Not a front for a secret organization.
Written by Rob Schultz (human).
Like every good comedy show, Set List at the Pack has a running meta-narrative, and the current plot involved Rob being on tour. Last week, I checked in from scenic Disney Studios for some reason. Where will I be next week? Join us and find out!
Set List at the Pack is a completely improvised stand-up show that happens every Thursday night at 10:30, at the Pack Theater in Los Angeles, CA.
The New 8-bit Heroes - ★½☆☆☆
I stumbled a kickstarter campaign for a software toolkit for creating NES games. The creators said they came up with it in the making of their own game, and this movie is the story of how that went. Like most video game documentaries, it's deeply unsatisfying.
I think this movie is badly written, too long, and jammed too far up the director/producer/writer/star’s dream of being a reality tv star to focus on the interesting parts of his own story, but by the end of it I guess I can kind of admire his grit.
I, Tonya - ★★☆☆☆
I can respect the craftsmanship on display in this movie, but it is simply not for me. Give Allison Janney her prize, keep working on the computers to do that creepy face swap thing, throw in all of the cues to being a piece of scrappy, down-in-the-dirt filmmaking (with huge name actors and award season aspirations) you want.
I'm not saying you shouldn't see this, I'm saying I shouldn't.
The Shape of Water - ★★★★★
Do you want deep one hybrids? Because this is how you get deep one hybrids.
The Shape of Water is this year’s La La Land insomuch as all of the hype made going to see it feel like homework. Even more so because I don’t think of myself as being a fan of Guillermo Del Toro (or any movie Sally Hawkins has ever made), but he deserves that Golden Globe for directing and any other prize he can win. I liked The Post just fine, mostly because it looks like a Spielberg movie, but the shape of water looks like cinema. It’s a beautifully done adventure. And it had more in common with La La Land than I was expecting!
Octavia Spencer is getting to be as typecast as Jessica Chastain or Matthew Goode, but maybe not in as fun of a role. I guess if you have the opportunity to be in a good movie you take it, even if you have already played that character a few times. In fact, maybe she’s exactly the same character she is in Hidden Figures, just 10 years earlier. If that’s the case then it’s great to know everything works out for her. Maybe she receives a nice settlement so she doesn't tell everyone about her creepy boss and it puts her on the career path to middle management.
The Set List at the Pack show is now in it’s second year, some 75 shows in, and has become somewhat more gratifying to produce over time. A major reason for that is collection of regulars that show up each week for another shot at playing our game.
I usually think of Gangbusters! as the more fun show to produce because I get to go on stage and do stuff, but almost every week we start from scratch in front of a new crowd. That show is like a stone in a river, becoming smoother and more elegant. Set List, in contrast, is still growing more elaborate. Over Jason's real and pretend objections, I continue to add new embellishments so that I don't get bored. Anyway, all this to say that the current storyline has something to do with me being on tour and running the show remotely. This check-in segment is definitely not the one I would have started with, but life on the road is a complicated thing.
Historical footnote: Phil Binder is the comedian best known for his extensive work in the medium of Facebook, in which he pretends to have been turned into a dog.
Set List at the Pack is a completely improvised stand-up show that happens every Thursday night at 10:30, at the Pack Theater in Los Angeles, CA.
I'm so happy.
The fourth game in the Room series is available today. I've already played about a third of it–as much as I could until my ipad needed a charge–and it's better than the last one.
The puzzles are just beautifully constructed. Their ability to create real feeling objects to interact with is second-to-none. What I'm trying to say is: Go. Get. It!
Company: 60Out
Room: Alice in Wonderland
Date Played: 1/21/18
Player Count: 6, which was too many.
Success: Success!
Premise: It’s a room escape with a bunch of Alice in Wonderland stuff! Alice has been accused of a crime, and if you can’t clear her name, well… then it’s off with her head!™
Immersion: I mean, I didn’t feel like I was in Wonderland. The production design of this game was of the typically good quality of 60Out, and falls pretty solidly into the ‘game show’ style. There are a couple of locks uncharacteristic of 60Out and unlikely to exist in Wonderland.
Highlights: The first section has the best interactions. Everyone in our group seemed pretty pleased with the process of making a cup of tea.
Lowlights: Our game had a show-stopping bug. We stood around through multiple reboots and ultimately had to end the game. Aside from that, there’s a section that seems to involve a surprising amount of random guessing and a lot of unsolicited advice from the GM. The flow of story events seems kind of clunky - I wonder if there were last-minute changes made after the game was built.
And Finally: Our group is lucky enough to have gained a couple of members recently, but this was not the right room to bring the whole family. It doesn’t have enough space or things to do to keep 6 people happy. Even without the room breaking down, I don’t think this would have ranked very highly for me among the 60 Out canon. Out of 43 games played, I’m ranking it at #34
How to book this room yourself: Visit https://www.60out.com/los-angeles/rooms/alice-in-wonderland
