Category: Movie Review

Brave New Jersey (2016)

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A long time ago, in 1938 Orson Welles wrote a radio broadcast heard by millions, that started with something like ” We interrupt this broadcast with a special news bulletin, martian have invaded New Jersey” or something similar. People went nuts and began to flea their homes in Panic. That at least is how the story goes, tho there isn’t much evidence to support it. There are some news headlines that have largely been accepted as the news papers attempt to discredit the newly emerging radio news.

This movie however tells the story of a small town in New Jersey as it gave into this alleged hysteria. The movie is quite interesting and paints an amazing picture of just how some people may have acted. Most period piece movies can’t seem to find that line between realism and interesting enough to keep modern people interested, but Brave New Jersey managed to do both. While the movie does have its downtrends and you pretty much know the ending from the opening credits for those interested in history it is a fun movie to watch, tho I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

X Men: The Last Stand

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Director Bryan Singer was given a choice after coming off of his sucess with the first two X Men films: do X3 or hope on to the WB and do Superman Returns. He went to Superman and damn you can tell.

How does the mutant community react when the government develops a cure? Magneto takes the amount of outrage from the news to gather a remarkable army with his young protege, Pyro. Meanwhile, Rogue is thrilled. Many of the X Men are still mourning over the death of Jean Grey, taking it the worst is her fiance Cyclops who is suffering a grand amount of depression. But something is telling him to see her, and he discovers Jean is alive. Here we discover Jean’s secretly ultra powerful and Prof X has had to tie her powers down mentally, but they are now unleashed as…ugh…the Phoenix. So Wolverine must ban together with X Men young and old for a final stand to save the cure and stop Phoenix….

Ok, I don’t hate this movie. If you want a straight up action flick, it is pretty entertaining. Kelsey Grammer is another amazingly perfect casting as Beast. Where the movie begins to fail is the fact they are essentially cramming two giant ass plots into a movie that’s just two hours, not really giving either the depth they deserve. Also, Wolverine becomes the main focus of the movie, the other X Men are just minor characters like Storm and Beast, or just there like Rogue, Iceman, Angel, or Cyclops. There are two times I feel the effects go overboard but other than that, they are solid. In the end, being the worst of the original trilogy, it is still a solid movie. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

X2: X men United

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This was one of the first times I was ever was pumped for a sequel. As a kid I was obsessed with the first film. It was slick, it was deep and it was epic. So how did the second of the original trilogy come out?

When a mutant named Nightcrawler attacks the president of the US, the shit hits the fan. A new foe named Stryker uses this attack to launch on Prof. X’s school in order to capture and detain mutants. Meanwhile, Wolverine returns to the school just in time after not finding answers to his forgotten origins, escaping with Rogue, her boyfriend IceMan, and there friend Pyro. Stryker wants to use Xavier to exterminate mutant kind so it’s up to the X men, Magneto and Mystique to stop him while Wolverine learns his true origin…

X2 is nearly a superior sequel. There are more badass action scenes, cool characters, and great dramatic scenes. What begins to become apparent is the favoritism towards Wolverine starts to creep in but in this case it isn’t a hindrance yet. Also, I’m not a fan of the blatant Jean Grey sacrifice to open the Phoenix plot line nor do I like the Lady DeathStrike portrayal. Despite these grips, it is a great movie and I recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

X- Men

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Of all the things people said would come in the year 2000, something did change. Superhero movies stepped up there games ten fold. The first to begin the trend was X-Men.

In the debut film we are introduced to a world dealing with mutants, people with powers that normal people find dangerous. Mutants are often faced with hate and fear. Charles Xavier, a paraplegic telepath and founder of Xavier’s School for the Gifted believes man and mutant can peacefully co exist. Magneto, Charles’s old friend and holocaust survivor, believes they never will and mutants must assert there dominance over man. The two leader’s paths cross over a mysterious badass mutant named Wolverine and a young, dangerous women named Rogue and a plot by Magneto to kill the world’s leaders…

Almost two decades old, I’m glad the movie still holds up well. There are some damn great performances in it: Sirs Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellan as Prof. X and Magneto, as well as Hugh Jackman’s iconic performance as Wolverine. There is a cool list of supporting characters and a good balance between action and drama. I do really recommend this film as a tried and true of the genre. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Vault (2017)

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Sometimes you just need to rob a bank. Sometimes you don’t want to work, so you need to rob a bank. Other times you piss off the wrong people and owe a shit ton of money and they make you rob a bank. That is sort of what this movie is about.

The movie starts off with a job interview and an angry customer, and we quickly discover a few of the people in the bank happen to be robbers. What they weren’t counting on is back in the early 1980’s someone else robbed this same back, lost their mind and killed everyone in the back. Now this bank is haunted as hell, and these bank robbers are about to have a world of problems.

The idea sounds good, and it has its moments but honestly the movie is a lot of standing around and talking. The movie drags on quite a bit at times and admittedly I found myself wishing it would just end. Towards the end it does get better tho the ending is pretty predictable. I would’t recommend this one. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Godzilla: Monster planet

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Full Disclaimer: unlike many of my friends, I’m not a avid Godzilla fan nor a particular fan of Kaiju in general. Not to say I don’t mind the promise of giant monster crashing and thrashing through the civilization we busted our asses o build- if you had my job, you would find yourself wishing a radioactive iguana would tear through your workplace to break the monotony of the day.

Humanity has been brought to the brink of extinction and is forced to live in space, isolated, losing oxygen, supplies, and hope. But Why? What caused our ultimate downfall? Godzilla. What’s left of the human race is desperate to find another habitable world to no avail. Suddenly Earth becomes the only option, despite the unkillable beast. 1000’s of years passed and the environment and it’s creatures have changed, but the king of the monsters still lives. In the end, it’s up to an enraged major and a vast quantity of Earth’s last military to make a final stand against the insurmountable…

I have to say I wasn’t really a fan of this episode, and at 90 minutes it is a episode. Minor spoiler, there is generously 15 minutes of Godzilla in the whole thing but a hell of a lot of people telling you how either OP he is or how much they hate him. The animation quality varies. Sometimes good, sometimes strange. Like something about the way Godzilla is animated feels wrong or out of place. The rest of the time feels like a somewhat generic space plot. The action is kinda neat but I couldn’t help but think of Attack on Titan at times. For the casual fan, I can’t really recommend it honestly. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pokemon 3

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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

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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.