Sketchy Details

Empathy and Horror

Robert — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:47:35 +0000

Richard Eisenbeis put up a really interesting article at Kotaku today that I had to respond to. Essentially, he argues that horror films that turn their villains into empathetic figures take away from the fear they’re trying to create. If…

Paprika and Inception: The Folly of Dreams and Espionage

Robert — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:11:44 +0000

Before there was Inception (2010), there was Paprika (2006) (and, technically, Re-Cycle (2006)). Paprika is one of my all time favorite science fiction films. It is just so stylish, smart, and filled with incredible music. A team of Japanese researchers…

Mud Review (Film, 2013)

Robert — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:21:56 +0000

Ellis and Neckbone, two teenage boys from Arkansas, find a boat stuck in a tree on a small island. A strange man called Mud claims ownership of the boat and asks the boys to help him meet up with his…

The Staying Power of Yugioh

Robert — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:50:53 +0000

When I first heard about Yugioh in the 90s, I thought it was a ridiculous concept. It seemed like the worst kind of commercialism. It pandered to children. It was an anime and manga series designed to promote a real…

GameFanShop Round Up: 20 May 2013

Robert — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:15:14 +0000

You like games. I have discounts available for PC games. Shop at my GameFanShop partner store, get great deals on games, and support Sketchy Details. Easy as that. Here are this week’s deals. They expire on Sunday, 26 May 2013.…

Blast of Tempest: Shakespeare Unbound

Robert — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:35:27 +0000

When I’m not writing here or at my regular gigs (or ghostwriting/editing all over the place), I teach educational theater. One of my favorite subjects to study and explore with students is Shakespeare. There’s a beauty and magic to his…

Death Note and Temptation

Robert — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:02:47 +0000

I find myself revisiting the Death Note anime a lot more than I thought I would. The visual style is fascinating. The slow pace makes for some strong suspense. Even with some of the blatantly bad choices (cough potato chip),…

Ico and the Beauty of Ambiguity

Robert — Thu, 16 May 2013 01:23:51 +0000

Ico is an adventure game for the PS2 (and available for the PS3 in the amazing Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection) from Japan. You play as Ico, a young boy left to die in an elaborate temple because…

Pokemon Finally Grows a Backbone

Robert — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:47:29 +0000

I already wrote about my history with Pokemon in the Philosophy of Pokemon panel write-up from Quinni-Con. I didn’t mention that I own a game from each generation, though I think that’s implied. Pokemon X/Y, the sixth generation of Pokemon…

GameFanShop Round Up: 13 May 2013

Robert — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:06:47 +0000

A brief refresher: I have a partner store with GameFanShop for Sketchy Details. They offer discounts on over a 1000 different PC game downloads. If you shop at my partner store, I get a small commission on the sale to…