Monday, March 1, 2010

Work is for people who can't play video games.


Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

One of my favorite things in the world is video games. I especially love the old classics like Legend of Zelda, Pong, Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers. And I am also quite proud to be from Washington State, despite it only being known for the Space Needle, coffee and Twilight. So what do you get when you mix all that together and add a great soundtrack and hilarious characters? Well you get King of Kong or A Fistful of Quarters.

King of Kong is the story of Steve Wiebe, a normal Washingtonian who one day decides to get an old school Donkey Kong machine. It was his favorite game that he played the most and he figured it was something fun to do in his spare time. Soon however it became a big part of his life and one day he realized something: he beat the all time world record for most points in one sitting of Donkey Kong...except he had no proof. So what does he do? He decides to record it all on another playthrough. This gets the attention of the major league gamers and especially from the previous title holder. So the movie follows around three people: one of the old school refs and judges who has seen it all, the humble challenger hoping to achieve a dream and the cocky all time champ who does not want to be dethroned.

Even if you aren't into videogames there is something for everyone here. It IS a documentary but it plays much more like a Spinal Tap comedy film. The dialogue is fantastic and witty, there are SO many memorable quotes from everyone and in the end, even the most skilled gamer can learn something new. It's brilliantly shot, brilliantly made and overall it's just a fun movie to watch.

So if you love video games like I do or just want to watch a great Rocky-esque story of a no namer rising to the top and achieving his dreams to become "The Best Around" then you would do good to watch this film. It's a true gamer's masterpiece.

MY VERDICT: TOP FILM

6 comments:

  1. This one sounds really funny. I myself am a keen gamer. It's all gears of war and left4dead and such for me these days, but back in the day I loved my Space Invaders, Contra, and Mario Bros. The idea of a guy trying to be champ at Donkey Kong sounds hilarious. Good review!

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  2. I love this movie. I'm not big on documentaries, but this plays more like a movie than a doc. Great characters, great story, fun film.

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  3. This is actually a really fun documentary. It has stirred up quite a bit of controversy too. There is, apparently, a lot of creative editing and storytelling to make it more compelling. In the end, it left some black eyes on a few people that might not have actually deserved it. I still loved it and it's one of my favorite documentaries, even if it's not the pinnacle of truth.

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  4. Contrary, to what I said about My Date With Drew, I love this movie, especially in how it avoids every opportunity to simply make fun of these people. My criteria for a good documentary is that it has to be better than a fiction film based on the same material and this one passes the test.

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  5. I've been gaming since I was seven. Never did get hooked on Donkey Kong/Super Mario, I was in the PSX generation. For me THE GAME is Metal Gear Solid. The one and only.

    But anyway, It's the first time I hear of this but will definitely check it out. Except for "Pure Pwnage" there's a complete lack of gaming-themed material.

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