Movie Review – Page 55 – Savior Gaming

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

There are a few rare times in life where I’d say a sequel is just as good as the original. Many try being bigger and better and failing. Hellboy was a cool superhero movie and 4 years later came the sequel, indeed bigger and more badass but does Hellboy 2 still keep the magic of the first?

Life is changing for our lovable, stone armed demonic hero. Abe stumbles on the secret Liz is keeping that she’s pregnant with Hellboy’s son; Hellboy has a new boss after years of breaking cover and damages in the strict and peculiar Dr Kraus and Hellboy has to deal with being exposed to the public. Meanwhile Abe discovers love with a Elven princess on the run from her twin brother, who plans on unleashing a unstoppable army on mankind. Can Hellboy and his friends stop this dormant evil?

Whether the second Hellboy movie is better than the first is up for debate; they’re pretty damn close in my opinion but I like the second one just a little more. The action is indeed bigger and better with a more compelling villain. The characters we knew from the first grow and we do feel for them. Del Toro’s strange art style comes out in full and it makes it feel more wondrous than the first. The only little gripe I have is that it does feel a little more mainstream than the first movie. I don’t think the tones and plot structure hurt the movie at all. I think it’s one of the better sequels I’ve ever seen and I do recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hellboy

hellboy

As we often do here on the blog, when something ” new” comes out ( I say “new” in quotations because how much do we get in art anymore is actually new really) we tend to look back at what came before. what launched me to look in this uncanny place was the Hellboy 2019 first trailer . Also, I don’t normally begin reviews this way but I am today- Ron Pearlman will always be Hellboy to me in the category of RDJ as Iron Man, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, or Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. He is simply awesome.

Hellboy is a strange kind of hero. His father, Professor Trevor Broom finds him during a paranormal operation during WW2; a little red boy with horns, tail and a stone arm breaches his way into our world from another. Decades later, the child has grown into pretty much a normal dude that just happens to be the destined bringer of doom, look like the devil, and work for the government fighting all sorts of cool supernatural shit along with his friend and psychic fish man Abe Sapien, and dealing with his rocky relationship with volatile pyro-kinectic sweetheart Liz and together they face Rasputin, who brought Hellboy here and is out to start the end of days…

Hellboy is a pretty damn unique superhero movie in a lot of ways. The characters are strange and humanly flawed, there’s a meta edge to the film and the comics it’s based and there’s a good balance between light and dark elements. As I said, Pearlman is fantastic as Hellboy and the supporting characters are pretty solid. I must say the villains are bland by comparison and a rare occasion where the heroes way outshine the bad guys. This was the movie that made me a fan of Guillermo Del Toro, who was a perfect fit for the strange world and he clearly appreciated the source material. In the end, Hellboy was a cool superhero movie that I feel deserves more credit than it got and definitely deserves a watch. May the gods bring you glory.

Bird Box (2018)

The movie starts off like most movies, a lonely woman finding out she is pregnant. Why this is such a popular starting point I will never know. They always have friends and someone to knock them up so you couldn’t have been that lonely. Either way Bird Box doesn’t waste much time. It isn’t long before a hospital trip for Malorie (Sandra Bullock) sees a woman slamming her head off the hard glass of the hospital window. This is where people start seeing something and killing themselves. Yes, it is essentially The Happening at this point.

The movie is set up almost as a series of flashbacks between when everything started and Malorie’s journey with Boy and Girl to the safety of a new community. Yes, those are the children’s names, Boy (Julian Edwards)and Girl (Vivian Lyra Blair). The bouncing back and forth is actually done really well, at no point are you ever confused as to what is going on or when. Both points are self-contained with the past explaining how Malorie ended up where she is at and the present explaining where she is going, why she is going there and why she chose the manner in which she is doing it.

The movie is entertaining and suspenseful but I do have a few complaints, none of which are the fact that it is essentially The Happening or A Quiet Place as many have compared it to and rightfully so. No, I don’t mind those things. Hell, the Lion King is essentially Hamlet. Stories are often retold. My issue is the many things the movie doesn’t do for example show what is causing these deaths or truly explain why some batshit crazy people are immune to it.

