Tag: Ponty

Monday Morning Movie Review: Ponty’s Top Ten Best Films: #7: La La Land (2016)

The Portly Politico7 Comments

If readers thought my placement of 1983’s sci-fi/fantasy/swashbuckler Krull at #7 was shocking, this week’s #7 pick from Ponty will truly blow your staggered minds.  From the man who just wrote about Halloween (1978), I’d never expect a splashy musical.

I remember seeing this flick back in 2016 on a date, and remember enjoying it (not just due to the excellent execution and story, but probably thanks to Emma Stone—shew!).  Suddenly, my students wanted to play “City of Stars” all the time, and jazz piano enjoyed an all-too-brief resurgence.

Ponty gives it a very thorough review, as you’ll see, that really brings out some of the sparkling details of the film without spoiling anything.  It probably also holds the distinction of being the only review of a film musical to reference Grand Theft Auto 5, so that should be worth something.

With that, here is Ponty’s review of 2016’s La La Land:

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Lazy Sunday CLXVIII: Video Games II: Ponty’s Picks

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Ponty is a regular fixture here at The Portly Politico, and readers most likely know him from his extensive film reviews.  But when he’s not watching movies, he’s playing video games, often with his lovely girlfriend, Tina.

The good fellow has written three killer video game reviews of late, two with distinctly spooky themes, so why not give the old boy another edition of Lazy Sunday?

Apologies for those brief descriptions—my rotten dog has been hounding me (no pun intended) all morning, and is currently scratching vigorously at the door.  These games are quite good, and Ponty gives them the love and affection they deserve.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Ponty’s Friday Video Game Review: Little Nightmares 2

The Portly Politico9 Comments

What’s better than a spooky game about evading monstrous grotesqueries?  A sequel to that game.

A review of that sequel is better still, and that is what good ol’ Ponty offers up today.

As I noted last Friday, I’ve owned Little Nightmares on Steam for some time now, but I haven’t fired it up yet.  I doubt I will have had an opportunity to do so in the last week, but I’m hoping to dip into it (and some other games) soon enough.  Ponty’s reviews have me itching to try both installments of this macabre little gem—and possibly to revive my dead-in-the-water Morrowednesdays segments.

There’s not much else to say, despite my increasingly legendary ability to write introductions.  I’ll let Ponty take it from here; so with that, here is Ponty’s review of Little Nightmares 2:

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Ponty’s Friday Video Game Review: Little Nightmares

The Portly Politico6 Comments

It’s the witching season—the time for all sorts of ghoulish, spooky things to go down—and what better way to toy with dark forces than via video games?

Good ol’ Ponty has been dying to review this game for some time now, and he has finally delivered the goods—tasteful bedroom photos of his allegedly hot girlfriend.

Oh, wait—wrong e-mail [just kidding, Tina—Ponty wouldn’t do such a thing, and I wouldn’t ask]!  No, no, Ponty has offered up his review of Little Nightmares, a game of Tim Burton-esque grotesquery.

It’s long sat in my Steam library, just waiting to be played; after the Spooktacular this weekend, I will have to do just that!

With that, here is Ponty’s review of Little Nightmares:

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Monday Morning Movie Review: Ponty’s Top Ten Best Films: #8: Halloween (1978)

The Portly Politico36 Comments

Just in time for the Halloween season, Ponty pulls out one of the all-time classics from perhaps my favorite director.  You can’t have Halloween without Halloween (1978).

I particularly love how Ponty opens his review discussing the impact of music in film.  Horror soundtracks now seem to be riddled with clichés, like sustained dissonant chords and screechy violin glissandos.  But John Carpenter and others were composing actual music that sounded creepy without resorting to silly gimmicks.  What kid doesn’t sit down at the piano this time of year and try to pick out that theme?

Well, I won’t give much more away; it’s an excellent, lovingly-crafted review.

With that, here is Ponty’s review of 1978’s Halloween:

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Lazy Sunday CLXV: More Movies, Part XXIX: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Worst Films

The Portly Politico2 Comments

At long last, the retrospective of worst films comes to a close.  Ponty and I are both relieved to have this project done, although I think it was harder on him than me.  My capacity for consuming trash—both filmically and gastrointestinally—is a bit more substantial than his own.  Of course, that just means his biting vitriol is that much better:

Perhaps Ponty and I should host a film festival and screen these two flicks, then see which is worse.  Which would be your pick?

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Call for Submissions: Write for The Portly Politico!

The Portly Politico6 Comments

As my private lessons empire grows to gargantuan heights, I find that getting in time to write—and to write well—is increasingly scarce.  I’m more than willing to pull some late nights slamming out blog posts, but I’m not afraid to ask for help.  Indeed, that’s what I’m doing today.

