'Gaming at the movies' is a weekly movie review feature which brings you the latest, the greatest and other combinations of gaming movies to stream or download every Wednesday. The circus is back in town so come one come all to the greatest show on Earth (to feature gaming movies)

This week's box office sees everyone's favourite movie review feature return with six movies for you to chow down on. From the very well known "dkt2" to the entirely unknown "Forbidden Colors" this week sees a real mix of the old and the new across the board. Topping the marquee is "The Afterspray" as it generates a vibrant sense of wonder from its relentless duel highlights and syncopated rhythms.

(Note: if the embedded movies do not display for you then disable adblock or click the "Go to video" link below them, the latter also being how they can be viewed fullscreen)


Name: Forbidden Colors
Editor: DreaM
Runtime: 2m42s
Released: 2011
Game: CS

Description:

A concept movie mixing frag highlights and colour changes. Carries the description "Life is full of colors, you just need to find yours.".

Review:

This is very much a concept movie which treads the line between frag movie and editing showcase well most of the time. There are certain sequences which could be described as good in terms of purely the frags shown in them but those aren't the majority. Most of the kill sequences are decent or good but lack the excitement or thrill of high level kills from top players. In fitting with the theme of the movie there are a lot of effects and colour filters applied to the movie. This leads to sequences which are harder to see in terms of the kills or the obituaries. That's not actually much of a problem though in this case. For me this was a concept movie which had merit to it and was not just an exercise in trying to do something artistic for the sake of wanting to be considered an artist.

Those sequences which are slightly obscured by the colour filters or flickering editing aren't a concern as that editing actually ends up being the main reason to watch the movie really. This movie has a lot more in common with something like cRZYFST's eve than any standard frag movie. It doesn't reach that level of excellence or consistency though. This is a minimovie so you're not going to get bored and it's novelty/curiosity factor should carry you through it. Worth watching for the two or three moments where it is genuinely beautiful in a poignant way. I could have gone and rated it .5 higher but in the end I didn't feel entirely sure it deserved that even though it did successfully strike some emotional chords with me for a few moments.

Thorin Rating: 6/10

Download: Sendspace
Stream:


Name: midget
Editor: tom
Runtime: 2m17s
Released: 2005
Game: Q3 CPM

Description:

A minimovie which according to its own description "is designed to be different. Whether it be the music/frags/effects it was all created in what i hope is a style that is rarely seen in gaming movies."

Review:

This is a minimovie which has its own style and feeling from the outset and throughout. The music is uptempo nu jazz and goes well with the fast paced editing and CPM play style. The editing includes lots of fast cuts combined with synched frags. That's one area where I felt like the movie had a bit of give and take as on one hand it was nice the way synching by rewinding onto specific frags kept the viewer's mind following along the timeline of the music, which in its own way was satisfying, but on the other hand this also was a problem on the sequences where a lot of rails are synched to drum hits. In those moments I felt like it cost the movie a little because I couldn't make out any of those kills really so it was somewhat synching for the sake of synching.

The frags are what you would expect from a CPM movie, and especially one which openly states it is not going to contain lengthy frags, so there's plenty of air rockets along with flick rails. I don't really have any complaints about the frags but at the same time not that many were on a high level, they mostly just sat around the 'good' level. The rocket jump to pummel sequence was spectacular and a really fun moment to watch. I think there were moments in the movie where it would have benefited from some kind of obituaries system as some kills take place off screen and while rewatching its simple enough to figure that out when viewing the first time, and at the high pace the movie moves at, some of these kills perhaps aren't fully appreciated.

This is a tough movie to score because I like it and it has things going for it as well as some problematic aspects. The fact even for a minimovie is quite small makes it tough to rate it highly and on a purely entertainment based level it didn't go above and beyond to create any kind of amazing feeling or euphoria within me, that pummel kill aside. So all in all I think despite some umming and aahing over whether I should give it a 7 this rating is probably the right one for me. For what it is I expect most Quake fans to enjoy it on some level. Different and with its own charm as a result.

Thorin Rating: 6.5/10

Download: QuakeUnity
Stream: QuakeUnity


Name: Finnish it
Editor: Electry
Runtime: 10m50s
Released: 2006
Game: UT2004

Description:

A Finnish UT2004 community frag compilation movie. According to its own description it features "the best frags from Finland and some of the nicest frags ever done in ut2004".

Review:

I'll state at the outset that I'm not a UT player at all and that in general I find UT games have a more difficult time producing epic and/or exciting frag sequences. Still I have seen some good UT movies in my time. This movie is a tough one to rate outright because on one level I don't really have any significant problems with it and it was fine to watch. I think my biggest concern is that there wasn't much which stoodout or felt impressive. I didn't find myself electrified by frag sequences or excited by a specific shot.

Instead I saw a decent level of consistency but mainly single shots or scenes which were nice enough but not really good and never approaching great. I found myself intellectually saying "that was nice" but never feeling it in my gut or as a visceral satisfaction when a shot hit. The editing is ok, perhaps a few scenes get slow-mo replays which didn't entirely need them but all in all things seemed put together well. The soundtrack is pretty played out if you've seen a lot of frag movies. The tracks can all be listened to but they're all used in other movies, some of which are better.

Above average and worth the one time watch but nothing to write home about.

