This Week in Geek (21-27/01/24)

"Accomplishments"

In theaters: Jeffrey Wright plays "Monk" Ellison, an African-American author, in American Fiction, but Ellison wouldn't describe himself that way. After being told his writing isn't black enough (or black at all), he writes a lampoon that reinforces and makes fun of all the stereotypes inherent to the African-American experience as seen in media as a middle finger to publishers, never expecting it to be taken seriously. But it sells like gangbusters, and he's caught in the kind of success he never wanted, acting like someone he isn't. His personal world is upper middle class, filled with doctors, lawyers, academics, beach houses, the fear of becoming like one's father, and romance over wine. So the movie gives us a "non-black" family dramady with a playful ending that riffs on the "give 'em what they expect, sell-out" nature of the film's fictional bestseller. The whole thing is grand satire, with thoughtless micro-aggressions every time a white character is in the room. Beyond the biting satire, there's Ellison's story, filled with charming and witty characters, efficiently working to ingratiate you to the family members, and knowingly nod at the send-up of white literati. Very funny, and often touching, American Fiction is a full meal that has a lot to say about how reductive our entertainment is, but also wants us to invest in a cast of well-drawn characters. It's like a good book! Indeed, it's based on one: Erasure by Percival Everett, which I really must put on my reading list.

At home: To celebrate Australia Day earlier this week, I've decided to go through some Australian movies. Here we go...

From factual story to stage play to film, Breaker Morant is a tale of the neglected Boer War and an early example of modern guerrilla warfare, repurposed into an investigation of what is justified in war when the enemy doesn't follow any kind of rules. Morally, is there any high ground at all, or is that an untenable position (and therefore hypocritical to claim one)? It forces an ambivalence on the audience - which I don't mean in a pejorative sense - making us question Morant and his men, but also putting on their side, since they are clearly in a kangaroo court looking to score political points. And the fact, these are Australian soldiers in a British unit makes its Empire vs. Colonies, and we do want to root for the underdog. But it's not just a moral fable, it's also a cracker of a courtroom drama, with Jack Thompson's country lawyer rising to the occasion and giving the prosecution something to sweat about. Edward Woodward brings a lot of gravitas to the role of Morant himself, and he's well supported by Bryan Brown (FX, but also every Australian movie ever, seems to me) as the "typically Aussie" loose cannon. The film asks a lot of questions, of the situation and of yourself, but no easy answers.

I don't love movies about human misery, which is what Rabbit-Proof Fence seemed to promise. In the 1930s, Australia's policies regarding Natives had them kidnap kids to reeducated them in occidental culture (as did Canada, and both countries did it far past the 30s), with the added wrinkle of a eugenics program designed to breed the Native out through marriages with whites. It's ghastly, and Kenneth Branagh plays this as an evil that believes itself a good. It's not his film, however, and it's barely about the reeducation center the young leads are sent to. Rather, it's about their escape and subsequent months-long trek through the wilderness to get back home (and the authorities may or may not be waiting for them to arrive). If it hadn't actually happened, you probably wouldn't believe it. The eldest of the three girls, Molly, is played with smoldering intensity by Everlyn Sampi, who doesn't look her 14 years, and she manages to carry the film. So though it is a downer of an issues film (most are), it IS more about cultural resilience and therefore feels like a victory, albeit a Pyrrhic one.

If you ever had questions about toilet plumbing and port-a-potties, then Kenny is the film for you (it may be for you regardless). Like, sure, it's a mockumentary, but there's no reason to think it's not well-researched. Kenny (Shane Jacobson) looks like he knows what he's talking and surely, that's a real toilet convention he goes to. Regardless, this soon becomes a character study as we follow Kenny not just to big events in need of outdoor bathrooms (great use of real events to accomplish this), but in his personal life. There's something effortlessly charming about this rather guileless character who takes pride in his blue-collar job whose deepest thoughts are about, well, crap. He's about as normal a Joe as you'll find, nice but not too nice, simple but not too simple, a bit of a loser but not too much of one. This was a big hit in Australia and though I can't speak to what national character Kenny tapped into, it's just as entertaining (and even sometimes heart-warming) for the rest of us. Don't reject it out of hand because you think it's toilet humor.

Australia's answer to The Wicker Man, perhaps, Summerfield stars Space 1999's Nick Tate as a schoolteacher/heartthrob who gets a job in an isolated community where people are either very unfriendly, or almost TOO friendly, to the point of oddness. The friendlies include a little girl that gives you Hanging Rock vibes and who he gets attached to - and her single mom - after she has an accident he feels responsible for. The film works mostly on atmosphere, as its slow burn sometimes seems to meander, a little like the main character through the seaside village. Is it though? A lot of his private investigation, trying to find out what happened to his predecessor, moves along, if not always with dialog. Not one to watch while on your phone. Where it's clever is that it makes you do exactly what Tate does: Suspect everyone and start believing in something sinister. And while you might happen on the correct answer for SOME cases, it ends on several twists, not one, and is almost sure to prove you wrong in some OTHER cases.

The Castle being a hit comedy in Australia seems to confirm how much the Aussie public sees its national character as a simple folk, blokey and principled, not asking too much out of life, but loving everything they have. Australia's rural mindset is not unlike Canada's - we're British colonies, and in The Castle, authority figures have posh British accents and are trying to forcibly buy out people who live next to an airport to expand that facility. But they're happy with their shithole of a house because it's home. Downhome Australians versus the Courts is probably playing on the penal colony aspect on purpose (there's even a family member in jail). What's clever here is that it mocks the family as guileless amateurs who think they're brilliant, but are by most standards mediocre, but endears you to them so effortlessly, you cheer them on in what seems like an impossible crusade. I do  think there's too much narration up top, but that's a personal preference. Generally, it's all quite amusing, quotable, and even rousing.

