Interest
Ghost in the Machine
while Enid remains aimless, having an affair with a reclusive older man named Seymour she connects with (Steve Buscemi). I have a real fondness for this movie having watched it for the first time at an age similar to our two heroines. I connected with their cynicism and uncertainties but it often hit too close to home for comfort. Ghost World is just
over 20 years old but to a younger generation, it might as well be over 100. Released two months before 9/11, it seems like a Generation X leftover from the 90s. Its world is a different planet with a more downbeat vibe, the quiet days before technology as we know it came roaring into our lives. We watch our too-cool-for-school characters laugh at the absurdities and mundanities that make up life, some deserved, some not. Birch and Johannson are terrific with great chemistry, and Buscemi is fantastic as always as a man adrift in his life relying on items from the past for comfort. You can only raise your eyebrow and remain ironically detached for so long. Then life begins. Get on the bus I guess. Who knows where it will take you. Available on DVD, Blu Ray & to stream on YouTube.
I have been a gamer for as long as I can remember and a question I get asked a lot is “What is your favourite game”? Upon hearing this question, a few dozen titles spin in my head. However there is one game that sticks out; Ratchet and Clank (2002), an Action Platformer set in a Sci-Fi world that satirizes popular culture. These satirical themes reference humans’ greed for money for money and consumerism as well as our obsession with celebrities. The gameplay consists of using various weapons and gadgets to defeat enemies and explore an assortment of planets in the Solana Galaxy. The planets are the game’s levels. They are expertly designed, and offer missions and
minigames different from each other, and consistently feels fresh and exciting. These range from Hoverboard races, Space-ship combat, puzzles, and platforming. Ratchet’s arsenal can consist of conventional artillery like a flamethrower, pistol, and bazooka. Then there are the weapons that are much more creative and bizarre; the Suck Cannon which can suck smaller enemies that can be fired as projectiles against the bigger enemies, the Decoy Glove which creates a balloon of Ratchet tricking enemies into attacking it instead of Ratchet, and the MorphO-Ray which can turn enemies into chickens. The plot starts on planet Veldin. Ratchet is a mechanic and Lombax(an alien race) working on his spaceship. His life changes forever when on Planet Quartu, a robot factory, a defective diminutive
robot escapes the planet and crashes on Veldin. He tells Ratchet of a sinister plot by an evil business tycoon, Chairman Drek, that involves stealing pieces of planets to add to his own new one. The pair escape the clutches of the war bots from Planet Quartu. They embark on an epic planet hopping adventure in search of Captain Qwark, the Legendary Superhero. Unfortunately, oblivious to our heroes, Qwark could be hiding a dark secret of his own… Available on PS2 and PS3.
22
DiscoverDuhallow@irdduhallow.com
FILM REVIEW By TADHG CURTIN
Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World (2001) shows that while you can be cynical and mock the world when you’re young, you have to grow up and live in it. Terry Zwigoff’s adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ cult comic Ghost World is one of the most melancholic of teen comedy movies. That’s not to say it isn’t funny - it is, but it has a much different vibe compared to the raunchier and crass comedies released at that time. We follow two cynical friends, Rebecca and Enid, (Scarlet Johannson and Thora Birch) graduate high school who gradually drift apart over the course of a summer with Rebecca getting a summer job with the intention of domesticating herself
Celebrating 20 Years of Greatness GAME REVIEW
By DANIEL O’LOUGHLIN
Issue 69 July 29, 2022
