THE CLARION
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2021 | ARTS | 11
Video-game based shows aren’t usually as good as ‘Arcane’ JONATHAN ZORC Staff Writer
CLARION ILLUSTRATION BY JD SMITH NELSON
The conclusion of the Spider-Man trilogy JD SMITH NELSON Staff Writer After the smash hit success of his incredible sequel, Sam Raimi had the biggest challenge of them all. He had to not only top “SpiderMan 2,” he had to cap off his trilogy with a bang. Pressure was immense not only from his own mind and the audience expectations, but also from Sony executives. Raimi had a vision. He had a powerful conclusion to his trilogy, nearly without flaw, but Sony had other plans. Raimi’s vision would be tainted by one thing. One black, slimy, toothy thing. That horrible thing would be Venom. Raimi had no intention of putting Venom in the movie. Its inclusion required too much attention and knowledge of the character, neither of which Raimi had, nor could afford. He didn’t have much of a choice either way, however, so he went back to the drawing board. Deep in “Spider-Man 3” there is heart. There is a soul of a good movie that shines through in certain scenes where the goopy black tendrils slink back to the edges of the screen. The reality is that “SpiderMan 3” is a good, possibly even great, movie. All the usual suspects return. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco return as Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, respectively. JK Simmons and the entire Daily Bugle
cast return as well. However, the Bugle has a new employee among their ranks in the form of Eddie Brock, played by Topher Grace. Eddie is a scummy man and an even scummier villain in the form of Venom. He isn’t the only one Spider-Man will have to face, though. Thomas Hayden Church plays Flint Marko, a.k.a. Sandman. These two foes, as well as a vengeful Harry Osborn are the external forces of villainy Peter must contend with in this tonally inconsistent outing. His worst opposition in this film, however, is himself. No one is perfect. That is the clear message at the heart of “Spider-Man 3.” We all have our flaws to grow past and people in our lives to forgive for their flaws. It is part of human nature. Peter struggles with his ego, Mary Jane struggles with inferiority and Harry struggles to let go of resentment and forgive Peter for what happened to his father. This is a human story about three-dimensional people. This inability to let go of hate is what consumes Eddie, and Sandman is burdened with the flaws of his past. It practically buries poor Flint unless he can be forgiven for one horrible act that changed his life. Much like its characters, the film itself is flawed. Peter oscillates between being a good yet flawed man, to a complete narcissistic manchild thanks to the symbiote. It also
COFFEE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 refreshing to see. My beverage was a blended coffee with mint and dark chocolate, it was very satisfying for a holiday blended coffee treat. For a place in a hurry to get coffee I would not recommend Gloria Jean’s but if you have a little time on your hands to chat while shopping at the mall then this is the shop for you!
makes characters like Mary Jane come off as too self-centered when that clearly wasn’t the intention. Equally unintentional is the off-putting CGI sequences. Many of the “Spider-Man 3” fight sequences look rather out of place due to faulty compositing of certain objects or even just awkward green screen usage. This really takes the viewer out of the experience for a moment and makes them ponder why “SpiderMan 2” looked so much better despite being three years older. Overall, though, Sam Raimi did the best that he could with the messy black goop Sony gave him, and tried to recover a rather crammed cinematic experience. Between three villains, a messy entanglement with an alien costume, a rushed redemption arc and sometimes incoherent tonal shifts, “Spider-Man 3” holds true to its core and shows us that despite our flaws, however deep, we have the capacity for good and for growth. We just need to hold on a moment longer, and believe in what we have within ourselves. This wraps up the rather small web of Spider-Man reviews. Sandman, as well as the previous films’ Doc Ock and Green Goblin will be giving our webhead plenty of trouble in “Spider-Man No Way Home” on Dec. 17, so hopefully you’ve brushed up on their stories! Happy holidays webheads.
My last choice of coffee shops was Ancora Coffee Roasters. I’ve had Ancora coffee before and it is for the individuals that prefer a slightly stronger taste in their coffee. Their beverages include espresso, Black Thunder, French Sumatran coffee, Guatemalan, Black and Tan and Ethiopia Sideman coffee. There is a new blend they are promoting for the holiday season called “ugly sweater,” a darker roast with a slight hint of cinnamon and citrus. My choice of beverage this time was
“Arcane” is best described by the community as one of the best video-game based shows possibly created in recent history. Although there is little competition, compared to a lot of failed video game movie spin offs, this is seemingly a one in a million chance to even be good. But I assure you, this series is more than just good, with its amazing character development and heart-breaking moments, this TV series caught the attention of the entire gaming and TV communities. The show is based on a popular MOBA-based game, League of Legends, with a little over 11 million players per day, it's hard not to have heard of it. There is a big community surrounding the game, including Esport tournaments happening several times a year with huge prize pools. Although the game itself might get a bad reputation, concerning itself with more toxic game environments compared to other multiplayer games, the story is what we are really focused on today. “Arcane” is set in the city of Piltover, which names itself “the city of progress” and has very smart scholars and intense technology. What the city doesn’t show you, is what they call the undercity of Zaun, where our two main characters are raised. The two sisters, Vi and Powder, are born into this poverty and learn to steal and live under the radar. This is the basis of the story, in how the girls spend their relationship with and apart from each other, creating addicting drama and colorful characters. As much as I want to tell you the entire story, I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun and binge that I went through for an entire day. The episodes are about 45 minutes long, having nine total and have no dull moments in any of them. Personally, I have never played “League of Legends” either, which should give you even more of an incentive to watch a bit of it yourself. I never knew anything about the characters or what the game was about when walking in, and I have to say it is one of the best shows I have seen in a long time. Rotten Tomatoes gives this show a 100%, and I couldn’t have agreed more, with an audience rating of 4.9 from nearly 17,000 ratings. So make sure to give this one an honest try, it's definitely worth your time.
‘Resistance: Fall of Man’ GRANT NELSON Staff Writer A game I love is the “Resistance: Fall of Man” series from the PlayStation 3 era. These games are the PlayStation equivalent of “Gear of War.” The games follow the tragic stories of the battles fought by remnants of humanity against an alien horde/virus that is infecting all life on Earth and driving humans to the brink of extinction. The games take place in the 1950s during a timeline in which World War 2 never happened. Most of the battles are across America, England and France, with guns and vehicles representative of the time. There are vast hordes of alien monsters, ranging from message walker types to alien goliaths the size of towers with all sorts weapon thrown in the mix. The game play is very much fighting all sorts of enemies and has so much creativity and variety to how it plays out. It has a massive selection of guns and weapon. The story is amazing, and captures the themes of World War 2 well, but takes them to a much darker level. The game really dives deep into many science fiction elements.
a hot coffee, the Ancora D’oro blend. It has a smooth taste to it. I would call it a lighter blend of coffee which is exactly what I prefer. The aroma is slight but sweet. As I look around, the customers seem to be happy and served in a decent and timely manner. The servers were very friendly and extremely helpful in figuring out what I should order by asking about my preferences. There seemed to be good customer service! Out of the three coffee shops I had the honor of visiting, I must say the
one that stuck out with me was Moka. All three shops were very good and different in their own way. I have dietary restrictions and they were so careful, and triple checked that my drink order was correct. What most impressed me was the girl went and cleaned out the utensils used for the last drink and made it with clean cups, pitchers and spoons just to ensure my safety. This really stuck out to me. The service I received was great and I will be back at Moka again soon.