23 April 13th–April 19th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | the earliest, most sentimental parts of your brain. In fact, it might actually be too much heart and magic for some folks, and that kind of rush of earnestness is obviously worth chasing after. Cemetery Man If you want a movie that watches you as much as you watch it, this unheralded horror classic from Italy’s Michele Soavi is the one. Starring a pre-My Best Friend’s Wedding Rupert Everett, it’s about a caretaker who may or may not have to re-kill the deceased within the weird lil’ town of Buffalora. The movie does a splendid job of playing not only with the confines of horror and slapstick comedy, but doing so in a way that makes the audience question the very nature of truth and reality. You’ll likely go back and forth about what, if anything, is true in the zombie- killing routine of Everett’s Francesco Dellamorte (and his faithful sidekick, Gnaghi), and that confusion and uncertainty is a genuinely delightful experience. Just don’t sit too close to the TV as you try to crack this existential little Rubik’s Cube. Video Games Far Cry 5 If you’re unfamiliar, the Far Cry series is basically, “Hey, some bad guy took over (your town/tropical island/etc.) and you, the unexpecting hero, have to save the day.” Yet in that rather formulaic approach, the game generates some real magic, and that’s doubly true in its fifth edition. As you tackle the rather heady mission of freeing a town from a doomsday cult, you’ll be able to team up with a grizzly bear; fly a float- plane into a dogfight; and battle cultists under the influence of a drug called Bliss. And that’s only a teeny tiny segment of this bonkers gameplay that both celebrates classic action titles while subverting the genre and your accompanying expecta- tions. Seriously, the bear’s name is Cheeseburger, and he’s your BFF. No Man’s Sky Sure, if you’ve followed popular games in recent years, you may recognize No Man’s Sky. It got a lot of guff from fans after an abysmal early launch that was heavy on promises and light on actual results. But that was then, and thanks to various patches and updates, you can now enjoy a seemingly infinite universe as the captain of a star cruiser. Want to get into a dog fight above a glowing moon? Go nuts. Maybe you want to explore a world with weird dino-monsters? You can do that, too. Even if you just want to wander a quiet galaxy all on your own, this game fosters a profound, almost comforting level of tailored immersion. You may get lost in the big, wide expanse, but then that’s sort of the point of it all, isn’t it? FAR: Changing Tides Don’t assume that you need some triple-A game to really make the most of your next trip. FAR: Changing Tides is a hugely atmo- spheric game where you maintain and pilot a boat in a seemingly waterlogged dystopia. (Think The Road meets Howl’s Moving Castle meets Waterworld.) In parts, the game can be tedious, as you fix your flimsy vessel amid a series of puzzles. (How’s that for a metaphor for existence?) But in those moments, you can almost get lost in the entire, overly involved process — and there’s a level of joy and fulfillment as you try and get better at juggling your many tasks. Plus, you can always explore the quaint, water- logged towns and villages if you decide to just give it all up for a short time. Deathloop Okay, try and follow along the best you can. Deathloop is your average first-person shooter — except you have to go through a kind of Groundhog Day-style jaunt to kill a cabal that’s basically holding you, the hero, captive in a temporal loop on an island. That means replaying the same day-long cycle again and again as you try and sort out the mystery at-large and shuffle loose all eight “Visionaries” before everything resets. It’s a lot to balance even while sober, but it’s also not too much of a juggling act when stoned. If anything, it makes for a super trippy, time- sucking experience that will have you lost in the very best way. Perhaps your altered perceptions might even make you more effective in your time-shuffling mission? New Times Archive Every smoke session deserves a little entertainment magic. Chill from p21
