True Grit

A new movie by the Coen brothers is always an event.

Given their habit to twist rules and genres, you never quite know what you're going to get especially since they also like to make lighter movies (Brun After Reading, Intolerable Cruelty spring to mind).
But you're always sure it will be beautiful and witty (I loved the 2 movies above, although much less than Miller's Crossing or No Country For Old Men, which are instant classics).

So what could they make of a remake of a John Wayne Western?

Well, in a slightly disappointing twist, True Grit feels like their most conventional film to date. Which is far from saying that it's bad. But somehow I missed this crazy touch that makes you really have no idea how it's all going to turn out.

Having said that, it's quite brilliant. The actors are perfect, cinematography stunning and the dialogs are nothing but a joy. I just had a big smile on my face for the whole thing.
Having said that it's also got its dark edge, with bursts of quite brutal violence, as you would expect from a western.

So it's an utterly enjoyable effort, definitely more relevant than their more minor efforts, but just a notch under their best.

In any case, certainly something that should be watched more than most movies out this year...

Black Swan

Another late report, I had to get them all in before True Grit next week...

There is so much to say about Aronofski's latest, that I think I'll keep this brief: this is an amazing piece of filmmaking.
Compared to his previous works, it sits somewhere between Pi & The Wrestler: it is part depiction of the life of a ballet dancer, part paranoiac trip (Polanski's Repulsion comes to mind also).

Natalie Portman is nothing short of incredible. She manages to be completely believable as a professional dancer, which is no cheap feat...

And Aronofski's direction is so viceral, it makes the movie something you feel as much as you watch.

Just brilliant.

The Green Hornet.

OK, this is becoming slightly ridiculous.
I've been to this one nearly a month ago...
But I need to keep at it, especially when it's worth it.

Because when going into this I wasn't really sure I wanted to see this movie. I was taken by a sort of boredom of superheroes movies. There are just too many now. It doesn't quite feel as exiting as it used to be when X-Men, Spiderman were yet to come out.
Also, I'm quite a fan of Michel Gondry's work, but there's always a worry when a director with his background moves into Hollywood action flicks. Will he keep his personnality? Will his style fit action scenes? So I was bored and worried.

Yet, in that negative mindset, the movie was good enough that it won me over!

So it doesn't reinvent the genre in anyway, but everything it does works.
The humour works, the buddy movie side works (Seth Rogen & Jay CHou are very well cast in their respective roles) and the action certainly works.
It's all done in a tongue in cheek fashion that makes the whole thing light-hearted and yet with a few more gritty things to keep you on your toes.

So you could argue that some characters are very under-written, yet the movie is resolutely centered on its title duo, so I'd think it's a conscious choice.
You could argue that the story is unsurprising, yet it's well built and provides enough set pieces that feel right in their place.
But it's all done with a honesty that makes it all OK.
And there are a few shots (Kato vision, splitscreen tracking shots) that are truly great moments.

I would compare it to Ironman: sure, it's a product, but it's a good one. One that doesn't make you feel dirty enjoying it.
Although I will always wish to have seen Stephen Chow's version, Gondry's version is worth seing.

2010 movie round up...

Wow I did it again...
Losing the will to write lately.
Still, it's about remembering 2010 which was a particularly good one to spend in cinemas...
Just for Scott Pilgrim, it would have been worth it. But Inception? Toy Story 3? KICK-ASS?
It all makes Ironman 2, otherwise a perfectly good Hollywood product, quite pale in comparison.
If on top of that you add some catch up from 2009 (Hurt Locker, Un Prophete), there you get something very special. And one for everyone!

So here's the top 10:
01 - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
02 - Inception
03 - Toy Story 3
04 - KICK-ASS
05 - The Hurt Locker
06 - Un prophète
07 - Shutter Island
08 - The Lovely Bones
09 - The Book of Eli
10 - Gainsbourg, Vie Heroique

Tron Legacy.

Oh woa...
I didn't realised I'd left this place for so long. How time flies when you're busy...
Incidentally, since I haven't been in the cinema over that period of time and cinema micro reviews is pretty much the only thing I keep myself doing, I guess it just figures.

Anyway, I brought 2010 to a close with Tron Legacy.
Now I love the original Tron to bits. Some people might think that it has aged, but I find the design, the concepts are still groundbreaking today.
I therefore didn't expect Legacy to top that. And it didn't.

