Tag: Ponty's Pen

Monday Morning Movie Review: Ponty Praises: The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Good old Ponty sent along this awesome review before I headed out on my honeymoon, which saves me the creative effort of crafting a thoughtful review of some crappy movie after being unplugged for the past week.

Instead, you get this great review of an awesome movie.  Anytime Italo Calvino is referenced in a movie review, you know it’s going to be good.

I’m sure I’ve seen The Usual Suspects—or I thought I was sure until I read Ponty’s review.  Now… I’m not so sure.  Based on his review, I’ll have to head his advice to see it posthaste.  Perhaps Dr. Wife and I can enjoy it over Christmas.  I’m still planning on showing her Gremlins (1984).

Just a note—several of the links in this review are Amazon Affiliate links.  I receive a portion of any purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.  I’ve marked these links with an asterisk (*).

With that, here is Ponty’s review of 1995’s The Usual Suspects:

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Ponty Praises: Tremors (1990)

The Portly Politico25 Comments

Ponty has been promising me a review of a monster film for a little over a week now, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.  But I should have guessed it would be this absolute gem of a film.

Tremors (1990) came out when I was five.  No, I did not see it at that tender age; I think I first saw it when I was about ten-years old at a friend’s house.  Every Nineties kid had that friend whose parents didn’t care what their kids did, or even actively encouraged them to be edgy.  I had one such heathen friend, and we watched Tremors one day when I was over there playing.

Man, what a flick!  The Wild West setting, the salt-of-the-earth characters, and the dread-of-the-earth worms!  I had never seen anything like it.  I still remember the scene where one of the creatures busts into Reba McIntyre’s basement, and she and her on-screen husband unloaded dozens of rounds into the beast.

It was also scary, but not in the way horror films typically are.  It was scary because these were just normal people living in the desert and trying to get by, and suddenly they have to band together to defeat this creature that, while fantastical, could actually exist.  There was a plausibility to it—at least to a ten-year old—that made it scary in a visceral way.

I think Ponty captures the film’s charm better than I can.  I’ll turn it over to him.

With that, here is Ponty’s glowing review of a timeless classic:

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Ponty’s Top 3 Halloween Picks 2024

The Portly Politico19 Comments

Pickup my newest release: Spooky Season III!  Use promo code spooky to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp!  Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Thursday, 31 October 2024.

Last Wednesday I posted “My Neighbor’s Halloween Movie Recommendations” to a great deal of fanfare.  It was a solid list, leaning a bit more heavily towards the classics.  Naturally, I knew our English correspondent, Pontiac Dream 39, would have some thoughts on the list.

As is often the case, I was right.  Ponty offered up his top three picks in the comments section.  Always on the lookout for easy—uh, I mean, quality—content, I asked the good bloke from across the pond to consider putting together a more extensive “explainer” of his choices.

Happily, he obliged.  Few writers put together a movie review better than good old Ponty, especially when he either loves or hates a film.  In this case, his love for these three flicks—and they are all, assuredly, classics—shines through, as does his acumen for writing a crackerjack film review.

With that, here are Ponty’s Top 3 Halloween Picks for 2024 (I’m hoping if I add “for 2024,” it means he’ll do more next year!):

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Ponty Praises: Disco Elysium

The Portly Politico25 Comments

Disco Elysium is quite possibly the best video game I have ever played.  It is certainly the most unique.  I knew it was something special after only an hour of playing it, and while I have not started a new game since finishing it—“beating” is probably not the right word for Disco Elysium—it is a game that could reveal fresh layers through dozens, perhaps hundreds, of playthroughs, even if it only consists of one “main quest,” as it were.

I’ve never played a game that more accurately reflects the way my own mind is structured, and the way that I think about and dwell upon certain inane details.  I don’t have a “Thought Cabinet,” per se, but the notion of fixating upon and ruminating about an idea to the point that it worms its way into your psyche feels true to my experience.  As dear old Ponty will point out, the game has a way of seeping into your mind and, therefore, your life outside of the game.

