Category: Opinion

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers vol 2

power rangers vol 2

Again, another shout out to Autobot for letting me borrow these books. Picking up where Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: vol 1 left off, tensions are at a all time high between Rangers, especially Zach and Tommy. The reason for Zach’s paranoia stems from a secret encounter he had with Rita, before the Green Ranger even appeared. Using his nature against him, he offered him the Green power to help bring order to the world if he would just abandon his friends and achieve the greatness he sought. He turned it down but he felt the overwhelming ease and guilt at the wanting he felt. A new monster, the Black Dragon, has descended on them, kidnapping Billy and zapping all the Rangers expect for Tommy’s, leading to Tommy and an unpowered Jason to lead a raid on Rita’s palace to free the captured Blue Ranger…Once again, I was really into this comic. The characters are done well, being fun but heartfelt, and the action is awesome. Seeing the Dragonzord in space was pretty damn sweet. If you liked the first volume, feel free to jump to into the second and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Goosebumps 2 trailer 1

 

What can I say, I love Goosebumps with a passion. Well, the books and TV show at least. I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie so I wasn’t completely thrilled when I saw this trailer, but it’s here. I’m interested where a sequel will go, and it looks like we’re getting the fresh start approach which could be good. I’m not excited but it’s worth a look if you liked the first.

The Blood Lands ( aka The White Settlers)

blood lands

After how much the twist at the end of The Boy pissed me off, I needed carnage and Netflix was there to answer my plea…kinda. Granted, I went into this expecting something like Wrong Turn or dare I say more like Hostel. I was ultimately wrong, but calmed down by this simple thriller. Blood Lands is about a British couple who buy a old cottage in Scotland to fix up, but a group of pig masked strangers doesn’t want them there. Essentially that’s the main plot. Where the movie thrives is the couple, Ed and Sara’s chemistry; they act like a genuine couple and do feel like real people. For a movie called “Blood Lands” there isn’t much blood, going mostly for a suspense approach which is welcome. The pig masked group aren’t very scary though; the combination of the heavy Scottish accents and the masks make everything a damn muffled mess; what saves them as villains is there ultimate motive which I found refreshing. Honestly, Blood Lands was a pretty decent horror movie, short and simple but effective. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dark Knight turns 10 today

the dark knight

Why so serious today? July, 18th, 2008 we got one the greatest superhero movies of all time, as well as one of the best sequels of all time and for many, the best Batman film to date. I know plenty of folks who hate superhero films, but still adore this movie. The trilogy was one of my biggest inspirations as a writer in the genre, and a decade later it still holds near and dear to my heart. From Heath Ledger’s frightening performance as the Joker, a winding plot leading to an emotionally gripping finale, and Batman at some of his most epic. I had the pleasure of seeing it for the midnight showing in Scranton because of my dad, Duke, and because he sacrificed something I was able to be inspired by something truly special, and for that I’ll always be grateful. In the end, sit back and enjoy this masterpiece so it can put a smile on your face.

The Boy

the boy

So I’m really late to the party on this one. My old roommate and I really wanted to see this a few years ago when it came out. He saw it around that time, I watched it last night. He told me don’t watch it. I almost wished I took his advice.

The Boy follows Greta, who ditches her asshole abusive ex boyfriend by taking a nanny job overseas in England. Her employers are a rich, old couple who live in a old mansion in the middle of the countryside. She meets the charming Malcolm, who brings the groceries and soon meets the child she is tasked with caring for: Brahms. Greta immediately finds herself creeped out because Brahms isn’t a child at all, but a doll made to look like a boy. Greta accepts this for easy money, ignoring the strict guidelines his parents gave and suddenly things begin happening and Greta is forced to care for Brahms like he was her own and she finds out the mystery of the Brahms that used to be…

This movie is tricky. It is filmed really nice and acted pretty damn well given the movie’s strange premise. I’m glad it’s not a common ghost stories, and I do like how you start to think Greta maybe going insane at times. I feel like the movie could have been a really psychological thriller attuned to the original Haunting, but alas the twist ending happens. I hated the twist, which kills a lot the movie for me. In the end, the movie is fine but could have been great and there’s no harm catching it on Netflix. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: vol 1

power rangers v1

To start, I’m going to start this four part review with a shout out to my friend Autobot who loaned me these comics. After the Power Rangers Shattered Grid Trailer , many were interested in the Higgins run of Power Rangers comics, to which we get the first volume.

Shortly after being freed from the grasp of Rita Repulsa, Tommy Oliver is finding the balance between being a normal teen and the sixth Power Ranger. The dynamic of the team has changed as the old rangers learn to adjust to there new teammate and former enemy. Tensions are high amongst the group; Jason and Tommy butt heads over leadership and Zach is ensure of Tommy’s true aligence after it appears Tommy can’t fully control the powers of the Green Ranger. Unbeknownst to the rest of the team, Rita is mentally torturing Tommy, trying to lure him back to her side. Or, does Rita have other plans?

