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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Neofeud in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
Some of the most popular games to be released in the mid 80’s to mid 90’s were the point and click adventure games. Sierra Online ruled the 80’s with games such as Kings Quest and Leisure Suit Larry, while the 90’s was dominated by Lucasarts with their release of titles such as Day of the Tentacle and Full Throttle. These games were puzzle driven stories, where the main character interacted with their environment by clicking on items, pressing a button, and occasional mini games to complete the level. Sadly, except for very few remastered greats, there has been little to be excited about in this once popular and well-loved genre. This is where Neofued hopes to fill the gap with its mix of Blade Runner and District 9 storyline.
Neofeud is set in the not too distant future, a dystopian society where 1% of the wealthy Pureblood human megacorporation’s live in floating cities, and the other 99%, a mix of humans (Pure or otherwise), cyborgs and androids are barely able scrape by. Purebloods (those completely human) hold down low wage jobs, where those from the mechanical genepool (robots, androids, etc.) are treated as lower class citizens, living in Section 8 housing and off government food stamps.
You are Karl Carbon, a dishonorably discharged cop who now makes a living as social worker for Sentient Services. Karl is tasked by his boss (who for better or worse looks and sounds a lot like Emilio Estevez) to travel to a local ghetto to checkup on Johnny, an at-risk youth (artificial person). This will catapult Karl into an adventure, with a gangsta robot named Proto-J and Princess Cybil, a wealthy aristocrat who believes in equality for all sentient beings. Karl also travels to “The Arcade”, where robot gangsters and drug dealers hang out, and will even do a little time-traveling, but not more than 24 hours.
The game play is standard fare for this type of genre. The cursor can be changed from an eye icon to look at an item or object, hand icon to use an item, you get the idea. You collect various items that you then use on something in the environment to advance the story. Find a door knob on the ground? There will certainly be a door missing a knob to use it on. For any who have played point and click games in the past, the controls will be second nature to you.
The visuals are good, they aren’t great, but they are vibrant and gritty. There is a mix of 2D and 3D objects in the environment to tell the story. You will see lots of nods to the 80’s if you look close enough…”You made a time machine out of a DeLorean?”, Yes Marty, he did. I feel that someone familiar enough with classic 80’s movies will get more out of these little quips than those less familiar. That isn’t to say you can’t appreciate the game without this knowledge, you’ll just be missing a lot of the inside jokes that abound.
The voice acting is a mixed bag here. Some of the characters nail the dialog and help with character development. Unfortunately, the main character Karl tends to deliver an inconsistent performance which can seriously distract you during key moments in the game. That being said though, all the characters are voiced (no reading endless dialog boxes as you did in the 80’s) which is an achievement for any game. So while the voice acting isn’t always amazing, it’s still preferred to reading line after line of text when the characters speak.
The game clocks in around 15 hours, which is a pretty astonishing feat when you realize that the story, gameplay and art work was all done by one guy.
Is the game worth $14.99 on Steam? That depends on your nostalgia for a point and click adventure with a lot of references to 80’s films. The story is interesting, albeit a bit convoluted at times, and the characters range from likeable to annoying, but still have you rooting for them until the end.
http://sknr.net/2017/11/16/neofued/
Neofeud is set in the not too distant future, a dystopian society where 1% of the wealthy Pureblood human megacorporation’s live in floating cities, and the other 99%, a mix of humans (Pure or otherwise), cyborgs and androids are barely able scrape by. Purebloods (those completely human) hold down low wage jobs, where those from the mechanical genepool (robots, androids, etc.) are treated as lower class citizens, living in Section 8 housing and off government food stamps.
You are Karl Carbon, a dishonorably discharged cop who now makes a living as social worker for Sentient Services. Karl is tasked by his boss (who for better or worse looks and sounds a lot like Emilio Estevez) to travel to a local ghetto to checkup on Johnny, an at-risk youth (artificial person). This will catapult Karl into an adventure, with a gangsta robot named Proto-J and Princess Cybil, a wealthy aristocrat who believes in equality for all sentient beings. Karl also travels to “The Arcade”, where robot gangsters and drug dealers hang out, and will even do a little time-traveling, but not more than 24 hours.
The game play is standard fare for this type of genre. The cursor can be changed from an eye icon to look at an item or object, hand icon to use an item, you get the idea. You collect various items that you then use on something in the environment to advance the story. Find a door knob on the ground? There will certainly be a door missing a knob to use it on. For any who have played point and click games in the past, the controls will be second nature to you.
The visuals are good, they aren’t great, but they are vibrant and gritty. There is a mix of 2D and 3D objects in the environment to tell the story. You will see lots of nods to the 80’s if you look close enough…”You made a time machine out of a DeLorean?”, Yes Marty, he did. I feel that someone familiar enough with classic 80’s movies will get more out of these little quips than those less familiar. That isn’t to say you can’t appreciate the game without this knowledge, you’ll just be missing a lot of the inside jokes that abound.
