8/30/2023 0 Comments Black hole playing cardsAfter three rounds, the player who best navigated the dangers of outer space while also collecting the most valuable items will win. Whoever manages to escape the black hole in the scoring phase of a round gets to score their collected items and thus moves a little closer to victory. In exchange, these extraterrestrial beings offer help to escape from the black holes into which players will be drawn if they collect too much space debris. Among the items to be found are artifacts and relics that have powerful effects, as well as toys that are not particularly valuable in the year 2642, but are in great demand by other species. In this fast-playing card drafting game, players must collect treasures from the orbit of black holes, which were dumped there hundreds of years ago as mankind's garbage. Talk about a sleight of hand trick.Great adventure, fame, and untold riches - all this is waiting for the Black Hole Buccaneers. Together, they imbue “Marvelous and the Black Hole” with enough warmth to overcome its practical limitations. That heartfelt element translates into the benevolence of the adults in this film-Perlman is especially big-hearted, no surprise there-not to mention Tsang’s obvious affection for her troubled protagonist. This is obviously a low-budget effort, and possibly a personal one for writer/director Kate Tsang. But that realization plays a pivotal role in Sammy’s journey.Įveryone is hurting in “Marvelous and the Black Hole.” But the movie keeps its emotional focus on Sammy, which says a lot about who it was made for: Angry, confused teenagers like the main character, who can relate to the image of a black hole scratching out their faces when they’re overwhelmed with frustration. Margot has hidden pain of her own, which Sammy doesn’t find out until late in the story. Over the course of the film, Margot gently teases out the old Sammy, calling her bluff by offering her wine-Sammy spits it out, because she’s more innocent than she lets on-and letting the girl give her a tiny stick-and-poke tattoo. The sunny YA tone and mild patience of “Marvelous and the Black Hole” is accompanied by a sense of childlike imagination, which manifests in sequences like one where Sammy imagines Margot’s pet rabbit growing to enormous size in the style of a black-and-white ‘50s sci-fi movie. (That being said, one of them served two months in prison for cheating at a casino, which Sammy thinks is awesome.) The collection of eccentrics that make up Marvelous Margot’s secret society of conjurers is similarly wholesome: In an initiation ritual full of smoke and bombast, Margot asks Sammy if she brought a “worthy snack” to their magical salon. Toofer from “30 Rock,” co-stars as Sammy’s exasperated community college professor, alongside Paulina Lule as Sammy and Patricia’s gracious soon-to-be-stepmom. The film unfolds at a gentle pace, full of colorful, non-threatening characters who treat Sammy with the kindness she needs but can’t appreciate right now. But most of all, “Marvelous and the Black Hole” is a film about how creativity can carry us through the toughest of times. It’s also about cultural identity: Sammy falls asleep at night listening to a tape recording of her late mother reading a Chinese fairy tale, and a section in a magic book about “Oriental mysteries” makes her question whether she belongs in Margot’s world at all. Sammy’s family dynamics, including her father’s eagerness to move on and her sister Patricia’s (Kannon) escapist obsession with an online role playing game called “Kingdom Cog,” do factor into the story. “Marvelous and the Black Hole” is about grief, yes. (Sammy’s “ Ghost World”-esque business idea? A door-to-door euthanasia service.) Margot sees something in this wounded, rebellious child, and gives Sammy exactly what she needs: A non-judgmental space where she can process her anger about her mother’s death and learn how to make playing cards disappear. And besides, how hardened can a teenager be if she’s wowed by magic tricks? That’s the bet that Margot ( Rhea Perlman), a semi-successful kids’ birthday party magician, takes when she catches Sammy smoking in the girls’ room at the community college where Sammy’s dad is forcing her to take a business class.
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