“During TIFF we said, ‘if you’re as big a fan of Joy Division as Torontoist is, you’ll quickly come to terms with the fact that Control is simply one man’s interpretation of Deborah Curtis’s book Touching from a Distance, and your overall feelings will (probably) lie on how you feel about that interpretation,’ and we stand by that even now—despite the gorgeous cinematography, which remains the film’s strongest point, we still like 24 Hour Party People better (even though that’s really about Tony Wilson).”

It’s a strange thing, but I really like Factory Record’s idiosyncratic numbering system. There’s something rather wonderful about the concept. I especially dig that the last ever Factory “release” to be given a number was Tony Wilson’s funeral/coffin. Superb.

“We can’t remember which of this week’s other releases played at TIFF (and can’t be bothered to find out, really), but we think Reservation Road did, and Rendition probably did too. Pretty sure Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, didn’t, but it’s been very well received. Let’s be honest, that’s pretty surprising. That’s like saying ‘two-by-four plank of wood’s directorial debut well received.’”

I have to say – I’m not entirely sure that a two-by-four plank of wood couldn’t direct a well-received Hollywood film based on a story from Dennis Lehane with the help of acting from Morgan Freeman and cinematography from John Toll, but that’s probably just me.

“Despite its repetitive aspects, the title truly is a joy to play from beginning to end. Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol joins its predecessor by being one of its system’s best games: brilliantly realized, wonderfully playable and, now, critically acclaimed. Don’t let it be ignored by consumers.”

Straight up this is probably the sweetest game I’ve played all year. I probably don’t like it quite as much as the original, but I think that’s more to do with the limitations of the DS hardware, more than anything.

So after reading this review, there are a few things you should do:

1) Run out and buy Chibi Robo: Park Patrol. (Yes, even from a Walmart, if you absolutely have to.)

2) Recommend my review using globeandmail.com’s new “recommend this article to other readers!” feature. I’m not sure it means anything in the grand scheme of things, but it makes me feel big and important. So do it!

“Our favourite film coverage of the week is definitely the Sun’s in-depth look at We Own the Night. It literally says ‘Blah, blah blah, Eva Mendes gets naked!’”

I have little else to add, frankly.

“Beyond Halo, there was one other story of interest this month: the US and Canadian dollar reaching parity. This was big news to some Halo 3 buyers, as it turns out that many gamers chose to shop on eBay (average Halo 3 price: $50) rather than in local stores (average Halo 3 price: $70) and I’ve noticed that by using similar tactics you can save big on points cards for the Wii and Xbox 360. If you choose to simply have the codes e-mailed to you (and save on shipping) 2000 Wii points or 1600 Microsoft points can regularly be had for less than $20. A worthwhile bargain, as it’s highly unlikely Microsoft or Nintendo are ever going to reduce prices.”

Includes a look at Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD, LocoRoco Cocoreccho! and Fatal Fury Special. No Virtual Console reviews in September, but considering that October’s article is going to contain almost nothing but that (Sin and Punishment, people!) I think that’s fair enough.

“Slightly different beginning to our Film Friday today, because we’d like to highlight the fact that our favourite film in ages, Reprise, has been released on DVD this week. We really feel it should have been given the same kind of cinematic release it’s getting in the UK right now rather than an astonishingly bare-bones DVD transfer with burned-in subtitles, but what are you going to do? You really have to see it anyway. It was one of our top picks from TIFF 2006 and is still as vital as ever.”

Er, see below!

“What’s your favourite film of the last couple of years? Well, whatever it was, imagine you’d been waiting for what felt like forever for it to be released on DVD but then found out it was released in literally the laziest fashion possible. A barebones, non-anamorphic release with no special features, a ton of trailers before you even get to the main menu, nothing in the case other than the disc and, absurdly, burned-in subtitles that are so inexpertly done they occasionally cut the ends of words off. If you’ve managed to imagine all that, now imagine my dismay to find that this is exactly what has happened to my favourite film of the last couple of years: Joachim Trier’s masterful Reprise.”

If you live in North America you pretty much must pick this up. If you live in the UK, you may be lucky enough to see it in the cinema, as it’s currently making it’s way around the country thanks to Diffusion Pictures. It plays at the Edinburgh Filmhouse between the 12th and 14th October and then at the Glasgow Film Theatre between the 15th to 18th, so go and check it out if you, er, live in either of those places.

Hmm! I’d actually forgotten all about this column, but it’s a good time to bring it up, as roughly half of it discusses my unusual excitement for the announcement of Major League Power Pros, the North American localisation of the (massively popular in Japan) Powerful Pro Baseball series.

I don’t even really like baseball (certainly not as a spectator sport, although my one trip to the Skydome was alright) but I’ll probably be picking up a copy when it hits shelves this week – the same week Sin and Punishment hit the Wii Virtual Console, so it’s a good week indeed.

The rest of my article is about the furore that surrounded Manhunt 2′s ban in the UK, and how this kind of controversy can stop people from trying to make truly mature games. Any kind of censorship is bad for expression. I’m anti-censorship, but I think my opinion is a little strange (particularly in North America) in that I have no particular problem with legislation stopping adults-only games getting into the hands of children, as long as adults can still buy them freely. Of course, stores are so stupidly squeamish about selling adults-only games, a bigger problem in my mind. People really need to be able to accept that legitimate culture really can be “adults-only” and that doesn’t mean we all need to be protected from it.

Anyway, you can read the full article, in Danish, as part of the PDF found on the Game Reactor website.