A Quiet Place was one of my favorite horror movies of recent memory if not the whole last decade; the trailer for 2 doesn’t look like it’ll disappoint. I like seeing how the invasion began and I love that now we get this lovable family vs a world of broken people as well as the monsters themselves. I have high hopes. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Category: Opinion
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
I just have to wonder what the hell has been my luck with crappy 3D movies lately. I forgot the Silent Hill sequel was part of the late 2000’s 3D wave. I admit here, I have no experience with the franchise but I appreciate it’s dark, twisted imagery. That being said, I feel bad for the fans after watching this movie…
Heather’s life has been filled with trauma; her mother died at a early age and she’s plagued with violent hallucinations that relate to the dreaded town of Silent Hill. After her birthday, her father is kidnapped by the insane cult who inhabit the town, and they want her back as a sacrifice to stop Alyssa, a malevolent demon girl they blame the evil on. Heather and a classmate, Vincent Cooper, head to the haunted town to face it’s demons and there own before the Order can bring about the end of the world.
Well, I give the movie this, the score is pretty good even if it is pretty misplaced at times. Other than that, this movie sucks pretty hard. The acting, despite some decent names, is pretty bad; the effects are shotty CGI for the most part; the story is either really nonsensical or really dependent on you seeing the first, but it’s a bit hard to hollow at times. The atmosphere at times is good but the overuse of jumpscares- in which they use a pop tart in the beginning- kills the mood. I laughed at too many scenes I knew I was supposed to be afraid at, and that was before the crappy 3D inches its way into it. In the end, if you need a cheap laugh I might recommend it but otherwise feel free to skip this pooper. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Guardians Disassembled
Some time we have to go back to our roots and chill. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) is one of my favorite MCU films and years before the movie, they were a big reason why I started reading Marvel comics. So to start the new year, let’s start with some GOTG badassery…
The Guardians of the Galaxy have always been trouble-makers in the universe, and while the down trotted have seen them as heroes, there’s some powerful forces that call them enemies. Helping the time displaced X-Men retrieve Jean Grey in Guardians of the Galaxy/ All New X Men: The Trial of Jean Grey was a final straw for these forces. Tony Stark, fresh from his time with them, asks Flash Thompson, better known as Agent Venom, to hang with them as a representative of Earth. They accept this new misfit with open arms. While Quill sleeps, Drax takes Venom shopping for new weapons for his cosmic adventures, and Gamora is on her own leave, they are captured and divided. J-son of the Spartax captures Quill with his ultimatum; Gamora is sent to the Badoon who want to know where Thanos is; Drax is taken by the Shi’ar empire and faces off against Gladiator; the Skrull take Venom; The Brood take Groot while the Kree experiment on Rocket. While things look grim, help comes in the form of Angela, the rogue Asgardian bounty hunter who aids Gamora and Captain Marvell who frees Quill and helps Star Lord bring down J-son once and for all. It’s hard to keep good Guardians down…
This is a damn quick book but it’s action packed. From page one until the end there is plenty of action that’s easy to follow. While it’s volume 3 of the line( Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Avengers being the first) it’s really easy to pick up with a helpful summary and a fluid introduction to the characters. Besides a good story, the book includes a Captain Marvell solo, Venom solo, and future Guardians tale so you get a nice bang for you’re buck. I’d definitely check this book for a Marvel or Guardians new comer. May the gaming gods bring you glory and Happy New Year.
Hostel
With our decade coming to a close, I want to take a minute to go back and look at the last decade in horror. Saw and Hostel ruled the scene, a scene made up of “torture porn”. Eli Roth, director of Cabin Fever, gave us this hit in 2006.
Two friends, Josh and Paxton are backpacking through Europe with a dude there hanging out with, looking for hot babes, booze, and drugs. During a party, they meet some hot chicks that tell them about a awesome party town with a cheap hostel they can stay at. Everything is fun until there friends start to disappear and the folks around town deny knowing anything about the disappearances. It isn’t long before the friends discover they’ve been tricked into a sadistic network of rich men who pay to come torture and kill people at there leisure. The question is, can they make it out when the whole town is in on the conspiracy?
I have to say, this movie is pretty damn overrated but solid for the most part. The acting and score are fine but the atmosphere and premise are the selling points. There are some pretty nasty gore scenes, but it’s nowhere near as extreme as the sequel will be. The dialogue, like many Roth films, is vulgar and awkward and the pacing is slow to start but it fairly thrilling from the second act and on. The revenge ending is pretty satisfying I admit and the world is pretty interesting and makes you want to know more. In the end, it’s a pretty fair movie but I wouldn’t call it a modern classic as some would so it’s worth watching. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Shark Night 3D
We love a good B movie here at Saviorgaming so when this stinker from early this decade washed up on Netflix, I couldn’t help myself. Whether it’s the classic Jaws (1975) , the underrated Deep Blue Sea , or the corny Shark Attack 2 I’ve got a soft spot for shark movies, so what does Shark Night bring to the table?
Like many horror movies, we begin with a group of college friends who go to the hot girl, Sara’s cabin on the lake. She hasn’t been to the cabin in a few years or dated a guy either. Well, during a water-skiing run, the friends discover there are sharks in the water. Alarmed by the WTF question of how a bunch of different breeds of sharks got in a southern river, they trust in the aid of Sara’s disgruntled ex boyfriend and redneck friend to help there dying friend, but do the rednecks know more than they let on?