The voice acting is a mixed bag here. Some of the characters nail the dialog and help with character development. Unfortunately, the main character Karl tends to deliver an inconsistent performance which can seriously distract you during key moments in the game. That being said though, all the characters are voiced (no reading endless dialog boxes as you did in the 80’s) which is an achievement for any game. So while the voice acting isn’t always amazing, it’s still preferred to reading line after line of text when the characters speak.
The game clocks in around 15 hours, which is a pretty astonishing feat when you realize that the story, gameplay and art work was all done by one guy.
Is the game worth $14.99 on Steam? That depends on your nostalgia for a point and click adventure with a lot of references to 80’s films. The story is interesting, albeit a bit convoluted at times, and the characters range from likeable to annoying, but still have you rooting for them until the end.
http://sknr.net/2017/11/16/neofued/
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
The much anticipated second film in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Trilogy has arrived in time to reap box office gold much the way the previous films based on Tolkien’s works have. The film continues the adventure started in the previous film and finds the band of adventurers chased by a pack of Orcs and faced with the deadly and dark Mirkwood Forest as they attempt to reach The Lonely Mountain in time.
The journey is long and filled with peril as everything from Orcs to giant spiders stand in the way and should the group be successful in reaching their destination, there is the little matter of a giant and very nasty dragon named Smaug to contend with.
Undaunted the group press on despite finding danger a constant companion and once again give us a series staples of endless shots of them walking and walking in locales lifted from the Tourism New Zealand film room in between the amazing visual work that makes up the battle sequence and other-worldly visuals of the film.
Bilbo (Martin Freeman), is becoming more and more under the spell of the ring he obtained in the previous film and Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen), suspects that darker forces are growing and sets off to confirm his suspicions. This divides the film into two quest centric storylines that are sure to cause some division amongst fans of the series.
The film does manage to hold your attention throughout its 2.5 hr plus run time and does have a very enjoyable finale act as the arrival of Smug (Benedict Cumberbatch), for me has been honestly the most enjoyable of any of the four prior films in the series to date. His interactions with Bilbo and the group flesh him out to be more than a creation of CGI, but rather infuse him with a evil and complexity that make him a very compelling and dynamic character.
Despite the strong cast and amazing visual FX in the film that is captured very well by the 3D filming Jackson used, the movie does have it’s share of frustrations.
Jackson has once again loaded the film with tons of characters, scenarios, and padding that easily make up more than half of the film. The idea seems to be to show a greater connection to the original LOTR films and the inclusion of Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel is bound to cause controversy. On one hand it was great to see the two characters and the great amounts of action they brought to the film, but the entire time I kept thinking that there was no need for most of this extra stuff as it was included simply to stretch out the film in order to justify a third movie and ensure another big box office.
When the film reaches it’s conclusion it was very clear to me that they could have completed the film in two films had the removed all of the padding and fluff and stuck to the source material. Segments are drawn out or included that really do not need to be there no matter how exciting and visually appealing they may be.
When the film was first announced it was planned to be two films but was later expanded to three when Jackson took over as Director following the departure of Guillermo del Toro. If one film was sufficient to capture each book in the original series than three films for this one book is simply overkill to me and it undermines the source material.
That being said, I did enjoy the film as it works best for me if I look at it as “inspired by’ rather than a cinematic translation of the book and in doing so I was able to get caught up in the action of the film and the character’s.
In the end the film is a true delight filled with plenty of action and adventure and will keep fans old and new entertained as despite the issues I had with it, it was one of the better action/fantasy films of the year and is a great technological achievement.
http://sknr.net/2013/12/13/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug/
The journey is long and filled with peril as everything from Orcs to giant spiders stand in the way and should the group be successful in reaching their destination, there is the little matter of a giant and very nasty dragon named Smaug to contend with.
Undaunted the group press on despite finding danger a constant companion and once again give us a series staples of endless shots of them walking and walking in locales lifted from the Tourism New Zealand film room in between the amazing visual work that makes up the battle sequence and other-worldly visuals of the film.
Bilbo (Martin Freeman), is becoming more and more under the spell of the ring he obtained in the previous film and Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen), suspects that darker forces are growing and sets off to confirm his suspicions. This divides the film into two quest centric storylines that are sure to cause some division amongst fans of the series.
The film does manage to hold your attention throughout its 2.5 hr plus run time and does have a very enjoyable finale act as the arrival of Smug (Benedict Cumberbatch), for me has been honestly the most enjoyable of any of the four prior films in the series to date. His interactions with Bilbo and the group flesh him out to be more than a creation of CGI, but rather infuse him with a evil and complexity that make him a very compelling and dynamic character.
Despite the strong cast and amazing visual FX in the film that is captured very well by the 3D filming Jackson used, the movie does have it’s share of frustrations.
Jackson has once again loaded the film with tons of characters, scenarios, and padding that easily make up more than half of the film. The idea seems to be to show a greater connection to the original LOTR films and the inclusion of Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel is bound to cause controversy. On one hand it was great to see the two characters and the great amounts of action they brought to the film, but the entire time I kept thinking that there was no need for most of this extra stuff as it was included simply to stretch out the film in order to justify a third movie and ensure another big box office.
