Explain-All: The Infinity Stones in the MCU

infinity stone This Explain-All has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while but with Avengers: Endgame just around the corner this comes as the perfect time. With Captain Marvel being the 21st movie of the MCU, it’s easy to see how some many casual fans maybe confused on the nature and abilities of the Infinity Stones, where were they in the MCU leading up to Thanos getting them, what are they to begin with? So lets begin with the first and most prominent of the 6 we’ve seen…

tesseract 1. The Tesseract ( The Space Stone)-

Introduced in the end credits of Thor but expanded upon more in Captain America: the First Avenger and the Avengers . This stone contains the vastness of Space itself. Essentially distance becomes nothing- hence why Thanos can get from Titan to Earth in like 2 seconds. It transported Red Skull to Vulmir and with this Loki was able to transport Thano’s army to Earth from galaxies away. The Asgardians held it after the end of Avengers, it found it’s way back to Loki and eventually back into Thano’s grasp.

vision mind stone 2. Loki’s scepter / Vision’s brain ( The Mind Stone)-

Besides the Tesseract, Loki was granted a scepter by Thanos for his attack on Earth. Besides emitting energy blasts, it had the eerie ability to control people, including Hawkeye. After getting the scepter off of Loki, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were experimenting with it while programming Ultron. The scepter helped taint the program leading to his going rogue in Avengers: Age of Ultron ; to create his perfect offspring, Ultron breaks the weapon, using the Mind Stone inside for Vision’s brain, explaining his extreme intelligence and incredible powers. It was the final stone Thanos needed, resting in Vision’s skull.

aether 3. The Aether ( The Reality Stone) –

The Aether is a strange specimen, the essence of reality itself. Unlike the other 5, this doesn’t have a set shape. Introduced in Thor: The Dark World , Jane Foster gets infused with it and Maleketh tries to break it out of her to pretty much crash realms together. After Thor beat the dark elf, his friends handed the stone off to the Collector for safe keeping, as wishful thinking as that was…

the orb 4. The Orb ( The Power Stone) –

Speaking of the Collector, the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) tried selling this artifact to him, unknowing what was inside. Ronin wanted the stone for it’s immeasurable power; the Guardians together used it to destroy him and hand it off to the Nova Corps. Thanos laid waste to Zandar to acquire it and with just that he beat Hulk within an inch of his life. It was the first he got hold of.

stranges amulet 5. The Eye of Agomotto ( The Time Stone)-

What would any of us give to be able to control time itself, what not even the almighty Dormammu can fight against as Doctor Strange ( 2016) proved when he caught him in a time loop. The Ancient One and the sorcerers she trained protected it for ages in this amulet only an extremely powerful sorcerer can unlock. After defeating the Ancient One’s old student, Strange and Wong possessed it until the battle of Titan. After seeing the near countless failed outcomes in the fight to come, Strange surrendered the stone in exchange for Iron Man’s life.

the soul stone 6. The Soul Stone-

Before Avengers: Infinity War this was the stone unaccounted for. Essentially this stone is ultimate life and death; traditionally in the comics Adam Warlock wields the stone and while his creation was hinted at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) , Gamora led Thanos to the distant reaches of Vulmir for it. A barren Red Skull tells Thanos a sacrifice must be made to possess the stone- those who desire it must sacrifice what they love the most. Thanos, despite the millions of deaths and thousands of worlds he’s brought down, deep in his heart, he loved his adopted daughter Gamora, ending her life so he could bring order to all…

I hope this Explain all helps before Endgame comes this spring. Also, I’m dedicating this entry to my newly engaged lil sis and her fiance who requested this a while ago- this is for you guys. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Supernatural Ending After Season 15

As many of you know I am a pretty big fan of the show Supernatural, In fact, I have reviewed the first 13 seasons and will do season 14 as soon as it hits Netflix. Well sadly after the next season, fifteen, the show will be coming to its end. I am actually pretty ok with this tho. Many shows go on far too long to the point many people, especially its earliest fans kind of get sick of it and only watch it out of what they feel is an obligation. Supernatural never really seemed to get to that level, it will get to go out on its own terms before it is forced out. The only issue I can see is the ending, both Jensen and Jarad have said in the past they can’t see Sam and Dean simply retiring. I also don’t think fans would accept them simply going back to hunting and the show ends with Dean closing the trunk of the car and saying “We have work to do.” So I really think we need to be prepared for one or both of them dying for good this time. Either way, enjoy the video and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Haunting On Fraternity Row (2018)