The biggest flaw that holds the movie back is its script. I think they got the right elements there, I love the themes and the key elements (son chasing lost father kept prisoner) but it's all put together in a preditible manner that doesn't really make you sympathise with the characters.
Also, a lot of it seems forced in the way that "you can't have a Tron movie without ". So they did it. So if you know the original, you know what the main set pieces will be before going in (even if you don't know how they will unfold).
However, it's structured enough to make sense and it's brought to life by actors playing it straight and believing in it, so it's in no way a show stopper.

Also "how it unfolds" is an important point here. Because we're here for the show, right?
And on that field, boy doesn't the movie deliver. A real feast for the senses.
All art departments are converging and merging together to create a consistent world. Special mention to Daft Punk's music here that even incorporates sound effects!
Also, 3D has never been so relevant for this movie. And the use they make of it (real world in 2D, digital in 3D) is very clever.
The small flaw in that field is Jeff Bridge's young face: I think it's expressive enough, however it's really young Jeff Bridges and that bugged me slightly.

So all in all, a hell of a show that's definitely worth seeing in the cinema. It could have achieved its potential by trying to break the mould a bit more, but still it stays satisfying as it is...

Mass Effect

I'm carrying on to clear my backlog of "games I should definitely play, years later".
The advantage is that I only get the cream...
Mass Effect definitely is part of it.

Funny how cinema tries (and fails) to make video games movies, yet Bioware are getting closer & closer to make a "movie video game". Sure, they're refining a formula that they've been working on for years, through Baldur's Gate, KOTOR et al. But here, to the "usual" (yet always outstanding) action and branching story paths, they added an impressive dose of style. Camera work is getting very close to the real thing, using handheld style in places and the direction reaches in the dialogs phases, making them a lot more dynamic than just shifting from 1 face to the other.
The story is, as always, very good, compelling with good characters.
I guess that if you compared it to movies however, it could still be considered "standard". But you can really feel that they're pushing the boundaries of the medium...

And then you get the universe, which is really a joy to explore. The design is brilliant and although it is based on familiar SciFi concepts, it feels fresh enough with a lot of background on the races you discover to keep everything interesting. It's quite a feat as in essence it's quite like Star Wars, but it just works without feeling like a rip off.

So definitely a must play, I'm looking forward to play the 2nd and the 3rd in a few years time... :)

Buried.

To hold a movie in just 1 place is a bold enough concept. Choosing a coffin as that place shows real spirit and it's quite amazing to see a movie that makes such a premise work that well.

Director Rodrigo Cortez even pulls the feat to shoot the box from so many angles that I could genuinely believe not 1 shot was used twice. It makes up for something that, just from a visual perspective, feels incredibly fresh.

The script, clever & tight, ramps up the pressure fast and keeps it high, pushing the audience towards the edge of their seat further and further...

Last but not least, it all wouldn't work if Ryan Reynolds wasn't up to the task and he definitely is... He conveys the character's arc completely convincingly throughout.

You'd have however to be able to stomach it, as I'd think it won't be anyone's taste.
But, if you're up to it, it's truly gripping stuff and as a cinematic experience, it feels quite flawless. It's one of those "small" movies you have to see in the cinema, as you really get this claustrophobic feel, with the darkness (it's only shot with "natural" light), the sounds...

Definitely convinced me never to try to get buried alive...

The Other Guys.

I went to see this one on impulse. I usually stalk the movies I want to see for a long time, ensuring that I'm going to like them... For this one I just saw the trailer during the summer and thought it could be quite good. OK, I did check a few reviews first...

Another point was that I had never watched a Will Ferrel movie (only saw parts of Elf, which I found surprisingly entertaining, although not quite hilarious), so for my culture I just needed this. And I like Mark Walhberg. And Michael Keaton.

I had a slight worry coming in that I wouldn't be in on the jokes. There's nothing worse than going somewhere to laugh and ending up not laughing. In some occasions I do worry like that which is weird because I didn't worry for Shaun Of The Dead or Hot Fuzz or Scott Pilgrim (no idea why those titles popped into my head EDGAR I LOVE YOU (IN A SORT OF MANLY WAY)). But I guess they weren't really marketed (I hate that word but can't find another one) as "funny movies", just movies with a few laughs in it. Anyway.

Fortunately I did have a few frank and good laughs there.

The movie uses the reverse formula of the supercop-action-thriller (which would be the losercop-action-comedy). It's similar to KICK-ASS in the sense that KICK-ASS is a comic book movie that focuses on the "normal guy" instead of a super hero, here it's an action thriller that focuses on the normal cop instead of the super one.
And some very cool things come out of that, as well as a few totally hilarious moments (which come handy since that's what we were here for in the 1st place).