Thorin Rating: 6/10

Download: unreal.ie (HQ x264), unreal.ie (HQ Xvid), pldx
Stream:


Name: Na`Vi - On the way to victory - IEM 4
Editor: Pan4o
Runtime: 2m10s
Released: 2011
Game: CS

Description:

A minimovie showing key moments from Na`Vi's path to victory, through fnatic, at the IEM IV World Championships.

Review:

It's rare that any event movie is actually worth a watch but this is one of the exceptions. Some memorable and exciting moments from Na`Vi's championship winning performance are brought out and highlighted thanks to some crisp editing and smooth timing. The soundtrack is well selected and raises the intensity of the action as it unfolds, providing a driving energy to compliment on the kills. All the same there are only a handful of scenes, not every one is spectacular and the movie is barely over 2 minutes in length. A nice little momentary surprise but nothing crazy.

Thorin Rating: 5.5/10

Download: Youtube download available only
Stream:


Name: The Afterspray
Editor: Hell5pawn
Runtime: 5m36s
Released: 2010
Game: QL

Description:

A compilation highlight movie featuring frags from the IEM IV European and World Championships. Featuring the likes of Cypher, av3k, Cooller and rapha.

Review:

This is a wonderful movie and one of the modern day releases which delighted me and simultaneously reignited my hope that we would still see great Quake movies produced and released in the era of QuakeLive. The first things you notice upon viewing set the stage for what the movie is throughout. You see some nice single kills from top pros from serious competitions and all backed by a kind of driving tribal drum soundtrack. The music in this movie really fits the action and has a nice pace to it. It's repetitive nature is a nice backdrop for the scene after scene nature of the movie while it's undulating epic overtones nicely match up with the crazier kills in the movie to raise the intensity of the viewing experience. The music has almost a trance-like effect on the viewer in terms of the headspace it puts him into.

The kills in the movie are really good and there are plenty which pack a lot of wow factor, surprising and delighting the frag movie aficionado in equal measure. That all of these frags came from only two events shows what an excellent job Hell5spawn did of thoroughly researching and poring over demos. I think demo watching is one of the most underappreciated areas in moviemaking because brilliant editing and a nice soundtrack don't amount to much if the frags aren't there. In this case they are there and all the time that went into seeking out these kills was very much worth it and is reflected in the quality of the final product.

The editing is right up my alley as it's very smooth and seemless and unobtrusive. At no point in the movie does one have to think about the editing or how it's being done, it does it's job and transports us through the movie in style so that we, the viewer, can simply sit back and enjoy the substance of the kills themselves. The best Quake Live movie for my money and a movie I get the feeling is destined to go down as one of the all time greats. Score-wise this felt appropriate and bearing in mind the vast majority of kills are single kills there was definitely room for making a better or more spectacular Quake movie.

Thorin Rating: 9/10

Download: maverickservers, maverickservers
Stream: own3d


Classic movie magic

Name: dkt2
Editor: destrukt
Runtime: 11m14s
Released: 2003
Game: CS

Description:

The second movie from UT99 WCGC Gold medalist and former rdw, Gamers-X and DoP player destrukt (a.k.a. dkt)

Review:

I'll come right out at the start and let you know that movie was for a long time my favourite CS movie and still holds a very dear place in my heart. For me it has everything that a really good CS movie should have and I have no qualms at all about calling it a classic. The movie has a great sense of pace and a soundtrack to match. This really is a point worth lingering on for a moment because looking at when this movie came out it really broke new ground for a lot of CS movies in the link between the soundtrack and the tone of the action. I've spent many a moment wondering just how much of the movie was coincidental in how well the music synched up to the scenes and how much of it was by design. Over the years I think the conclusion I've settled on is that it's a mix of both lucky happenstance in places and keen assessment in others.

This movie is one of the best of all time in terms of creating the right tone for the different segments of the movie with the way the soundtrack is used. The way the tone changes depending on the track being played and the kinds of kills you're seeing is a beautiful thing. Think back to the transition from the epic tension-building first part of the movie to the frenzied fragging of the "break it down" section. Then the final third or so which fills out the movie with more kills but more of a relentless tone to match the "on and on" vibe of the music.

Despite its age and a few of the sequences showing their age this is a movie which still stands up in the frags department and is a lot of fun to watch. That's because dkt really did pick, by and large, frags which are 'movie frags'. From sequences which show off purely skill with shot after shot hitting to intense moments where kills come out of nowhere when he looks set to die this is a movie which has a boatload of memorable kills. It helps that dkt's style of play really was of this kind, where he wasn't an elite player but was one who went all out with his shots and played with the confidence and ego to believe he could hit any shot and thus went for the kind of shots which wow you.

Aside from working amazingly with the action the soundtrack is also killer just in terms of being fun to listen to. These are by no means rare tracks and many went on to be reused by others in their movies but they'll always belong to this movie for me because dkt really makes them his own with the way he chooses to use them.

Exciting and entertaining kills combined with a great soundtrack which is timed out to produce an excellent viewing experience. The man who named himself "the legend" came through with a movie worthy of being considered legendary here.

(The SK stream for this one seemed occasionally buggy so I've included a separate link to own3d also)

Thorin Rating: 9/10

Download: GotFrag
Stream: own3d




What rating would you give each movie? Leave your answers in the comments section.

'Gaming at the movies' will return on Wednesday with another batch of movies to excite, infuriate and entertain you.