Category: Movie Review

Pokemon 3

pokemon 3

By 2001, I began falling out of the Pokemon craze and appropriately so we get a epic finale to the original trilogy of Pokemon movies.

Pokemon 3, also titled Spell of the Unknown,is a strange tale of imagination, loneliness, and coming to terms with reality. A girl named Molly is sad after her father disappears after going on a archaeological dig. All she has to remember him by is the pieces of a old puzzle, awakening the Unknown, warping reality to Molly’s whim. She generates Entei, fusing the legendary Pokemon with her father’s voice but all that is missing is a mother. Entei steals Ash’s, so now Ash and his friends are left to save her and defeat the Unknown.

Of the 3, I would say it is my favorite story. There is something dark and rather sad about this particular story. On a personal note, I lost my mother right around the time this came out so not being much older than Molly, it impacted me a lot as a kid. I enjoyed the fantastical elements. There are sweet battles and cool dreamy settings. The end I found sad but wasn’t grim. If you want something a bit deeper and a little bit darker than the first two movies but I highly recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pokemon 2000

pokemon 2000

Hey anyone, remember the hype over the year becoming 2000? Well, like Pepperidge Farms, we remember. And so did Pokemon.

Pokemon 2000, also titled The Power of One, is the story of the balance of the planet getting thrown violently out of whack because a collector of rare Pokemon decides to capture the 3 legendary birds. Moltres- the bird of fire, Zapdoes- the bird of lightning, and Articuno- the bird of ice; each a force of nature in itself that once unsettled begin fighting themselves. Because of a prophecy, the world will turn to Ash as a new force emerges, Lugia. It’s up to young Ash and his friends to set them all save the world…

Much deeper into the Pokemon universe, Pokemon 2000 is on par with the first in my opinion. There is more action, more epic locations, and a deep story. The legendary birds are freaking awesome to behold. Again the ending is happy but this time it fits better. In the end I highly recommend this animated film and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pokemon: The First Movie

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Many, many years ago Pokemon was everywhere. Trading cards, video games, the cartoon and when the MewTwo Strikes Back hit theaters, everyone lost there shit in my first grade class.

Team Rocket’s leader, Giovanni, commissions his most evil deed yet: an experiment to create the world’s strongest Pokemon. Created from legendary Pokemon, Mew, MewTwo is born but is furious with the prospect of existing solely as a human’s slave. After mastering his devastating powers, MewTwo sets off to cleanse the world of man and reign in a whole new era of Pokemon dominance. Standing in his way are Ash Ketchum and his friends, as well as Mew in a epic showdown for the fate of the planet…

I’m a huge fan of the movie. If you were a fan of the show, you’ll like this darker next step; if you are a new comer, I think you’ll enjoy the epic tale and awesome fights. MewTwo sells the movie. He is a great, complex villain. The animation is beautiful and there a nice balance between light and dark elements.  My only personal peeve with it is the last five minutes or so, it’s a hardcore happy ending. In the end, I do highly recommend as a cool animated film. May the gaming gods bring you glory so you catch them all.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay trailer

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A few days ago the trailer for the newest R rated DC animated movie dropped and I felt a huge buzz of excitement. R rated Suicide Squad- just the way it ought to have been. This time we are joined by Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Bronze Tiger, Copperhead, and Killer Frost (a better squad selection may I add) as they take on a enemy that’s not a ridiculously over-powered demigod they shouldn’t be able to kill in any way, shape or form but do because…reasons. These 3 main factors make me cautiously optimistic- no one is forgetting Killing Joke anytime soon. May the gaming gods bring you glory and best wishes.

World War Z

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There are some ideas that are brilliant, some that are maddeningly dumb, and some that can only be done once. This is one of my favorite books and least favorite movies.

World War Z, as the rest of the title suggests, is a oral history of the zombie war. Basically the book is written interview style with multiple survivors of different cultures, creeds, ages, and social standings We get traumatic accounts of epic battles, tearful goodbyes, and get a cool view of how others outside ourselves would deal with such a catastrophic event. The book never feels repetitive in tone or character arcs and that is what makes it so damn enthralling: genuine feeling characters around the world dealing with classic, simple zombies- a threat most wouldn’t take at face value but Max Brooks demonstrates how endearing and dangerous they are.

The movie ditches almost everything but the zombie apocalypse. We get an obscene amount of fast, kinda green looking, Pg-13 28 knockoff zombies overruning the globe as Brad Pitt goes through action set piece after action set piece trying to find a cure and get back to his family. Watching this hurt. Bad. The stories and characters I loved in the book were striped and replaced with a Emmerich wannabe action movie. I admit, I may be hard on the movie; many folks I know that really enjoyed it never read it at all.

