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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the beginning

tcm the beginning

Lat year I talked about Texas Chainsaw Massacre when Tobe Hooper passed away; Tobe Hooper, R.I.P . This year I revisit the series after the passing of R Lee Ermey, Sheriff Hoyt, R.I.P R Lee Ermey

As the title suggests, the movie is devoted to showing how the diabolical Hewitt family of the remake came to power as well as the birth of Thomas Hewitt, the man who would become Leatherface. Tommy suffers from several birth defects, cast away and thrown into a dumpster after his mother dies during birth, in a slaughterhouse nonetheless. He is found and brought to the Hewitt family and raised as his own, deformed and mute, growing up to return to the slaughterhouse. But hard times have come to Travis County and the house closes, and after years of taking shit, Tommy snaps and the madness begins. Tommy’s uncle Charlie kills the town sheriff and takes his authority and identity out on the ghost town while coming across four teens on there way to enlist in Vietnam. In this encounter we see how things came to be, as well as the pivotal moment Tommy took his first face and picked up the chainsaw, his only real friend.

2006 was a bloody time in horror with Saw, Hostel, and the Hills Have Eyes being all the rage and this movie fits the trend. As far as A-B prequels go, it’s pretty solid. It’s very much a movie where you are invested in the family more than the heroes and I found myself much more attached to them then the people you should have been, although the Hewitts are the straight up bad guys here. Ermey as Hoyt and Andrew Brynairski as Leatherface were the highlights for me. It’s a VERY bloody and brutal movie so don’t watch it if guts make you sick. Overall, I thought it was a underrated slasher film that deserves a second look. To finish this review I want to quote R Lee Ermey as Hoyt, my favorite line from the movie and one that’s come to me a few times in real life, when all is said and done..

” Nobody will remember what we say here today, but they are sure as shit remember what we do,” – Sheriff Hoyt.

R.I.P R Lee Ermey

r lee ermy

This past Sunday I’m sorry to say we lost a great actor and military serviceman, R Lee. Ermey. Most famously he played the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket (1987) and played the demented but stern Sheriff Hoyt as well as parts in Seven, Willard (2003) as well as hosting the show Mail Call and even inspiring a Green Lantern character. The man had a presence of authority on screen that was raw and authentic. It always made me smile to see him on screen and his performances were always memorable as hell, if not some of the most memorable I’ve known. Watch Full Metal Jacket and tell me he didn’t 100% steal that movie. So from Savior and I, rest in peace R Lee, you will be missed.

Rampage 64: World Tour

rampage 64

With the new Rampage film coming out in theaters, it’s only fitting we get to talk about an oldie but a goodie. We play one of three experiments gone wrong: George the Ape, Lizzie the Lizard, and Ralph the Wolf as they tear through the world wreaking buildings, fighting the army, and eating people and food. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. It’s a simple game that’s fun as hell. Climbing buildings like King Kong and breaking them down with your bare fists or scooping up the denizens of the world. I freaked out as a kid being being able to kick a car like a football. There are funny things too like if you eat toxins, the monster comically barfs. The game does have classic couch co-op and looks pretty good for the time. The only royal flaw is how repetitive the game is to the core. As I said, the game is simple but fun and worth a fun, especially with friends. May the gaming gods bring you glory as you wreck the world your own way.

Children of the Corn 4: The Gathering

children corn 4

Fun fact for all those out there, I watched this directly after the first Children of the Corn much like Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows and Alien Resurrection this is a WTF kind of movie.

A mother has some harsh mental problems, as she keeps getting terrorized by a nightmare of rotting children. Her oldest daughter Grace is forced to come back to Gaitlin to take care of her mother, little brother, and baby sister (who is secretly her daughter) and be a nurse for the town Doctor. One night a sickness overtakes the children- many lose there teeth, many go comatose, some exhibit violent mood swings, and delusions but alas it’s a dead, zombie preacher kid that raises out of the grave. Secrets come out as Grace must save her daughter from reviving the horror of a young, demonic priest.