I grew up with Power Rangers like many and to this day I still love the classic Mighty Morphin series so I loved this book. If your a die hard fan and are worried it won’t fit the show, rest assured, the characters act and look how they did then. What I liked is how it was just a little bit darker, but wasn’t as drastic as last year’s remake seemed to be. I couldn’t wait to read the next book in the series. The only issue I had was it felt short; there is a Bulk and Skull short at the end but I felt like it was there to pad the book up a bit. Either way, old fan or new, it’s definitely worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

A simple favor trailer

Now when the name Paul Feig gets brought up, your mind goes directly to GhostBusters 2016, which sparked an idiotic amount of controversy and outrage. I have no prior knowledge of his work, but I’m intrigued by the trailer for hi latest, A Simple Favor. The premise seems basic, tried but true, but the music, tone, and retro elegance of Blake Lively’s costumes brought on a otherworldly quality I’m a sucker for. I love Anna Kendrick as an actress and I’m glad she’s rising up. I hope the Ghostbusters remake hasn’t scarred this film; I laughed a little at the opening of the trailer that states it’s from the “darker side” of Paul Feig. In the end, I hope it’s a redemption for the guy, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dr Sleep release date announced

Dr sleep movie

In the The Dark Tower we saw a brief glimpse at a picture of the Overlook Hotel, the setting and antagonist of The Shining . I groaned, expecting a remake of Kubrick’s classic but months ago we got news that Ewan McGregor will be playing a grow up Danny Torrence in the film for Dr. Sleep. Mike Flannigan, as seen above, is set to direct; with credits including Oculus (2013) , Ouija: Origin of Evil, Hush, and last year’s Gerald Game, it seems Dr Sleep is in capable hands. Rebecca Ferguson is also cast. We have a a release set for 2020; January 24th according to IMDB. Film Buffs out there may find this alarming; January has always been a notorious month for shit movies, and I pray this isn’t the case. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Evil Dead

evil dead

Before the one-liners, before the madness of Asliegh Williams killing Deadites in the middle ages, before the remake that took itself way too seriously and Ash vs Evil Dead (series) there was the gory, claymated wonder that was the classic Evil Dead. Like many wacky misadventures, Evil Dead is about a group of friends that go to a nice sweet little cabin in the woods. Things are fine until the basement door pops open and in the basement they find an old tape recorder and a peculiar book made of flesh and written in human blood- like we all do. On the recorder is a translation from a past victim of the book, who loudly recites the translated incantations, unleashing the Evil Dead on them. Malevolent spirits awaken, attacking and possessing the friends, turning them into disgusting demons. By the end, on the cusp of his sanity is the whimpy, meek, Ash but can he rise to the challenge?

I know I’m playing against the the gross opinion but I actually like the original Evil Dead best. I like the gritty filming and there is a good blend of WTF scenes that are funny actual horror. Linda, Ash’s girlfriend, creeped the hell out of me with her clownish make up and wide grin. The infamous tree rape scene holds up pretty well in my opinion and is still alarming. In the end, Evil Dead is a simple movie with a simple premise that is a damn awesome B movie I recommend checking out for the simple fact it is a fun horror movie of gore, slapstick, and some chills. May the gaming gods bring you glory, now it’s time to go to sleep:)

Is evil, evil?

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Below there will be spoilers for multiple movies and TV shows that I will list.

  1. Supernatural 2. Marvel Infinity war 3. final fantasy 9

 

When I was young I remember never questioning things like this. The good guys were good, the bad guys were bad. That was it. There was no in between. The character I played or the protagonist in the movie was the good guy, the people they faced off against was the bad guy and that was how I viewed things. But then I got older and things didn’t seem so simple. However in my old age I have to wonder, maybe it isn’t so simple.

Watching Supernatural I see Gordon Walker, obsessed with killing Sam who happens to be the Antichrist. Now for those that watch the show, this isn’t entirely wrong. He actually does help mess things up pretty badly. The Winchester brothers while a force for good and saving the innocent numerous times do inadvertently cause some problems, like start the end of the world. While maybe not the best way to go about it, was Gordon a bad guy? Killing Sam would stop all kinds of bad things from happening and save many lives.

Thanos is another good example in the MCU Thanos Not the Villain?    while he may not be the typical example of a hero, and he may have a messed up way of going about it, he is far from being truly evil. What he says is factually correct, and his solution will actually work.

On the flip side, many of the people we see as heroes, aren’t truly good. Captain America in the same movie in his refusal to trade lives is guilty of the same “evil” we accuse Thanos of. He took the choice as to living or dying away from countless people in both Wakanda and in the universe as well as for Vision when he refused to let him sacrifice himself. By the time Vision was allowed to make that choice, it was far to late. Both Thanos and Captain America are arguably equal on the scale of good and evil.

There was a time in video games this wasn’t very common however, it was simply a good vs evil story. There are however exceptions to the rule. Garland from Final Fantasy 9 for example, he was a bad guy but only mostly. While he is responsible for Kuja and some unsavory things he wasn’t lets destroy the world evil like Kuja.

Now I am not saying all evil characters aren’t evil and all good ones aren’t good. But as a kid the subtle things were lost on most people and as an adult going back and seeing these things is rather odd. Fun, but odd. Now there is no real reason for this, just some random thoughts. Tell me what you think or any examples you have, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.