Movie Number- 45
Title- The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
Genre- Documentary
Branden’s Rating- 9 out of 10
Bridgette’s Rating- N/A out of 10
Average Rating- 9
Netflix Rating- 5 Stars
Comments– This was one of the best documentaries I have seen, though I may be a bit biased thanks to the fact that it was all about one of my passions: video games. Nonetheless, A Fistful of Quarters was fantastic. It tells the story of (hero) Steve Wiebe’s quest to become the #1 Donkey Kong score record holder against (evil villain) Scott Mitchell. It started off with me just wanting to hit everyone in Wiebe’s camp: they acted like the guy was a nothing, a failure, when in reality he has a beautiful wife, beautiful children, and a good job (well, he gets that as the movie progresses) teaching middle school, and a wonderful house: the man was already a success in my eyes. But, he wanted more, and thought Donkey Kong was the way to find this happiness. Steve Wiebe comes off as a genuinely good man, while the movie portrays Mitchell as an arrogant, pathetic, egotistical, 30+ year old boy who is afraid to take on a challenger. If the director wanted me to hate Mitchell, he did a great job. Although the record books have changed from the time this film was shot in 2006, this is still a great story of one man’s journey to be the best at something. It’s a great story that I recommend to anyone who enjoys video games as much as I do. Incredible.
Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.