Ben Mendelsohn is a BABY in The Big Steal, a "teenage wasteland" type movie with big John Hughes vibes about a young man who determines he needs to get a Jaguar because he told the girl of his dreams he had one - even though she's quick to say she doesn't care about cars - and gets swindled by a crooked used car dealer as a result. Though it takes place in the late 80s, the haircuts and vintage cars puts you in mind of 50s greaser films, and while I'm like Joanna (gorgeous Claudia Karvan) and don't care about cars, it somehow adds to the movie's charm. Fun characters (the parents, the friends, the bad guys) make up the rest. As for the various retaliations for the bad deal, back and forth, it's all rather cleverly constructed, with the players never having all the information and therefore making the situation more complicated as a result. Great use of misunderstandings and things happening simultaneously. It's aged better than a lot of Hughes flicks.

RPGs: This week we finished When Cosms Collide, months since we started this mega-adventure (and weeks for the PCs). After a big social interaction climax, it's a big combat climax as the heroes must choose which reality to align with in a big frozen battle some of the participants think is Ragnarok. The heroic thing to do is side with the Atlanteans (or Akashans as they call themselves) and the Core Earth Vikings from 1000 years ago against the Mechapotamian invaders of Fenrir the wolf, but I had prepped for the the opposite, just in case (we do have one character who is so against ANY alien foothold on Core Earth that he mused about siding with the wolf to prevent multiversal allies from sticking around, since it's harder to argue against these than enemies). The battle does not go well at all, with all the "mechs" way too powerful for the heroes, but the Viking shieldmaiden's 1000-year dream is the key - it built up enough possibilities to create a destructive storm if aimed at even Fenrir, but do the PCs let the energy build up before unleashing it? Or do they risk Fenrir also increasing in power as he awakens? They do wait (or just can't get their shit together before then) and find that Fenrir is at maximum power when they finally hit him. It's not enough. But wait, they never called down that runic missile a few Acts ago. After a lot of fumbling and bad rolls, they finally manage it, and the beast is destroyed. His forces run to the other side of the island (where they start to disconnect and disappear), and our heroes make friends with the surviving people of Akasha and Past Earth. The Baroness' special powers allow them to full their half-reality up so they survive, and someone enters the Akashan tree (the only interdimensional tree not corrupted by the Gaunt Man) to become its power source, fulfilling their destiny (this is a character the written material completely forgets about, but it seemed clear to me this is what should happen in an ideal circumstance, so I made sure they were around, though it still required a player to put the clues together). And speaking of the Baroness, she marries our Paladin (sorry, Red Raven), and he becomes Baron of Fairy Tale Aysle (which of course means they'll live happily ever after - the player introduces a new character next session), solidifying the rebel fiefdom's power in the region - and Copenhagen's independence, since they are now allied - through this alliance with the Army of Light AND S.H.I.F.T. and the Delphi Council (not to mention an Akashan reality bubble in its center). I'll be going through some timelines soon to see how giving Uthorion this big a black eye will affect the course of the War, but it definitely weakens his position.

Best bits: The Paladin jusssssst manages to jilt Red Raven, but not have it hold it against him - still, her Nemesis card against our Monster Hunter remains in effect, even though she doesn't know HE'S the "necromancer" she's looking for (a revenge story down the line?). During the battle, the Monster Hunter runs right up to Fenrir, which takes guts, even manages to make him stumble down his promontory and delaying his actions. The Wrestler spins a Hoplite around and bashes a bunch of his cohorts with him - the damage roll so high, it collapsed the either unit. The Realm Runner tried to invoke a reality storm against Fenrir, but the beast got him first - not cool, but as the heroes call the Ragnarok storm, he says "Oh you thought I was the main event? I'm just the distraction", which WAS cool. And as the missile hits, everyone gets behind the Paladin's shield, which thanks to some wonky card play (and of course invocations to the God of Light Dunad), it protects them from the blast; the crater comes right up to the lip of the shield - Dunad be praised!

And since we're finally done...

Books: While the Torg Eternity's other "mega-adventures" are all Cosm-specific (one for each world), When Cosms Collide takes place in Aysle, but invites a lot of other realities to play, including some not normally involved in the Possibility War (which could have been developed further, though I hear the next phase of game releases will do so). There are a lot of clever bits besides, but that shouldn't be a surprise given that Greg Gorden was the lead designer on the original Torg. That said, that exalted position is perhaps why they let him run roughshod over the rules, using them in atypical ways (which can inspire), but often just ignoring or misinterpreting them. I will also call bull on this being a 5-Act story. It's easily double that thanks to the fantasy picaresque in the middle. While I find that most encounters are important to telling the story, there is some repetition as well (too many camps to infiltrate), and as we get further into the adventure, perhaps more the GM needs to change, cut out or adapt (especially if combat isn't your thing). There are certainly a lot of NPCs to juggle, but for players, the sense of having a "cast" for an extended period of time is helpful. WCC has its problems - as generally, I think Torg Eternity products could all have used tighter editing - but it also uses the full power of the setting, which other T:E adventures more rarely do, and opens the door to a possible game changer for the enterprising table (that said, it also hedges its bets quite a lot for tables who DON'T want to get the game's meta-arc off-track).