Brian Ashcraft, one of my favorite game journalists, has a new editorial piece up on Kotaku called "The Colossus and the Comedian." It discusses how the game Shadow of the Colossus was worked into the (released today} movie Reign Over Me.

I've been looking forward to this movie for some time now. I saw a preview a long time ago, maybe last July, and remember telling all my friends about it. No one else had seen the trailer and I couldn't find one online anywhere. I couldn't even remember WHICH movie I'd seen it was in the previews for. I saw another trailer for it in November which was a bit more extended, and the same result ensued. Let me pause for a minute and say I've got a great appreciation for Adam Sandler's acting ability. Most people know him as a lovable buffoon from SNL, his comedy CDs or his comedy movies. If you've never seen Punch Drunk Love you owe it to yourself to go and rent that film immediately. It's an owner if you're a dvd-buyer. It was the first really serious role I'd ever seen him in, and he followed it up two years later with Spanglish.

Adam Sandler could act. Really act.

Close friends know how much of a film aficionado I consider myself and I usually take more out of movies than most. Perhaps I loved both films because of their sense of realism. They were firmly rooted in reality and while both had sort-of happy endings the turmoil and strife needed to get there in both were something you don't see much nowadays. Punch Drunk Love especially was a beautifully shot film. The art style was something else. Sandler's character, Barry, could have come off as a moron, but his portrayal left him oozing oddities. He felt like the everyman but unique. He was clumsy, awkward and ended up being a hero to the only person it really mattered...himself.

But back to Shadow of the Colossus...that article from Ashcraft is a really awesome look into how the game made it into the movie. It's cool Sandler was on board with the idea and pushed for it. Ironically I'm actually playing through it currently. It's one of the most artistic games I've played in a long, long time.


It feels like a barren and lonely world, and it's basically a story about a man trying to do the bidding of his god to bring back his dead wife. I couldn't think of a better game they'd have used. Much better than some stock bs shoot 'em up.