Alien Warfare (2019)

Alien Warfare is an interesting movie. I don’t always mean that as a compliment either. The story is so stereotypically painful I almost think they did the whole thing on purpose as a joke to see if it could be done. The movie is a navy seal team is sent to investigate a top-secret base that is hiding something. I say that because of the President and CIA not telling them what they were hiding despite the fact that they were supposed to secure, instead just telling them if it is there they will know it when they see it.

Of course, the team has a wild card member that happens to be someone’s brother, and their father was also was a Navy Seal and oh yes, both the brother and father got someone killed on a mission because they are a hothead. Despite the fact that everyone disappeared, one scientist survived and knows a lot of things about, you guessed it the alien artifact that was found, the government messed with, and got everyone killed except for this one that happened to be in the one room that would save her.

Aliens are of course super advanced and can teleport but don’t kill any of these guys, and they are far too stupid to see they aren’t trying to murder anyone they just want their giant black rock looking device back. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but I will say this. Don’t watch this movie. It isn’t very good. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Anime Spotlight: Hoozuki no Reitetsu (Hozuki’s Coolheadedness) — Before The Clock Strikes 12

Hello everyone. It has certainly been a while since I just spoke to you all. I hope you are all doing well. I have written a couple of short story/experimental pieces just to exercise my creative writing. I hope you all got a chance to read them. Kindly let me know what you did and […]

via Anime Spotlight: Hoozuki no Reitetsu (Hozuki’s Coolheadedness) — Before The Clock Strikes 12

Pet Sematary 2019

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Pet Sematary is what made me a Stephen King fan as a little kid, making me feel uneasy in the fact cemeteries are always a two minute walk away from everywhere I’ve ever lived. The story means a great deal to me so I was a bit irritable when the remake was announced and hinted in the The Dark Tower . But if It (2017) was any indication, I was willing to give it a shot knowing that it sure as hell wasn’t going to be the story I knew. Was I right to be worried?

The Creeds are a normal family who move into a picturesque farm house in the middle of the country. Lewis is a Dr who wants to slow down and spend time with wife Rachael and kids spirited Ellie and baby Gage and Church the cat. While exploring the back woods, Ellie stumbles upon a creepy procession of kids in animal masks going to bury a dead dog in the Pet Sematary, where kids have buried there pets for generations says Judd Crandall, the Creed’s neighbor. Much the like original Lewis is being warned by the ghost of Pascow who he tried to save to avoid the Sematary, or rather what’s behind the dead fall. Some barriers were not meant to be crossed…

I give this remake credit, it does play with your expectations of either the original or the novel and that’s where it’s strongest. It was a huge mistake I believe to ruin the big twist that sets it apart in the trailers; I’m not going to spoil it but I actually really like how it turns out. The performances are really good but the girl that played Ellie I thought was fantastic and I hope to see more of her. The new imagery is cool but somehow feels close to the original. I warn people, do not go in expecting a A to B adaptation but more of a what if type of scenario. A few times the pacing was off throughout all three acts, sometimes dragging but other times feeling a little too fast,  and there is a WTF moment involving a cow I’m sure Savior is going to bring up in his review that made us laugh. while I’ve heard others say there was too much exposition, I feel too much of Judd’s backstory was cut out and the Wendi-go stuff  was mostly irrelevant. Overall, Pet Sematary is a good remake and a good, solid horror movie I recommend to all needing a good scare this spring. May the gaming gods bring you glory and remember…sometimes dead is indeed better.

 

Shazam!-2019 (Savior)

Everyone is going to give you a big long post about How Shazam is really Captain Marvel. It is a long story that is only interesting to uber-nerds and fans of the legal system. So long story short, long before Marvel existed Shazam was Captain Marvel, DC sued the creator, eventually, DC ended up with the trademark for the story of Captain Marvel (Shazam) and Marvel copyrighted the name Captain Marvel for their character. Around 2012 DC changed the name to Shazam became most people that was his name anyway.

Anyway, as for the movie. It is an origin story for Shazam and how Billy Batson got his powers. In his case, he got them from a wizard in need of a champion before his powers were gone to fight the seven deadly sins that escaped when Dr. Thaddeus received their powers when he was pissed The Wizard decided he wasn’t worthy years earlier.

The movie looks pretty good, is well acted and is quite funny. Watching Billy and his brother Freddy figure out his powers is great and happily, the best parts aren’t given away in the previews. There is even a nice cameo from another DC hero.

I also enjoyed the fact that they know the type of character they have, and the history he has with DC and embraced it. I don’t want to spoil it, but it was a pleasant surprise. I do have a couple complaints tho. First, there were a couple spots that the CGI looked a bit cheap compared to the rest of the movie, most notably with the seven deadly sins. My biggest issue is the movie is over 2 hours long and it feels about 30 minutes longer than it needed to be. The ending just dragged for me and it isn’t that I didn’t enjoy it because the ending was good, it just felt like the dragged it on longer than it needed to be just to make the movie longer. It was, however, one of the best DC movies I have seen. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Chernobyl Diaries

chernobyl diaries

I’m a huge sucker for movies about mutation and messed up crap happening to the human body- such that a book took 16 years and counting of my life somewhat on the very subject. But there are some ideas, some stories that I swear no one really thinks of the basic logic behind them. Case in point- who in the fuck would randomly visit the site of Chernobyl as a casual tourist stop? I know many horror movies take a leap of faith of some kind to get going but I think a group of young Americans saying “let’s visit Chernobyl”- site of one of the world’s worst nuclear incidents and still well contaminated to this day is stretching it.

