Category: Opinion

Brightburn

brightburn

I was so hyped for this movie with an awesome premise, what if Superman was a horror icon instead of a superhero. During Black Friday I went nuts admittedly catching up on all that I missed in movies, one of which being this. Did it live up to my hype but the hype of so many others?

Tory and Kyle Breyer are good folks living in the small town of Brightburn Kansas who wanted nothing more than a child to love. They get there wish in a startling event when a ship crashes in there front yard, giving them there son Brandon. For the first twelve years of his life, Brandon Breyer is a sweet kid until he hears a voice calling out to him from the barn. Not long after he begins discovering marvelous but terrible things about himself and how powerful he truly is. How far will Tory and Kyle go before they see there son maybe wasn’t such a gift from above?

If you saw the trailers and thought this was going to be a horror twist on Man of Steel than I’d say you are kinda right. I do love the concept and the actors do give the movie there all. Brandon Breyer is a cool horror icon who feels unique but also pays tribute to Superman a lot too and there are some messy kills to make him a badass. My biggest issue is the pacing. This movie feels destined to be a full fledged two and a half hours but it’s only 90 minutes. I feel like more could’ve been explained and things like his change happen too suddenly or where the design of his mask came from. It does have a nice after credit scene that gives us a window into a sequel but I hope next time it’s more explained. In the end, while not a mega hit, Brightburn is a fine horror movie and worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Borderlands 3: Heist of the Handsome Jackpot DLC trailer

Borderlands 3 was such a mixed bag for me, so I was really curious what the DLC would look like. Essentially it looks like Ocean’s 11 with a Borderlands skin. I’m a bit disappointed but hopefully there is a decent story and awesome loot here. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Plan 8 trailer

Looking at the opening of this trailer, I immediately thought of a Terminator rip off but I have to admit, it looks really badass. The combat looks interesting and I dig the homespun futuristic tech; the jet-pack gave me a Vulture vibe from Spider-man: Homecoming which was pretty awesome. I can see me giving this game a try at sale. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Half- Life: Alyx teaser

I always wanted to jump on the Half-Life bandwagon but I never got a chance to. Alyx appears to be a VR game which seems odd. Not really having any connection to the series, everything about this trailer seems kinda meh to me. The VR aspect doesn’t look that great. For the fans, I hope it looks great but as a casual it looks meh. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Antebellum trailer

I do love when random horror trailers pop up in my YouTube feed. Antebellum looks pretty interesting for a lot of reasons. I like the historical throwbacks rather than looking like a straight demonic ghost story. The cinematography looks good and the producers behind it look promising. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Cats trailer 2

Ok, I’m pretty sure I said this last time, but WTF Hollywood. I know Cats is a masterpiece of Broadway musicals and I’m in no way crapping on these talented singers, dancers, and artists hard work, the visuals in this movie genuinely freak me out. What I think does it is that nothing of the makeup looks fake, in fact the make up and prostheses make me not think of Cats but these this are some strange hybrid creatures. I’m pretty curious how this movie will turn out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Loch

loch

Here we have a request from my friend Autobot, who has a love of Cryptozoology; this review is for you kid.

Loch, nicknamed after the famous Loch Ness  Monster, is fascinated by legendary sea life and the expeditions he and his sister get to join the there dad on. There dad, Sam Perkins, is a  big marine biologist who is sadly working for a dick named Cavenger who is obsessed with capturing a monster of his own. During a expedition to a quiet lake, prehistoric beasts are discovered, the most powerful of which kills a cameraman. While picnicking, Loch and his sister Zaidee uncover a baby creature they call Wee Beastie, a friendly, playful creature that means no harm. Cavenger is on the warpath, assembling a stock of high powered munitions to gun the creatures down. Can Loch, Zaidee, and Cavenger’s daughter Sarah save the creatures before it’s too late…

