Category: Opinion

Captain America: Winter Soldier

capws

With Infinity War coming to us in a few short months, I thought it would be only fair I cover the MCU as well as I can thus far. For the fourth of July I already talked about Captain America: the First Avenger and Savior covered both Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) films as well as Doctor Strange ( 2016) , so I thought it would be fitting to finish talking about Cap. In this case, I have read the comic too so I got some extra insight on this story.

After the Avengers, Steve Rogers has found a routine in our modern day, working for S.H.I.E.L.D taking down terrorists with Black Widow and being a badass, but it’s not easy being out of your time. He begins discovering quickly how all isn’t right at S.H.I.E.L.D and how a ghost from his past has essentially come in and is trying to kill him after leading to the fall of Nick Fury, a metal armed assassin called the Winter Soldier. It’s up to Captain America to stop this threat along with Falcon and Black Widow and try to bring Hydra out in the open…

Winter Soldier is the definition of a superior sequel. Captain America is much more badass in this film, even from the get go. The fights with him and Winter Soldier are some of the best hand to hand fights I’ve seen in my life. The plot is fairly strong as is the acting and cast. The graphic novel goes into a much greater detail around the backstory of Bucky Barnes during WW2 and his hero/ sidekick relationship with Cap but is still a great read if you like a good spy thriller. Either book or movie, it’s a great story and definitely worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Spider-man: Homecoming

spiderman homecoming

This movie brought millions of nerd’s dreams come true, Spider-man’s first true film inside the MCU and we finally got the Spidey movie we’ve been asking for. Set after Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker returns to high school with big dreams of being an Avenger as well as asking the cute captain of his high school quiz team out. With the suit given to him by Iron Man, Peter goes around just trying to be the best friendly neighborhood Spider-man he could be, but suddenly a real threat comes his way when a gang of disgruntled workers emerges with experimental alien hybrid weapons led by Adrian Toomes, The Vulture. Suddenly Parker’s world suddenly find themselves crashed together and only he can stop it, a teenage kid…

First, special thanks go to my friend Hatter for awesome movie night. Tom Holland is the perfect Spider-man in my opinion, being witty but not mean spirited, heartfelt but not sappy and just the right amount of badass. The supporting cast is surprisingly strong, especially Michael Keaton as Vulture which is one of the better villains of the MCU. Something I give the movie credit for is being very simple, not diving into mountains of foreshadowing like The Amazing Spider-man 2 meant to set up other movies. Spider-man was fit into the scheme of things just fine. In the end, its a fun superhero movie and it’s well worth a watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2

battlefront 2 old

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away there was a epic video game called Star Wars: Battlefront 2. It was and perhaps still is one of the greatest Star Wars games next to Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic but sadly, there was a disturbance in the Force and so came the dark lords at EA.

Classic Battlefront 2 was a massive game for the time. Released on the heels of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, the story revolving around the memoirs of a retired Clone Trooper as he recounts the Clone Wars, the downfall of the Republic, and the rise of the Empire. We got to enjoy enormous third person battles straight from the movie, visiting beautifully done and films accurate maps. Vehicles, space, and almost 20 of our favorite characters throughout the series like Luke Skywalker,  Yoda, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, as well as more minor but still awesome characters such as Ki Adi Mundi and Aylah Secura. What made this game loads of fun was Galactic Conquest: capturing worlds for credits used to buy new advantages in battle like health regenerating troops, extra garrisons, or even having a hero commander join you for example. The classes were fun, each faction had 7, the last two custom to the faction, whether getting a stealthy Bothan spy or the Droidieka murder machine and your weapons and characters were upgraded by a fair prestige system for simple achievements in match. For war game fans and Star Wars nerds alike, this game is a must play and I can’t recommend it enough…but alas my friends, there is a dark side as I said.

With my pal Autobot, I tried EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and well…WHAT THE FUCK EA? Given my extreme disappointment over the first attempt at Battlefront, I was desperately optimistic to the point Savior wanted to kick my ass as was the case with Justice League (2017)  or Power Rangers So I’m going to say the game is stunning to look at visually with damn nice character models and great score. Other than that, I can’t find much I liked. I hated how space combat felt, the controls felt too off and I found there to be a major lack of variety of ships and functions. Speaking of, despite playing a little bit through all three trilogies, I couldn’t help feeling a lack of variety in the ground trooper classes: assault, heavy, sniper, and other. That’s it. Heroes are far less plentiful and nowhere near as fun to play as. What was the cherry on the shit sundae were the hard crashes we experienced; of 10 matches we crashed 3 in a row over two pretty boring game modes. I can’t recommend this reboot at all and friends don’t let friends play this damn game.

May the gaming gods bring you glory, and please take this away from this: graphics don’t mean everything, effort and love will always shine through.

Have Movies Changed, or Have We?

change

Every so often I get into a conversation about how much movies have changed, or even tv shows. Whether it be how the classic Alien holds up better than the new Covenant, or how many of the hold horror movies are scarier than the new ones. But are they really? Or have we as a society simply changed? See the scary part of horror movies really is partly the fear of the unknown. Could something like a Xenomorph exist? Someday will humanity reach out into the starts just to find a creature we can not defeat with our technology that is simply a damn near unstoppable hunter?

The problem becomes what happens when you have seen so much that things no longer seem original? When does the unknown stop being unknown and the unpredictable become predictable? I think that is where we are now with movies. We have reached the point where we have seen most things in horror. Where ghost and monsters used to be enough, for many of us it no longer is. Stories have become predictable not because they aren’t good, but because we have seen so many we now have the experience to predict the next event.