Essentially that’s the plot in a nutshell: four friends are traveling through Europe and before hitting Moscow, one of them meets a old Russian soldier named Yuri that offers to show them sites many don’t get to see- the ruins of Chernobyl. The group, with Yuri and two other tourists goes and sees the vast, abandoned landscapes and deformed fish in the streams, but it seems they ain’t alone. Can they survive being hunted while being hit by the radioactive fallout?

While there are good pieces, as a complete product this movie is just silly. I liked the scenery and feeling of tense isolation. I liked the deformed fish in the stream and the WTF jump scare with the bear ( oh yes, that’s a thing.) That’s about it. The plot is ludicrous and I couldn’t feel shit for the characters because they were dumbasses to be in that situation in the first place. The movie is piled thick with jump scares and shaky cam whenever something does happen, but it’s not a found footage film. I can’t recommend this unless you are drinking or you need a bad movie night but stay away from it like its radioactive otherwise. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Avengers Endgame to Be Stan Lees Last Cameo on Film

In a recent interview with comicbook.com the Russo brothers confirmed what many of us suspected, Endgame will be the last cameo for Stan Lee. They were however very careful to say last committed to film. This leads me to believe they will continue to carry on the tradition in other ways, maybe with pictures or something of the sort. Either way, I think the legacy of Stan Lee and his cameos will continue. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Shazam

shazam

Haven’t we all wanted to be superheroes at one time or another? What if you could just utter a word and instantly with a streak of magic lightning be turned into the ultimate you? Super strong, fast, bulletproof, able to fly and control electricity are just some of the gifts bestowed on Billy Batson after crying out the name Shazam…

Billy Batson is a troubled youth, after losing his mom as a toddler he’s spent the better part of his life searching for her while doing everything in his power to ditch foster care. After so many families, Billy’s last chance is in a group home headed by two good people. After kicking the asses of some bullies picking on Freddie, his disabled, superhero obsessed foster brother, Billy’s life is changed on the subway when he’s taken to a dying wizard who passes on his powers to Billy, hoping he’ll stop a angry, demonic infused Thad Sivana who has unleashed the evils of the 7 deadly sins after being rejected to adopt the powers of Shazam as a kid. It’s all fun and games for Billy, using his newfound powers and body to live out most kids fantasies, but will he make the right choices when the time comes and become a real hero?

Unlike the dark as hell Batman Vs Superman or edgy wannabe Suicide Squad , the DCEU has turned over a new leaf starting with Wonder Woman and Aquaman . Shazam is a lot of fun but I have to say I prefer WW and Aquaman more. There is a surprising amount of heart in this movie and a lot of scenes that tug at your heart strings. All of the kids and family are great but Zachary Levi as Shazam steals the show, he’s funny as hell, energetic, and fun as the grown hero. While Mark Strong, always a great villain, is good here I couldn’t help feeling his character could’ve been made more compelling instead of cartoon like bad guy ( not to mention I wish he could have continued playing Sinestro in a Green Lantern sequel) I do have to say the pacing is off a few times and the movie does drag here and there but the end is way longer than it has to be. Another issue I have is the CGI on the sins isn’t great and kinda took me out of what could have been some great scenes. In the end, Shazam isn’t perfect but it’s a good time I’d say worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Pet Sematary, 2019 (Savior)

So I feel I should tell you, I am probably going to make some statements that some may feel are a bit controversial. Some may agree, some may not. Feel free to berate me in the comments.

First, let me say this. The 2019 version of Pet Sematary is better than the 1989 version. Second, the 1989 version wasn’t all that good anyway. Third, how did I not realize the movie was spelled with an S?

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That really isn’t important, just weird I never noticed. On to the review. If you are reading this, I am sure you read the book or saw the original. In the grand scheme of things, the story hasn’t changed. Doctor Louis moves with his family to the country to slow down and spend more time with the family. His wife, Rachel as a troubled past that will come and go throughout the movie and then the kids Ellie and Gage try their best to adjust to the new life. Gage is young and his one job most of the movie and that is to be cute, and Hugo and Lucas (Yes twins) Lavoie do the job amazingly. Ellie (Jete Lawerence) also does a commendable job and plays her role very well tho I feel John Lithgow steals the show with his role as Jud.

As the movie goes on their cat, Church (sorry guys, no name here, Church was played by multiple cats) dies and Jud introduces Louis to what is beyond the place the locals bury their animals. To a place where the dead doesn’t stay dead. The cat comes back as we all know, but Church isn’t what he used to be. The friendly cat is hissing and scratching and bringing home dead animals and even stops Louis from getting some man and wife time with Rachel. The cat is truly evil.

Now I don’t want to go any further in the story as there are some changes, and you will be happy to know it has been reported a few places that the man Stephen King himself approved of the changes. I enjoyed the changes personally tho I do have to admit while the movie was good enough (but not great) it isn’t a very good book to movie adaptation. It was, however, a good movie. If you are looking for an accurate to the book experience you are not going to get it. If you are looking to simply be entertained, this is worth a watch. Tho before I go, anyone that has seen the movie can you answer a question for me and @torstenvblog? How the hell did they get the cow to the burial place? Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft Online Services Being Investigated By the UK

As reported by Nintendolife it seems that the UK is investigating whether or not the big three’s online services are fair or not to consumers, most notably their Auto-renew and their cancelation and refund policies. The Competition and Markets Authority basically has some concerns as to the legality of some of these practices and are willing to take action if they are now. This could be an interesting thing to watch. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.