Every so often I come across a movie that just hits the trifecta of a bad movie. The story is bad, the script is bad and even the twist ending felt thrown together and needless. The story is pretty standard horror fare. A college fraternity has its biggest party of the year and a demon is accidentally released. How was it released in this movie? Well, a pledge drops a keg of beer, it falls down the stairs into the basement and smashes a hole in the wall. I don’t really know how this released the demon, it seems to have knocked over a cup the demon was locked in somehow.

The script was also horrible, to the point the guy trying to figure out what was going on, whom I stoned the entire movie so nobody believes him, did not know what a hospice was and even after looking it up, still did not know what the hell it even was.  The rest of the movie is just as bad, most of the movie is full of equally as bad logic or crumby lines.  The movie takes forever to get to the point as well. You will spend the vast majority of it just watching them get ready for a party and just talking.

Once the party starts it is also mostly just them talking and drinking, the occasional topless scene and dancing and booze. When the big reveal finally happens there really is nothing scary, and the demon mostly just spends its time cockblocking everyone and occasionally ripping out someone’s eyes. This will slowly escalate until it just kills everyone at the party since it gets stronger as it eats peoples eyes.

The ending is a twist you honestly won’t see coming, and it makes pretty much no sense at all but at this point, you will just be grateful the movie is over. It is very rare I have nothing good to really say about a movie or truly regret watching it, but this is one of those times. Don’t waste your time on this one. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Jimmy Carr The Best Of Ultimate Gold Greatest Hits World Tour (2019)

Oh Jimmy Carr, your dry British offensive humor. Seriously if you are easily offended, do not watch this. There are jokes about pedophiles, hookers, religion and a whole host of other things. The show runs for about an hour and is quite funny as usual. The biggest issue is not everyone will appreciate his brand of humor because it is quite offensive and he does have very dry humor that is mostly just him standing around delivering one-liners.  I do suggest you check him out tho, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock Studios

As reported by Polygon the original creators of Left 4 Dead, Turtle Rock Studios, are working on a new game called Back 4 Blood. Not much is known about it aside from the fact that it will be a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead. They were clear to point out it will have a lot of differences but you can still shoot up a lot of zombies Left 4 Dead style. They aren’t really ready to talk about it and haven’t released any screenshots or videos yet. There will be a campaign, a versus mode and they explicitly said no battle royal and is slated for Xbox One, PS4, and PC and has no release date. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Green Room

green room

Starting this review, R.I.P Anton Yelchin, you were taken too soon. A huge reason I watched this movie was for Yelchin and Patrick Stewart, and frankly I had never seen Stewart play a bad guy before. This was a pretty WTF place for me to start…

We begin with a starving punk band, living gig to gig out of there van and mostly siphoning gas to get from place to place. After they get screwed on a gig they traveled almost 100 miles out of there way for, they are made an offer to play at a real seedy club in the middle of nowhere. The dude tells them the gig is solid but the people are pretty extreme- it turns out they are Neo- Nazis. They are rushed on stage and rushed out the door, but Pat, the quiet man of the group doubles back to there dressing room for a phone and sees the band they opened for have killed someone. Things descend into utter madness as they are held hostage by the club’s mannered but sinister owner and his group of followers…

I was fairly surprised by this movie. For the squeamish, I warn you right now to steer clear of this movie because there’s a few scenes that will push you. I really like the story and how the loud, thrashing punk music is fused with the score and story. The acting is really good all around and the movie is filmed beautifully. It’s a slow movie that builds but a couple times I feel it goes slower than it had to, mostly in the second act. Green Room is a good thriller with some pretty kick-ass scenes and a cool soundtrack and I think it deserves a watch, especially if you want a good, tense, slow build. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Eight Legged Freaks

eight legged freaks

When all is said and done, what makes a movie good is what we take away from it. I’m a man of a huge variety when it comes to cinema. Sometimes I want a deep psychological piece or a gripping action flick. Then there’s times I want a B movie about giant spiders…

Prosperity Arizona is a dying mining town. The only prosperous mine was shut down and now the town is struggling and they blame Chris for it, who inherited the mine and disappeared. He came back as it just so happens a barrel of toxic waste landed in a pond where it contaminated a bunch of crickets that were fed to a bunch of spiders being kept in a spider farm. They grow to enormous size and chaos ensues as they try to invade the town. Can the town survive the creepy, crawly horde?