The one thing that I regreted was that with those few moments I laughed my face off, I wished the movie had been funnier overall. Not that the rest isn't funny, quite the opposite actually and if anything it's always satifying, but it's just that it's not AS funny.
Expectations are such a pain...

For the rest, I'd say it's all good, Will Ferrel seems to play mostly the same type of roles, but he does it brilliantly, Mark Wahlberg is excellent as the frustrated angry cop that wish he could shoot anything and I have to put a special mention to Michael Keaton (didn't know about TLC, but a brilliant idea).
There are even a few good action sequences thrown in the mix!

Oh yeah and the soundtrack is good (although I'm obviously biased towards anything that uses RATM or The White Stripes) and I enjoyed very much the educationnal ending credits, listing some of the most memorable financial scams in history...

So all in all, a good movie. Could have been better I guess, but it gets the sympathy vote with all those side great ideas...

Scott Pilgrim VS The World.

I came out of Inception saying I couldn't possibly think how I could see something better this year.
Well I just did.

I did know that Scott Pilgrim was coming up and it had this label "movie made for me" slapped firmly on it. But although I expected it to be good I was far from expecting the kind of pure awesomeness it actually delivers.
To give an idea, I was already wanting to clap only a few minutes in.

It's a movie that succeeds on just every level. And it has many.
It is a (not dumb) teen comedy, an action movie, it is about music, video games and blends everything in a way that is unique and completely natural.
It's completely over the top of course, but it all makes sense.

I, of course, loved Spaced & Shaun Of The Dead & Hot Fuzz and Wright already showed through these that he's the ultimate geek, but here he also shows how much he's digested all his references and shows what he's capable of doing his own thing. As a matter of fact, Shaun & Fuzz were tributes to other movies and therefore the way they were shot in the same way of their models. Pilgrim shows Wright unleashed, proving the true virtuosity his capable of. I knew he was good, that he was THAT good.
The integration of the special effects, the way he films the fights and the rest, it's just incredible.

And that's just the surface.
Because the universe of the original comic is also quite excellent. I mention the comics here, because, not having read them, I don't know to who the credit should go.

The leads are likeable, but just, which only makes them more interesting.
And all the others manage also to be clearly fleshed out, even if there on screen only for a few minutes.
Kudos to the cast for this. You could single out Michael Cera, Mary-Elizabeth Winstead and Kieran Culkin, but all the others rock all the same.

And then there's the music.

It's one of those movies where you have 1 genius idea per shot.
It rocks. If not it's cool. If not it's funny (and weeeell funny).
Every moment is awesome. Every line is quotable.

And it's so radical, that there will ever be only one. That's also a deeply satisfying thing.
Instant cult classic doesn't even qualify here. Because this is an instant cult classic made for ME.

Funny how for Inception, I would just go and recommend it to anyone. Like "if you like cinema, you have to enjoy this".
For Pilgrim, this is a way more personnal thing. Because it is not for everyone. Some people won't get in all the references and in-jokes (I'm not saying I got them all here, as an example I noticed in the credits that I didn't recognised a Sonic & Knuckle track somewhere, I'm quite annoyed at that actually). Some people will bail over the visual overload. So I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Just the handful few I know will enjoy it truly, as much as I did. I find this precious.

Edgar (and the team!), I love you man.

The Expendables

When you see the cast of a movie such as this, gathering the action heroes from the 80s, there are some standards you expect: a ludicrous story, ludicrous one-liners & a ludicrous amount of ludicrous violence.

It's completely fair to say that Stallone delivered on every count here.

It's a complete 80s throwback and I found it a huge amount of fun. And loved the fact that it's not a parody, but on the other hand you get a good few laughs that are with the movie. It doesn't fall in the category "so bad it's funny". It's tongue in cheek,
but still with a 1st degree approach.
There's no comment to make for the acting (although Rourke has a fine monologue) or the script, however none come in the way and the latter provides good set ups to put those action men up against each other.

And even if a good amount of cheese is there, there's nothing cheesy about the action, which just rocks: it's completely over the top in a good way (much better than The A-Team for example, as far as I'm concerned). It's filmed in a clear manner (ie it uses handheld camera, but not too much), you understand what's going on and although it makes no sense, it's still completely entertaining and believable in the context of the movie. And appropriately gruesome of course! :)

Some could regret that it isn't THE DEFINITIVE 80s MOVIE. Sure, it isn't, it's yet another one.
But a good one.

