The Verge: All Posts by Kevin Nguyenhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2024-03-16T09:00:00-04:00https://www.theverge.com/authors/kevin-nguyen/rss2024-03-16T09:00:00-04:002024-03-16T09:00:00-04:00Behind Ryuichi Sakamoto’s last performance
<figure>
<img alt="A still from Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rMoACqlx_FBbqeviG0UvhOUiq7Y=/428x0:3668x2160/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73211439/OFFICIAL_1ST_STILL___Ryuichi_Sakamoto___Opus____2022_Kab_Inc..0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kab Inc.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The legendary Japanese composer wanted to record his final concert. So he asked his son, Neo Sora, to direct it.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/24102027/ryuichi-sakamoto-opus-concert-film-neo-sora-interview">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/24102027/ryuichi-sakamoto-opus-concert-film-neo-sora-interviewKevin Nguyen2024-02-29T09:00:00-05:002024-02-29T09:00:00-05:00TinyLetter, in memoriam
<figure>
<img alt="Photo illustration of a white dove carrying the TinyLetter logo." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/olpcDDFtmFQRvZ6O-5EmTAMz7d4=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73172657/247034_Death_of_TinyLetter_STILL_CVirginia_A.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In remembrance of the humblest newsletter service and its brief run nurturing great personal writing on the internet.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/24085737/tinyletter-mailchimp-shut-down-email-newsletters">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/24085737/tinyletter-mailchimp-shut-down-email-newslettersKevin Nguyen2024-02-26T15:00:00-05:002024-02-26T15:00:00-05:00Two words: poker roguelike
<figure>
<img alt="A screenshot from Balatro" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1MN7njOIibTlcElWVEU0GjwfAXA=/490x64:1920x1017/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73165916/Combo_1.0.png" />
<figcaption>Image: Playstack</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class="p-large-text" id="yRaNeJ">In <em>Casino Royale</em>, James Bond gets a bit of poker advice: You never play your hand. You play the man sitting across from you.</p>
<p id="eaA4Lz">Okay, but what if you just played your hand? What if no one was sitting at the other end of the table? <em>Balatro</em>, a new turn-based card game available on most platforms, takes the mechanics of poker and turns them into the basis of a compelling roguelike, the subgenre of games where each playthrough is a single perilous attempt.</p>
<p id="QNK8DD"><em>Balatro</em> is a poker game inasmuch as Scrabble is a word game. Knowing the language and probabilities of poker will help you, but ultimately, this is a logic game. There are no bluffs, no pots, just the pure composition of poker hands satisfyingly paired with a thrilling game loop.</p>
<p id="Z8Sz72">This makes <em>B...</em></p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/24082252/balatro-review-poker-roguelike-videogame">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/24082252/balatro-review-poker-roguelike-videogameKevin Nguyen2024-02-04T14:00:00-05:002024-02-04T14:00:00-05:00Threads is a gripping, miserable experience
<figure>
<img alt="A still from the film Threads" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z1VHaeo3A-3IsWhCeb09tbbqc-E=/0x85:2100x1485/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73111186/threads_still.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p class="p-large-text" id="NxPvCh">Sometimes you have to put yourself through something painful just to recognize how good you have it. There’s a lot to be gained from enduring the most disheartening shit possible: Want to hear depressing news? Want to feel anxious and unsettled? Want to walk away feeling hopeless and cynical about the world?</p>
<p id="Ie86vd">That’s the experience of watching <a href="https://www.criterionchannel.com/threads"><em>Threads</em></a>, the 1984 television film that is now streaming as a part of Criterion Channel’s new <a href="https://www.criterionchannel.com/postapocalyptic-sci-fi">Postapocalyptic Sci-fi</a> series. (Sorry, did you think I was talking about a different thing called Threads?) Directed by Mick Jackson and written by novelist Barry Hines, <em>Threads</em> was a cultural phenomenon in the UK when it aired on the BBC. Depicting the aftermath of nuclear fallout with unflinching clarity,...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/24060504/threads-review-a-miserable-experience">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/24060504/threads-review-a-miserable-experienceKevin Nguyen2024-01-29T12:30:00-05:002024-01-29T12:30:00-05:00A scene-y newsletter launches a scene-y social network
<figure>
<img alt="Perfectly Imperfect founder Tyler Bainbridge" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WgodkeEMYhjuKzEnlTLRY1UocSM=/0x0:2400x1600/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73094259/self_portrait.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Perfectly Imperfect founder Tyler Bainbridge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dream of the early internet is alive in PI.FYI, a new app spun out from <em>Perfectly Imperfect</em>.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/creators/24054294/perfectly-imperfect-pi-fyi-app-tyler-bainbridge">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/creators/24054294/perfectly-imperfect-pi-fyi-app-tyler-bainbridgeKevin Nguyen2023-12-21T08:30:00-05:002023-12-21T08:30:00-05:00The year in arthouse movies
<figure>
<img alt="Vector collage showing movie stills from The Eight Mountains, Stonewalling, and Godland." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/O4s_h3ijNKyMQfz_Hc4Gp4pCgEU=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72985848/236889_EOY_ARTHOUSE_MOVIES_CVirginia.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The Verge / Images Courtesy of Sideshow, KimStim, and Janus Films</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>2023 was good for big movies, but maybe even better for the small ones</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/23994888/best-arthouse-movies-2023">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/23994888/best-arthouse-movies-2023Kevin Nguyen2023-12-20T09:00:00-05:002023-12-20T09:00:00-05:00Ferrari stalls out