When the film reaches it’s conclusion it was very clear to me that they could have completed the film in two films had the removed all of the padding and fluff and stuck to the source material. Segments are drawn out or included that really do not need to be there no matter how exciting and visually appealing they may be.
When the film was first announced it was planned to be two films but was later expanded to three when Jackson took over as Director following the departure of Guillermo del Toro. If one film was sufficient to capture each book in the original series than three films for this one book is simply overkill to me and it undermines the source material.
That being said, I did enjoy the film as it works best for me if I look at it as “inspired by’ rather than a cinematic translation of the book and in doing so I was able to get caught up in the action of the film and the character’s.
In the end the film is a true delight filled with plenty of action and adventure and will keep fans old and new entertained as despite the issues I had with it, it was one of the better action/fantasy films of the year and is a great technological achievement.
http://sknr.net/2013/12/13/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug/
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Gemini Man (2019) in Movies
Oct 17, 2019
The Effects Just Aren't Good Enough
Ang Lee is a visionary Director that loves to push the envelope of advances in movie-making technology, so the plot contrivance of GEMINI MAN (a Government Assassin is being chased by his much younger clone) was right up his alley - and he makes good (enough) work of the technology that "de-ages" Will Smith and puts the older and younger version of himself on screen at the same time. This was also his 2nd film (after BILLY FLYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK) that Lee shot in 4K 3D at 120 frames per second (the "normal" shooting speed is 24 FPS).
He should have spent more of his time on the script..
Based on a long gestating screenplay written in the 1990's by David Lemke (and re-written in the 2010's by Billy Ray - THE HUNGER GAMES - and Mr. GAME OF THRONES himself, David Benioff), GEMINI MAN follows a Government Contract Killer, Henry Brogan (Will Smtih) who does "one last job" and is looking forward to retirement. His agency (under the leadership of Clive Owen) decides to "take him out" and sends "Gemini" after him. Brogan tries to escape but his every move is anticipated by the Gemini - a younger clone of himself (this is not a spoiler, it's in the trailer and ON THE POSTER). He is joined by a pair of "buddies" (Mary Elizabeth Winsted and Benedict Wong) in plotting how to outsmart himself.
This film had all the markings of a bad "B" film, but under the watchful eye of Lee and the charismatic performances of Winsted, Wong - and most especially - Smith, this film is actually quite watchable.
What doesn't work - the plot. To say it is contrived is to do a disservice to the word "contrived". It really doesn't give us anything new, it just gives us a bridge from action scene to action. Also, the reasoning of the Government to get rid of Brogan doesn't really work and Clive Owen - as the head of the Gemini program - and the main "suit" that is chasing Smith looks like he is sleepwalking his way through this film.
What works - the interplay and "fun" of Smith, Winsted and Wong as the 3 "professionals" on the run - and outsmarting - "the Agency". These 3 work really well off each other and I would love to have seen a "Mission Impossible" style film of these 3 doing some sort of impossible mission. Special note needs to be made of Smith's performance - as the older Brogan. He is world weary and heavy, but still has the twinkle in his eye and the physical acumen to be a top assassin. This is the type of role that Smith - especially at his age and experience - is ideal for. His charisma shines and he holds his own in the physical/fight scenes. Also, Ang Lee knows how to shoot an action sequence. True, there is nothing "new", revolutionary or evolutionary in any of the fight/chase scenes, but they are put together in a competent, professional manner and did a good enough job.
And then there is the younger Brogan - "Junior" - played by a CGI "de-aged" Will Smith.
We've seen the CGI "de-aging" effect before - most notably in some Marvel Movies like CAPTAIN MARVEL - and while it works well enough, I just don't think it is quite there yet. You can tell that something is just a little off - not enough for it to really bother you, but enough to know that something isn't quite right - especially when Junior spends most of this film on screen with his older self. You see the "real" Will Smith up against the "copy" and the "copy" looks like...a copy. Also, the "de-aging" of the voice didn't really work for me. It sounded "off" and at times it sounded like bad ADR.
I was able to shrug off these slight technical anomalies and enjoy this film for what it is - a breezy action-er that certainly entertains for 2 hours. But it is no masterpiece and no "major" technological breakthrough. That will have to wait for another movie.
Letter Grade: B (mostly for the fun interplay between older Smith, Winsted and Wong)
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
He should have spent more of his time on the script..
Based on a long gestating screenplay written in the 1990's by David Lemke (and re-written in the 2010's by Billy Ray - THE HUNGER GAMES - and Mr. GAME OF THRONES himself, David Benioff), GEMINI MAN follows a Government Contract Killer, Henry Brogan (Will Smtih) who does "one last job" and is looking forward to retirement. His agency (under the leadership of Clive Owen) decides to "take him out" and sends "Gemini" after him. Brogan tries to escape but his every move is anticipated by the Gemini - a younger clone of himself (this is not a spoiler, it's in the trailer and ON THE POSTER). He is joined by a pair of "buddies" (Mary Elizabeth Winsted and Benedict Wong) in plotting how to outsmart himself.
