Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass

It took a bit of pre-planning and pleading, but over Christmas vacation I was able to play through Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox 360. I was also privileged to experience the first few hours of the game on Xbox One. Actually, I should probably use the word “privilege” to describe playing the 360 version as well because Rise of the Tomb Raider – even on previous generation hardware – is an exceptionally polished game. It is a masterclass example of what a Next Gen Action Adventure should be – gripping, gorgeous, intricately thought-out and essentially bug-free. The game isn’t without its issues, but developers Crystal Dynamics have clearly listened to player comments after the 2013 franchise reboot , and incorporated much of that feedback into the sequel. Certainly you can’t make claims of ludonarrative dissonance this time around. The story and gameplay are in sync as a slightly more experienced, considerably more confident Lara Croft embarks on a quest for answers to some m...

So it turns out that forty hours of flights are a great opportunity to catch up on all those movies you missed on the cinema circuit. Also, as in the case of the following two films, it provided massive relief that I didn’t pay to watch these turkeys on the big screen. Terminator Genisys I twitched, snickered and rolled my eyes through Terminator Salvation back in 2009. After that clearly oxygen-starved attempt to restart the time-travelling man vs. machine story, I swore I was done with the sci-fi series . Then Arnie signed up to star in Genisys. Of course, if mobile game commercials are any indication, Arnie will star in absolutely anything these days. (How much is Maria getting in the divorce, anyway?) Still, I had a nostalgic softening of heart – I actually quite enjoyed the third Terminator – and decided to give Genisys a shot. Well, now I am finished with the Terminator franchise for good. DONE. I should have been suspicious since the revelation of the new film’s...

It's hard to believe that we are just days from the end of 2015. This year seemed to fly by with disturbing speed; more so than any other for me at least. Personally, it's been a year of ups and downs. However, let's concentrate on the positives. 1) I got to explore more of Japan this year - from far-flung Okinawa (very different to mainland Japan, for the record) to World Heritage Sites in Kyoto and Nara; and even the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Osaka's Universal Studios Japan. 2) After years of putting it on my Resolutions List, I finally ticked off Open Water scuba certification as an acquired adventuring skill. In turn, I drew on the underwater experience to write this standalone Tomb Raider fic . 3) A huge one: I wrote a novel - well, a novel-length piece of Tomb Raider fan fiction. 4) On that Lara Croft note, 2015 saw the release of a highly acclaimed new Tomb Raider game ... that like 50 people have played due to timed Xbox exclusivity. But ...

As of today in North America (EU release is this Friday, 13 Nov), this highly anticipated action adventure sequel is out as an Xbox One and 360 Exclusive. It hurts to say it, but as big a Tomb Raider fan as I am, with my life in world-wandering limbo right now, I'm not sure when I'll be in a (hardware-owning) position to play Rise. For the record, PC release is scheduled, at this point, for sometime in early 2016, while PS4 owners should be able to play it just in time for Christmas next year. [ info source ] In the past few months, as Rise of the Tomb Raider's release has approached, a crazy amount of promotional material has appeared online - a good chunk of it very spoiler-heavy . The 30-second "Legend Within" TV commercial (below), however, is perfection as far as I'm concerned. No talking. No clunky exposition. Just action and adventure set to Karen O's wonderfully moody I Shall Rise , written especially for the game. I think the combinati...

It’s a sad day when your mother is more up to date with movie viewing than you are. Such is the price for living in the inaka. Anyway, since I’ve been averaging one cinema visit a year since moving here, I’ve had to do a lot of waiting for DVD release. The following are catch-up mini-reviews for two high profile 2015 releases. Fifty Shades of Grey The movie adaptation of EL James’s erotic bestseller was this year’s big Valentine’s Day release. There has been much snickering about the book, but I was honestly prepared to approach the film with an open mind. I would give it a chance; judge it entirely on its own merits. After all, a good chunk of criticism of the novel centred on its writing style. With a movie, we wouldn’t have to endure heroine Anastasia Steele’s cringe-worthy inner monologue. That would be an immediate plus. And yes, Dakota Johnson ’s portrayal of sexually naïve Ana in this romantic drama is fine. The character is considerably less irritating on the screen tha...