This movie is a love it or hate it situation. It has a 50% on Metacritic for example and a 68% on rotten tomatoes (65 critics 75 fans) and it is mostly from some people saying the movie is amazing and others saying it is a flaming pile of turds. Except for one person from The Root that thinks the movie is about racism, but I think this person didn’t actually see the movie. One of the things they claim they didn’t explain in the movie is quite clearly explained, and some of their ideas are quite the stretch which is sad since the page is usually quite well informed and well written (especially Mr. Harriot)

All in all tho, the movie isn’t all that new or different and each person will view it differently, whether you love it or hate it, or even see it as an inditement about racism in America, give it a watch and see what you come up with then let me know what you think. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sleepaway Camp

Now I know what some of you are thinking. Hey Savior, of all the stuff you could have used from the movie why did you pick two half-dressed women or hey, Savior why are you using scantily clad women for views? Truth is I am not. See those 2 women, those are the evilest people in the damn movie.

Now that is out of the way this movie is a straight Friday the 13th rip-off. Seriously it takes place at a summer camp, camp counselors are incompetent and ignore all the wrongdoings to the children, legit one is a pedophile and they all know it.

That being said the movie is supposed to be a horror movie, but it is hilarious. Seriously @torstenvblog and I laughed the entire time and the movie is amazing. Don’t take my word for it, because this bad boy is on youtube in its entirety, So below is the movie, in its entirety. Don’t worry, it’s not illegal or anything. They just let it up on youtube for whatever reason. So enjoy it and the insanely popular ending. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Silent Night, Bloody Night

bloody night

Let me start off by saying a special thank you to Savior and his family for taking me in during the holidays, I love all you guys. The holidays are about love, togetherness and good will onto others; they’re probably not meant to watch shitty, free public domain Christmas horror movies that aren’t about Christmas. Sorry Savior.

Disclaimer: this is not a review of Silent Night, Deadly Night. No killer dressed as Santa. No abuse of kid by tyrannical nuns. No “Garbage Day” ( high five to those of you who get the reference). Truth be told, and I quote Savior himself ” I don’t think the damn people that wrote this fucking movie know what it’s about.” The basic gist is there is a house where a guy died ( he was accidentally burned to death but it was no accident) and his grandson decades later goes to sell it, but there’s a killer killing people involved with the sale because I guess it was a mental asylum at some point and this dude’s mom was wrongful killed by the inmates who killed the rich owners and took over as the movers and shakers of this town. Sound like a mess, eh? It is.

Silent Night, Bloody Night is a dumpster fire. The plot and story for this movie are damn confusing to where it’s nonsensical at times. The actors seem unmotivated to where I swore they were drugged on some heavy ass downers. There is some ok atmosphere and music and random gore that made us laugh. This movie made Savior salty as hell and I got some cheap laughs as we asked WTF was going on. As I mentioned earlier, it’s public domain- hell, we watched it on YouTube for free on perfect quality so if you and your friends, family, or pets want to get drunk and watch a movie, this is a good pick. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Us trailer 1

So I’m going to be honest, I’m pretty damn behind on modern horror classics. I’d say Split is probably the most recent I’ve seen and it was 2017 before I saw Sinister , half a decade after release. This being said, I missed Get Out, Jordan Peele’s breakout horror hit last year. While it’s on my list of horror films to see, I found myself radically surprised by the first trailer of Us. The concept seems pretty cool, having to fight a warped version of yourself and your own family. There is some creepy imagery and I’m genuinely intrigued and can’t wait for more. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Gremlins

gremlins

Merry Christmas everyone from us at Saviorgaming to you all at home. Last year Savior and I covered the wonderful family film Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2: Die Harder and I covered the only Christmas game I know of, Batman: Arkham Origins so where do we go from here? Well, how about Gremlins…

Randal Peltzer was average traveling inventor and salesman who wondered into a mysterious little shop in Chinatown, trying to sell his wares to no a vale. The old man doesn’t budge. Meanwhile Randall sees something at the furthest reach of the shop, a cute little critter he’s never seen before. He inquires about it but all his offers are shot down; Randall ends up taking the creature with 3 basic rules to care for it: don’t ever get it wet, don’t expose it to bright light, and don’t feed it after midnight no matter what. The maogi called Gizmo is a gift to Billy, Randall’s son, a quiet good hearted banker crushing on Kate, who has a pretty legit reason for hating Christmas. Gizmo is adorable and affectionate but isn’t long until Billy learns how important the rules are. Getting wet, Gizmo reproduces but his offspring aren’t as lovable. In fact they’re little bastards. Well, after the leader of this new brood cuts the wire to Billy’s alarm, he inadvertently feeds them after midnight. They transform into hideous, mischievous, and murderous monsters that wreck havoc in the town, and it’s up to Billy, Kate, and Gizmo to stop them…

Dude, it’s hard not to like Gremlins. The characters are really likable and the story is a strange but warm mix of family film and creature feature. Gizmo is one of the cutest damn things I’ve ever seen and the Gremlins are nightmarish. I can actually recommend this as a family film as well as a simply good movie for the holiday. May the gaming gods bring you glory this holiday season.