This film had all the markings of a bad "B" film, but under the watchful eye of Lee and the charismatic performances of Winsted, Wong - and most especially - Smith, this film is actually quite watchable.
What doesn't work - the plot. To say it is contrived is to do a disservice to the word "contrived". It really doesn't give us anything new, it just gives us a bridge from action scene to action. Also, the reasoning of the Government to get rid of Brogan doesn't really work and Clive Owen - as the head of the Gemini program - and the main "suit" that is chasing Smith looks like he is sleepwalking his way through this film.
What works - the interplay and "fun" of Smith, Winsted and Wong as the 3 "professionals" on the run - and outsmarting - "the Agency". These 3 work really well off each other and I would love to have seen a "Mission Impossible" style film of these 3 doing some sort of impossible mission. Special note needs to be made of Smith's performance - as the older Brogan. He is world weary and heavy, but still has the twinkle in his eye and the physical acumen to be a top assassin. This is the type of role that Smith - especially at his age and experience - is ideal for. His charisma shines and he holds his own in the physical/fight scenes. Also, Ang Lee knows how to shoot an action sequence. True, there is nothing "new", revolutionary or evolutionary in any of the fight/chase scenes, but they are put together in a competent, professional manner and did a good enough job.
And then there is the younger Brogan - "Junior" - played by a CGI "de-aged" Will Smith.
We've seen the CGI "de-aging" effect before - most notably in some Marvel Movies like CAPTAIN MARVEL - and while it works well enough, I just don't think it is quite there yet. You can tell that something is just a little off - not enough for it to really bother you, but enough to know that something isn't quite right - especially when Junior spends most of this film on screen with his older self. You see the "real" Will Smith up against the "copy" and the "copy" looks like...a copy. Also, the "de-aging" of the voice didn't really work for me. It sounded "off" and at times it sounded like bad ADR.
I was able to shrug off these slight technical anomalies and enjoy this film for what it is - a breezy action-er that certainly entertains for 2 hours. But it is no masterpiece and no "major" technological breakthrough. That will have to wait for another movie.
Letter Grade: B (mostly for the fun interplay between older Smith, Winsted and Wong)
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I'm not really sure where to start with this so settle in for a ride. I've tried to avoid major spoilers but some of the things I've written might give away or hint at events in Endgame so please don't read this until you've seen it at the cinema.
We were left forlorn in the wilds of Wakanda after Thanos' snap in Infinity War. 50% of every living creatures on the planet, on every planet, wiped out of existence. Thanos has set off in his retirement while our heroes are reassembling. What's left of the team is trying to get back to a normal life, saving the world, saving each other. Some are moving on, some are stuck on the past, all are lost.
I wrote more notes for this than I've written for any other movie. It was so much of a problem that I condensed the original and then recondensed them into collected topics. I'm vaguely going to go in chronological order, let's do it!
We open with Hawkeye. The scene was simple and effective to help line up the change in him, but it wasn't the tone I expected for the beginning of the film. You have to start it somehow, and I don't know how I thought they would but tonally it didn't say "Marvel" to me. In the trailers we see his darker side coming through, after seeing the film I can't help but wonder if they needed to do this to him. It felt a little like they were just doing it to use for one scene. Clint is a stand-up guy, he would have been there for them regardless in this situation.
As we recap on what's happening in the wake of the snap we find Nebula and Tony attempting to return from Titan on the Guardian's ship. For me, Nebula was the best bit of the whole film. The scenes with Tony are wonderful and touching, she's able to make a connection that she's never really had before and her transformation through the film is a delight.
Something at this point that I feel I should bring up is the partnership that we witness. Tony and Nebula, Nebula and War Machine, Rocket and Thor. We're given lots of different Marvel Mash-ups with great results. Nebula, in particular, shone through in these. Watch out for her with Rhodey.
Steve, Cap, is very much in control throughout this movie, in leadership as well as of his emotions. He still has his positive outlook on life but even when it wanes he's determined. Visually they've left you no room to wonder on whether he is the first Avenger, he leads into a room and he gets a lot of shots that frame him perfectly. But he has changed... on more than one occasion I found myself going "Language, Steve!" I was unsure about his support group in the trailer and after the full scene it felt like it was just there to set up occurrences towards the end of the film. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was actually a Captain America film, it felt much more like one than Civil War did.
Before coming to Endgame one of the things I had been thinking about was how Scott was going to return from the quantum realm. What happens kind of feels like they had no idea how they were going to do it, and it was frustrating and leaves you with questions about what happened in the five years since the snap. There's also a potential horror movie spin-off teased in Scott's walk through San Francisco, he encounters a kid on a bike... classic horror movie moment in that scene.
Nat gets to flex her leadership muscles in the post-snap world trying to keep a new band of Avengers together. Still based in the Avengers complex she's coordinating with members around the world and out in space. We finally see some genuine raw emotion from her as they search for Hawkeye as he's off on his... well what is it? Redirected revenge? She's always had a trusted position with Fury and it seems like his dusting has pushed her to step up.
