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Thor: Ragnarok

thor 3

So I finally rushed to finished the Thor trilogy for these reviews, after hearing how epic and amazing this third movie is. Phase 3 got really psychedelic, especially with Doctor Strange ( 2016) , Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) , and the end of Ant-Man

After Age of Ultron, Thor is on a quest to stop the fall of Asgard due to the prophecy of Ragnarok. After some dead ends, he returns to find Loki has been deceiving pretending to be Odin, after banishing him to die in a old folks home on Earth. So Thor and Loki pay a visit to Dr Strange to help find him, only to spend his last few minutes with his sons. Hela, Odin’s true first child and and damn near invincible goddess of death, comes forth to take the throne, destroying Thor’s hammer and bringing Asgard to its knees. Thor finds himself stranded, wounded in an failed escape on a world ruled by the tyrannical Game Master, aided by a past Valkyrie, forced to fight his way out against his old, angry friend Hulk. Can Thor overcome these impossible odds, find his true power and save his people?

I’m going to be honest, I loved this movie but somehow it annoyed the hell out of me. Visually it’s one of the most beautiful movies in the MCU. It has the most action in the whole Thor trilogy; I laughed my ass off a few times and the use of Led Zeppelin is beyond epic. Cate Blancett was awesome as Hela and Jeff Goldblum was great as Game Master. So what’s the catch? For me I feel like there were a lot of times the comedy diluted what could have been some good dramatic moments; series long characters die and it’s just meh. In the end its one hell of a fun movie at the end of the day and well worth the watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Thor: The Dark World

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I’m going to start by saying this: I don’t think this is the worst movie in the MCU as many I’ve heard proclaim it be. My personal vote is tied between Iron Man 3 (2013) and Captain America: the First Avenger , but I digress.

Thor 2 picks up after Avengers with Loki in captivity after he was naughty in New York. Thor is kicking ass and being awesome with his Asgardian buddies while his love interest on Earth, Jane Foster discovers glitches in physics popping up in London; glitches in reality itself. She falls through a glitch and ends up coming into contact with the Ether (the Reality Stone) and it bonds to her. Thor has to help her break free of it but an ancient threat descends on Asgard, the dark elves led by Malekith, leading Thor to save the day again while having to join with Loki again..

Thor 2, much like the first, ain’t nowhere near perfect but I had a lot more fun with this entry. There is more action and laughs and I give it credit, the final fight is one of my favorites in the MCU. The biggest issue is Malekith, who is the definition of cookie-cutter villain who sadly had a hell of a lot of potential that fell flat. Besides him, the characters are solid with great performances again from Hemsworth and Middleston as Thor and Loki. In the end, it’s a fun fantasy movie pure and simple. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Thor

thor

We arrived to our final MCU installment before we finally talk Avengers; sadly our local theater closing screwed up us seeing Black Panther til it hits blu-ray. The fourth movie in Phase 1 introduces Thor, god of thunder.

Thor and Loki are the sons of Odin, king of Asgard, a beautiful kingdom in space. Thor is arrogant but powerful as he is set to one day become king; Loki, believing his brother a shitty king, plots to embarrass him and when Thor nearly reignites a war with the frost giants, Odin banishes Thor to earth, stripping him of his power and his hammer before going into Odin-sleep, leaving the treacherous Loki to reign. It’s up to Thor to reclaim his power and hammer and learn what it is to be king and kick his brother’s ass…

As superhero films go, Thor is a solid film. It’s not great; there is a lot of dialogue that makes it feel a bit longer than it really is and not very much action, though what we get is nice. Where it succeeds is Chris Hemsworth and Tom Middleston as Thor and Loki and visually the movie looks great. I got some good laughs and a few moments I still quote today. In the end, it’s a decent movie that’s pretty much a prequel to Avengers. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Amazing Spider-man: Superior

superior Spidey

Ok guys, so this review is a tiny bit different than my normal comic reviews. Whereas normally I’d tell you the actually book, I pretty much forgot the name of the actual book but didn’t forget the story. The story I’m talking about is the death of Spider-man as we know it and the rise of a Superior Spider-man.