The boys are back in town!

Gainsbourg, Vie Heroique.

It's great to see a biopic that strays off the usual path.

The association of Joann Sfar, reknown comic book author and Gainsbourg seemed a strange match to me at first (although I'm sure it's all down to a lack of knowledge on my part).
Seeing a comic book author come to making film is also unusual.

Yet after seeing this movie, it all makes sense and I have been much impressed by Sfar's work, as a 1st time director. He managed to infuse his movie with his sensibilities far beyond all the drawings you see on screen, as Gainsbourg paints, clearly bearing Sfar's mark.
There's genuine inventivity in his direction and although it IS a real movie (not a conceptual mess as other artists can tackle the medium) you can feel his comic book origins throughout.

It's movie that works more as an experience than a story, not because the story's poor (there's more than enough material in Gainsbourg's life), but because it's what Sfar wants.
And it's a stimulating one.

And it's very subtle with a lot of events (and famous songs) just referred to.
In a sense, it's what any biopic should do: not TELL you everything you should know about the subject, but inspire you to go and find out more about it.
And the movie does that beautifully by blurring lines between reality and dream.

It's suported by an outstanding cinematography (again, for a 1st timer, the effects are brilliant) and by an amazing cast.
They all managed for me to portray those icons I've seen "for real" as I indeed remembered them, from Gainsbourg to Birkin, to Bardot...

Gainsbourg himself, because of his "gueule" (as the movie states it) wasn't a specifically likeable character, yet he was a compelling one and the feeling is perfectly conveyed here.

I was disappointed to see that, at the end, Sfar had to show a message as a disclaimer to explain why he took this approach. As far as I'm concerned, the movie speaks for itself and I respect his choice even more so that I liked them.
But I guess the general public would need this, which makes me slightly sad.
But this has nothing to do with the movie anyway.

The A-Team.

Well among the stupid remake / adaptations ideas, when announced, I thought the A-Team was right there with the likes of GI Joes. Then again, when handled properly, you can always get good stuff from trash.

And this adaptation comes as a good surprise. No greatness, but quite fun still.

On the down side, it slightly too over the top for its own good and the action is quite over edited.
But the film manages to saves itself with its characters, very well cast (all 4 main cahracters) and I thought very likeable. Whenever I was about to get fed up with a set piece that I was finding "too much", I got something (eg Murdoch asking the way to Berlin) that made me think "oh why not after all...".

So "just" a disposable blockbuster, nowhere near a Star Trek, missing the madness of a Transformers, but still way better than a Pirates Of The Carribeans in my book.
All in all, fun.

Predators

Disappointed...

I don't think I came in expecting "too much". The original Predator still casts its shadow on today's action movies, there was no point expecting something anywhere close.

All I wanted was some balls out action with macho commandos. And I got that. Along with some very nice ideas.
But things bothered me. I don't mind stereotypical in this context, but some characters just stuck out. I didn't feel they belonged there (as an example, no offence to Dany Trejo, who I'm looking forward to watching right in his place in Machete!).
And what also bugged me were all the references to the first Predator (from weapons to situations to music) and some obviously tongue in cheek moments. I would have thought that it would have worked so much better as a no-nonsense movie (which the 1st Predator was).

On the upside, Andrien Brody was quite credible as an action man and with Alice Braga had beleivable characters. The movie is also very competently shot and as I mentioned some good ideas come in the mix: the initial freefall, the revelation of whre the team is, the fights (although I didn't really buy the samurai... Then again Danny Glover killed one), the place to the inital Predator, the origin of Alice Braga's character.
One could argue that actually the movie delivers in the right moments...

But on the whole, even small annoyances tend to spoil the sauce...
So I can't help to feel that this is a missed opportunity...

Inception

I have no idea how he does it, but (almost) every Christopher Nolan has made have had the same effect on me, when the credits roll: a chill (of pleasure) down the spine, a huge smile on my face & my mind ebullient by the spectacle I was given to watch...

Inception is no exception.

It's one of those movies that I find myself embarrassed to talk about, because I can't help to have a sort of maniacal smile on my face, need to speak loud with big hand gestures, because I find it so good I can only be passionate about it.

What's also amazing about his films is that he hasn't yet repeated himself. There's something in common. An elegance in the direction, a definite love of mind games, some fairly twisted (yet likeable) characters, but it always takes place in a different context. A film noir, a super hero movie, a magic trick...
In this occasion it's a heist movie. Ocean's 11, only by Nolan.

