notes app; a minecraft movie was one of the worst movies i've ever watched
yet, it was the best 45 dollars I have ever spent on a viewing experience
Last Monday, I had the privilege of watching A Minecraft Movie starring Jason Momoa, Jack Black, and lowkey no idea who else.
To elevate my viewing experience, it was at Sydney’s very own IMAX Cinema at Darling Harbour featuring a max-definition 692 square metre screen, incredulous surround sound, comfortable reclining seats and 3D glasses that I did not realise I needed to wear until I walked in.
At the prime price of 45 dollars, this is probably the first and last movie I’m watching in that mega auditorium.
How ironic that instead of gritty, sound-encompassing cinematic masterpieces like Dune and Oppenheimer — I choose A Minecraft Movie.
With four friends I had met through, I kid you not, the UNSW1 Minecraft Society, I let the one-hour-forty-minute brainrot fever dream consume what was left of my attention span — a block-infused fever dream comparable to a cup of liquid concrete. I don’t do any substances but I think this movie would make a perfect pairing with a swig of cannabis (preferably baked into block-shaped brownies).
Look, it’s an objectively terrible movie. An uninspired plot written by a six-year-old with no creativity, jokes that fell as flat as the Overworld and about as much character chemistry as two sticks rubbing abrasively against one another.
Subjectively though, it was a delight. Between its amazing references, manic and faithful world design, an exciting audience who emoted at every instance (not as much as what happens in the US…) and the novelty of having a childhood game finally turn into a blockbluster — A Minecraft Movie was a much-needed breath of digital escapism in an otherwise bleak economy.
My two Minecraft eras
There were two distinct periods of my life where I played Minecraft.
The first was circa 2015 in the form of Minecraft Pocket Edition on the iPad which, after spending about twenty hours in the Lite edition which deleted your save data every time your app refreshed — I begged my dad for 6 USD to get the real deal.
I remember when they transitioned from having infinite brick and glass in Survival Mode. I remember how I placed my underground bases at world borders, allowing my character an underground window into nothingness. I remember the incredibly infamous ‘nyan’ seed featuring twin peaks of lava and water, bursting out a floating archipelago.
There’s a saying in the Minecraft community that nobody really quits Minecraft, they just take a break.
After falling out of love with the blocky game and entering the Wattpad phase that shall’nt be named, I only opened Minecraft occasionally, mostly to mess around with whatever newly released blocks there were in Creative Mode.
You can probably guess why I got back into Minecraft in the lord’s year of 2020.
At peak lockdown period, I became an active member for the aforementioned UNSW Minecraft Society, with many of the friends I had made done becoming the core of my friendships today. This was roughly around the time I started taking charge of the UNSW Smash Society2, coming out of my shell and seeing the incredible way that video games can bring people together.
Folks whom I had originally recognised as a blocky anime character, or the campy-ass way they played Peach, or a username like Arcadia_001 — many years later, had become one of my best friends. Deadass, how cool is that?
How we’ve embraced nerd culture
I am reminded again of how cool it is that we’ve developed into a world that enjoys and appreciates nerd culture.
Well, kind of.
The sentiment on it had gone down in recent years on how they’re a waste of time and meant for children — but I’m always so surprised and elated to see the passion that people bring forth to new age-culture.
This applies to those immaculate cosplays during 1-2 times per year anime events, the rising prevalence and popularity of book clubs and those Y2K girls dancing to LE SSERAFIM at the back of the International Conference Centre.
I remember who bewildered I was watching Detective Pikachu.
Detective Pikachu was probably the first video game movie that wasn’t hot steaming garbage.
As a long time Pokemon fan, I always wondered how they could ever translate these fantastical creatures into a live-action style — and one way or another, they did it.
I loved the worldbuilding. I loved the little details. I love how the Pokemon were integrated so perfectly into the modern metropolis of Ryme City, reigniting the same daydream that came to travelled through my head when Pokemon Go released in 2016 — how amazing would it be if Pokemon were real?
While video game movies have been, largely speaking, consistently shit — I’m glad they’ve come to the limelight as something great to celebrate.
Between you and me, I’m of the potentially controversial belief that playing video games (in most scenarios, but not all) is up there as one of the healthiest consumption-based hobbies of all time. It’s comparable to reading and studying and I’m of the firm belief that as long as your someone who generally appreciates fun, there is in fact a game for everyone.
Mentally bookmarking this as a potential blog post to write.
That urge to create a Forever World
And perhaps (certain) due to a function of watching A Minecraft Movie and the realisation that I haven’t intentionally played a video game in so, so long — I can sense that two-week-lasting Minecraft phase returning. This is a very real phenomenon that hits a ton of people my age and is something I’m not unfamiliar with.
It’s different this time, I say, every damn time, only to build a nice starter home, design my organisation system, bulid a Villager farm and… never log in again.
And this time… I still don’t think it’ll be anything different.
However, this is the first time I’m developing that Minecraft phase while 1) working full-time and 2) having a girlfriend — two things that go significantly against starting a new file with the intention to use it forever (apparently called a ‘Forever World’)
But perhaps (this one isn’t certain and definitely more speculative) it’s because of that 9-to-5, because of my relationship requirements, because of my growing responsibilities to health and finances and livelihood — that I’ll be able to create, latch and persevere through that Forever World.
Like Steve overanimatedly proclaims in the film: it’s an alternate universe where he’s free from the liabilities of growing up. Through these chunks in a new Survival World, I can for once play at my own pace; foraging plants and harvesting diamonds like an honest, pickaxe-wielding miner, letting my creativity run wild into the structures that I build and stories I write for myself.
What I’ve been reading recently:
The Nonchalant Era Is Over: Be Great or Be Forgotten by Terms & Conditions Apply 🎙️
I spent 5 months cooking the NYT’s 50 most popular recipes on TikTok—3.5 million views later, here’s what I learned by Dish & Tell,
🍳Alvan’s Digital Garden, which is a personal blog I came across while typing the words ‘forever world’ in the search bar — what a charming little blog! 🥗
University of New South Wales
Smash, as in, Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros series