An Ode To Cottage-Core Movies
Plus: A trio of ocean-themed games with great vibes
Often I am hanging out with my friends Josh and Lorraine and we will talk about some movie and then Josh will be on his phone and then he will look up and say “just bought it for the cottage.” Over the years our mentions of cottage movies grew into an oeuvre.
There’s a certain quality to a movie fit for watching at a cottage that you know when you see. These movies should be propulsive but not mentally taxing. They should be exciting, but not too dark. They should be funny, but not too cerebral. They can be serious, but shouldn’t take themselves too seriously. They should ideally star Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise or Nic Cage or someone of that nature. They should include a bank heist or a car chase or a steely stare-down between A-list actors or a tornado.
I wanted to do a post on cottage-core movies but putting together a list seemed like actual work. So instead I asked Josh to send me a list of their cottage movies, which seemed far easier. Here they are in no particular order:
The Bourne movies (at least the first three, after that your mileage may vary)
Ocean’s Eleven
The Mission Impossible movies (except 2, which is bad and not in a fun way)
Wedding Crashers
Twister
Jurassic Park
Children of Men
The Jack Ryan trilogy - The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger
Inside Man
The Italian Job
Minority Report
The Rock
Con Air
Top Gun
The Die Hards (some seasonal incongruence but I’ll allow it)
Heat
The Fugitive
Gone in 60 Seconds
Bad Boys / Bad Boys II
Independence Day
The first Fast and the Furious movie (arguably the only cottage-ey one)
Speed
Point Break
Clue
Collateral
Edge of Tomorrow a.k.a. Live Die Repeat
True Lies
The Town
Old School
Pretty good list! I admit I exercised some editorial discretion and excised a couple choices. (Josh and Lorraine are higher on the 2010 Angelina Jolie movie Salt than most.) This is their collection and I don’t want to intrude but I do think any cottage movie list should include Apollo 13. Also 2010’s Unstoppable is a modern cottage movie classic. Ok that’s it. But also try Margin Call.
Feel free to send me your own cottage favorites and I may use them in a future post. Now for some sea-themed recommendations…
Dice!
I am not one for roll-and-write games but 2018’s Fleet: The Dice Game is an exception I’m happy to make. It starts out so simple. You roll some fish-themed dice, select a species to pursue, and then check off a box next to that fish on one of your two paper pads of checkboxes. The more boxes you check the more fishing licences you get and the more fishing boats you launch, which allow you to catch more fish.
Then you go to town and roll some more dice. Maybe you go to the market to sell some fish for money, maybe you expand into launching a crab boat, maybe you hit one of the town’s various shops. They all are useful in their own ways and they’re all done by checking a box, giving you that pleasant dopamine hit of progress.
Jump ahead 15 minutes and your fishing empire is overwhelming. When you’re doing well and your strategy clicks, your buildings and boats and licenses are synergizing to create combos that rapidly produce more money and fish. You’re scrambling to stay on top of checking all your boxes before the next dice roll. It feels deep and complex and yet all you are ever doing in this game is rolling dice and checking off boxes.
That’s the elegance of Fleet: a single, simple mechanic on the front end paired with a broad array of choices (and corresponding depth of strategy) on the back end. Fleet plays quick and can be taught to anyone. It is, you might say, a great cottage game.
Dredge!
One of the breakout indie video games of the year, Dredge is a strange and macabre eight-ish hour journey that is, I guess, fairly described as a fishing RPG. The mechanics of the game are fine. You go out, you fish using a conventional slider minigame, you sell the fish to upgrade your boat, etc.
What makes Dredge a GOTY honorable mention is the vibes. You start out as a disoriented protagonist unclear about who or where you are. As you explore the seas you piece-by-piece put together your own identity and the role you play in the game’s, yes, Lovecraftian story.
And while the fishing itself is whatever, the gameplay is elevated by an effective push-your-luck mechanic. You want to venture out farther from shore where the more valuable fish are, but if you get caught out in the open too late at night then bad things happen. That push and pull - “I should really head back” vs “ah I can go for one more fish” - makes the game tense and at times even thrilling. The visuals are pleasing and the gamefeel is smooth. It’s a gem.
Dive!
Dave the Diver is similar to Dredge in its aquatic nature and that’s about it. With strong vibes on the other end of the spectrum, DtD feels like two intertwined games. The first is a fishing sidescroller that thrives on exploration and harvesting resources. The second is a sushi restaurant simulator where you turn your catch into a menu curated by you.
It’s a more dense RPG than it may seem. There is equipment to buy and staff to hire, rare dishes to unlock and hidden areas to discover, bosses to fight and quests to solve. Also you have to become a food influencer.
It’s mostly very enjoyable. But it’s a lot. The game doesn’t always do a great job of explaining its systems and some elements feel like more for the sake of more. Also, where Dredge’s race-against-the-clock nature felt exhilarating, if you push it too far and die in Dave the Diver, losing all your stuff, it feels annoying and like you wasted your time.
But those complaints are dwarfed by the sheer charm of the game. Just when you start to feel bored of the loop the developers throw a new twist at you. Characters are constantly popping up with new requests and powers to offer. All of this is done with a light touch and a goofy sense of humor. Dave himself is a constant punchline. Running a sushi restaurant turns out to be quite satisfying. Missions like catching a bunch of tuna for a big party three days away don’t sound compelling on paper but when you catch the tuna and design the menu and make thousands of dollars (plus those new social media followers) it feels immensely satisfying.
There is a bunch of cool stuff in this game I am not mentioning to keep this spoiler free. If you’re going for a misty twilight game, play Dredge. If you’re feeling yacht rock in the afternoon, go with Dave the Diver.
Drac!
I saw the Dracula-on-a-boat movie and I endorse seeing in the theatre with friends.
