IN THIS EDITION of the newsletter — films! video games! and films about video games.
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Everyone, everywhere, sit down.
Do we like films? Yes.
Do we love films? Yes.
Do we like video games? Yes.
Do we love video games? Yes.
Should the two, then, make great love and produce a biographical thriller?
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Great love is made.
What have we here? Tetris 🟩🟦🟨🟥🟧🟪
And what is that tattooed on its tongue? “The game you couldn’t put down, the story you couldn’t make up.”
A birthmark shaped like an Apple glints on the forehead.
The back-of-the-box:
“Based on the true story of American video game salesman Henk Rogers and his discovery of Tetris in 1988. When he sets out to bring the game to the world, he enters a dangerous web of lies and corruption behind the Iron Curtain.”
Thriller, 2023, 1 hr 57 min, 14+, A, 4K, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atoms, CC, SDH, AD
Everyone, everywhere, sufficiently intrigued.
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Well, let's have a look at some stats here:
+1 directed by Jon S Baird 🟪
+1 screenplay by Noah Pink 🟪
+1 cinematography by Alwin H Küchler 🟪
+1 music by Lorne Balfe 🟪
+1 based on a true story 🟪
How true is the 'based on a true story'?
While there are the expected Hollywood-esque exaggerations and alterations for the sake of thrills and humour (especially in the last quarter), the film mostly holds true to the real-live events. The story of how Tetris came out of the Soviet Union is one of the most fascinating in gaming history, and the film does a good job of dramatising the same.
Moreover, Rogers, the Dutch video game designer and entrepreneur who secured the rights to distribute Tetris, has talked about how he himself and Alexey Pajitnov, the Soviet computer engineer who designed the game, had gone over the script multiple times during the production. While Pajitnov has also described how “spiritually and emotionally” true the depiction of the Soviet Union felt — a time when the transcontinental country was beginning to break apart.
The players:
P01 🟩 Taron Egerton as Henk Rogers
P02 🟩 Nikita Efremov as Alexey Pajitnov
P03 🟩 Sofia Lebedeva as Sasha
P04 🟩 Anthony Boyle as Kevin Maxwell
P05 🟩 Ben Miles as Howard Lincoln
P06 🟩 Ken Yamamura as Minoru Arakawa
P07 🟩 Igor Grabuzov as Valentin Trifonov
P08 🟩 Oleg Shtefanko as Belikov
P09 🟩 Ayane Nagabuchi as Akemi Rogers
P10 🟩 Rick Yune as Bank Manager
P11 🟩 Roger Allam as Robert Maxwell
P12 🟩 Toby Jones as Robert Stein
High scorers:
P01 🟧 Taron Egerton as Henk Rogers
Bonus: +1 acting, +1 moustache
P02 🟧 Nikita Efremov as Alexey Pajitnov
Bonus: +1 acting, +1 charisma
P07 🟧 Igor Grabuzov as Valentin Trifonov
Bonus: +1 acting, +1 evil, +1 pure rage
Performance points:
+1 the 80s.
+1 the Rogers x Pajitnov bromance.
+1 the wardrobes.
+1 the set designs.
+1 Pajitnov's memorable dialogues.
+1 protagonist using Mario references to explain things.
+1 adults bonding over video games.
+1 the use of Europe's 'The Final Countdown'.
-1 a few overly dramatised sequences.
-1 no pets.
FAQs:
How good is the film's Game Boy revel scene? Spine tingling.
How effective is the film in making one want to play Tetris? Laser precise.
Is there a final boss in the film? Nothing that can't be overcome with the friendship and hardiness. And money.
Why does my life feel like a game all of a sudden?
¯_༼ ಥ ‿ ಥ ༽_/¯
Are video games good for my kid? Of course not. But they are great for you.
Do I need a new gaming console right now? Always.
How long can I play video games in one go? Yes.
Why do my eyes hurt, and my head feel numb? Ah, it's probably nothing.
Final verdict: 1UP.
Stream from OTTplay's library of titles on the history of Tetris.
