ironhorse_iv
This movie is a love letter to crossword puzzle lovers! This movie is intelligent, cultured, suspenseful, and lot of fun to watch. I know that this movie will be appreciated by those gamers. Directed by Patrick Creadon, the documentary go into deep detail, what it takes to compete in one of the world's toughest words tournaments and on what makes a good crossword puzzle champion. Without spoiling it, the final championship round was incredibly intense, and watching it was just, edge of your seat, thrilling. Mad props to those crosswords contenders feature in this film. People like three-time champion and professional puzzle-maker Trip Payne. Other people like Al Sanders, the middle-aged man who never seem to rank above third or the prodigious twenty-year old Tyler Hinman. They're all very well-informed. Scrabble and spelling bees require knowledge of a lot of words, but crosswords require unlimited facts, encyclopedic knowledge, and an ability to figure out the author's unstated assumptions about the nature of the clues. The movie structured remind me of two similar documentaries, 2002's Spellbound & 2004's Word Wars, in which the movie shows us, an inside look at a few of the contenders, and then see them compete against each other in the finals. Just with that along, the movie seem very standard, and doesn't really shine; but a few differences, do make this movie stand out from the rest. One big different, is that this movie introduces interviews with a lot of celebrities fans, such as Senator Bob Dole, President Bill Clinton, comedian Jon Stewart, filmmaker Ken Burns, baseball player, Mike Mussina, writer, Daniel Okrent, and singers, the Indigo Girls. While, the celebs interviewers, don't really effect, the story of the competitors. They do, give a lot of insight on how popular, crosswords are. They serve as filler. Nothing more than that. I do have to say, that the film is a bit biased, when it comes to who makes the best crosswords puzzles; all the interviewers are praising how New York Times's editor Will Shortz is, and how the New York Times is the top dog and flag bearer for good Crosswords puzzles. I really doubt that. Some really good interesting puzzles have come from widely-distributed American newspapers such Washington Post, Boston Globe, & USA Today. In my opinion, the most challenging English ones have come from international venues, such as the Times, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian & Sunday Express from the U.K. Also a lot of those good puzzles have also been found in magazines, internet sites, and even dollar store puzzle books. Will Shortz does a good job as a crossword editor, but he's no better than any other crossword publisher. I love him, reading the hate mail. That was a highlight. Don't get me wrong, New Year Times have great puzzles. I love, the ones that they showcase, here. My favorite has to be the 1996 "Election Day" crossword made by math professor, Jeremiah Farrell. I love how both Dole and Clinton remember that on the day after their presidential campaign, one clue asked for the name of the winner. Diabolically, the correct seven-letter word could be either Clinton or Bob Dole. That one is pretty crafty. Sadly, the movie doesn't really focus, too many of these. Most of the good ones are in the bonus section on the DVD with the "Every Word" music video by Gary Louris & the "Waiting for the New York Times," a short film by Patricia Erens. I felt all that, should had been added to the film. I think, another highlight from the film, is seeing famous puzzle constructor Merl Reagle, creating a daily crossword right in front of the camera, and explaining the logic behind it. I also love the idea of seeing the contenders & celebrities try to do that crossword puzzle in 2 minutes or least in one especially ingenious montage, with interlocking shots. Director Patrick Creadon made it easier to understand what's happen on screen, with graphics that show us crossword grids with the problem areas highlighted, and then we see the letters being written in. During the final championship round, with three contenders working on giant crosswords on a stage, he makes their progress easy to follow, by showing each person's process. I love how the movie is edit, each sequence kinda connect with each other, with narrative word phrasing. I love how one guy mentioning Barry Bonds, and the film cuts to stock baseball footage of interviewer Mike Messina shutting down Bonds in a baseball game. Very clever. The movie has a lot of good information, but a few things are so dated like the Marriott in Stamford, Connecticut, being the event place. It's no longer, as increasing popularity, causes it to be moved in 2008, into the Marriott Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, New York, but beginning in 2015 the tournament will again be played in Stamford. I also love how Will Shortz says Pluto is a planet. It made me laugh, how incorrect some of these clues to the puzzles, are. Another is how computers can't do crosswords puzzles. In 2012, a robot call Dr. Fill compete in that tournament against Tyler Hinman. Another problem of the film is the lack of diversity, feature. I think a lot of minorities play crosswords puzzles, too, but the film doesn't showcase, many of them. I wish, they did. Another fault is some of what the celebrity talking heads are honestly saying. Ken Burns looks like a kook, & Jon Stewart really doesn't add much, besides yelling. It's somewhat disappointing. Other than that, the movie is pretty good. I love how the film influence, a 2008 episode of The Simpsons, "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words". Overall: Words connect us, and you can see, all its glory, here with this documentary. It's a must-watch.