Shark Night is pretty much what you thought it was going to be from the trailers, it’s a pretty funny B movie with some cheap 3D thrown in. The acting is one dimensional and the sharks are pretty poorly CGI but the effects are better than Sharknado. What kills the enjoyment is the over usage of crappy college rock and the Pg-13 rating which cut most of the gore and topless scenes but instead teases you with great set ups for them. Still, the corniness and absurdity makes it a decent B movie but not a great one. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Hellblade 2 trailer
I’ve been told the first Hellblade game was really amazing and since I just purchased the first game, I wanted to look at the trailer for 2. I love the atmosphere and I love the badass music in the trailer. It got me excited to play the first. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Resident Evil 2 ( classic)
One of the best games we got in 2019 was the Resident Evil 2 Remake which I have to say, is one of the best done horror games of this console generation. As a kid, my friends and I used to plug away at the classic RE2 on the original PlayStation and pray we didn’t die because we didn’t have a memory card. The question is, how does the old Resident Evil 2 hold up over 2 decades later?
Months after the destruction of the mansion in the Arklay Mountains, a massive outbreak of zombies has befallen Raccoon City. It’s here that we’re introduced to series legends, Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy. Claire is looking for her brother Chris after he went M.I.A after investing the mansion in the original; Leon is a rookie cop on his first day on the RCPD who meets Claire as she’s about to be zombie food. They try finding refuge in the police station, only to get split up and set to face the secrets of station and the influence of the relentless Umbrella Corporation and the horrors they’ve unleashed, as well as the creator of the new G virus, the monstrous William Birkin…
So while regardless of it’s age, the game is a horror classic that definitely surpasses the original. The atmosphere and music are still eerie and the monsters still hold up, especially during some impressive cut-scenes for the time. I still remember wanting to crap myself when they introduce the Licker and Birkin’s massacre post transformation. While I admit, I don’t have much experience with Leon, I do appreciate the differences between the campaigns more than there was with Chris and Jill in the first game. What seriously kills the game are the damn tank controls which are clunky as hell and make some puzzles that aren’t hard on there own way more of a bitch than they need to be ( the best example is the library bookcase puzzle). There is a good amount of content including Hunk and Tofu’s campaigns. The graphics are muddy for most of the main game and the writing and voices haven’t held up that great unfortunately. In the end, the game is well worth a play for vintage gamers, but if you can’t stand the controls and gameplay style, move onto the remake. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Naughty Bear
Dude, when I first heard about this game in Fangoria magazine (man that seriously brings me back) my brain truly had no idea how to comprehend this game. Essentially what we have is a Grindhouse- exploitation revenge tale in a kid’s program. Naughty Bear is a outcast on a island of happy, friendly Teddy Bears. One day, he snaps when one of the most popular bears doesn’t invite him to a birthday party and the madness ensues. Naughty goes on a violent stuffing filled rampage, facing off against the police, military and even freaking ninjas as he gets his revenge.
The opening level, in a rare feat, actually shocked me. Naughty has a huge range of possibilities to kill the other bears, whether you are going to traditionally melee or blast your enemies away or take more creative, sadistic measures like drowning them in a toilet, burning them alive in a campfire, or bashing there heads in off a DJ mix table. The aesthetic and music pretty legitimately feel like a children’s TV show, including a really creepy, sinister narrator that sounds way too cheery to be telling the story of a teddy bear who went postal. Despite the insane premise and horrific possibilities, the gameplay sadly rather sucks. Everything feels clunky and the levels feel repetitive and small. The base game is really short, so I seriously recommend if you try it, to get your hands on the special edition with the bonus levels to extend the length but even then it’s a short ass game. I recommend checking it out if you play a truly batshit game, but I don’t think it’ll make any top 10 lists. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Superman: Red Son
I have to admit, my timing couldn’t have been better, getting this book the day before Superman: Red Son trailer dropped. Red Son is one of DC’s most famous multiverse stories. We all know the tale of the last son of Krypton landing in the backyard of the Kents in Smallville who would grow up to be the legendary Man of Steel, Superman. But what if he didn’t land in Smallville?
Red Son follows the life of “The Superman” who became Joseph Stalin’s right hand and nuclear deterrent during the Cold War. Born to a small, poor, Ukrainian family, this Superman fights to protect his people and country and uphold the ideals of communism. The US asks genius mind Lex Luthor to trump the seemingly invincible Superman but he can never seem to stop him, whether its the villainous creations, allying himself with the Russian anarchist known as “The Batman”, or creating a corp of fighters wielding alien Green Lantern tech. Stalin is assassinated, leaving Superman as the President of the growing USSR, a omnipresent godlike figure of security and fear but can he keep being the hero he desires to be when everyone wants to see him get brought down?
Red Son is perhaps my favorite Superman story I’ve read. I love the depth and complexity of Red Son Superman as well as that world’s versions of Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Batman, and the Green Lanterns. The artwork is great, and I love the era Communist era Superman posters that do feel pretty realistic. I do like the twist villain at the end but the very end didn’t work for me. Nevertheless it’s an amazing book I’d highly recommend. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Kirk Cameron Saving Christmas
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Savior and I this season. We’ve covered many of the usual holiday staples on the blog these past few years, but this year I wanted to try something different. First, I have to get this out of the way, I’m not going to shred this movie for the religious views but the insane way they are presented. I mean there are some pretty crazy ass rants here as Cameron discusses the nativity, Christmas trees, and Santa while trying to teach to a dude named Christian about the meaning of Christmas.
It doesn’t take long before you realize this is a propaganda film, hell, there is a good 10 minute prologue telling you about how Christmas is dying. Cameron and the cast beat you over the head with some really one sided religious messages so get ready for a preach fest and I warn you now, don’t watch this if you’re easily offended. I had fun watching the hilariously bad film-making on display but was creeped out but the utter insanity of some of these rants; the swaddling clothe is a good place to start for those who saw this thing. There is a hell of a lot of filler in this and this probably could’ve been an hour but it’s 80 minutes. If you like hilariously bad movies, I recommend this but if you want a decent Christmas special, look elsewhere. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Savior Gaming 