PIO

 

In the indie game space, some of the most interesting games can come from the work of students or game jams, as they sometimes explore some unique mechanics or spins on existing ones that have a lot of potential for further exploration. One such game is PIO, a recent game I found from browsing the free section of Steam, made by Korean team Star of Star at the ChungKang College of Cultural Industries. The visual style and interesting gameplay ideas caught my attention, enough to download and try it for myself. Although the game is pretty short, and can be beaten in about an hour or so, I still liked it enough to want to see more from its mechanics and setting.

Stubs - The Johnstown Flood

The Johnstown Flood (1926) starring George O'Brien, Florence Gilbert, Janet Gaynor Directed by Irving Cummings Screenplay by Edfrid Bingham, Robert Lord. Produced by William Fox Run time: 60 minutes. Black and White with tints. USA. Silent, Melodrama, Disaster

On Friday, May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, catastrophically failed. The result was a flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that killed 2208 people and accounted for $17 million (equivalent to $580,000,000 in 2023 dollars) in damage. The death total made the disaster the largest loss of civilian life in the U.S. at the time. It has only been surpassed twice, by the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Stubs - The Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) starring Audie Murphy, Andy Devine, Robert Easton Burke, Douglas Dick. Directed by John Huston. Screenplay by John Huston, Albert Band. Based on the novel The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (New York, 1895). Produced by Gottfried Reinhardt. Run time: 69 minutes. Black and White. USA. Drama, War

Texan born Audie Murphy enlisted in the Army as soon as he could after the attack on Pearl Harbor at the start of World War II. He first saw action in the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily; then in 1944 he participated in the Battle of Anzio, the liberation of Rome, and the invasion of southern France. Murphy fought at Montélimar and led his men on a successful assault at L'Omet quarry near Cleurie in northeastern France in October. He received every American combat award for valor available at the time of his service, including the Medal of Honor. He also received recognitions from France and Belgium.

As a result, he made the cover of Life magazine on July 16, 1945. That cover brought him to the attention of actor James Cagney, who had recently formed a production company with his brother William. They gave him training in acting, voice and dance, but never cast him in any production. A personal disagreement ended the arrangement in 1947.

Flow (2024)

One animated film from last year that flew under many people’s radars was Flow (Latvian: Straume), which I first heard about through Animation Magazine. The visual style and basic premise were enough to intrigue me, but I had a hard time finding a theater in my area that was showing it, let alone at a more convenient time, when I remembered to look for tickets. The movie winning the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature increased my interest further, though I opted to wait until it became available to rent through Amazon Prime Video to finally watch it. I will admit, however, that I was mildly distracted by the ongoing SoCal fires at the time of my initial viewing due to living within the vicinity, but I still did my due diligence to give the film as much of my attention as possible. With that said, although I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, I still think the Golden Globe should have gone to fellow contender The Wild Robot.

Stubs - An American Tragedy

An American Tragedy (1931) Starring: Phillips Holmes, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee Directed by Josef von Sternberg Screenplay by Samuel Hoffenstein Based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (New York, 1925). Produced by Josef von Sternberg Runtime: 96 minutes. USA Black and White Melodrama, Romance, Pre-Code.

On July 11, 1906, Chester E. Gillette drowned Grace Brown in a lake in Herkimer County, New York. That murder was the basis of Theodore Dreiser’s 880-page novel, An American Tragedy, published in 1925. When Paramount bought the rights, the film was originally planned as the American debut of Sergei Eisenstein, the renowned Soviet film director; Battleship Potemkin (1926).

Apparently, Eisenstein was so interested in the project that he wrote, what the Associate Producer David O. Selznick called “the most moving script I have ever read." However, B.P. Schulberg, the head of Paramount, wasn’t so impressed and replaced Eisenstein with Josef von Sternberg. Eisenstein never did make a Hollywood film and returned to the Soviet Union.

The change in director didn’t change the Hays Office’s objections to the film and the aspect of the story that dealt with an abortion. Colonel Jason S. Joy, the Director of the Studio Relations Office, wrote to Schulberg on April 25, 1931, "If the references to abortion remain in "American Tragedy"...it will surely tend to eventually open the way for a more serious development of this subject in pictures." However, Schulberg wasn’t willing to eliminate Roberta's attempts to secure an abortion from the film because of an earlier approval given by Father Daniel J. Lord, a clergyman who collaborated on the draft of the Hays Code. But on July 15, 1931, Jesse Lasky wrote to Hays agreeing to eliminate the following dialogue, which refers to abortion: "You went to the druggist who testified here." "Yes sire." "Anyone else?" "Yes sire, to seven others before I could get anything at all." "But what you got didn't help, did it? "No sir."

Stubs - Mystery House

 

Mystery House (1938) Starring Dick Purcell, Ann Sheridan, Anne Nagel, William Hopper Directed by Noel Smith. Screenplay by Sherman L. Lowe, Robertson White Based on the novel Mystery of Hunting's End by Mignon G. Eberhart (New York, 1930). Produced by Jack L. Warner (Executive Producer), Hal B. Wallis (Executive Producer) Run time: 56 minutes USA Black and White Mystery

In 1935, Warner Bros. began marketing a series of films as Cine Club, aimed at increasing audiences attending WB mystery movies. The series was tied to Black Mask, a pulp magazine, and consisted of 12 films, the first The White Cockatoo (1935) and the last Mystery House. Filmed in only a couple of weeks in November 1937, the film wouldn’t be released until May 21, 1938.

Stubs - A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown (2024) starring Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Scoot McNairy Directed by James Mangold. Screenplay by James Mangold, Jay Cocks Based on Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald. Produced by Fred Berger, James Mangold, Alex Heineman, Bob Bookman, Peter Jaysen, Alan Gasmer, Jeff Rosen, Timothée Chalamet Run time: 141 minutes. Color. USA. Biographical, Musical, Drama

Hollywood has been on a roll making film biographies of musicians of late. The current subject is Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. This is the second Dylan fictional biography; he was also the subject of I’m Not There (2007), an experimental biopic, which included Cate Blanchett representing one aspect of Dylan’s life.