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Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated The First Purge (2018) in Movies

Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)  
The First Purge (2018)
The First Purge (2018)
2018 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
After three movies in The Purge franchise, it’s now time for us to go back before the first movie from 2013, in the prequel for The First Purge.

The new movie in the series is set in 2017, five years before the first movie, after the rise of a third political party, the NFFA (New Founding Fathers of America), which was formed in 2014, set up an experiment where no laws can be broken or reported for 12 hours on Staten Island, a place that they class to be the perfect place to set up the controversial experiment, it’s an area that has it’s problems, people with lack of money and gangs.

As an incentive for people to stay during the experiment, they are offered $5,000 to stay during what has now become known as “The Purge”.

The First Purge has some great moments of making you jump, it also has some great use of the special effects and one that really sticks in my mind is a moment when a blood splatter hits the camera lens, shocking and very nicely done at the same time, can only imagine how something like that would look like in 3D.
  
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Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated the Xbox 360 version of Duke Nukem Forever in Video Games

Mar 20, 2020  
Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever
2011 | Shooter
Comical dialogue, great boss battles, decent graphics, easy controls, game length. (0 more)
Way off track from it's previous instalments. Same old enemies. (0 more)
Hail to the clone baby
Contains spoilers, click to show
Duke Nukem was originally created in 1987 by chief programmer Todd Replogle of Apogee Software now 3D Realms as the hero the video game titled Metal Future, which was set in the then-near future of 1997.
 Duke Nukem's first appearance was in 1997,
Created by George Broussard; Scott Miller; Jim Norwood; Todd Replogle
Dukes last appearance was a Cameo in the 2018 movie Ready Player One.

The character first appeared in the 1991 video game Duke Nukem. He has since starred in multiple sequels developed by 3D Realms. Most recently in Duke Nukem Forever, released by Gearbox Software, which now owns the rights and intellectual property.

Duke Nukem has been listed on many "Best Characters" and "Best Heroes" lists over the years, including being listed as number one in ScrewAttack's "Top 10 Coolest Video Game Characters" list in 2007.
Featuring him in the section "top ten forces of good" in their 2004 list of top 50 retro game heroes, Retro Gamer called Duke "the ultimate cheese hero, and a true remnant of 80’s action flicks. He was listed at number 27 in the "Top 50 Video Game Characters" list by Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2011. GameDaily also ranked him sixth on their list of best anti-heroes in video games. In 2011, Empire ranked him as the 20th greatest video game character, calling him "one of the best action characters ever devised" and adding that "Film might have Schwarzenegger, but Gaming's got Mr Nukem"

Reception of the character by the time of Duke Nukem Forever's release was mostly mixed. Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer elaborated on Duke Nukem's decreased relevance since 1996, and added that the character's "half-hearted digs" at rival franchises were ill-advised due to the game's delayed release (Yet still quite funny).

Duke Nukem had become "a caricature of his former self. crossing the line from charmingly foul-mouthed to obnoxious and embarrassing. Others have been more positive about the character, finding him to be "genuinely hilarious" due to his tongue-in-cheek rejection of video game traditions (such as finding a key to open a door or wearing a special suit of armor) (looking at you Master Chief).

Plot:

Twelve years after he saved the Earth from an alien invasion, Duke Nukem is a worldwide icon, and has achieved great fame from his heroic deeds. After sampling a video game based on his past heroics (the game Duke plays is a revamped version of the final level of the third episode of Duke Nukem 3D), he arrives on the set of a talk show for an interview. On his way to the show, Duke witnesses a news broadcast announcing that aliens have once again invaded. Unlike previous encounters, the aliens initially appear peaceful and at first seem to pose no harm to the humans of Earth.

Duke's talk show appearance is cancelled to allow television stations to cover the alien invasion, and Duke retires to the "Duke Cave", his personal home. There, he receives a call from the President and General Graves of the Earth Defense Force (EDF). The President orders Duke not to harm the invaders, and adds that he is in diplomatic talks with the alien overlord. Duke obliges this request, but he and Graves remain uneasy about the whole situation. Before he can leave his chambers, he is attacked by hostile aliens who are swearing revenge on Duke.

Pig cops, flying Alien brains and a 3 breasted Alien are among the carnage that is a day in the life of the king.

DLC sub plot-
The doctor who cloned me:
After all the negativity duke Nukem forever received, this DLC was released in an attempt to undo some of the damage, this extension had you play as the Real duke, who wakes up to find and army of clones posing as him created by his old nemesis doctor proton, to which you/Nukem must take out all the clones and reclaim your Throne.
(The main game duke was a clone, if I wasn't clear :) )
  
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
2013 | Sci-Fi
The best movie of the summer has arrived, and it’s Star Trek Into Darkness!

There are so many cool things about J.J. Abrams second adventure in the beloved universe created all those years ago by Gene Roddenberry. But the best way to experience this movie is cold, devoid of any internet spoilers, if such a thing is possible in this day and age. That being said, here’s what I got for you.

The movie begins with Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) getting in to trouble with Starfleet for violating the Prime Directive. The Prime Directive is the United Federation of Plants number one rule against alerting primitive cultures to things that they are not nearly ready to grasp (i.e. space travel). But Kirk manages to avoid his punishment because Starfleet has a bigger problem on its hands: a rogue agent, named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) is attacking Federation facilities on Earth.

Admiral Markus (Peter Weller) gives Jim Kirk orders to kill Harrison, who has managed to escape Earth and hide on Kronos, the Klingon homeworld. So Kirk, along with his trusty crew including the ever-logical Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto), James “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana), warp to the Neutral Zone that separates Federation space from the Klingon Empire. Only they discover that this mission – including the identity of the fugitive Harrison – is not what it seems.