For the fourth movie in the series, it’s not too bad all considering. There is some genuinely creepy imagery and some decent creepy dialogue and make up. The acting is ok, and the goofy WTF nature is mainly stripped away which works well but is kind of a bummer. In the end it ain’t a bad movie, just mostly there. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Captain America: Civil War (Cap side)

cap civil war

“United we stand, divided we fall” Optimus Prime and/or Pink Floyd.

Much like our Freddy Vs Jason (Jason’s side) ( Freddie vs Jason, The Freddie side. ) reviews this Halloween, we bring you the Saviorgaming Civil War special.

After the events of the first two Avengers films and Captain America: Winter Soldier the world begins to see the Avengers in a new light after Scarlet Witch causes an accident during a mission. Things get hurt, cities get demolished and people every time they get involved. They get summoned by Gen. Ross ( Incredible Hulk ) and presented with the demand the government now regulates the Avengers. Cap is outraged, not trusting the government and there intent after Shield was infiltrated. But Tony Stark, Iron Man, of all people sides with Ross. Tensions begin to flare between the frienimies but come to a boiling point when Winter Soldier seemingly strikes again, assinating King Tachaka of Wakanda, setting prince T’Challa to assume role of Black Panther and hunt him down. Cap has to make a choice, follow the laws of the United States and stand by his team or save his best friend from the crimes Hydra forced him to commit as the Avengers collapse and fight!

So, of the huge trifecta of superhero collaborations in 2016 ( Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse , and Batman Vs Superman ) this is the best of the 3. The action scenes are entertaining and there is some good drama to balance. It’s a great end to the trilogy and a good start to Phase 3. The biggest flaw in the movie is the villain, Zemo, who is practically invisible to the plot…he feels a lot more like a glorified name drop. Sadly, I’m not really versed in the book as much as I want to be but I have to say I feel the movie does push the actual issue of government inferring in superheroes to the side for the Winter Soldier plot. I’m all Cap America in this situation; being a superhero means having to break rules and be strong enough to know the limit to operate yourself in.

Savior is covering the Iron Man (2008) trilogy and someday I will read the books for Civil War 1 and 2 and visit the topics again. Until next time true believer, may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Captain America: Winter Soldier

capws

With Infinity War coming to us in a few short months, I thought it would be only fair I cover the MCU as well as I can thus far. For the fourth of July I already talked about Captain America: the First Avenger and Savior covered both Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) films as well as Doctor Strange ( 2016) , so I thought it would be fitting to finish talking about Cap. In this case, I have read the comic too so I got some extra insight on this story.

After the Avengers, Steve Rogers has found a routine in our modern day, working for S.H.I.E.L.D taking down terrorists with Black Widow and being a badass, but it’s not easy being out of your time. He begins discovering quickly how all isn’t right at S.H.I.E.L.D and how a ghost from his past has essentially come in and is trying to kill him after leading to the fall of Nick Fury, a metal armed assassin called the Winter Soldier. It’s up to Captain America to stop this threat along with Falcon and Black Widow and try to bring Hydra out in the open…

Winter Soldier is the definition of a superior sequel. Captain America is much more badass in this film, even from the get go. The fights with him and Winter Soldier are some of the best hand to hand fights I’ve seen in my life. The plot is fairly strong as is the acting and cast. The graphic novel goes into a much greater detail around the backstory of Bucky Barnes during WW2 and his hero/ sidekick relationship with Cap but is still a great read if you like a good spy thriller. Either book or movie, it’s a great story and definitely worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Spider-man: Homecoming

spiderman homecoming

This movie brought millions of nerd’s dreams come true, Spider-man’s first true film inside the MCU and we finally got the Spidey movie we’ve been asking for. Set after Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker returns to high school with big dreams of being an Avenger as well as asking the cute captain of his high school quiz team out. With the suit given to him by Iron Man, Peter goes around just trying to be the best friendly neighborhood Spider-man he could be, but suddenly a real threat comes his way when a gang of disgruntled workers emerges with experimental alien hybrid weapons led by Adrian Toomes, The Vulture. Suddenly Parker’s world suddenly find themselves crashed together and only he can stop it, a teenage kid…

First, special thanks go to my friend Hatter for awesome movie night. Tom Holland is the perfect Spider-man in my opinion, being witty but not mean spirited, heartfelt but not sappy and just the right amount of badass. The supporting cast is surprisingly strong, especially Michael Keaton as Vulture which is one of the better villains of the MCU. Something I give the movie credit for is being very simple, not diving into mountains of foreshadowing like The Amazing Spider-man 2 meant to set up other movies. Spider-man was fit into the scheme of things just fine. In the end, its a fun superhero movie and it’s well worth a watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2

battlefront 2 old

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away there was a epic video game called Star Wars: Battlefront 2. It was and perhaps still is one of the greatest Star Wars games next to Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic but sadly, there was a disturbance in the Force and so came the dark lords at EA.