It's less of a puzzle than, say, Memento, as you know pretty much from the beginning where you stand. No magic powder thrown in your eyes either.
But don't get me wrong, it's no less groundbreaking. It feels almost wrong to reduce this as an action movie, because it takes such a fresh and cerebral approach to it.

Visually, it's stunning with visions that are from dreams yet grounded in reality (I guess in the same way that the Batman movies were realistic in a way).
And this being an action movie, there are some crazy set pieces, that 1) made me wonder how they did that and 2) were simply mind blowing. In some aspects, it beats Matrix to its own game (although they actually don't really play in the same park).

DiCaprio yet again confirms what a fine actor he is, with a performance that just might be his most relaxed to date (in the films I've seen of him at least, to illustrate, he's got very intense performances in The Departed or Shutter Island). But the rest of the cast is also to credit. I know I always tend to say that but just have a look at the cast: Helen Page, Joseph Gordon-Lewitt (if you haven't seen Brick, go see it), Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy... So much talent in just a few names...

And as for the concepts developped, just don't get me started. Shall I say that, as usual, the film isn't really throwing a "message" at the audience, yet the ideas raise so many questions, just choose how metaphysical you want to get...

I can't think of any way I could see something better this year...
Strange how I remembered thinking that when walking out of The Dark Knight...

Update: after mulling over it during the night, it might be more of a puzzle than 1st thought... :)

Toy Story 3

The 1st 2 Toy Story were definitely a tough act to follow...
Then again, excellence is the least to expect from Pixar.
So it comes as no surprise that Toy Story 3 comes out as an incredible end to an incredible trilogy.

Strangely enough, the only drawback would be that the 1st 2 came 1st, therefore taking the surprise away. So there are expected moments that do happen and therefore could feel like "box ticking".
Yet the movie never repeat any of its predecessors and still applies the subtle mixture of comedy, action and more nostalgic moment, making it accessible to kids of course but equally enjoyable (possibly more emotionnal even) to any adult that once had favorite toys...

New characters are introduced and well developped (Ken, as the fashion-obsessed bad boy refusing to be a girl's toy is a stand out for me...), but never at the depends of the main characters, still strongly in focus. The script moves seamlessly from clever idea to clever idea, integrating all its references and tributes into the story.

From a technical point of view, it's full marks on all counts, an amazing achievement, especially considering the standard it had to sustain.
But this movie is also more than the sum of its parts, for everything the story of those toys tell about us, our inner child.

So it's yet again a big thank you to Pixar for delivering such a ride, yet a heartbreak to have to say bye to those characters... All in all, worth it!

A quote...

"The reason Memento worked for audiences is that it was a tremendously emotional film. Which had nothing to do with me. It was all Guy. This genius actor comes into my film-noir maze and is playing it for real. And in playing the truth of that, he opened it up for the audience. It never would have succeeded otherwise."

That's from (in case you didn't guess) Christopher Nolan and although I think he's also a genius in his own right, he's spot on there...

The Rage Factor.

I had the privilege to be at Finsbury Park yesterday, for celebrating Rage Against The Machine's victory at the UK Christmas chart last year.

Well I don't think anyone present will say they don't know how to throw a party...
Brilliant organisation (I've never been served that fast at any bar anywhere...), incredible set up (3 massive LCD screens, cameras everywhere so no one misses a thing) and great support bands (The Gallows, Roots Manuva & Gogol Bordello)...
The weather was on top of this generous, with only a small drizzle here and there. It wouldn't have changed the mood anyway.

It wouldn't have been much if the headliners hadn't been in good shape, which of course wasn't the case.
Of course, they came in only after being duly introduced by (a cartoon) Simon Cowell...
Although clearly (and understandably) in full crowd-pleasing mode, they threw their usual energy in the set. That included Testify, Bombtrack, Know Your Enemy, People Of The Sun, Bullet In The Head, Guerilla Radio, Township Rebellion, Freedom, Sleep Now In The Fire and also a cover of White Riot from the Clash. They could just throw anything at the crowd.
We also had the opportunity to applaude the people who set up the Facebook group that started it all.
And then, after even very cheekily featuring the song they won against, it was time to finally blow the place up with Killing In The Name.

And to think that I had given up to actually see them performing live...
There was nothing more that I could have wished for. Well actually yes, but there was nothing more I could REASONNABLY have wished for. I mean, they did all this FOR FREE!!!

