lifestyle SUNDAY, JANUARY 31 , 2016 Film Review: ‘Jane Got a Gun’ here are movies that can make fire bullets into bad guys just as effi- you feel nostalgic for a more inno- ciently as she can take them out of her This image released by Thekla Inc shows a scene from “The Witness,” a video game set in a mysterious island with hundreds of puzzles. — AP Tcent time-ie, the pre-Internet era- husband. Granted, she may not be the when audiences (and critics) could world’s surest shot when it comes to approach each new release unbur- hitting a long-range target. But when dened by detailed knowledge of its pro- she’s facing a foe in close quarters-par- Clever, infuriating puzzles lead ‘The Witness’ duction history. “Jane Got a Gun,” a ticularly during the applause-worthy solidly made and conventionally satisfy- finale-she shoots and she scores. ndependent video-game designers have hit “The Witness” is set on a lush tropical island will be reminded of the 1990s classic “Myst” ing Western, is one of those movies. For Portman handles the rough stuff quite upon a fascinating way to create buzz: Don’t dotted with the ruins of a vanished civilization. (indeed, one of the designers is a “Myst” veter- those who have perused the countless convincingly throughout “Jane Got a Igive players all the answers. That opens up a Scattered across the island are hundreds of elec- an), although the mythology here isn’t quite as accounts of last-minute cast changes, Gun.” She’s at her best, though, in game beyond the game, with players flocking at trified panels, each of which contains a small, elaborate. musical directors’ chairs and repeatedly scenes where Jane demonstrates that online message boards to debate the deeper two-dimensional puzzle. The vast majority are As a die-hard puzzle addict, I initially found delayed release dates, it may be difficult maternal rage can be every bit as lethal meanings of what they’ve just experienced. I’d mazes, and the first few simply ask you to draw a “The Witness” disappointing. The puzzles are to objectively judge what actually as a quick draw. guess that many of the people who have bought line from start to finish. But they quickly grow generally well-designed, but they’re almost all appears on screen here without being Gavin O’Connor, a filmmaker whose recent indie hits like “Her Story,” ‘’Soma” and more complex: You may need to separate col- mazes, and I would have liked a bit more variety. distracted by thoughts of what could intriguing resume runs the gamut from “Journey” have spent more time arguing about ored boxes, or draw the line so it creates certain But it has grown on me, and I’ve found it’s better have been, or should have been. the warmly femme-centric them than playing them. shapes in the grid. appreciated in short sessions. Tinker with a few To be sure, a hefty percentage of the (“Tumbleweeds”) to the aggressively One of the pioneers of this trend is Jonathan The devilish gimmick here is that the design- panels until you get stuck, and then play some- folks most likely to enjoy an old-fash- macho (“Warrior”), maintains a deliber- Blow, whose time-warping puzzle game “Braid” ers never explain the rules, so when triangles thing less nerve-racking, like “Call of Duty.” ioned oater such as this normally won’t ate pace, less a gallop than a canter, baffled millions in 2008. The story in “Braid” was and stars pop up in the mazes you have no idea Websites have already started posting solu- devote massive quantities of time to during what basically amounts to a unapologetically ambiguous, and interpreta- what they mean. The only way to interpret them tions to some of the most vexing puzzles, so consuming showbiz blogs and trade readying-to-rumble narrative inter- tions ranged from a tale of love gone sour to a is by experimenting - and once you figure out there’s nothing to stop you from seeking help. papers. But those unplugged genre afi- spersed with backstory-abundant flash- retelling of the creation of the atomic bomb. one symbol, Blow has another in his pocket. And I’m looking forward to finding out what cionados may not know “Jane Got a backs. After the measured build-up, he =Blow has taken his time crafting a follow-up, Rewards vary. Most of the time your prize for players think of the broader mystery embedded Gun” exists, since the Weinstein effectively amps the excitement (with but has finally re-emerged with “The Witness” solving a puzzle is ... another puzzle. Some pan- in the island. “The Witness” demands intense lev- Company opted to open it with only the invaluable assistance of editor Alan (Thekla, for the