Göbleki Tepe

With Midnight, the next expansion for World of Warcraft around the corner, I've been too busy to watch a movie, but I have an interesting documentary for you.

Göbleki Tepe, or Göblekitepe, is an archeological site that was occupied around 8000 BCE in Upper Mesopotamia, what is today the Republic of Türkiye. It amongst other things sports advanced stone work that was presumed to not be possible at that time. 

Göbleki Tepe is one of those sites that threaten to upend what we think we know about the past and challenges generally accepted history and archaeology. So please enjoy.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week! 

Warhammer Music.

Today I want to share a fun Youtube channel I tripped over by chance:

Adeptus Anthemicus

This is a music channel apparently run by one person from the UK. All the songs are Warhammer themed, both 40K and Fantasy, with a large portion being parodies on famous songs and some being originals in different styles such as folk and even death metal.

I haven't had the time to listen to all of them, but the dozen or so I've heard are amazing. I'll embed a few below. So, if you're in the mood, go and have a listen, the music is awesome and deserves more views. (Disclaimer: I do not know the creator at all.)

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week! 

    

 

Nuremberg

Today we're looking at:

Nuremberg (2025).

This movie about the first Nuremberg trial is based on the 2013 book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai. The script is written by the director James Vanderbilt who also directed the rather good Suspiria remake in 2018.

We open the movie with Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) surrendering to American soldiers. Next we meet US Army major and psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) who has been tasked with assessing the mental health and competency of the surviving top Nazis, particularly whether they are a suicide risk. Dr. Kelley is assisted by Sergeant Howie Triest (Leo Woodall) who speaks fluent german. Kelley is immediately fascinated by Göring who is highly intelligent and completely charming, and starts planning a future book.

At the same time, US Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon) is pushing to set up the Nuremberg trials, arguing that they can't just kill the top Nazis without a trial. He encounters severe opposition from several directions, as there is not only no legal framework for prosecuting foreign nationals but a real fear of losing such a trial and thereby legitimizing the Nazis. It is no spoiler to state the trials do go ahead, and Jackson is aided by the British barrister Sir David Maxwell Fyfe (Richard E. Grant).

The real focus of this movie are the actors. They are all amazing. Malek is good, but it is Crowe and Woodall that really shine for me. Russell Crowe especially does a great job going from affable and charming to monstrous and cold in a heartbeat. He goes from pleasant old Hermann to Reichsmarshall Göring in a blink and it is quite spooky.

Production wise, the movie is also really good. Nothing feels fake or out of place. Uniforms, sets, hairstyles and everything else all look and feel fine.

However Nuremberg has a big balance problem. Clocking in at a massive 148 minutes it still manages to rush through important parts while focusing on other less relevant bits. The big gotcha moment in court falls completely flat, I think it needed a lot more build up. At the same time we are treated to Kelley's arguments with fellow psychiatrist Dr. Gilbert (Colin Hanks) along with other scenes we don't need at all. Scenes of Kelley drinking in a bar do nothing except show he has a drinking problem, which isn't relevant either and leads to one of the biggest events that didn't happen in real life. (No spoilers).

The whole “can we even have a trial” part is really interesting and deserves further exploration in my opinion. Likewise, the discussions between Göring and Kelley are fascinating and we deserve more. We get practically nothing from the other Nazis which could have been used for Kelley's investigation into whether the Nazis were different somehow. It is all somehow rushed through with other bits crammed in that don't add anything worthwhile to the movie.

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, ultimately I do think Nuremberg is worth watching at least once. As I said, it is very well made and the actors are wonderful but be aware of its flaws. Oh, and a warning: during the trial scene, they show real footage from the extermination camps, and while this is important in order to hammer home the full horror of the Holocaust, some viewers might not be able to handle it.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

It is a mystery.

Hello and welcome to more Eccentric Spheres!