Aquaman (2018, Savior Review)

As a late birthday gift @torstenvblog decided we needed to go see Aqua daddy on the big screen since he was the best part of Justice League (2017) Justice League (second opinion)

Now we all know how I personally feel about the DCEU. Most of the movies for me range from train wrecks to amusing train wrecks. Wonder Woman being the clear exception, but the question remains what does the future hold, and how does it hold up? Well honestly Jason Mamoa and Aquaman may not be the hero the movies wanted, but it is the hero the movies needed.

The movie is a combination of flashback origin story that simultaneously takes place after the events of Justice League. The first 20 minutes or so is Arthur Curry explaining how his parents met and a bit about his childhood. This, however, doesn’t drag on like I expected it to. I won’t lie, I went into this to at some point crash into a crapshoot of a movie that relied on action to cover up a horrible story and questionable CGI.

Around now is when we hit the present time and a submarine being attacked by pirates that have stolen a submarine of their own. It is a pretty cool scene that introduces the man who will eventually become Black Manta. The action here is nice and yet there is a touch of humor. The entire movie is like this in fact and it is something I didn’t know I wanted from the movie.

I don’t want to give the entire movie away, but Black Manta is both a major part of the plot and yet very minor at the same time. You will see him chasing his famous trident and fighting his biggest enemies all in one movie. The movie, however, stands alone. If you have never seen a single movie in the DCEU, you can pop on Aquaman and be perfectly fine.

The 2 biggest surprises here for me were how good the CGI was and how bad the soundtrack was. I hated the music for the movie and truly was the weakest part for me. Regardless any fan of superhero movies (and ladies that like Jason) should check it out. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aquaman

Aquaman 2018

Arthur Curry, the Aquaman, is a force to be reckoned with in the DC universe. Half man, half Atlantean born from the Queen of the mythical under sea kingdom. Arthur rules the seven seas, is strong, durable, can swim warp speed and communicate with sea life as well as kick your ass with his epic trident. But despite these feats his character has always been a joke, but I’m glad to say his movie kicks ass…

The movie tells the origin story of how Arthur Curry, son of a simple lighthouse keeper would rule the seas. After the events of Justice League (second opinion) Arthur returns home to to visit his dad only to get visited by the beautiful princess Mera who begs him to come to Atlantis before Orm, Arthur’s younger half brother begins a war to destroy the surface world. Angry the Atlanteans seemingly executed his mother for treason, Arthur refuses the princess’s plea. Orm launches a strike on the surface after a fixed attack on a diplomatic meeting and after seeing his brother’s drive, Arthur sets off on a quest to find his ancestor’s mystical trident and stop the bloodshed and war of the power hungry Ocean Master…

As a Aquaman fan, I can absolutely say this is what I was hoping for. Jason Momoa brings his natural likability but surprises at how heartfelt he could be. Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Dafoe lend really good supoorting performances. I wish there was a little more Manta, but he was awesome for what he was in. Visually it’s a treat for the eyes, unlike JLA, there is so much beautiful use of colors and there’s plenty of life to feast your eyes on- Atlantis isn’t dull and murky. The final battle is truly badass in scale and shows why I fell in love with character and comics. I’d say it’s say Aquaman dethroned Wonder Woman as the crown jewel of DC movies, but I highly recommend it as a fun adventure flick. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hellboy 2019 first trailer

Damn I feel old. I remember rushing to the movies as a kid to watch the strange movie that was the original Hellboy. That was 15 years ago. David Harbour looks pretty good as the titular anti hero but I’m always going to have a soft spot for Ron Pearlman. I chuckled a few times and I’m glad it’s going to be R rated supposedly but all in all I wasn’t overly wowed by anything I saw. I’m still going to give it the benefit of the doubt but I was a bit disappointed. May the gaming gods bring you glory.