Carol is back after her recent debut... I still don't think we can call her Captain Marvel when no one else does. I still don't like her, I can't help it. She's cocky and she doesn't seem to have any desire to actually work with the team. If there's anything that I got from this film it's that Black Widow should have had her own film already rather than introducing Carol at the last minute. She's not really a massive feature of the film and her inclusion feels almost like they needed to a solution to a problem and she was the quickest way to fix it.
Now we get to the point where I had some major upset. In my opinion, Marvel have done wrong by Bruce/Hulk and Thor. I saw a spoiler on Twitter for Bruce that I hoped was fan-inspired, but when we get to him in the film I sat in annoyed silence as those around me murmured with excitement. As far as Thor goes, I can see why they made the choices they did with him but it felt like they just turned him into a joke, and that didn't sit right with me at all. Just one small step back from what they did and they would have nailed it, but it felt like they just went for the cheap laugh at his expense.
So it's time to talk about time travel, I think we all knew that we could expect to see it in some way or another in Endgame. Tony and Bruce obvious have a big hand in this one, and it was nice to see them acknowledging the "normal" person discussion of time travel with film references. Outside of that though they threw a lot of complicated script at it, it felt like a very random step away from how they usually deal with technical things in the universe.
From the one hour point of the movie(ish) everything starts to pick up, up until then I wasn't loving the film, and that was upsetting to me. What follows from the quantum suit walk is a lot of fun. There are a lot of nostalgic moments that brought humour and a fun layer to the older films and we get what is probably the most satisfying moment of the entire MCU.
Visually this is one of the better films in the sequence. Shots weren't overly cluttered and so busy that you couldn't see what was happening, and there were a lot more poignant visuals. There are however a few that make me think they had to be reshot because you get very specific angles that give you the back of someone's head and the audio sounds slightly off to the rest of the scene.
Two things left to specifically mention...
The women of Marvel. For so many films we had very few female heroes, certainly none that got their fair share of coverage until The Wasp, Captain Marvel and an excellent female ensemble in Black Panther. I'm all for more female characters but I think Endgame went too far. There is one scene near the end that felt more like they were worried they hadn't had enough women on screen and they really packed them in, it felt awkward rather than awesome.
Stan Lee's cameo. It wasn't the usual fun we're used to. Fleeting and forgettable. Stan deserved better, this just didn't feel right. I even briefly wondered if it was actually him.
For me, Endgame wasn't the finale that we deserved. It wasn't better than Infinity War but I don't think that it could have been because of how much it had to bring to the table. I went and saw it twice because I like to see the 3D and 2D when they come out, it was actually one of the better 3D films I've seen on a regular screen.
I probably would have given this 3 stars, while I had fun watching it I came out both times feeling kind of "meh" about it. Nebula, America's ass and the epic moment in the finale, as well as a few other amusing moments, bumped it up slightly. I sadly found that first hour rather challenging and couldn't get on board with some of the character choices that were made.
What you should do
Let's face it, you're going to watch it if you've invested time in watching all the Marvel movies and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'm aware I'm in a minority with my feelings about this, but not everyone can feel the same way about everything. What a world it would be if we could.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'd still like an infinity stone... but I don't know which one.
We were left forlorn in the wilds of Wakanda after Thanos' snap in Infinity War. 50% of every living creatures on the planet, on every planet, wiped out of existence. Thanos has set off in his retirement while our heroes are reassembling. What's left of the team is trying to get back to a normal life, saving the world, saving each other. Some are moving on, some are stuck on the past, all are lost.
I wrote more notes for this than I've written for any other movie. It was so much of a problem that I condensed the original and then recondensed them into collected topics. I'm vaguely going to go in chronological order, let's do it!
We open with Hawkeye. The scene was simple and effective to help line up the change in him, but it wasn't the tone I expected for the beginning of the film. You have to start it somehow, and I don't know how I thought they would but tonally it didn't say "Marvel" to me. In the trailers we see his darker side coming through, after seeing the film I can't help but wonder if they needed to do this to him. It felt a little like they were just doing it to use for one scene. Clint is a stand-up guy, he would have been there for them regardless in this situation.
As we recap on what's happening in the wake of the snap we find Nebula and Tony attempting to return from Titan on the Guardian's ship. For me, Nebula was the best bit of the whole film. The scenes with Tony are wonderful and touching, she's able to make a connection that she's never really had before and her transformation through the film is a delight.
Something at this point that I feel I should bring up is the partnership that we witness. Tony and Nebula, Nebula and War Machine, Rocket and Thor. We're given lots of different Marvel Mash-ups with great results. Nebula, in particular, shone through in these. Watch out for her with Rhodey.
Steve, Cap, is very much in control throughout this movie, in leadership as well as of his emotions. He still has his positive outlook on life but even when it wanes he's determined. Visually they've left you no room to wonder on whether he is the first Avenger, he leads into a room and he gets a lot of shots that frame him perfectly. But he has changed... on more than one occasion I found myself going "Language, Steve!" I was unsure about his support group in the trailer and after the full scene it felt like it was just there to set up occurrences towards the end of the film. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was actually a Captain America film, it felt much more like one than Civil War did.