Classic Battlefront 2 was a massive game for the time. Released on the heels of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, the story revolving around the memoirs of a retired Clone Trooper as he recounts the Clone Wars, the downfall of the Republic, and the rise of the Empire. We got to enjoy enormous third person battles straight from the movie, visiting beautifully done and films accurate maps. Vehicles, space, and almost 20 of our favorite characters throughout the series like Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, as well as more minor but still awesome characters such as Ki Adi Mundi and Aylah Secura. What made this game loads of fun was Galactic Conquest: capturing worlds for credits used to buy new advantages in battle like health regenerating troops, extra garrisons, or even having a hero commander join you for example. The classes were fun, each faction had 7, the last two custom to the faction, whether getting a stealthy Bothan spy or the Droidieka murder machine and your weapons and characters were upgraded by a fair prestige system for simple achievements in match. For war game fans and Star Wars nerds alike, this game is a must play and I can’t recommend it enough…but alas my friends, there is a dark side as I said.

With my pal Autobot, I tried EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and well…WHAT THE FUCK EA? Given my extreme disappointment over the first attempt at Battlefront, I was desperately optimistic to the point Savior wanted to kick my ass as was the case with Justice League (2017) or Power Rangers So I’m going to say the game is stunning to look at visually with damn nice character models and great score. Other than that, I can’t find much I liked. I hated how space combat felt, the controls felt too off and I found there to be a major lack of variety of ships and functions. Speaking of, despite playing a little bit through all three trilogies, I couldn’t help feeling a lack of variety in the ground trooper classes: assault, heavy, sniper, and other. That’s it. Heroes are far less plentiful and nowhere near as fun to play as. What was the cherry on the shit sundae were the hard crashes we experienced; of 10 matches we crashed 3 in a row over two pretty boring game modes. I can’t recommend this reboot at all and friends don’t let friends play this damn game.

May the gaming gods bring you glory, and please take this away from this: graphics don’t mean everything, effort and love will always shine through.

Matilda

matida

There are times in life we have to go back to go forward. While writing I keep this in mind. As a kid Matilda was one of my favorite movies as a kid and twenty plus years later this movie holds up pretty well.

Matilda WormWood is an incredibly smart little girl living in a family that doesn’t really care, appreciate, or understand her. She finds knowledge and solace within the pages of books, becoming smarter than most adults around her; a gift emerges in the little girl. Matilda can move things with her mind. She finally gets her dream come true when she’s finally enrolled in school, bu that dream becomes a nightmare. Enter the maniacal, cruel, monstrous TrunchBull that runs the school. Her teacher Miss Honey however is the exact opposite, a sweet, kind lady that actually understands her and grows to love her as she does all children. It becomes clear to Matilda after finding out TrunchBull’s dark story that it’s up to her and power to stop her and free the school and Miss Honey from her tyranny…

In many ways, Matilda is the kid’s version of Carrie by Stephen King and it was written by Roald Dahl, writer of such WTF dark kid’s classics as James and The Giant Peach, The Witches, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There’s a lot of charm and while bleak as hell, there is always a ray of light. I was genuinely glad it had a happy ending. Mara Wilson was especially good as Matilda, being incredibly smart but lovable. I seriously recommend this to pretty much anyone, kids or adults alike. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Meg trailer

So Meg is finally here, adapted from the book about a giant ass prehistoric shark and pretty much seems to be what’s delivered. My friend Autobot, an avid fan of the book, wasn’t very pleased with the trailer. After finishing the book I’m reading now, Meg is next on my reading list. I think it looks like a fun, popcorn monster film with some cool visuals in the preview. The damn PG-13 rating is a red flag and a half to me. Time will tell as always, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.