Short Attention Span Review - Tron (1982)

Fun, colorful, and thoroughly unique, Tron remains an exciting motion picture experience that is equal parts cool and curious.  Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, and David Warner are among the gifted performers appearing in this Disney classic, but the real star of the picture has to be the stellar effects.  The computer world that is the setting for most of the movie is realized due to an inventive process that yields an amazing product that will never be duplicated.  Despite arriving at the very infancy of modern computer effects (the Academy supposedly refused to consider nominating Tron for its special effects work because the use of computers was considered "cheating"), the jazzy blend of kooky sets, computer graphics, and black and white photography that was subsequently animated is still a joy to behold.  The plot is a cool medley of corporate intrigue and video game glory, the score is bold, and the action sequences are riveting.  Tron is a great example of imagination and technical wizardry joining forces to tell a dynamic story.  There's little to complain about when it comes to this beloved film that was widely viewed as a flop upon its release.  Maybe the characterizations are fairly routine and suspense is often generated at the expense of drama.  Honestly, it doesn't really matter.  The characters are likable enough and this is a picture that is more interested in blowing minds than enriching them.  In somewhat of a surprise, time has been rather kind to Tron and those who enjoy science fiction and family time may have a hard time finding a better movie to share with their loved ones.  

Final Grade: A

Jeff Bridges may have been the budding star in 1982
and Bruce Boxleitner may have played the titular character,
but David Warner nearly stole the show as the icy villain in Tron.

The Agony of Defeat

The Olympics upped my interest in hockey, so I've been trying to improve my relationship with the sport and the NHL.  I'm a gamer, so I thought snagging a copy of NHL 14 would be a step in the right direction.

Well, it is, and it isn't.  Truthfully, I love the game.  The presentation is incredible, the action comes fast and furious, and the score is great.  It's a nice product, to be sure.  However, either I really suck or this game is really freaking hard.  I've been playing Madden for decades (true story) and I'm a dominant force in that realm.  This is an entirely different story.  I'm too old for the kiddie pool, so I jumped right into All-Star gameplay.  And I'm apparently not an All-Star when it comes to NHL 14.  Not even close.

I bet I played seven or eight games before I scored my first goal.  I've probably played somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 or 60 games, and I may have won five of them.  Honestly, I'm still having a blast with the game, and I'm in every game I play, but I'm not winning many of them and I have to wonder: is it just me?  Some of the rules still don't make sense for me--I thought the game would be a learning tool in this regard, but offsides and icing penalties seem to come in so many different situations that I can't figure out just what the common denominator is.  That's part of it.  And apparently I can't shoot for shit.  I say that because while I'm steadily losing to the CPU, I'm taking way more shots.


I don't have a favorite team, not yet anyway, so I'm trying lots of different clubs out and playing lots of different opponents.  I seem to enjoy playing with Washington more than anyone else, but I've used most of the teams available and the difference has certainly been negligible so far as my record is concerned. 

Most contests are two or three goal affairs, but in the rare event that I manage to score more, the computer doubles up on me.  And I seem to have an uncanny knack for giving up a winner in the closing seconds.  Overtime has not been kind to me, and neither have shootouts.  My boy P-Rod wants me to dial down the difficulty, but it's too late for that.  I'm all in, and I'm going to sort this out.

Until then, I'm having a good time getting my ass kicked, and that doesn't happen often.