Huge thanks to RATM & all involved for making this possible.
Brilliant.

I took a few crappy pictures:

From El JhOjo's junkyard

From El JhOjo's junkyard

From El JhOjo's junkyard

You had to be there...

Ironman 2

I went to see this a few weeks ago but didn't take the time to talk about it here.
A shame really since cinema "reviews" (more like opinions) used to be pretty much the only thing I managed to keep doing... Anyway, better late than never.

I didn't expect anything from the 1st movie and came out begging for more. The downside is that I expected a lot from this sequel.
I'm happy to report that it didn't disappoint. In the "Hollywood blockbuster" genre, they still hold 1 of the best recipes currently in use.

In a clever twist, they manage to put Tony Stark in a similar position than the 1st movie: he starts as an obnoxious borderline-unlikable playboy (although Downey Jr. plays it perfectly and that the character has his own reasons for being that way) before redeeming himself to his friends and the audience. :)

This time round, he's also got a proper nemesis and Mickey Rourke proves (although unsurprisingly) a bad ass choice.
And I didn't even mention Black Widow... :)))))))))

It's also good to see that they didn't sacrifice character development for action. The drawback is that you end up wishing there was a bit more action, but that's also because the 3 set pieces here are really outstanding. Varied and just plain fun.

So again, this is not really art, but as Hollywood blockbusters go it's not dumbed down, it's spectacular, just dark enough yet fun enough...
A great movie therefore!

Bit Trip Runner

It's been a long time I didn't post.
I actually regularly think of things to post but I don't get to actually do it anyway.

Today I found an incentive.

I acquired Bit Trip Runner, the latest in the "Bit Trip" series, available on WiiWare. And I find it quite excellent.
I've been following the series with great interest and I could have sworn I mentionned it here but I can see now I didn't.
So to recap: it's a collection of games that take a "retro" look, ie big pixels, bright colors and simple (yet not simplistic) gameplay, with still some modern bells and whistles of the current technology. They also leave a non-negligible space to music, making them almost rythm games to some extend. 8-bits style of course.
And they all are devilishly difficult.
It's how I like my games: revolving around a concept rather than flashy graphics. That makes the series fresh and stylish.

Bit Trip Beat paid tribute to Pong & Arkanoid: you controlled a pad to send back dots (balls? pixels?) where they came from. It's the original concept, very simple yet completely addictive.

In Bit Trip Core, you would do kind of the same thing, but using "beams" that you could send in 4 directions. I liked it also but I found it way too difficult.

Bit Trip Void saw you control a "dot", trying to collect other black dots while avoiding the white ones. It reminded me of Ikaruga in many ways and with very clever design it does reproduce some "shoot-them-up" situations. However there's one thing that irritates me in this one: the background changes a lot and sometimes becomes dark, which is a cool effect, but prevents you from seeing the black dots you're supposed to collect. While I know this is done on purpose, I think it's rather cheap and that the game is already difficult enough without this.

And so all this built up to Bit Trip Runner. Wonder Boy is referenced here and the gameplay expands also, as you now control an actual character (although it's the same one you where controlling in the previous games, here you can see him better), who runs, jumps, slides & kicks. 4 actions then, all cancelling an obstacle you might run into. No life here, as the levels are partitionned in small segments. If you hit anything, you start from the beginning of the segment. To score points, you need to collect some gold on the way, which gives some interesting risk / reward dilemmas...
The general feel is less abstract than in the previous entries and has an incredible charm. The fact that you're running through levels in bite-sized segments make the whole thing a lot more approachable than the previous entries, in which you needed to sit through a complete level in 1 go (roughly 15minutes of intense concentration). This doesn't mean that Runner is easier. It just STARTS easier. By the end of the 1st level, you're already confronted to some meaty chains of moves that require you to refrain from blinking...

It reminds me of Vib Ribbon, on the Playstation, although here the levels are not auto-generated by the music you use. In recent memory, Cannabalt, which I already mentionned and Tomena Sanner (which is also a gem of Japanese nuttiness) come to mind.

Although it's gameplay at its simplest, it's just a joy to play. The graphics, controls, music come together to offer an experience that is charming & rewarding and it's a pleasure to revisit completed levels to try and beat your previous high score...

It appears 2 more games are planned for the series, I'm very much looking forward to seeing what surprises Gaijin games have in stock for those...

Cannabalt reloaded.

I replayed Cannabalt (which now features a vicious typing tutor) and got 8405m!!!