With his life dwindling, Doc Ock has become desperate and with his dying wish wants to “reconcile” with his nemesis. Parker, being the good hearted soul, obliges and falls into Ock’s final trap. He manages to switch there bodies, taking Peter’s strong, young super powered body while abandoning his former pupil in his frail, old body. With a new lease on life, Ock escapes and suddenly comes to a new realization after his old self dies: with new power comes a new responsibility. He can be a better Peter Parker and a better Spider-man, but can his ruthlessness and will to do what Parker wouldn’t really make him better?

This initial book I borrowed from mutual friend, Sniperelitest, has honestly the saddest character death I’ve read in a comic book. I actually cried a little; its Fullmetal Alchemist sad. It’s a fascinating book and really well written; Superior Spider-man is a badass. I do want to read more of the story when I get the funds to do so, but I highly recommend checking this series out, especially if you are a long time fan. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dr Strange & Dr Doom: Triumph and Torment

triumph and torment

Many know I’m not much of a magic, fantasy kind of guy but I love Dr Strange and Dr Doom because of this book. Because of whacky cartoons in Strange’s case and Doom’s horrible film adaptations as is my tradition with comics, I went out and searched for stories to see how warped the translations were. I’m a huge fan of the Doctor Strange ( 2016) movie and well, maybe we can get a good Doom movie in the MCU finally since they have the Fantastic 4 rights back now.

Triumph and Torment is the story of the competition to decide Sorcerer Supreme, whether Stephen Strange will continue his title or will it be passed down to another. Many gifted sorcerers come, but only one truly worries the group, Victor Von Doom. In a twist of fate, the weaker contestants are possessed by a mystic force and its Strange and Doom against the horde. Strange emerges victorious, keeping his title and Doom comes in second, asking a favor of Sorcerer Supreme as is favor: help him rescue his mother’s spirit from the depths of hell! Together these unlikely foes must ban together against the seemingly impossible, while discovering they are more alike than they originally thought.

It’s a short read but damn is it strong. For an older book, the writing is trippy and cool and the writing is really good. I found Doom and Strange both captivating characters and the final fight at the end is epic as hell. If you are looking for a cool, severely underrated Marvel story to read or new to Marvel in general, I highly recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Children of the Corn 666: Issac’s Return

children corn 6

So this will be the final review I’m doing for the Children of the Corn series. There are others in the series and I’m sure the series isn’t dead, but for me the series came down to a fair conclusion with the sixth installment.

As the title suggests, Issac returns to his flock almost 20 years later after being in a coma since the original film. Hannah, a young woman has returned to Gatlin in search for her mother who was one of Issac’s original disciples. The town is full of his reformed flock and their offspring. When Hannah comes, Issac awakens and he foretells a prophecy that she will mate with He Who Walks Behind The Rows and pretty much create the Anti-Christ…

Ok, for a movie called Children of the Corn, there really aren’t any children in this movie. Just saying. On a whole, I got to say I feel it’s the best since the original and that’s mainly because of the charisma of Issac’s original actor. I liked the way we discover the fallout on the kids from the original cult. The story and acting are solid with easily the best effects of the series. If you enjoy the first movie, definitely check it out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Children of the Corn 5: Fields of Terror

children corn 5

So, wanna talk about a movie Eva Mendes doesn’t want to. In fact I gotta say there’s been a few famous starlets in the series before they were famous. Naomi Watts starred in Children of the Corn 4: The Gathering and Charlize Theron had a small bit part in Children of the Corn 3: Urban Harvest That being said, this review kinda sums up why I left the series with 7: these movies become stale real quick. Some friends who are supposed to be college age but we know are pushing 30 break down in a town, they go for help, come back and car is destroyed, kids lead them to weird cult leader played the late David Carradine and yadda yadda. I can’t lie folks, this movie bored the shit out of me. It’s not offensively terrible but it just couldn’t hold my attention, and that was at the height of my fandom. It’s the least WTF of the series, it’s not particularly gory or outlandish as others which kind of hurts the movie and I really can’t remember any new kind of piece to the lore. Carradine gives the best performance of the movie but isn’t there much and Eva Mendes is laughably bored but when these are the best features of your film, is it really worth remembering? In the end, it’s worth skipping, you aren’t missing much. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

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.