I’m going to say pick one, and whatever you pick, don’t go to the other because chances are you will get royally bent out of shape. I favor the book’s variety and emphasis on strong characters, setting, and simple zombies. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sharknado 5 (2017)

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Oh Sharknado. I am pretty sure people mostly watch these movies to see how far off the deep end of what the fuck did I just watch they can go, and Sharknado 5 goes even further off that deep end than ever before. I am talking hit a rock star with a bus so he plays some metal while driving down the road then kills a shark with his guitar style off the deep end. The movie is goofy and silly as hell, just like the last 4. The dialogue is corny, the visuals are pretty much as B movie as they can possibly get. And if you enjoyed the last 4 you will like this one, if you didn’t, this will not change that at all. In fact this one may actually make some fans shy away from continuing the series, and I do mean continuing since the ending pretty much promised a part 6.

However I did enjoy the movie for what it was, and I will watch the next one. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Before I Wake (2016)

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Before I wake is one of those movies people will either love or hate, like most Netflix movies really. It tells the story of a husband and wife that choose to foster a child after the death of their son.They soon discover their new foster son has a weird power where his dreams become reality when he sleeps.

As he sleeps they see visions of beautiful butterflys and even their child that died in an accident happy. more than visions tho they can touch these things. Mom becomes slowly more obsessed with staying up to see them, not in a dangerous way but in an unhealthy way to be sure, which dad calls her out on.

The problem with all this, is his nightmares are also very real, and very dangerous. The first to fall victim to this is the school bully that learns sometimes it doesn’t pay to be a dick, and it pays even less to attempt an attack on a sleeping classmate. The movie is a lot of fun and has some great twist and turns to it, and while I al sure it isn’t for everyone I enjoyed it from beginning to end, tho it may be the saddest horror movie every created. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

License to Wed (2007)

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License to Wed is the sweet story of how a couple met, fell in love and decided to get married. Then a possibly deranged and crazy but possibly genius minister played by the late great Robin Williams. The story starts off much like any comedic love story, boy meets girl, boy falls in love, boy proposes. They then go to girls church she frequented growing up to get her favorite and most loved religious adviser not named Savior to unite them in holy matrimony.

This is around the time Mr. Williams as the minister turns out to be possibly bat shit crazy with a game show similar to Family Fued going on with the 10 commandments and children with plans to take them in the park the next day to learn about the sins of gambling. He then informs them all to bring a dollar and ask their parents what a trifecta is. For those that don’t gamble a trifecta is a term for when a gambler places a wager on their ability to pick the placement of the first 3 positions of a race for example.

Anyway that aside they decide between being wed in 3 weeks or 2 years, and the race is on to finish a multi month course in 3 weeks. This will include counseling sessions, both group and one on one, a random visit for the minister to talk about sex, them not being allowed to have sex and driving a car blindfolded. The movie is great and a lot of fun and any comedy fan should check it out, best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hot Rod (2007)

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Hot Rod is the story of a wannabe stunt man following the path of his father, a father that died during a tragic stunt. Rod Kimble lives at home with mom, step dad and half brother. His half brother his part of his team that helps him set up his stunts. His step dad beats him during sparing matches where Rod attempts to prove he really is a man, and his stunts are basically the joke of the town. But can he change all this when his step dad needs an expensive surgery to save his life, and so he can finally be a man that beats up his step dad?

Don’t go into this movie expecting some great movie with amazing special effects, or even great acting. The effects and music seem to come straight out of the 80’s, hell so does most of the acting. And what would you really expect from Andy Samburg and Danny McBride? The movie tho is amazing, its funny, its goofy and it actually has a pretty great story to it. The ending is also not what you would expect.

As always I won’t spoil much more for you, but the ending was pretty refreshing. Best wises and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Rings (2017)

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Having never seen the other movies I really didn’t know what to expect to be honest. I did her some not so flattering things and I have to admit I really don’t see them. The acting is fine, the story itself is pretty solid. A college professor sees a take and figures out that if he gets other people to watch it nobody dies. Using this tactic to attempt to figure out if souls actually exist and to save lives however things are bound to go wrong.

Of course things do go wrong, and that is when people start dying and things go from . I bad to a hell of a lot worse. The movie is far from perfect, and I am open to the idea that the others were just so much better this one seems worse, I don’t want to spoil to much but I did enjoy this one and would suggest giving it a fair chance. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.