Movie Review – Page 54 – Savior Gaming

Solo: A Star Wars Story

I have to admit going into this I had odd expectations. The trailers made it look fun, I always liked Han Solo, but people give this movie so much shit I was expecting to be greatly disappointed. I didn’t get the chance to see it in theaters so when I saw it was now on Netflix, of course, I checked it out, and I am pretty glad I did.

The story is pretty straight forward. It simply tells the story of how Han escaped a life of being a sewer rat, became a smuggler and got his hand on his prized ship, the Millennium Falcon. There aren’t a lot of twist and turns or shocking developments. Han eventually meets Chewy, then catches a ride with Beckett ( Woody Harrelson) and finally Lando (Donald Glover) to finally pull the job that lets Han say he made the Kessel Run in 12 Parsecs. This has always been a hotly debated thing among Star Trek fans since a parsec is a measure of distance, not time. Many eventually began to speculate that he was referring to a shortened path he took which is now considered the common explanation, tho it is worth noting in the original movie and its script it was made clear nobody believed him because he was obviously lying and sharing false information. This movie now shows it however as a factual event and a shortened run Han made.

Another thing that many never talk about is that they kind of takes a shot at George Lucas at one point. See there is always the who shot first Han or Greedo (Han did for the record), which got worse in the rerelease when George altered the film to make it definitive that Greedo shot first. He did this because he didn’t want Han to seem like a certain kind of character. Well, there is a scene where Han is talking to someone, and he not only shoots first before the other character dies he tells Han he was smart to do that because he would have killed him. Nobody really mentions this to me when talking about the film tho.

The movie is far from perfect, but at the end of the day, it does what it sets out to do. It is entertaining, tells a good origin story and shows how and why Han ended up being who he ends up being. The hate this movie gets to me is greatly not deserved. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Spider-man: Far from Home trailer

This is a awesome time to be a Spider-man fan. Just as the hype I’ve been riding from Marvel’s Spider-man (PS4) was starting to die off, we get our first look at Far from Home, the sequel to Spider-man: Homecoming . The first question I have is whether this takes place before or after Avengers: Infinity War and the “Snap”; I personally think it’s before. Mysterio looks awesome rather surprisingly and I’m glad they seem to be sticking close to his real origin which could make for a interesting play. So far, it looks like more I loved from Homecoming and it should be a good opening to Phase 4. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Really different special editions

Being the nerd I am, I’ve watched many a different versions of a many different movies. Sometimes the changes are huge and even change the outlook of the film itself. Here are a few examples of movies I’ve seen where the special editions I’ve seen were pretty damn different, starting with something special listed above…

1. Return of the Jedi –

Most of what is altered considerably was altered in the very beginning with Jabba’s Palace and the finale and damn it hurts a damn solid movie. In the original, Jabba’s Palace is much more dark and sinister where as the special edition lingers on the scenes with a couple random musical numbers and comedic parts with CGI that sticks out like a sore thumb. The tone of the end is more somber with sad music and scenery from the prequels to connect the series. While not crippling, these changes are cringe worthy…

suicide squad 3 2. Suicide Squad –

Here we see much of what was infamously cut, much of it was for Jared Leto’s Joker. I personally found these scenes a huge improvement and added a lot of depth to his character as well as showed a better arc for Harley. Meanwhile, a lot of the team’s interactions are fun and add to the better aspects of the movie. While this version doesn’t fix all the movie’s problems, it goes together better and I say better than the theatrical.

blade runner fc 3. Blade Runner –

Here I’m afraid I can’t say much from personal experience. I’ve only watched the Final Cut, but there are famously 2 others and multiple endings. I’ve been told by many that have seen multiple versions ( while I can’t see I know anyone who has seen all of them.) that they feel pretty different.

alien 3 4. Alien 3 –

We come to the last and most extreme I’ve seen. The Assembly Cut of Alien 3 adds a lot different, including a reshot opening, a new host for the alien, a big side-plot that adds some good meat in the 2nd act, and the overly dark tone feels more evened out. This is my favorite for obvious reasons and for those who hated the theatrical, I definitely recommend this.

This is just a small list but all pretty different between versions. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Occupation (2018)

Occupation is the story of an alien invasion gone right, at least for the aliens. The movie starts out in a small town where people are pissed over an overpass being built, and it isn’t long before they have an entirely new problem. At a towns I believe rugby game, I am not sure since it takes place in Australia and I know nothing about their sports. Could be Aussie rules football I suppose.

The alien attack comes from nowhere, and their armor is damn near impenetrable and their weapons are far more advanced. This scene is full of explosions and death, which is quite honestly a rather good scene and sets things up nicely for an underdog story.

The rest of the movie is primarily a story of guerrilla warfare against the alien occupation with occasional infighting amongst our heroes about how to handle things, such as one captured alien that serves no purpose except to reveal through a map they have been watching humanity for thousands of years and when one man beats it to death a few get pissed off.

