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The entire month will be devoted to movies orbiting around the subject of video games. No, not those horrid films that are based off of video game franchises... just the good ones that have games driving the plotlines to some degree. In addition, we'll have an entire series of game related material assembled to accompany the movies.
The major impetus for Video Game Month, along side the films and special features, will be a five week video game competition, open to all, for an ultimate video game prize! |
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It's more than a game... It's the chance of a lifetime.
Fred Savage stars in this story about two brothers who travel cross country to attend a video game tournament on the west coast. When corey (Savage) discovers that his mentally unstable brother has a natural talent for video games he decides to flee their home and divorcing parents, and prove that his brother is the wizard of video game players.
1989, 830-1030pm, free admission
RUNTIME: 100 min |
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Don't get chumpatized.
Is it fact, or is it fiction… sorta? There’s no secret that King of Kong has stirred up a bit of controversy within the video game community after its release as to how the film was put together. There’s also no secret that it’s at least a damn entertaining documentary following Steve Weibe’s ambition to take the world record score for Donkey Kong from the lasting champion and arcade wunderkind Billy Mitchell. You’ll also get a glimpse into their personal lives outside of gaming, as well as the lives of others whose very lives, predictably and obsessively, haven’t strayed very far from gaming.
If anything, see it as a testament to the power held by film editors and how they jostle a person’s perspective.
2008, 830-1030pm, free admission
RUNTIME: 79 min |
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Play it. Live it. Kill for it.
It has been both greatly compared to, and, very unfortunately overshadowed by The Matrix which was released the same year. Both films do deal with an overall question of which reality is reality, though eXistenZ does it with the style that only David Cronenberg can, leaving one with the uneasy sense that the mind and the flesh are not so distinct.
An all-star cast including Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Willem DaFoe, and Ian Holm take the audience on an adventure through a bizarre world of conspiracy and organic video game devices that plug straight into a person’s spinal column, making the lines between reality and virtual reality indistinguishable. Don’t let video game review sites or grossly misunderstood comparisons to other movies steer you in the wrong direction with regard to this film. There’s a lot more going on than just games.
1999, 830-1030pm, free admission
RUNTIME: 97 min |
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He didn't find his dreams... his dreams found him.
Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) is trapped in the mundane world waiting to move on to college to get free. When that chance for freedom escapes his grasp he finds the next best thing, an arcade game. His skill at the game turns into more than just a high score; it takes him to the front lines of an interstellar battle transpiring beyond his tiny home world of Earth and gives him the sense of purpose he had been seeking.
Released in 1984 and riding in the wake of the then finished Star Wars trilogy, The Last Starfighter was another coming of age film wrapped in sci-fi dressing. Its key to separating itself from the flock was the use of early computer graphics (ala Tron) instead of models to create a unique interpretation of space battles and gave the film its charm.
Featuring performances from Robert Preston (Centauri), Catherine Mary Stewart (Maggie) and directed by Nick Castle (The Boy Who Could Fly), The Last Starfighter could have been another run of the mill science fiction film, but because of its effects, score, and fun premise it becomes one more guilty pleasure from a youth full of them.
1984, 830-1030pm, free admission
RUNTIME: 101 min |
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Trapped inside an electronic arena, where love, and escape, do not compute!
Known mostly for its still unique computer graphics, Tron forgoes the video game film genre by putting the protagonist directly into the game instead of being a simple adaptation. Flynn (Jeff Bridges) has been attempting to right previous wrongs until he crosses the path of the Master Control Program and is forced to not only free himself, but the programs who have appropriated for the M.C.P.’s power. Costarring Bruce Boxleitner as the titular hero, Tron and Alan, featuring score by Wendy Carlos and directed by Seven Lisberger the film failed to garner much attention upon its initial run. Years later, the film, while simple in premise, has gained a following who appreciate the film for what it is- a geek fantasy in the golden era of joysticks and pixels.
1982, 830-1030pm, free admission
RUNTIME: 96 min |
Domy Books, in association with Brand X Cinema, is pleased to present,