Today I want to share a documentary about historical mysteries. Every now and then I like to watch stuff like this as it tickles the imagination. Whether these are actual mysteries or creative fiction, I leave up to you. I'm keeping it short as my brain is still at leaking out of my nose. Stupid winter flu....

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week! 

Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0aK1P-MpWM 

Sniper Elite Resistance

This week I want to continue the tradition and talk about:

Sniper Elite Resistance.

This game is the latest in the Sniper Elite franchise, and was released in January 2025.

Mechanically it is almost identical to Sniper Elite 5, which isn't strange since it is the same engine, meaning that it is a gorgeous game. The game-play is very similar from the players perspective, but there are some differences.

First off, we have a new protagonist. In Resistance we play as British SOE agent Harry Hawker, but if this feels wrong, there are two free DLC's that add our classic main hero Karl Fairburne as well as Marie Chevalier. These DLC's also add a couple of weapons so grab them even if you want to play as Hawker.

The weapon list is different as well, with some guns returning from SE5 and some being new. There are a few new weapons strewn about the maps that we haven't seen before that can be picked up and used temporarily. There is also a new type of ammo, explosive bullets, that are fun but not terribly useful, at least in my experience.

The perhaps biggest change is with the enemy soldiers, who have much sharper senses than before. Both their eyesight and hearing is considerably better than in SE5, and you will find yourself being spotted much easier. Another change is with enemy helmets that can now tank damage a bit better. Occasionally they will even deflect rifle bullets not to mention pistol ammo, unless you use armor piercing rounds. That said, I find that enemies go down easier than in SE5 so it is a pretty good trade-off.

The maps are perhaps a bit smaller than in SE5, but are by no means small and definitely as devious as before. Dense, detailed and brimming with things to be discovered and collected. There are rooftops, hidden passages, tunnels and small hideouts to help you get through the game. Some players have criticized SE:Resistance for having “empty maps” and I can see where they are coming from even though I don't really agree. In SE5 the maps have an equal distribution of enemies all around, but in Resistance they are more clumped up and often in places you can't see at a distance. There were many times where I shot what I thought was a lone enemy only to have his death alert six or seven enemies at once. Tricky but fun. The flip side is that there are some pretty empty parts of the map as well, which feels odd, mostly because I'm used to the more even spread of foes.

I have as of writing played the main game all the way through once, with my current run being my own invented No Hit Challenge where I have to restart the map if I take any damage from any source. When I wrote about this challenge I intended to restart the whole game, but that is too boring and frustrating in the long run, so I modified the rule set to only restart the map. I know nothing about the mission DLC's but once I get them I will probably drop a line here.

To summarize, if you like Sniper Elite 5, there is no reason to not play Resistance, they are pretty much cousins. Some small differences but nothing too alien. I would say SE5 is the better game but there is a lot to like in Resistance.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

Top Four part Four, Where Eagles Dare

For Eccentric Sphere number 700, we're at the final part of my top four movies on Letterboxd:

Where Eagles Dare (1968).

This WWII action/adventure/thriller came about because Elizabeth Taylor's kids requested that her husband, Richard Burton, should make a movie they were allowed to watch. So Burton contacted producer Elliot Kastner for “some super hero stuff”. Kastner called Alistair MacLean who gave him the script in six weeks and later wrote the novel based on his own script. The title was Castle of Eagles, which Kastner hated and changed to Where Eagles Dare after Shakespeare's Richard III: "The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch"

The plot in a nutshell is this: An American general has been shot down on his way to coordinate the invasion of Europe and been taken to Schloss Adler for interrogation. An MI6 team lead by Major Smith (Burton) is sent to get him out before the Germans can learn the invasion plans. Along for the ride is Lieutenant Schaffer (Clint Eastwood), a US Army Ranger. Things start going wrong almost immediately, but Smith is a clever fox and Schaffer a total badass, so we move on towards an exciting finale.