The entire movie poorly developed, all the characters are mundane and never really grow. But here is the thing, if you like action films, and I mean old school action films full of explosions and passable routine stories, this film is for you. Seriously check out its Rottentomotatoes scores. It has an abysmal 38% from critics but a massive 94% from audiences. This is the perfect example of a movie that critically may not be the best written or put together, but damn is it fun to watch. Action fans will want to see it, but most others will find it overly long and ambitious with not much to offer. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Captain Marvel trailer 3

I keep getting impressed every trailer I see for the upcoming Captain Marvel. To help you catch up on the latest MCU installment, here’s a link to my reviews on Captain Marvel trailer 1 and Captain Marvel trailer 2 ; while we didn’t see her in the Avengers 4 trailer , it’s safe to say she may be the key to beating Thanos. The only issue I see is I can see the MCU formula prominent so I can see it feeling much like the others but no doubt it’ll be epic as hell. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Haunting of Sharon Tate

You ever see something that simply made you scratch your head in total bafflement? I can’t even say I’m shocked a movie like this is coming out, especially after watching American Horror Story: Cult and the passing of Charles Manson but seeing Lizzie Mcquire all grown up staring in a movie about one of the most shocking crimes in American history, that’s what stopped me in my tracks. And if that wasn’t the weirdest thing, it is a good, creepy trailer. I seriously mean that, the trailer I found creepier than most of the trailers I’ve seen in the past year or two. I hope the best for this movie and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Back in the 1990s, there was a sudden revival in horror movies with movies like Our Favorites Day7: Scream and this one, I Know What You Did Last Summer. The story of kids getting drunk, hitting a guy with their car, tossing him in some water then finding out a year later they are being hunted down for what they did.

This honestly sounds like an extremely simplistic explanation of the story, but it really isn’t. That is the plot of the movie. The real thing that makes this great is how well it was done. With great talents like Sarah Michelle Geller, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Freddie Prince Jr, it is no wonder it was well loved and received at the time, tho the internet seems to love it much less with Metacritic giving it a 52%, rotten tomatoes a 36% (40% fan) and IMBd a 5.7. That being said I remember it coming out and people raving about it, this is clearly an example of a movie that age was not kind to but nostalgia was. I still enjoy the movie, but having seen hundreds of movies since the release of this one it is easy to tell where the weak points were, and there are many. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hellraiser Judgement (2018)

Hellraiser Judgment is an odd movie. As the tenth movie in the series, a series that admittedly seems to have steadily gotten worse as the years have gone by I really was not expecting all that much from it. Some cheap kills, a bit of gore, maybe some nudity and of course a half-baked story about Pinhead loving pain again.

The movie did deliver all of those things, and I have to say it was much better than I expected. That isn’t to say the movie is all that good, it has 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and 4.3 on IMBd. It just so happens to be that I wasn’t expecting much. The story was simply two cops chasing a serial killer, and it plays out much how you would expect. This is where the crossover with Pinhead comes in. He and his friends are once again doing their job of judging and punishing people which of course plays into the story.

Obviously, this is an oversimplification but I don’t want to spoil things for you guys. The downside to all this is, well the story is pretty bland and everything about it is easy to see coming. Even the ending isn’t all that special or hard to predict. I enjoyed it and it was pretty entertaining, but it was as basic as basic gets. Fans of the series will enjoy it to an extent, but most people will want to avoid it. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Child’s Play 3

childs play 3

One thing I have to say I love about horror sequels, many come to a strange point where they make you ask WTF? Maybe it’s Jason X or Leprechaun in the Hood or I don’t know, Chucky the killer doll at a military school- that kind of WTF?

So 8 years after Chucky was destroyed, the Good Guy plant reopens and while disposing of Chucky’s corpse, some blood gets into the molten plastic and I guess we get a new Chucky who kills the company CEO and goes back to tracking Andy down again. Andy is 16 now and enrolled in Kent Military Academy after years of failed foster homes. Chucky mails himself to the school only to be found by a junior cadet named Tyler who swears Chucky is his friend. It’s up to Andy to stop Chucky once and for all…

Child’s Play 3 isn’t bad but its just not that memorable. There’s not any real gory moments and Chucky is mostly funny in this. The dude that plays Andy is pretty decent and I like that his story is basically him trying to stop the past from repeating itself. The supporting characters are kinda bland and I have to say Chucky looks kind of like Trump in this movie which is weird. Child’s Play 3 is meh, you can take it or leave it and be ok either way. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Child’s Play 2

childs play 2

Well, I hope everyone out there had a good first day of 2019. So to start the year let’s talk about a lovable, foul mouthed killer doll. Namely Chucky, before we get the remake. I covered Bride of Chucky as well the original for this past year’s Halloween special ( Our Favorite Movies Day 12:Child’s Play )

Child’s Play 2 picks up directly where the original leaves off. Andy Barkley finds himself in the system after being separated from his mom and his story covered up. The Good Guy toy company seized Chucky’s charred corpse and remakes him ( for reasons?) and that’s enough to revive the murderous doll, who follows Andy to his new foster home, making the kid’s life a living hell and dropping bodies a long the way in his quest to put his soul in Andy’s body…

In a time where the titans of horror Michael, Jason, and Freddy were all getting stale fast, Child’s Play 2 is a pretty good sequel. Andy is still a really sympathetic victim and you do feel for this poor kid; his foster sister Kyle was a good addition and her and Andy’s relationship feels genuine. Chucky is still funny and still badass. The kills are kinda tame until the last act when they fight back against Chucky, then there are some pretty awesome moments and how he finally dies is pretty damn sweet. All in all while not as good as the first, it’s a pretty good simple slasher movie I’d say is worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.