![]() For some time now, the post-cancellation route for celebrities has looked a little like this: move to another country, find work, (try to) stay quiet. So, what are we supposed to do with this ending? Lydia Tár is not, despite some what some viewers thought, a real person (there are many clues to this fact, though the main indicator is that Tár is often too interesting to be a biopic). And before you get too sniffy about videogame soundtracks, some are fairly well-regarded Christopher Tin’s song for Civilisation IV, “Baba Yetu”, even won a Grammy. Why not? People watch live orchestral versions of The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Muppets Christmas Carol. This may all sound pretty weird – it sounds pretty weird to me – but The Monster Hunter Orchestra Concert has been held annually in Japan since 2009, and it is livestreamed to different countries, including the UK. In Tár, the audience cosplay as characters from the franchise. I have not been, but I have seen photographic evidence of such events, in which an orchestra plays music from the Monster Hunter soundtrack* – hits include “Quest Failed”, “Returning from an Expedition” and “Main Menu” – while game visuals are displayed onstage. And yet, these not only exist but are popular. Paying money to experience a live orchestral version of the game’s soundtrack, as depicted in Tár, may be harder to fathom. Perhaps it’s not hard to understand the appeal of a game in which you, a normal person, becomes a powerful being capable of taking down monsters. Does that sound like fun to you? It certainly sounded like fun to some people: since the game’s original release in 2004, the franchise has sold over 80 million copies worldwide. (Is it too late to announce that cinema is, in fact, back?) But delving into the joke, just this once I promise, is sort of fun, too.įor the uninitiated, Monster Hunter is a role-playing game in which you hunt a variety of monsters in a (rather drab looking, in my opinion) fantasy land. At my screening, the sight of Lydia, an exacting, terrifying presence, performing in front of a crowd of fancy-dressed videogame fans, prompted loud, slightly-confused laughter. The scene is so out-there that even if you have no idea what Monster Hunter is, you will most likely laugh at the end of writer-director Todd Field’s film, which is in cinemas now. ![]() Phew! To paraphrase the words of another imperious blonde musician, does it sometimes feel like everyone is a sexy baby, and you’re the monster (hunter) on the hill? After more than two dizzying hours of personal and professional blows, the brilliant, terrifying, embattled conductor Lydia Tár (played by brilliant, terrifying, unembattled Cate Blanchett) can be seen in an unidentified Southeast Asian country (likely the Philippines), leading an orchestra for a live performance of Japanese videogame Monster Hunter in front of an audience of cosplayers. These are the best sports movie endings ever.Tár, a film full of jokes, saves its best for last. ![]() For those that did get the closing chapter right, not only was a great sports movie born, but great cinema was, too. ![]() One would think the sports movie genre has essentially been handed great endings, gift-wrapped and ready because any screenwriter or director can pull from the rich sports' canon of buzzer beaters, underdogs and stories of redemption.Īs most of us know, however, not every sports flick is created equal, and some classics-both old and new-nailed it.while others.not so much. And the two paired together in perfect harmony? Such a thing comes around about as often as Halley's Comet. Yet, great starts seem to be far too prolific, while great endings are a very rare commodity. ![]() Great starts with bad endings gave us the "Second Half-Collapse," Bo Jackson's hip, Lou Gehrig's disease and the Great Depression. Great starts without an equally great ending build us up and then knock us down with failed expectations and crushed hopes.įew, if any, would choose a great start over a great ending. Great starts are an often cruel phenomenon in life, in sports and certainly when it comes to movies. ![]()
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