I don’t want to give too much away, as Ponty delivers a brilliant and detailed review, so I’ll turn the controller over to him.

With that, here is Ponty’s review of Disco Elysium:

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Ponty Praises: Ghost of Tsushima (2020)

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Yours portly has been giving Ponty a bit of ribbing about writing his rebuttal to my Caldecott Award-winning review of Donnie Darko (1999).  Please know, dear readers (and dear Ponty) that it’s all a spot of fun; I know Ponty is a busy man.

Indeed, he’s been busy replaying 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, a samurai action-adventure epic.  Just reading through his review, I was blown away by two things:  how realistic the trees in the game look (you’ll see what I mean below) and the love and dedication with which Ponty approaches his reviews.  Game journalism might be rigged in the mainstream publications, but not here at The Portly Politico.  With Ponty’s in-depth analysis, you’re getting the best video game reviewing and analysis of our time.

That might sound like hyperbole, but TPP is blessed to host some great writers.  Ponty’s video game and film reviews always deliver.  In this case, I’m eager to pick up and try Ghost of Tsushima myself… but I don’t have a PS4 or PS5!  Here’s hoping for a port to the Nintendo Switch or the PC.

In the meantime, I can live vicariously through Ponty’s thirteenth-century samurai escapades—and so can you!

With that, here is Ponty’s review of 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima:

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Lazy Sunday CXXXIV: Best Ponty Posts of 2023

The Portly Politico2 Comments

After posting my best posts of 2023 last week, it occurred to me that my loyal guest contributors deserved some love.  Ergo, I decided to put together a “Best Guest Posts of 2023” post.

As I began going through the top three most-viewed guest contributions, however, I realized they all belonged to Ponty/Always a Kid for Today, one of the greatest and most stalwart champions of this humble blog.  As such, I’m dedicating this edition of Lazy Sunday to his three best posts of 2023.

Some disclaimers:  “best” is purely quantitative, based on view count.  Of course, Ponty’s work is always qualitatively excellent, too.  Also, the posts had to be published in 2023.  The numbers are based on when I checked them, which was 31 December 2023 (the perfect time to review the last year’s numbers!).

So, without further ado, here are Ponty’s three best posts of 2023:

Happy Sunday—and Happy New Year!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Lazy Sunday CCXII: Ponty Week 2023

The Portly Politico4 Comments

If the week of Independence Day was MAGAWeek2023, then last week was the unofficial Ponty Week 2023.  Regular contributor and right good bloke Pontiac Dream 39 (or 39 Pontiac Dream?)/Always a Kid for Today/Ponty sent in a trio of great pieces, and I decided to schedule them all for the same week.

So, in case you missed any of these excellent contributions from our favorite Englishman, here are Ponty’s posts:

That’s it for this ultra-British edition of Lazy Sunday.  Cheers!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Ponty’s Pen: Stranger Things Series Review

The Portly Politico20 Comments

We’re pro-spooky stuff here at The Portly Politico, and perhaps the greatest example of syncretic spookiness is the Netflix series Stranger Things, an amalgamation of 1980s nostalgia, John Carpenter, Stephen King, and every other significant sci-fi horror franchise of that glorious decade (and beyond).

Talk about a lightning-in-a-bottle cultural phenomenon.  The series is the kind that is profoundly a product of the age of streaming, yet it hearkens back to the horror miniseries of the 1980s and 1990s—rich, multi-episode arcs; tight story construction; and satisfying pay-offs that reward loyal viewing.  I also appreciate that the show doesn’t overstay its welcome with bloated seasons.  The Duffer Brothers tell the story they want to tell without stretching their material thin.

Ponty sent me this epic review of the first four seasons of the show (the fifth and, it seems, final season is coming soon), and it’s surely his reviewing magnum opus.  Audre Myers wrote her own review of the series last year, which overlaps somewhat with Ponty’s, but they both bring different insights into the show.

I don’t have much left to add that Ponty hasn’t said better.  With that, here is Ponty’s series review of Stranger Things:

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