Phil Villarreal's Blog, page 63

PHIL ON FILM: "Birds of Prey"

For my full review, click here.

"Arc of Alchemist" Review

Guiding the nubile heroine Quinn Bravesford on a quest to secure a paradigm-shifting force that could save humankind from itself, there are no lack of high stakes in "Arc of Alchemist."

You're stuck int he desert in search of the bluntly named Great Power. Armed with orb-controlling alchemic powers, you have the ability to shift the landscape and conjure weapons and defenses that make you an increasingly formidable force.

The action RPG from the dev team at Compile Heart emphasizes style and visuals above all else. With a painterly style and gorgeous dreamscape of a narrative, the saga rises to the occasion.

Taken as a storytelling experience, the game is rich and vibrant. Its gameplay, though, is rote and unfulfilling. The game's heart seems to be an anime rather than an interactive adventure.

The RPG elements and menu interfaces can be complex and daunting, forcing you to adapt to a steep learning curve to keep pace. You crawl along a more-or-less linear journey, with the gameplay amounting to repetitive, mundane tasks that you plow through until you can unlock the next piece of the story arc.

Whether or not the game interests you enough to continue tugging you along the path depends on your level of patience, as well as how entranced you become with the tale. "Arc of Alchemist" has plenty going for it, but to truly hook you it will have to transform you into someone willing to accept stiff elements in order to stay the course.

Publisher provided review code.

PHIL ON FILM: "The Rhythm Section"

For my full review, click here.

PHIL ON FILM: 5 Shows to Binge in February 2020

For my full post, click here.

"Edge of Light" Review

Wielding an ancient relic bestowed with technology that grants you the power equivalent to that of a warlock, your goal in "Edge of Light" is to build up your strength to the point of mastery.

The exuberant sense of growing strength while acquiring game-changing abilities is the intoxicating draw of the game, which lets you roam through a world haunted by its looming past.

Set in the aftermath of a sentient planet ravaged by apocalypse, "Edge of Light" challenges you to seek out resources, patch together a survival plan and forge ahead in spite of brutal surroundings.

Developer White Elk orchestrates the single-player saga with a steady, assured precision. The vision is a dark, dilapidated realm that somehow teems with life and possibility.

With a campaign that's calibrated to unfold quickly, "Edge of Light" banks on its ability to draw you back in time and again for replays.

That's an area, unfortunately, in which it struggles. Working well as a tight, polished adventure, the game sometimes plays more like an extended demo than a full-figured campaign. Here's hoping White Elk builds on this foundation to stretch out its horizons in its next project.

Publisher provided review code.

PHIL ON FILM: Shows leaving Netflix in February 2020

For my full article, click here.

PHIL ON FILM: "The Gentlemen"

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PHIL ON FILM: "Bad Boys for Life"

For my full review, click here.

Broadway in Tucson Review: "The Play That Goes Wrong"

It's hard work to look awful and incompetent. "The Play That Goes Wrong" hones a goofy cavalcade of failure to a fever-pitched edge of incisive humor.

The setup: A low-rung British theater society opens up an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery set within a mansion. The set is falling apart, behind-the-scenes techs are always meddling and screwing things up, actors forget their lines and take a bulldozer to the fourth wall.

A masterwork of set design, impeccably-timed blocking and layered comedic writing that operates on simultaneous levels, "The Play That Goes Wrong" lathers up a firestorm of Vaudeville-style comedy, melding slapstick, corny one-liners and absurd, over-the-top catastrophes in a headlong dive into a funhouse of mirror that mocks the theater world.

Although the true masterminds of director Matt DiCarlo's production are behind the scenes, all of the antics would fall flat if not executed by a masterful cast. Jason Bowen, Chris Lancely, Chris French and Michael Thatcher make up a geek chorus of goofiness as house staffers, siblings and, yes, theater techs stumble through the mishap-plagued mystery.

Jacqueline Jarrold shines as Sandra, a would-be femme fatale who finds herself in the focal point of the intrigue. Bianca Horn is her apt complement -- as well as her fight partner -- as a tech who fills in as Sandra when the actress is out of commission. The dynamic forms the core of the madcap insanity that radiates throughout the stage, as well as the rest of the theater.

Credit DiCarlo's creative team for being able to adjust on the fly, with the cast calling out audience members at opportune times, as well as a priceless, made-for-Tucson monologue that roasts the city's inferiority complex with Phoenix, as well as the UA's rivalry with ASU.

"The Play That Goes Wrong" thrives by breaking all the rules with a Mack truck, then happily backing up over the wreckage and repeating the process. Overkill is the order of the day, but the smile on your face will last the full two-hour running time, as well as the giddy drive home. The play may go wrong, and that's why everything feels so right.

"The Play That Goes Wrong" plays through Sunday at Centennial Hall. For tickets, click here.

Phil on Film: "Like a Boss"

For my full review, click here.