<figure>
<img alt="A still of Adam Driver in Michael Mann’s Ferrari" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8RLzjQpXHznwilY9zvbsSD6jvB4=/132x0:3323x2127/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72982059/Adam_Driver_as_Enzo_Ferrari_in_crowd._Photo_Credit_Eros_Hoagland.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Image: Eros Hoagland</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Michael Mann’s biopic of the Italian sports car maker feels at home in the director’s canon of obsessive men. But have we been here before too many times?</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/24006341/ferrari-movie-review-michael-mann-adam-driver-penelope-cruz">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/24006341/ferrari-movie-review-michael-mann-adam-driver-penelope-cruzKevin Nguyen2023-11-20T17:38:41-05:002023-11-20T17:38:41-05:00Linda Yaccarino: advertisers fleeing from X are just “temporarily paused investments”
<figure>
<img alt="Linda Yaccarino at Vox Media’s 2023 Code Conference" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gXez0TEWplcOPE6_TJ2UbLmYxuk=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72886363/1705119881.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="zgOikc">Last week, Elon Musk appeared to endorse antisemitic conspiracy theories and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/16/23964160/elon-musk-antisemitic-x-post-ibm-ads">posted about supporting white pride</a> on his social platform X, formerly Twitter. Musk’s tweets were then highlighted by a <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle"><em>Media Matters</em> article</a> that found advertising from major companies had shown up next to pro-Nazi content. Major advertisers then halted their ad spends on the platform. To address the controversy, CEO Linda Yaccarino sent a memo titled “Our Work Is Meaningful,” reiterating her commitment to X.</p>
<p id="hjF8eF">As pressure mounts for the company to distance itself from supporting antisemitism, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnpaczkowski/2023/11/19/linda-yaccarino-x-twitter-elon-musk-antisemitism-urged-to-resign/?sh=57831b623929"><em>Forbes</em> reported</a> that advertisers are urging Yaccarino to resign as well. A former NBCUniversal chairperson with close ties to the ad industry, Yaccarino had been brought...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23969970/linda-yaccarino-memo-x-twitter-elon-musk-anti-semitism">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23969970/linda-yaccarino-memo-x-twitter-elon-musk-anti-semitismKevin Nguyen2023-10-11T12:00:00-04:002023-10-11T12:00:00-04:00Perfect Days is a tidy look at Tokyo’s toilets
<figure>
<img alt="A still from Perfect Days" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/f-yGgix2ee_-gjAM5JWbJz7rcS4=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72744698/perfect_days_nyff.0.png" />
<figcaption>Courtesy of Master Mind Ltd</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="r6dTw2">In <em>Perfect Days</em>, Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) is a bathroom cleaner. He starts his day early, gets <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE21qQHlOLQ">a coffee</a> from the vending machine, pops a classic rock tape into the stereo, and drives his van to various public restrooms, where he gets to work. He scrubs and tidies the sink meticulously. The various parts of a bidet are wiped. He uses a small mirror to check the underside of a toilet to make sure it’s sparkling in places no one will ever see.</p>
<p id="yuy9fU">I don’t love work, but I love stories <em>about</em> work. The stakes of a job are so obvious and familiar that you get to skip the explanations of motive (we don’t need to know why Don Draper wants to be a good ad man). What you gain instead is usually a process story — the illustrative part, where you get to...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/23911866/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders-nyff">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/23911866/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders-nyffKevin Nguyen2023-10-10T13:30:00-04:002023-10-10T13:30:00-04:00Priscilla is Sofia Coppola back to her old tricks
<figure>
<img alt="A still of Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny in Priscilla" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Qipsj5vLBSkAlOoY5dJqdj5WrAA=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72741046/priscilla_nyff.0.png" />
<figcaption>Image: A24</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="tRI1pk"><em>Priscilla </em>is the work of a filmmaker playing to her strengths. While director Sofia Coppola might be called a <a href="https://www.vulture.com/the-year-of-the-nepo-baby/">“nepo baby”</a> because her father is Francis Ford Coppola, the point of the insult is to call out unacknowledged privilege. Meanwhile, Coppola’s work is largely about growing up in the orbit of powerful men and what that does to one’s own wants and self-worth. Her take on Priscilla Presley, wife of one of the most famous musicians of his century, is Coppola playing a familiar tune — but one that’s getting a little old.</p>
<p id="CmYtPn">The film’s title character, Priscilla Presley (Cailee Spaeny) is, of course, the wife of Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi). But although Priscilla is in the orbit of planet Elvis, the strength of the film is what it...</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/23911447/priscilla-movie-review-sofia-coppola-nyff">Continue reading…</a>
</p>
https://www.theverge.com/23911447/priscilla-movie-review-sofia-coppola-nyffKevin Nguyen