Eight Legged Freaks is a fun and simple B movie that knows what it’s trying to be and does it well. The characters are surprisingly likable and the spider effects hold up pretty damn well after 15+ years. The movie has some decent laughs but isn’t outright hilarious. Despite the pg-13 rating, there are some decent kills and a kid or spider-phobe will get creeped out. In the end, it’s a fun time worth watching at least once. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Captain Marvel

capt marvel 3

Admittedly there’s been a lot of controversy Captain Marvel’s film debut, much like there was over last year’s release of Black Panther . I’ve heard plenty of reviews going into this, but as always I try going into everything with an open mind, so with that being said, how was the first female lead Marvel film?

Carol Danvers was a young woman who seemingly died in a test plane accident; this was not fully the case. Her memories nearly wiped clean and with powers she can’t fully understand, she was rescued by the Kree and drafted into Star Force, trained as a soldier to protect the greater good in a intergalactic war between the Kree and the devious, shape shifting Skrull. During a conflict between the two, she crashes on Earth during the 90’s where she meets a young Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D who gets drafted into her hunt for the Skrull as her memories unfold and her allegiances are tempted as she discovers herself and her true power…

First, I have to say I disagree with almost every review of this I’ve seen. It’s a fun movie with some issues. I liked Brie Larson as Marvel and I thought she had had a overall good character arc through the movie. Sam Jackson steals the show as a young Fury, followed closely by Goose the Cat. The acting is overall solid. The soundtrack and score are pretty good. The effects are great but the opening battle isn’t filmed very good, too dark, and it was hard as hell to track. I wasn’t a fan of the first act of the movie, but it picks up once you get to Earth. After seeing it, a problem I feel is I think it’s misplaced in the MCU; I feel if it was placed in Phase 2 it would’ve fit better- I feel her character would have benefited from more time and development with the story at play. Now, what irked me, Sniper, and I’m sure will piss off most hard core Marvel fans I can’t spoil but if you are a stickler for Marvel lore it will piss you off. Hopefully to counter balance, the Stan Lee tribute in the beginning did almost make us cry a little. In the end, Captain Marvel was a fun movie, certainly not legendary but certainly not worth many of the poor reviews I’ve seen. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

antman 2

Ant-Man was a huge surprise hit, rounding out Phase 2 of the MCU. With a imaginative array of settings and action, the first Ant-man had a cool flavor to it that lead into much of the psychedelic feel of Phase 3. After Ant-Man and the Wasp, trailer 2 it was looking lightning might have stricken twice, but did it?

Taking place right after Captain America: Civil War (Cap side) , Scott Lange has been under house arrest, just about on the cusp of freedom. Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne are M.I.A and wanted by the feds; there feelings towards Scott ain’t very warm. They reconnect because Scott has a strange vision of Hank’s wife, Janet, who had gone missing in the Quantum-verse. They need Scott’s help to finish a prototype to reach her but along the way they are hunted by black market dealers and a mysterious young woman named Ghost who laid victim to one of Pym’s earlier experiments with Quantum tech. Can they save Janet and Scott’s freedom?

I’m going to be honest and pretty blunt here: this is my pick for weakest movie in Phase 3. The movie ain’t terrible by any means but lacks much of the excitement and imagination the first movie had. Without that, a lot of the jokes and the heaviness of them makes a lot of the comedy feel stale. Wasp stole the show for me; I always loved her in the comics and she was pretty awesome here. The acting is solid all around. Ghost is a Ok villain but there’s been better in Phase 3 but not the worst. In the end, it ain’t a bad movie and worth a Netflix watch but I wouldn’t bust my ass to own it and the most important scenes can be seen on Youtube. May the gaming gods bring you glory.