I already have two excellent contributors:  Ponty and Audre.  Ponty contributes fairly regularly, especially as we’ve been rattling off our lists of the worst and best films; he also pitches in some occasional video game reviews and some photography from time to time.  Audre will pretty much write whenever I ask her to do so, but she has her own blog and is a regular contributor to Nebraska Energy Observer, so I don’t want to lean on her too much (although she knows she is welcome to submit to this blog any time, on any topic).

Of course, Son of Sonnet submits poetry when I commission a piece, but his work commitments are making it more difficult for him to focus on his craft.  That’s unfortunate, but he always has a home here.

I’m looking for posts on virtually any topic—politics, religion, culture, art, music, movies, books, slice-of-life, human interest, history, opinion, etc.  This blog is mostly non-fiction and the occasional poem, but I’m open to publishing short works of fiction, especially as we enter the spooky season.

At this time, the blog doesn’t generate enough income for me to pay for contributions, but I will gift any contributor an entry-level subscription to my SubscribeStar page (assuming I can figure out how to do that).  I may offer a small “bonus” of $5 each month (paid via Venmo) for the contributor with the most views.

So, in other words, the compensation isn’t the greatest.  But, hey, if I’m not making any money, then can you really complain?  And I’m actually a pretty good writer—ding!

But if you’re looking to get your work out there and need an outlet, I’m happy to work with you to make that happen.

My guidelines are fairly simple:  

  • Submit proofread pieces in *.doc or *.docx format, or in the body of an e-mail
  • Include a title, as well as any formatting notes
  • Make sure hyperlinks to referenced websites are working properly (and preferably are already embedded in your text)
  • Again, proofread before submission; it saves me a great deal of time
  • Posts should be around 600 words, minimum, but may be longer; exceptionally long posts might be split into two parts

Also, this blog is a conservative one, and while I don’t mind hearing from other perspectives, I’m inclined to accept only pieces coming from a broadly Christian conservative or traditionalist worldview.  Of course, video game and film reviews are a different matter (usually), but I’m not looking to give progressives another outlet.  Y’all have plenty of those already, and I’d rather not amplify wickedness any more than necessary.

That said, weird stuff is always appreciated.  It’s up to you to figure out what that means.

If you’re interested in contributing, leave a comment below; visit my “Contact” page; or e-mail me.

Monday Morning Movie Review: Ponty’s Top Ten Best Films: #10: A Quiet Place (2018)

The Portly Politico2 Comments

The Top Ten Best Films list now jumps over to Ponty, who I believe is enjoying a much-deserved holiday this week (although that was possibly last week).  Here’s hoping he’s enjoying some peace and quiet.

Speaking of quiet, Ponty’s first pick for his list is a film that explores a terrifying world in which staying quiet is the only way to stay alive.  If only students were similarly terrified into shivering silence.  Oh, well.

It’s a wonderful picture—one of my favorite recent films, too—and a very intriguing concept, executed extremely well.  I could say the same thing about this review, which is exceptionally thorough and interesting (and has me wanting to go back and watch 1963’s Jason and The Argonauts).

With that, here is Ponty’s review of 2018’s A Quiet Place:

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Lazy Sunday CLXI: More Movies, Part XXIV: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part II

The Portly Politico4 Comments

The retrospective on the worst films of all time continues this Sunday with Ponty’s #7, , and choices—and, boy, are they stinkers!

I’ve gotsta hand it to Ponty, though:  he made some diverse selections in this middle tier of bad films.  A slasher, a Christmas flick, and a movie based on a classic Disney ride—what a mix!

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Ponty’s Friday Morning Video Game Review: Canis Canem Edit (Bully)

The Portly Politico17 Comments

I’m blessed with many contributors to this site, and their efforts have really lightened my load, especially as school has resumed.  One of my most regular contributors is the indefatigable Pontiac Dream 39, also known as Always a Kid for Today.  Here, we call him “Ponty.”

Like myself, Ponty is a gamer.  I don’t have much time for games these days, but I do enjoy the occasional round of something fun with friends—or just playing casually alone.  So it was a pleasant surprise to receive this review from him.

I actually pitched the idea of making Friday video game reviews a regular/semi-regular feature, but Ponty demurred.  That said, I’m hoping he’ll continue contributing video game reviews (he wrote a good review of a game developer for the site some time ago), although as we’re about to kick off our competing lists of the Top Ten Best Films, he may need a bit of a break from all this scribbling!

I never had the pleasure of playing this game, which was released here in the United States as, simply, Bully, before the usual band of moral scolds got the name changed to Canis Canem Edit, Latin for “dog eat dog.”  I do remember seeing it advertised, and finding the premise—a boy fighting against all the hierarchies, social and institutional, of a boarding school—an intriguing premise for a semi-sandbox-style game in the mold of Grand Theft Auto.  Based on Ponty’s review, it sounds like I missed out!

With that, here is Ponty’s review of Canis Canem Edit, or Bully:

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