Before coming to Endgame one of the things I had been thinking about was how Scott was going to return from the quantum realm. What happens kind of feels like they had no idea how they were going to do it, and it was frustrating and leaves you with questions about what happened in the five years since the snap. There's also a potential horror movie spin-off teased in Scott's walk through San Francisco, he encounters a kid on a bike... classic horror movie moment in that scene.
Nat gets to flex her leadership muscles in the post-snap world trying to keep a new band of Avengers together. Still based in the Avengers complex she's coordinating with members around the world and out in space. We finally see some genuine raw emotion from her as they search for Hawkeye as he's off on his... well what is it? Redirected revenge? She's always had a trusted position with Fury and it seems like his dusting has pushed her to step up.
Carol is back after her recent debut... I still don't think we can call her Captain Marvel when no one else does. I still don't like her, I can't help it. She's cocky and she doesn't seem to have any desire to actually work with the team. If there's anything that I got from this film it's that Black Widow should have had her own film already rather than introducing Carol at the last minute. She's not really a massive feature of the film and her inclusion feels almost like they needed to a solution to a problem and she was the quickest way to fix it.
Now we get to the point where I had some major upset. In my opinion, Marvel have done wrong by Bruce/Hulk and Thor. I saw a spoiler on Twitter for Bruce that I hoped was fan-inspired, but when we get to him in the film I sat in annoyed silence as those around me murmured with excitement. As far as Thor goes, I can see why they made the choices they did with him but it felt like they just turned him into a joke, and that didn't sit right with me at all. Just one small step back from what they did and they would have nailed it, but it felt like they just went for the cheap laugh at his expense.
So it's time to talk about time travel, I think we all knew that we could expect to see it in some way or another in Endgame. Tony and Bruce obvious have a big hand in this one, and it was nice to see them acknowledging the "normal" person discussion of time travel with film references. Outside of that though they threw a lot of complicated script at it, it felt like a very random step away from how they usually deal with technical things in the universe.
From the one hour point of the movie(ish) everything starts to pick up, up until then I wasn't loving the film, and that was upsetting to me. What follows from the quantum suit walk is a lot of fun. There are a lot of nostalgic moments that brought humour and a fun layer to the older films and we get what is probably the most satisfying moment of the entire MCU.
Visually this is one of the better films in the sequence. Shots weren't overly cluttered and so busy that you couldn't see what was happening, and there were a lot more poignant visuals. There are however a few that make me think they had to be reshot because you get very specific angles that give you the back of someone's head and the audio sounds slightly off to the rest of the scene.
Two things left to specifically mention...
The women of Marvel. For so many films we had very few female heroes, certainly none that got their fair share of coverage until The Wasp, Captain Marvel and an excellent female ensemble in Black Panther. I'm all for more female characters but I think Endgame went too far. There is one scene near the end that felt more like they were worried they hadn't had enough women on screen and they really packed them in, it felt awkward rather than awesome.
Stan Lee's cameo. It wasn't the usual fun we're used to. Fleeting and forgettable. Stan deserved better, this just didn't feel right. I even briefly wondered if it was actually him.
For me, Endgame wasn't the finale that we deserved. It wasn't better than Infinity War but I don't think that it could have been because of how much it had to bring to the table. I went and saw it twice because I like to see the 3D and 2D when they come out, it was actually one of the better 3D films I've seen on a regular screen.
I probably would have given this 3 stars, while I had fun watching it I came out both times feeling kind of "meh" about it. Nebula, America's ass and the epic moment in the finale, as well as a few other amusing moments, bumped it up slightly. I sadly found that first hour rather challenging and couldn't get on board with some of the character choices that were made.
What you should do
Let's face it, you're going to watch it if you've invested time in watching all the Marvel movies and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'm aware I'm in a minority with my feelings about this, but not everyone can feel the same way about everything. What a world it would be if we could.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'd still like an infinity stone... but I don't know which one.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Michael Bay had a lot to prove with the third instalment of his big bot franchise. The scathing reviews of Revenge of the Fallen from nearly every critic who went to see it proved that even giant robots aren’t safe from the picky eyes of the global audience. Now, I may get lambasted for this but I preferred number 2 to number 1, so let’s see if number 3 can impress.
Here, Bay returns to helm the latest addition: Dark of the Moon, it’s a good film nonetheless but it’s sci-fi themes, more so than in either of the previous offerings fail to provide enough impact to make it the best in the series.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon picks up three years after the last film and a lot has changed. Sam Witwicky again played by the fantastic Shia LeBeouf is now living in Washington, envious of his new girlfriend Carly Spencer and her fabulous lifestyle. Carly, played by newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whitely is about as wooden as a character can get; Whitely’s performance is very laboured and her on screen scenes suffer as a result; she’s a disappointment in a film that doesn’t really require it’s characters to do much; so that shows how bad she actually is.
Megan Fox is actually missed this time around, but it’s not too much of a problem because Rosie’s character is given exactly the same clothes, the same pout and practically the same lines.