PlayStation 4, PC, $39.99). It’s els unlock doors or create bridges to new areas. els of patience and concentration - and I still slightly more advance notice than is Cody) during the climactic shootout, even more bewildering than “Braid” - and while If you solve enough mazes, you’ll activate lasers don’t know if the payoff is worth the effort. normally afforded a traffic accident. By then tops it off with a coda that slyly some Blow fans will adore it, many will find it that converge at a mountaintop, where you’ll Three stars out of four. — AP the time word reaches most interested suggests what Clint Eastwood’s Man infuriating. find - well, let’s not spoil too much. Older gamers parties, this luckless sagebrush saga will With No Name might have done a few have vamoosed from the megaplexes. hours after the ending of “For a Few When it reaches home-screen plat- Dollars More.” forms, however, “Jane Got a Gun” almost There are more than a few tips of the certainly will find a receptive audience Stetson to other classic Westerns, rang- for its revisionist yet respectful spin on ing from visual quotes (a gaze-through- For anonymity-loving Sia, new genre conventions. Indeed, the only the-doorway shot that recalls the thing about it that might rankle tradi- beginning and end of “The Searchers”) tionalists is the sporadic use of four- to plot developments (the “Magnificent and five-letter words. (Yes, there still are Seven”-style approach to rigging boo- album ‘acting’ for other stars people who get upset by the sort of by-traps around the Hammond home- thing. And many of those people feel stead). And there is a classical look and under-served because Hollywood sel- feel to the movie overall, with hand- NEW YORK: For her first album since her break- album’s first single, “Alive,” was meant for Adele The album’s hit “Chandelier,” an electropop bal- dom gives them this sort of movie.) some widescreen lensing by Mandy through hit “Chandelier,” Sia is facing off on the as part of her blockbuster album “25.” lad of a party girl’s alcohol-fueled self-destruc- Natalie Portman is persuasive and Walker and aptly evocative music by charts against superstars Adele and Rihanna. “Alive” matches the mood of “25,” as Sia-play- tion, was nominated for Grammys for Song of compelling in the lead role of Jane Lisa Gerrard and Marcello de Francisci. And they are likely familiar with some of the ing the role of Adele-reminisces of her child- the Year and Record of the Year. Sia returns to Hammond, a slightly built but formida- Edgerton hits the right balance of songs-they were written for them. hood and her survival into adulthood to a tune dark territory on the latest album by exploring bly resourceful pioneer woman who’s sullen gruffness and soulful sincerity “This Is Acting,” the seventh album by the that opens with richly dark piano chords before abusive relationships. greatly upset when John (Noah as Dan, while McGregor artfully Australian singer known both for her distinctive- a rapid climax. “I’m still breathing / I’m alive,” In “House on Fire,” armed with one of the Emmerich), her husband, returns one entwines amusement and menace as ly soaring voice and her face-covering black- sings Sia in one of her strongest performances, album’s most powerful musical hooks despite a day to their New Mexico Territory farm he serves generous slices of ham as and-white wig, consists of tunes that she wrote, her voice gliding from soulful to roaring with a conventional synthesizer arrangement, Sia uses with several bullets in his innards. Mind John Bishop. Emmerich has little to do offered to other artists and, after deals fell touch of rasp. Sia, speaking to Apple Music’s the title as a metaphor for personal chaos. The you, John’s ambush is not a complete but lie in bed and indicate that being through, salvaged. Beats 1 radio, said she was surprised that Adele similarly bleak “Bird Set Free” was written for surprise to Jane, since he is an outlaw shot multiple times can really take a For Sia, the album is a multidimensional para- did not want “Alive.” Adele, who did not find it suitable. with a price on his head, and both of lot out of you. But what he does, he dox. She is interpreting her own songs, ones that “I thought this one was such a smash but she Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Sia said them have long been hunted by John does well. —Reuters are often highly personal. But they were intend- just wasn’t feeling it,” Sia told the station, whose she thought most of her songs for pop stars Bishop (Ewan McGregor), a grandilo- ed to come from the hearts of others.