That’s all I am giving you for plot details. Go see the movie!

And when you do, watch for the cleverness of the screenwriters. There are many classic Trek littered throughout the film including characters, place names and alien species that a Trekkie, excuse me… Trekker, will be hooting and hollering at. But this movie isn’t solely for the die hard Trekkers. There is enough action and excitement to keep even the most hard to please moviegoer entertained.

Abrams got a lot of flack for his 2009 reboot of the franchise, and most likely he will get it again for this film. But this time around, Abrams does stay closer to the virtues of the original universe including the bond of the Enterprise crew and the close friendships among Kirk, Spock and Bones. Abrams manages to draw nice moments of tension and comedy alike from the entire crew.

Our main characters do shine through though. Pine brings just the right amount of swagger to Kirk, Quinto gives both the humor and emotional intensity within Spock’s struggle to balance logic and emotion. But both of these actors have to work overtime to even be on the same level as Cumberbatch, who brings muscle and old-school, butt kicking style to the villain’s role.

The other thing that I really enjoyed, again without giving too much of the plot away, is the films willingness to acknowledge that we have strayed from the original story of Kirk and crew, and how the plot can draw on that to help strengthen the story. Once you see it, you will know what I am talking about.

I saw the movie in 3D, though I am of the impression that 3D is getting a little overrated these days. I am just not blown out of the water by the 3D effects that we are seeing in movies. The one thing that I was truly grateful for is that they didn’t throw it in your face, too much. There were moments where they had things fly at you, but for the most part it wasn’t the emphasis which allowed it to play out nicely.

What are you doing still reading? Get out there and see this movie. If you don’t, you will be sorry you hadn’t as everyone and their mom will be talking about this movie come Monday. I, myself, will be seeing it for a second time this Friday hoping to spot things I missed this first time around. The movie made people laugh, cry, and hang on to the edge of your seat. As a Star Wars fan, I loved this movie. And really can’t wait to see what Abrams does with the next installment (as well as Episode 7).
  
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)
2020 | Action, Adventure, Animation, Fantasy, Horror
Exceptional animation (2 more)
Insanely cool villains
Rengoku is the MVP
Tanjiro is still too much of a crybaby (2 more)
Zenitsu's constant shouting
The lackluster writing that haunts the series is still relevant here
Drawn to a Tasty Flame
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is mostly an incredible anime film that not only lives up to the first season of the anime, but also successfully bridges the gap between the first season and the upcoming second season.

When it comes to anime films they are generally connected to the anime television series they’re based on by featuring the same characters or taking place in the same universe. However, the movies almost always are their own stories that don’t cross paths with the stories being told in the series. Mugen Train picks up right after the first season ends.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke board the train Rengoku, the Flame Hashira, is already on. They’ve been summoned to the train because people keep disappearing and there’s said to be demons aboard including a demon who has supposedly killed several demon slayers. He has pawns, who are usually children, who infiltrate the dreams of Enmu’s victims that bypass their subconscious and destroy their spiritual core.

There is usually a drastic difference in animation quality between an anime series and its films, but Demon Slayer already features such impressive animation that it’s difficult to top it. Mugen Train features all of the glorious breathing and sword techniques animated to blissful perfection, but what it does differently with its animation lies within its backgrounds. Trees and water are either 3D elements or are somehow lifted from realistic backgrounds because they’re amazingly detailed and look genuine.

The main demon on the train, Enmu, utilizes 3D animation in unique ways. Going into too much detail will spoil the film and where the Enmu character is taken, but keep in mind a certain form of Enmu is animated in 3D. It’s pink, slimy, wet sounding, and gross. Enmu’s English voice actor sounds like he’s doing a Michael Jackson on South Park impersonation. Enmu has the ability to put people to sleep, but he feeds them pleasant dreams at first and then injects them full of the worst nightmares imaginable during their gruesome death. He has the ability to detach his left hand, which has one eye near its thumb and a talking mouth on the back of its palm.

The main issues you may have with the Demon Slayer series are still relevant here. Tanjiro still cries and whines about stuff way too much and the film suffers a bit too much from over explaining things; a trait most anime titles fall victim to. Zenitsu’s unbearable yelling about how much of a weakling he is gets tiresome, as well. But you knew all of this going into it.

The film makes up for its few shortcomings by having jaw-dropping action sequences and laugh out loud humor at every turn. Inosuke’s dream about being the real leader of the group and being the voice of reason when Tanjiro is too emotional to move on is both hilarious and justifiable. And Zenitsu fantasizing about being with Nezuko is too good. He also has bucked teeth in more than one person’s “good” dream, which is only funnier in the long run. Also, why does everyone seem to purposely call Tanjiro the wrong name?

The highlight of Mugen Train is Rengoku. His fight sequences are the highlight of the film, but he’s also hysterical. Rengoku will forever be associated with the term, “TASTY!” Rengoku has a fight at the end of the film that is lengthy, memorable, and just downright amazing. He talks in a bold and boisterous voice and is slightly ridiculous in nature; think All Might from My Hero Academia engulfed in fire.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train won’t make you a fan of the franchise if you aren’t already, but it will absolutely strengthen your love for it if you’re already an established fan. It’s also an anime film that covers just about everything; it tries to tear at your heartstrings, it has two awesomely sinister villains, it has significantly kick-ass action sequences, and it further develops a supporting character you were only briefly introduced to previously. Mugen Train is outrageously funny and action packed and is an impressive feat of animation even if you aren’t an anime fan.
  
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    Rijksmuseum

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