Michael Bay has also lined up the legendary John Malkovich as Sam’s troubled new boss, his screen time is worth a watch but he feels wasted considering his lines amount to about 10 minutes of screen time. Patrick Dempsey also stars as good guy gone back; Dylan Gould.
The special effects coupled with the fantastic 3D make Transformers 3 a spectacle to watch, the bots are seamlessly integrated into the picture alongside their human counterparts and deliver once again, these films really are the pinnacle now for special effects.
Bay has managed to fashion a half coherent story out of the toy franchise which many critics were sceptical of, but it works really well. The film focuses on the space race of the 60’s and the reasons why the US wanted to beat everyone to the moon. In short, the Decepticons are looking for something that crash-landed on the moon; if they find it, then Cybertron will be reborn, using Earth as a template; oh no!
The last hour is just carnage, carnage, carnage as the entire city of Chicago is plunged into a post-apocalyptic world where the Decepticons rule and the Autobots are, alongside humans as slaves. Here, Bay really showcases his prowess for stunning cinematography and first class special effects, one scene in particular, involving a glass skyscraper is particularly awe-inspiring.
Speaking of the robots themselves, all the favourites return with their fantastic voice acting. Peter Cullen delivers Optimus Prime in his usual, gruff manner and a welcome addition is Star Trek’s Leonard Nimoy as veteran Autobot leader Sentinel Prime. Hugo Weaving also returns as a rough looking Megatron.
The problem that blights Transformers 3 is that there’s too much going on. I found myself lost in parts of the story because the film is constantly rushing to get to the next plot line. It’s frustrating that a film franchise criticised for its lack of story is penalised for having too much of one this time around, but this is the case here. As such, some of the best characters don’t get screen time. Josh Duhamel is only in the film for 5 minutes at a time, whilst Sam’s parents only get brief appearances which is a tragic shame as they are, all in all, the best human characters in the franchise.
Overall, Transformers has become one of my favourite film franchises of all time; it delivers on its promise and doesn’t pretend it’s going to be something else. Yes, they’re far too long (this one is just short of 3 hours), they’re exceptionally loud and mind-numbingly obnoxious but that’s what you should want from an action film. Transformers 3 delivers, and it delivers it like a smack in the face; but it falls down in a couple of areas where the others didn’t.
Michael Bay is a very talented film director who gives the best out of everything, but in response to his critics from the last movie, he has developed too much of the story and as such, it feels disjointed and ultimately a little disappointing.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2011/07/07/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-2011/
Here, Bay returns to helm the latest addition: Dark of the Moon, it’s a good film nonetheless but it’s sci-fi themes, more so than in either of the previous offerings fail to provide enough impact to make it the best in the series.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon picks up three years after the last film and a lot has changed. Sam Witwicky again played by the fantastic Shia LeBeouf is now living in Washington, envious of his new girlfriend Carly Spencer and her fabulous lifestyle. Carly, played by newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whitely is about as wooden as a character can get; Whitely’s performance is very laboured and her on screen scenes suffer as a result; she’s a disappointment in a film that doesn’t really require it’s characters to do much; so that shows how bad she actually is.
Megan Fox is actually missed this time around, but it’s not too much of a problem because Rosie’s character is given exactly the same clothes, the same pout and practically the same lines.
Michael Bay has also lined up the legendary John Malkovich as Sam’s troubled new boss, his screen time is worth a watch but he feels wasted considering his lines amount to about 10 minutes of screen time. Patrick Dempsey also stars as good guy gone back; Dylan Gould.
The special effects coupled with the fantastic 3D make Transformers 3 a spectacle to watch, the bots are seamlessly integrated into the picture alongside their human counterparts and deliver once again, these films really are the pinnacle now for special effects.
Bay has managed to fashion a half coherent story out of the toy franchise which many critics were sceptical of, but it works really well. The film focuses on the space race of the 60’s and the reasons why the US wanted to beat everyone to the moon. In short, the Decepticons are looking for something that crash-landed on the moon; if they find it, then Cybertron will be reborn, using Earth as a template; oh no!
The last hour is just carnage, carnage, carnage as the entire city of Chicago is plunged into a post-apocalyptic world where the Decepticons rule and the Autobots are, alongside humans as slaves. Here, Bay really showcases his prowess for stunning cinematography and first class special effects, one scene in particular, involving a glass skyscraper is particularly awe-inspiring.
Speaking of the robots themselves, all the favourites return with their fantastic voice acting. Peter Cullen delivers Optimus Prime in his usual, gruff manner and a welcome addition is Star Trek’s Leonard Nimoy as veteran Autobot leader Sentinel Prime. Hugo Weaving also returns as a rough looking Megatron.
The problem that blights Transformers 3 is that there’s too much going on. I found myself lost in parts of the story because the film is constantly rushing to get to the next plot line. It’s frustrating that a film franchise criticised for its lack of story is penalised for having too much of one this time around, but this is the case here. As such, some of the best characters don’t get screen time. Josh Duhamel is only in the film for 5 minutes at a time, whilst Sam’s parents only get brief appearances which is a tragic shame as they are, all in all, the best human characters in the franchise.
