However, this certainly won’t appeal to the general public. It’s not the setting, but the seeming lack of “logic” in one character’s actions that will certain turn off most demographics. Why does he act this way, even in the face of certain death? Why will he not give in? To people of a theological persuasion, this will make perfect sense, yet we cannot explain the depth of that conviction. To those without, it’s merely an impenetrable mystery, and they won’t get anything out of the whole experience; that’s a real shame.
I think it’s a rather well-thought out film about a relatively obscure war that takes the central issue of said war incredibly seriously. I suppose the “bad guys” seem a little one-sided, but I don’t think you can sugarcoat their violence and massacres. The film does balance this out in terms of atrocities, but they make each of the horrible acts personal (for the most part). It’s especially cringe-worthy towards the end, and you’ll know what I mean. You shouldn’t expect complete historical accuracy – it’s a film by a director who has a message to tell, after all – but you can expect some entertainment along with some food for thought.
Super Hexagon – I’m surprised to say that it’s actually good!
Released on Steam last week, I delved into the game not expecting much, but found myself continually trying the same level over and over again. The “difficulty” ascribed to the game by the media isn’t without warrant, as the game expects you to survive a set of obstacles for one minute straight. That’s harder than it looks.
To describe: you control a tiny cursor that can rotate in two directions around the central hexagon: left and right. Various shapes continually move toward the center in various configurations. To survive, you must move the cursor into an open hole or face the Game Over screen. This might sound easy, but the game throws new challenges and shapes at you constantly. Even then, it’s impossible to memorize the level, as it’s somewhat randomized to prevent anything but good reflexes from finishing a stage. At the same time, the screen CONSTANTLY rotates, meaning you will have to move the cursor along with said rotation while keeping track of what shapes lay ahead. This has lead to more than my fair share of deaths, as the sense of vertigo becomes rather dizzying after a while. If there was any game where taking a fifteen minute break after an hour of play actually applied, this is certainly it!
However, I wonder about the long range prospect of the game once each level is done. There’s only 3 levels (and a faster version of each), and while they may take a long time to master, that’s still quite short. The price of 2.99 USD justifies this at some level, but it’s disappointing nonetheless. Furthermore, the long term prospects of scoring in the game seem suspect at best. All score rely on time – how long did you survive? Still, the semi-random nature of the levels means that each player interacts with a slightly different version of the level. On one level, this might seem good for variety’s sake; on another, it destroys the consistency that makes a timed score MEAN something by way of comparing yourself to other players.
Of course, I’m bagging and complaining about a game that only sells for approximately three dollars, so take that as you will. I’d say buy it, if only because I love a good challenge!
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That’s it for Monday Update. Come back for the bizarro topics I have for this week (hint: something in pockets).