I know I've been a terrible blogger, with updates intermittent at best. And I know I owe you some catch-up movie reviews at least. I promise these are coming; even if they're likely only in November, once my back-to-teaching schedule stabilises and the first snow falls here - essentially trapping me inside for the next 4-5 months. Bah. Anyway, to keep you occupied in the meanwhile, here are a few things I have been up to recently in the Pop Culture vein: Read my opinion of smash hit mobile game Lara Croft GO , over at to-the-point review site Pennyworth Reviews.com . Read my latest Tomb Raider fanfic in full. Alternative Medicine is a four-part tale that bridges the 2013 game and the Dark Horse comic series that followed. If the title doesn't give it away, the story explores the rather unusual coping strategies Lara and Sam employ to handle their paralysing post-traumatic stress. Spoiler: it's a little kinky. Check out my cosplays, past and present...

So it turns out that two days short of my "one year living in Japan" anniversary is another milestone: the ten year anniversary of this blog. This Sunday, 26 July, Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass will be a decade old. Granted in recent years I haven't been updating as frequently as I once did. However, I hope I make up for it by providing meaningful content when I do find the time to post. Thank you to everyone who has visited and read my ramblings over the years. I hope you've enjoyed my writing - and other creative output that has popped up here - and will continue to get something out of the experience. Now, if you don't mind, it's time to celebrate... Why, thank you, Lara. I certainly won't say no to a slice.   Source: Irishhips

Part 4: The mystery of Lara Croft’s sexuality “Now what’s a man gotta do to get that kind of attention from ya?” – Larson Conway (Tomb Raider, 1996) Despite being an icon for many queer pop culture consumers, Lara Croft’s own sexual orientation remains ambiguous. Outside of the Top Cow comics and live-action films – where Lara is blatantly heterosexual, with a fondness for slightly scruffy bad boys (who keep betraying and hurting her) – the character comes across as primarily asexual. Kurtis Trent is the only male figure who even comes close to being a love interest in the game series. Lara's apparent sexual disinterest is despite the adventurer appearing very sexually attractive herself; a figure of desire with bee-stung lips, voluptuous breasts, toned stomach and impossibly long, athlete’s legs. Yet Lara is never dominated by sexual yearnings or romantic affections. She is very much in control of herself at all times. It’s worth noting, however, that over time th...

Part 3: Lara and the gay guys Given how Tomb Raider seemed to be exclusively marketed at the laddish FHM crowd for years – with cleavage shots and cheesecake poses the order of the day – it seems rather ironic that hetero sex symbol Lara Croft ended up emerging as an icon for queer men. Why was this the case? As already mentioned in Part 1 , Lara has chosen the outsider’s path. Hell, she gets called “outsider” repeatedly in the 2013 game. Not only does she blatantly, and continually, disregard definitions of ladylike behaviour (discussed in  Part 2 ), she proves that heroes don’t have to be the embodiment of heterosexual masculinity – a sentiment that queer men are sure to support as much as queer women. Given that queer men are positioned similarly in terms of society's “what makes a real man” expectations, it's easy for them to admire the adventurer’s shrug-it-off, rebellious attitude. Lara lives her life with style and without apology. Take this quote from Profe...

Part 2: Lara and the ladies So evidently an old euphemism for lesbians was “ female adventurer .” Who, in the whole of Popular Culture, is more of a poster child for those two words than Lara Croft? Disregarding her own mysterious sexual orientation (to be covered in Part 4 of this blog post), no wonder she is an icon for queer women. On a more serious note, it would be easy to dismiss Lara’s appeal to ladies who like ladies as simply a mirror of her appeal to heterosexual men. In other words, it’s purely about sexual attraction. Whichever version of the character is your favourite, Lara is intimidatingly intelligent, gorgeous, and sports a smokin’ hot body. So queer women just want to get into Lara’s shorts. Right? Uh, no. Evidently, even if queer women are sexually attracted to Lara Croft, admiration trumps objectification every time. As already mentioned (in Part 1 ), Lara Croft is held in high esteem by fans for the qualities she embodies as opposed to her many undeni...