This happens in other genres as well, Star Wars and Star Trek as well. Hell even Professional wrestling many times. Younger fans still see the fun and excitement that many of us miss. I am now starting to think movies haven’t changed, we have. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Matilda

matida

There are times in life we have to go back to go forward. While writing I keep this in mind. As a kid Matilda was one of my favorite movies as a kid and twenty plus years later this movie holds up pretty well.

Matilda WormWood is an incredibly smart little girl living in a family that doesn’t really care, appreciate, or understand her. She finds knowledge and solace within the pages of books, becoming smarter than most adults around her; a gift emerges in the little girl. Matilda can move things with her mind. She finally gets her dream come true when she’s finally enrolled in school, bu that dream becomes a nightmare. Enter the maniacal, cruel, monstrous TrunchBull that runs the school. Her teacher Miss Honey however is the exact opposite, a sweet, kind lady that actually understands her and grows to love her as she does all children. It becomes clear to Matilda after finding out TrunchBull’s dark story that it’s up to her and power to stop her and free the school and Miss Honey from her tyranny…

In many ways, Matilda is the kid’s version of Carrie by Stephen King and it was written by Roald Dahl, writer of such WTF dark kid’s classics as James and The Giant Peach, The Witches, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There’s a lot of charm and while bleak as hell, there is always a ray of light. I was genuinely glad it had a happy ending. Mara Wilson was especially good as Matilda, being incredibly smart but lovable. I seriously recommend this to pretty much anyone, kids or adults alike. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Meg trailer

So Meg is finally here, adapted from the book about a giant ass prehistoric shark and pretty much seems to be what’s delivered. My friend Autobot, an avid fan of the book, wasn’t very pleased with the trailer. After finishing the book I’m reading now, Meg is next on my reading list. I think it looks like a fun, popcorn monster film with some cool visuals in the preview. The damn PG-13 rating is a red flag and a half to me. Time will tell as always, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Children of the Corn 3: Urban Harvest

children corn 3

So 90’s kids, have you ever watched Fresh Prince and asked yourself, you know what this show needs, the Children of the Corn? Well you kind of got your wish.

Unlike Children of the Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice which tried to stay somewhat close to the vibe of the first film, Urban Harvest tries to go in a different direction. Josh and Eli are brothers rescued from an abusive dad in Gaitlin and sent to live with foster parents in the big city. Josh, the older of the two brothers, seems more rebellious, breaking his Amish-like wardrobe, making friends and being a normal teen in there Catholic School. Eli stays to his ways, but he brings a gift from home: the corn. We learn they are foster brothers, and Eli has always had a dark part in Gaitlin’s history. Gaining love in devotion from his foster dad, a marketing executive, Eli wants to spread his demon corn throughout the US…yep.

The plot is ludicrous, yes, I’m willing to admit. Most will call it trash; it’s one of my favorite WTF movies next to Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows and Halloween: Resurrection. There are some interesting death scenes combined with effects that are just sub-par to be enjoyable. Eli is a devilishly fun cult leader, second best to Issac from the original. The acting really ain’t too bad for such a laughable premise. It’s a fun kind of horror sequel that can enjoyed on a WTF movie with your friends and some beers. May the gaming gods bring you glory, and more Children of the Corn reviews are on the way.

Children of the Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice

children corn 2

Since I was a kid, I was a huge fan of the Children of the Corn series, for better or worse. Were they ever the crowning gem of horror? Yes and no, while the concepts and things behind them are creepy and there’s some messed up imagery throughout the movies, there is a ton of WTF moments that keep it memorable. Let me say this now, the title of this movie is bullshit: there are 9 of these movies that I’m aware of with a 10th in the making, final sacrifice my ass.

As for plot, it’s a pretty standard horror sequel. The police finally investigate Gaitlin after I guess Burt and Vicky got out and rescue the traumatized surviving children who are either catatonic or what. They are taken to the next town over and through the corn, another kid is possessed and this whole thing starts again. A reporter and his angsty teenage son are there to investigate the previous events but while Danny, the son is finding first love, he is likewise being draw to the children and it’s up to his father to save him before history repeats itself…

Many people have fixed feelings about the first movie, but feelings here are much easier to conclude: this movie kinda blows. There’s a lot of down time between some decent kills but all in all the movie feels longer than it is. Micah as a main villain is nowhere near as memorable as Issac and I found him annoying at times. The acting is meh at best. Sequels are supposed to raise the intensity, raise the stakes with bigger body counts, bigger story and Final Sacrifice just feels like a step back from the first. I’d say it’s safe to skip it and go straight to the batshit that is 3. May the gaming gods bring you glory and tuned for more Children of the Corn reviews.

 

The First Purge trailer

 

Ok, the Purge has never been my favorite horror series; the series actually gets under my skin. We live in turbulent times to say the least, and I feel the series could have said something reflecting this, but it doesn’t. It could have gone balls to the walls and said something about the cruelty of man and been this generation’s Cannibal Holocaust, but nope. This amount of wasted potential outright pisses me off. This trailer does not make me a believer, just a believer this is going to the same of a series that wants to be goofy, provocative,  and shocking all at the same time and just sorta sucks at it all, but that’s my opinion. May the gaming gods bring you glory and be safe this purge…

TMNT

tmnt 2007

I’m not going to lie folks, I never grew up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. No cartoons, video games, comics or anything. In fact my friend Autobot was the one to introduce me to them with the 2007 CGI film which caught me by total surprise. What happens when the turtles go there own separate ways? After the rift between Raph and Leo bursts, the team splits and must get back together to fight a new foe.

I was a lot more drawn to the turtles than I thought I’d be, Raphael is my favorite. Visually the movie’s CGI is really freaking cool to watch and has some really sweet looking moments through out. The bad guy isn’t great but Patrick Stewart is always a great voice actor and it was refreshing not to have Shredder again. It was a fun movie with some deep parts that I recommend for newcomers as well as the long time fans. May the gaming gods bring you glory.