Loch is a pretty short and sweet book meant for younger folks between I’d say ages 8-13. There are a surprising amount of gory deaths that younger readers will find cool that aren’t overly graphic. The main characters are fun and the story is overall pretty solid; I like that it doesn’t sequel bait, unlike something like this made in modern day would be. The pacing of the book is good, only taking me two days to finish reading it. In the end it’s a solid monster book I’d recommend for younger folks. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pure

pure

I have to say, reading the synopsis for this film, watching the trailer, and seeing the movie I can’t help but feel bait and switched. I was expecting something like Stepford Wives meets the Wicker Man. I was pretty damn mistaken…

Shay is on her way to her first Purity Retreat with her dad and sister, a family she is still new to. During this retreat, the girls celebrate there virginity and purity by signing contracts during the forthcoming Purity Ball. With no phones, dressed all in white for those 3 days, they are contorted by the radical beliefs of pastor Seth. One night, Shay and a few girls have some fun and perform a ritual summoning the mythic Lilith Seth always speaks about. Strange things begin to happen as Shay begins to realize this camp may not be a harmless thing after all…

I have some positives before I drop some huge negatives. The cinematography was good and the main actresses were pretty solid. The movie has a lot to say about overbearing men in religious positions of power and some discussions could be started because of this movie. As for the negatives, the rest of the movie. Not much really happens in the movie and what does is either surprisingly tame or just lame; there is a ludicrous amount of obnoxious jump scares throughout. The indie music they play gets annoying quick too, especially when the damn jump scares follow. I can see a lot of the views expressed in this movie pissing someone off pretty bad. A lot of the male actors I felt weren’t great. In the end, I can’t really recommend this Hulu original because it has a good premise but a mostly crap execution. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dragonball Z Boudakai Tenkaichi 3

dbz bt3

Has anyone ever picked up a licensed video game, yearning for the experience to live out your favorite series? You ever feel a heap of soul crushing defeat when you realized this game was crap? Well, good news, this post won’t be about that terrible experience.

Dragonball Z Boudakai Tenkaichi 3 is is the best DBZ gaming experience I’ve had. Combat is fast and the areas are open. The character roster spans from Dragonball Z ( The Saiyan Saga) to DragonBall Z: Buu Saga (Kid Buu) and the full list of movies while including key moments from the original Dragonball and Dragonball GT as well as having a few What IF segments that are pretty good. The roster is impressive, including transformations that are show accurate; Saiyans can go ape during the night stages, you can fuse Goku and Vegeta as well as Goten and Trunks mid fight and the story mode evolves as the story does, instead of multiple one fight missions. Besides a full sized story mode, there is also a variety of tournaments and even a mini RPG surrounding a fight with Cell. Throughout the story, Dragonballs are hidden throughout  the environments and once all 7 are collected, the Dragon can be summoned and exclusive items can be found which is epic as hell. The entire time, I felt like I was in the show. It’s one of my favorite fighting games of all time and I highly recommend checking it out if you have a Wii or PS2. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

DragonBall Z: Wrath of the Dragon

dbz wrath

Hey, wait a second, aren’t I forgetting a movie? Didn’t Broly have a third movie before Super? Why, yes, reader; yes he did. Bio-Broly was white hot liquid dookie and shall not be spoken of on the blog, nor should it be spoken of by anyone…so let’s talk about Wrath of the Dragon instead.

Ages ago there was a dark wizard (not Babadi) who created a unstoppable badass with magic (not Buu) who rampaged a whole world. There was a hero named Tapion who could save everyone from a terrible monster, Hirudegarn who could potentially destroy the universe. When informed of this legend by a mysterious alien, they release Tapion but also half of Hirudegarn. Young Trunks befriends Tapion and restores his confidence but the unstoppable Hirudegarn is complete. Can Tapion and the Z Fighters stop this latest threat?

I have to admit, my recollection of this movie is pretty fuzzy but it was a solid movie. Hirudegarn is cool and it and funny seeing some of the series’s biggest badasses getting beaten down by a torso and a pair of disembodied legs. Tapion was a decent character but he was mostly forgettable. The connection with Trunk and the sword at the end was kinda corny. Overall, it’s not the worst DBZ movie but not the best so it’s Ok to miss. May the gaming gods bring you glory.