Thought Box

Allow me to introduce you to the world of LARPing:

For the uninitiated, LARPing is Live Action Role-Playing.  Think Dungeons and Dragons, but in real life. 

My first interaction with the LARP community occurred when I attended a gaming convention in Milwaukee at the innocent age of sixteen…  After a fairly epic win in the Nuclear RISK tournament (it’s a variant of the standard RISK game you either love or hate – and I’m leaning towards hate right now..), I headed for a restaurant outside the convention center for lunch and was almost immediately surrounded by a bunch of idiots dressed like vampires – covered in fake blood and tattered clothing.  My naive and immediate response was, “Meh, cosplay idiots are getting in my way…”   I then went back to whatever conversation I was having (possibly about the creepy, hyper-realistic statue of a security guard inside the convention center) only to be shocked back to attention by some feminine screaming coming from behind me.  The vampires weren’t just dressed like idiots, they were attacking someone!

The real peculiarity came when I noticed that they were talking to the person they were attacking…  Almost giving instructions..  Kind of like you imagine pro-wrestlers tell each other, “Ok, now I want you to body slam me, and I’m going to kick-out when you try to cover me”.  I immediately sensed that the woman wasn’t in danger (probably tipped off by the Victorian age attire and super nerdy glasses), but my Creep-o-Meter was off the charts!  One of my buddies quickly explained what was going on (note: it is ALWAYS good to have one of those friends who knows something about everything weird and nerdy – they are some of the most useful people to have around) so we wouldn’t freak out too much, and we went on our way.  Creeped out.

Oh, and the best possible thing happened after that!  About a block away was another convention center… with a Christian something something Convention going on…  And the LARPing was happening between that convention center and all the hotels.  FTW

My experience aside, apparently this LARP stuff is becoming more and more popular; or perhaps it has always been a niche activity?  We rarely think Civil War re-enactments are the weirdest thing ever, but those are essentially LARPs, right?  I mean, Bulgaria had a national LARPing event in 2008, so maybe that validates it a little?

LARPing has, at the very least, reached the level of popularity that they’re making a movie about it: enter Unicorn City FTW!  (DISCLAIMER: yes, I know the producer of the movie… yes, that is a DigiCert t-shirt in the first shot and it’s sponsored by them…  but I do really think it looks like a funny movie!) Here’s a snippet from the press release:

UNICORN CITY is the story of gamers who move to the mountains to live out their fantasy lives. It is a loose adaptation of Don Quixote set in modern times and features Live Action Role Playing (LARP) culture in a light but tender hearted romantic comedy.

Check out the trailer:

It may not be for everyone (definitely not me), but come on - we can all learn something awesome from LARPing, right?  In mean, this young man has learned something useful – the “Magic Missile” spell!

Tangent: A quite humerous and adorable blog post about the rumorative power held by Facebook can be found here.  It may be of interest to frequent readers and those who know me personally.

I went and saw Scott Pilgrim vs the World on Saturday and I love, love, love, LOVED it!  It’s the kind of movie a comic book/video game/hopeless romantic/kinda stupid nerd would love, and I think that description defines me pretty well (except for maybe not the stupid part – you decide!).  If you grew up playing games in the 80′s and 90′s, and you love movies that make you laugh and are insanely different than anything else Hollywood does, do yourself a favor and see Scott Pilgrim.  I promise, you’ll love, love, love, LOVE it!  And if not, lie to me and say you did.

I’m saddened that the film is “failing” in the eyes of the movie industry, and I think there are 2 legitimate reasons why..  Every movie blog within the blogosphere has  come up with their own guesses, but I only really consider a these 2 to be legit:

1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is hard to categorize. This is one of the aspects of the story that I really love, but it has to be a marketer’s worst nightmare!  The posters with Scott rocking out on the guitar have been slammed for making people think the movie was about a rockstar, which is not the case, but they do make sense if you already know the story.  You also can’t sell it as a love story, because that’s only one component of the whole.  And an action movie?  With Michael Cera?  That won’t fly…  So, how do you categorize this film if you’re Blockbuster Video?  It doesn’t even fit in with the goofy punk/skateboarder movies I remember from the 80′s and 90′s (Gleaming the Cube, anyone?)…  Universal Pictures tried, but mixed messages left potential audiences confused, which is a shame.

2.  This movie was made for a small subsection of the population – the comic book/video game/hopeless romantic/kinda stupid (maybe) nerds of this world.  I honestly don’t see this movie having a strong appeal to the masses when you consider the ever rising barrier to entry for this kind of thing (e.g. the $9 movie ticket).  Those who have read the comic, which is supremely delightful and highly recommended, will be immediately drawn to the move.  Those who love Michael Cera (a dwindling fan base) might be drawn.  Those who love Edgar Wright (the director) may have been drawn…  Aside from some of those pretty small fan bases, you’re lucky to pull in the occasional straggler (like my buddy Spencer, who was a rockstar for coming with the lady and I).  Does the movie deserve a wider audience?  YES, but that doesn’t mean it will automatically have one.

If you’re reading this and find anything I’ve said interesting, go see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and love yourself for it.  It will treat you to something wholly different than anything else Hollywood has produced in a very long time.  I thought the acting was good, the writing was witty, the transition from page to screen was handled marvelously, and I finally got to see a girl kick some butt with a giant hammer (+5 against girls).

K.O.

It’s been a long time since we’ve had an over-the-top action movie with a killer (pun intended) cast and some serious action. Tropic Thunder doesn’t count.

With respect to the awesome action flicks of the 80′s and early 90′s, I present to you Sly Stallone’s latest project: The Expendables

UPDATE: Thanks Jason for pointing out that the older video wasn’t working. Hopefully this embed works for the time being…

UPDATE: Looks like the internets just can’t handle such a sweet movie trailer. Look for it yourself, somewhere else. I don’t know why it keeps getting pulled, but I know I’m not going to repost it every five minutes.  Here’s a picture of a kitty that exemplifies how I feel: