Memorable Monday Morning Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

2 March 20262 March 2026 The Portly Politico2 Comments

Dr. Wife and I went to see the smutty literary adaptation of Wuthering Heights (2026) this weekend, not because Dr. Wife is into that kind of thing, but because there’s been so much buzz around the film, she wanted to be part of the cultural moment. I was going to review that film today, but that’ll have to go on the backburner due to time constraints.

The quick version: like all modern movies, it’s thirty minutes too long; the script is flabby and ponderous; and the middle act is basically just chick lit p-word smut. It setup several ideas that never had payoffs. It did have amazing sets and costumes, and the sense of bleak tragedy from the novel (which, to be clear, I haven’t read) was, according to my wife, there, even if the film took great liberties with the source material.

But I digress. A piano student of mine brought in a little Mario doll he’s had since he was a baby. He asked me at the end of his lesson to film a quick movie review of the 2023 hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie; I obliged:

That being the case, I figured I’d reblog this review of the film from 2023.

With that, here 22 May 2023’s “Monday Morning Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)“:

SubscribeStar Saturday: Epic Universe: Super Mario World

14 February 202613 February 2026 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive. To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more. For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

My family and I took our annual-ish trip to Universal Studios earlier this week (Dr. Wife, sadly, is still in the depths of residency, so she was unable to join us). This year’s trip was a bit different from those of yesteryear, however: we visited Universal’s new park, Epic Universe, on our last day in Orlando.

Epic Universe has been in the works for years, and suffered (I believe) some delays due to The Age of The Virus. The wait and the delays were worth it—it was truly, as my younger brother put it, the “theme park of the twenty-first century.”

The premise behind Epic Universe is that a central hub of celestial-themed rides and attractions leads to various “universes” or worlds. Each one is accessed through a portal, and once you’re in one of the worlds, you are in it. You can’t see the other worlds or the main hub until you leave that specific world. Instead of areas blending together gradually, they’re distinct little pocket universes.

That separation greatly enhances the immersion. When we were in Super Mario World—the subject of today’s post—it felt like we were inhabiting the world of Super Mario Brothers. When we were in Dark Universe, the monster world, it was like being in an old Universal or Hammer horror flick. The Harry Potter Ministry of Magic was akin to walking the streets of Paris—and so on.

Epic Universe consists of four separate worlds: Super Mario World; Dark Universe; the Ministry of Magic (Paris); and the Island of Berk, from the How to Train Your Dragon film franchise. There is also the Celestial Park hub area, which features the park’s signature coaster, Starlight Racers, and a celestial carousel at the center.

Today, I want to dive into the first of these worlds, the world of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Bowser, and the rest—Super Mario World.

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TBT: Civilization VII is Coming

5 February 20262 February 2026 The Portly Politico12 Comments

It’s hard to believe that Civilization VII has already been out (almost) a year. Tomorrow will mark the fateful day that big spenders (like yours portly) began their early access to the game, which was clearly incomplete at the time of release.

That said, the game—for all of its flaws—was still fun. Indeed, I still find it super fun. If anything, the game has gotten better—much, much better!—over the last year.

Perhaps the best improvement to the game has been the big naval update a couple of months back. That added lots of new water resources and improved naval combat. It also added Edward Teach (Blackbeard the Pirate) and, in the Exploration Age, The Republic of Pirates. I currently have a game going as Blackbeard and it is really fun.

Will the game ever reach the heights of Civ VI, it’s much-beloved predecessor? It seems doubtful at the time of writing. Have I played Civ VI since VII‘s release? Nope! That’s a testament to how much I enjoy this game.

With that, here is 5 February 2025’s “Civilization is Coming“:

Phone it in Friday CXI: YouTube Roundup CLXXI: Blackbeard Sails into Civilization VII

21 November 202519 November 2025 The Portly Politico8 Comments

In my never-ending quest for lo-fi, low-effort YouTube (and blog) content, I make the most of whatever limited assets and time I have to churn out highly-compressed but—I hope—charming content for the masses.

Such is the case with today’s post. I made this video with just one picture I took with my iPhone SE’s camera (mainly to show Dr. Fiancée that I was playing as Blackbeard the Pirate in Civilization VII). I recorded the voiceover with the Voice Memo app on my phone, and used iMovie (again, on my phone) to put in the picture (three times) against the voice message.

Apparently, when I send the finished video file to Telegram, it deeply compresses the video quality (although I think it does the same if I save the video to my phone and upload it to YouTube from there). The most it can muster is 360p, which might as well be a VHS recording that I’ve sloppily converted to a digital format.

Whatever the case, the video was a fun experiment. I hope you agree!

Ponty Pans: Ghost of Yotei

29 October 202526 October 2025 The Portly Politico10 Comments

Ponty has done real yeoman’s work this week, helping to cover some key posts for yours portly. He delivers once again with this review of sequel. He loved the original; as for the sequel, well… read on!

Sequels are an interesting thing in video games, something about which I’ll opine on some other time. It’s fun going back to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), for example, back before any “knew” what a video game sequel should be. Just look at the second installments in the Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda franchises for prime examples of how wildly different sequels can be from their originals.

Now, the expectation feels something a bit like what we see in the film industry: take the original concept, but make it bigger. Unfortunately, widespread wokeification over the past decade has twisted that into “take the original concept, but make it woker.” To be fair, Ponty does not point to wokeness as the downfall of this game; rather, he offers up a very detailed and well-supported analysis as to why this sequel fails to live up to the grandeur and beauty of its predecessor.

One other note: several of the links in this post are Amazon Affiliate links; I receive a portion of any proceeds made through those links, at no additional cost to you.

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

Phone it in Friday C: YouTube Roundup CLX: Civilization VII is Gorgeous

15 August 20257 August 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Folks are probably tired of me writing about Civilization VII, which is shaping up to be one of the least popular Civ releases ever. That’s a shame, because the game is getting better and better with each update.

For awhile I thought that I was lying to myself about liking the game. Something felt off about it for awhile. But I realized that my main complaints—the dragging late game, the lack of visual information—were ultimately fairly minor. Every game in the series drags in the late game. If anything, Civ VII has a more robust late game than Civ VI, although it’s still pretty lackluster in the Modern Era.

Ultimately, though, I feel like the time I have put into the game has reaped dividends. There are times when it’s not always fun, but those are rare; mostly, I can’t help but keep playing (often to the detriment of my sleep schedule). That’s the mark of a good game in my book. Even when it’s a slog, there is some objective towards which I am working.

One thing about the game is that, in spite of its poor visual information (which has improved since launch, but I still can’t figure out which buildings I’ve built where in a city), the visuals themselves are stunning. It is a gorgeous game. The same quality that makes the visual information obscure is also what makes the game look great.

As such, I shot a YouTube short last week while playing a game with a buddy of mine. My World Wonders-encrusted former capital was just too sumptuous not to share.

Ponty Praises: Typoman

13 August 20253 August 2025 The Portly Politico8 Comments

Good old Ponty is back with a video game review, and one with a particular relevance to blogging: Typoman.

Anyone who writes daily will tell you that you will have typos. If you’re not taking time to proofread, revise, and edit your writing (which I rarely do for these posts), you’re guaranteed to have them, no matter how fluidly and clearly you wrote. Some lone word, some misapplied apostrophe, some stray letter, is going to sneak its way in.

Also, a game about spelling words is perfect for a blog, one that possesses pretenses of featuring literary non-fiction on rare occasions. Words that must be spelled in a dangerous video game environment are even better.

But let me wrap up, lest I commit a dreaded typo. Ponty delivers a great review of what sounds like an amazing game.

With that, here is Ponty’s review of Typoman (let me know if he—or I!—have committed any crimes against spelling and grammar):

SubscribeStar Saturday: Sid Meier’s Colonization (1994)

28 June 202526 June 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Before I dove headlong back into Civilization VII, I spent a solid two or three weeks playing Sid Meier’s Colonization on Governor difficulty (the penultimate difficulty level). I finally won a game as the Dutch, with a strong colonial basis in modern-day Argentina and Chile:

I first played this game in the mid-1990s when I was a kid. I was hooked immediately, and this game is largely responsible for sparking my interesting in teaching American history. It also ignited a lifelong interest in the American Revolution.

So, how does it hold up thirty-one years after its release?

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Reassessing Civilization VII

21 June 202518 June 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Yours portly has finally dived back into Civilization VII after almost three months away from the game. The hiatus was not due to disinterest, but rather to the overwhelming busyness of the end of the school year. Longtime players of Civ games—or any other franchise or game in which picking up after an extended break is difficult—will understand how the thought of returning to a half-finished save file is challenging, as you’ve likely forgotten what you were doing and what your goals were.

That made it difficult to return to my last save file, but when I play Civ VII, I need hours of uninterrupted time to lose myself in the game. I’ve never been good at playing for an hour or two and then heading to bed. I need to know I have three or four hours to dedicate to the game, and that my plate is clear of any obligations or tasks.

Naturally, that state of limitless free time is rare for yours portly, except for two months every year: June and July. Yes, I’m keeping busy with writing blog posts, teaching lessons, practicing piano, filming silly YouTube shorts, planning a wedding, etc.; but after dinnertime, I’ve got hours of gaming goodness ahead of me.

That’s all to say that, after a few weeks of dipping into Colonization, I’m back to Civilization VII. The game has had a number of updates (with version 1.2.2 coming soon, promising massive map sizes and other improvements), and they have really improved the gameplay experience. It’s still not perfect, but the game is getting better.

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Retro Games Website

4 June 202531 May 2025 The Portly Politico4 Comments

Yours portly has been playing excessive amounts of Colonization lately (my latest game, as the Dutch, ended in disaster when my New York-based colonies fell to the Stadtholder’s forces in a doomed war of independence), and writing about and thinking about old games has sent me down a rabbit hole. Regular reader and contributor Ponty got me searching down an old Lord of the Rings game; while I didn’t find it, I did find RetroGames.cz.

RetroGames.cz bills itself as the “ONLINE Museum of Old Video Games,” and the designation is apt. According to the website, its goal is “to keep alive the games of the 1980s and 1990s, which were created for consoles and systems that can no longer be purchased and are no longer supported by its developers and manufacturers.” It does so through the emulation of games, which can be played directly in your browser.

The Portly Politico

One Southerner's unique, erudite, conservative perspective in a hectic world

Tag: video games