There is something I need to get out of the way now. Where Eagles Dare is full to the brim with errors. Uniforms are wrong, vehicles - including a helicopter, are used that were created after the war, hair styles (particularly the ladies) are wrong, bomb timers are too modern, the list goes on and on. This is something that normally annoys me a great deal, but when it comes to Where Eagles Dare, I don't give a damn! I love this movie despite all the errors.

Where Eagles Dare is the quintessential agents-behind-enemy-lines movie. Pretty much every piece of media that sneaks around in Nazi castles owes something to this movie. Return to Castle Wolfenstein even has a similar cable car. The Dirty Dozen (1967) is older but I don't think it is as influential.

The soundtrack likewise wins the gold medal for this type of story. The rolling military drums that lead into a bombastic score is simply perfect and will stick around in your head well after the movie is over.

Lets look at the actors. Richard Burton's career was on the decline but he was still big enough to get top billing. His health wasn't good and his drinking was bad, but the old theater actor comes out in full force. He is perfect as Major Smith. Smith may be a bit long in the tooth but he has all the experience in the world. He commands the room effortlessly and thinks as fast as Schaffer is with a gun. Clint Eastwood is likewise perfect. Cool as ice and tough as steel, perfect for backing up the older Smith. Another character I need to mention is Mary played by Mary Ure. She infiltrates the castle ahead of Smith & Co. She faces the Gestapo alone and she pulls the trigger without hesitation when needed to. In other words she is the professional she has to be to get the job done. An excellent example of a strong female character.

I could go on, but you really ought to watch this movie yourself. Where Eagles Dare is a bit silly and over the top, but the story is absolutely top notch and there is no shortage of thrills.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

Top Four part Three, Goodfellas

It is time to look at movie number three of my Letterboxd top four:

Goodfellas (1990).

In a way I can't believe I haven't talked about this movie before. I have certainly compared others to it in the past, and always as 'not as good as Goodfellas'.

This crime epic directed by Martin Scorsese is based on the book Wiseguy by Nicolas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay, and chronicles Henry Hill from a teenager to adulthood and his rise and fall as a career criminal.

It's worth noting that this movie is based on real events with actual people, crimes and other happenings that took place. However, it isn't and was never intended to be a historical record. Some things are changed and the actors don't really look or act 100% like their real life counterparts.

As usual I won't include any important spoilers, but in a sense you can't spoil Goodfellas. Even if I told you everything that happens, it is still worth watching. It is that good.

Like I mentioned, we meet a young Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), who states “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster”. So he gets involved as a runner and helper in Paul Cicero's crew. He meets and later works with Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and James Conway (Robert De Niro) as he grows up. We get a great view into the inner workings of gangster life in the 60's through to the 80's. It's worth noting that these guys are gangsters, or goodfellas, but not Mafia. Paul Cicero is Mafia, but the guys are essentially protected earners who work under but don't belong to the Mafia. This is an important distinction.

Goodfellas is simply beautiful. The way Scorsese filmed it is at times almost unbelievable. The actors are perfect, the dialogue and the narration is incredible, the score is brilliant and the story illustrates how lucrative yet perilous the gangster life is. Money, mistrust and murder rule their lives, and to show weakness is suicide. I've always loved that they show you why someone would join that life, but also why it will almost always bring you down as well. Goodfellas isn't really a cautionary tale, but it can serve in that capacity.

Goodfellas is my favorite gangster movie of all time. There are many good ones out there, but to me not even the mighty Godfather trilogy can unseat Goodfellas, and I can't really tell you why that is. Certainly the Godfather movies are brilliant, yes even the third one is good, but Goodfellas does something special. It is a question of 'the sum is greater than the whole of its parts' but there is something more that escapes my grasp.

Goodfellas set the bar for gangster movies incredibly high. So high in fact that Scorsese himself has never reached it again. Sure Casino (1995) and The Irishman (2019) are good but nowhere near Goodfellas. I'll end with this: if you like gangster movies and you haven't seen Goodfellas for whatever reason, watch it as soon as possible. I can't imagine you'd be disappointed.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!