Overall, Transformers has become one of my favourite film franchises of all time; it delivers on its promise and doesn’t pretend it’s going to be something else. Yes, they’re far too long (this one is just short of 3 hours), they’re exceptionally loud and mind-numbingly obnoxious but that’s what you should want from an action film. Transformers 3 delivers, and it delivers it like a smack in the face; but it falls down in a couple of areas where the others didn’t.
Michael Bay is a very talented film director who gives the best out of everything, but in response to his critics from the last movie, he has developed too much of the story and as such, it feels disjointed and ultimately a little disappointing.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2011/07/07/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-2011/
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Director Michael Bay and the shape shifting Transfomers are back in a new cinematic adventure, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” which continues Bay’s fondness for over the top pyrotechnics, action, and chases.
It has been five years since the Autobots and Decepticons waged war in Chicago and in the aftermath, the U.S. government has ended working with the Autobots and has begun hunting down their enemies that are still in hiding.
Under the leadership of C.I.A. agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), a covert group known as Cemetery Wind has been hunting down and killing all Transformers regardless of their allegiance as Attinger believes that it is time to keep humanity safe from the threat the pose.
At the same time in a small Texas town, an inventor named Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), is trying to keep his home and deal with mounting debt and foreclosure while trying to get his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), into college.
Convinced that one of his inventions will work and will allow them out of their financial mess, Cade purchases a derelict semi-truck convinced that the parts alone will get them an infusion of cash.
During his work on the truck, Cade uncovers that it appears to be a damaged Transfomer, which is confirmed when Optimus Prime transformers from the wreck.
His friend and daughter are convinced Cade should call the authorities and collect the sizeable reward for his find, but Cade decides to repair Prime who said he was injured in an ambush.
Soon after, Cemetery Wind arrives and threatens the life of Tessa and Cade which forces Prime into action. Soon, the humans along with Tessa’s secret boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) are racing for their lives from the deadly pursuit who is working secretly with a deadly Transformer.
As if this was not enough chaos, remember this is a Michael Bay film, a wealthy industrialist named Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci), has figured out the secret of the Transformers and working with Attinger in secret, plans to build and army of his own to usher in a new area of technology for humanity and of course lining his and Attinger’s pockets even further with their discovery.
The need to obtain more of the building components is key, and soon the action shifts to a new locale with the fate of a major city and humanity hanging in the balance.
Bay has crafted a film that is technically brilliant as it is an amazing visual spectacle, but yet is as cold and soulless as the very toys that inspired the series.
The film plays like a gigantic pyrotechnic and CGI demo reel as you can see countless examples of Bay orchestrating his fireworks to end in a grand finale.
It was almost comical how many explosions and car chases there were at the expense of the story. I think my wife summed it up best when she said that if the script was 50 pages long, at best 3 pages were devoted to dialogue.
I think it must have read something like this… explosion, explosion, gunfire, gunfire, car chase, explosion, Tessa!!, Dad!!! Vroom, vroom, explosion, car chase, bad line, repeat.
I do not see a film of this type expecting great acting or lines but some of them were so bad and out of place you could almost hear the cast of Mystery Science Theater chomping at the bit to get their hands on this one.
The film also blatantly sells out to appease Chinese audiences as we have a good segment of the film set in mainland China and Hong Kong which we get scenes of Chinese leaders being strong, decisive, and caring for the people, and other events in such a blatant Kowtow to ensure the film gets played in the all-important Chinese marketplace.
In the end the film does have plenty of visual entertainment but it drags out to the point where even the action and technical brilliance of the film and the 3D effects grows old. The biggest issues is that they have a strong and appealing cast, yet they are literally just along for the ride and are not given much to do.
The film is the first in a planned new trilogy so it is a safe bet, Bay and company will be back in a few years.
http://sknr.net/2014/06/27/transformers-age-of-extinction/
It has been five years since the Autobots and Decepticons waged war in Chicago and in the aftermath, the U.S. government has ended working with the Autobots and has begun hunting down their enemies that are still in hiding.
Under the leadership of C.I.A. agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), a covert group known as Cemetery Wind has been hunting down and killing all Transformers regardless of their allegiance as Attinger believes that it is time to keep humanity safe from the threat the pose.
At the same time in a small Texas town, an inventor named Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), is trying to keep his home and deal with mounting debt and foreclosure while trying to get his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), into college.
Convinced that one of his inventions will work and will allow them out of their financial mess, Cade purchases a derelict semi-truck convinced that the parts alone will get them an infusion of cash.
During his work on the truck, Cade uncovers that it appears to be a damaged Transfomer, which is confirmed when Optimus Prime transformers from the wreck.
His friend and daughter are convinced Cade should call the authorities and collect the sizeable reward for his find, but Cade decides to repair Prime who said he was injured in an ambush.
Soon after, Cemetery Wind arrives and threatens the life of Tessa and Cade which forces Prime into action. Soon, the humans along with Tessa’s secret boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) are racing for their lives from the deadly pursuit who is working secretly with a deadly Transformer.
As if this was not enough chaos, remember this is a Michael Bay film, a wealthy industrialist named Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci), has figured out the secret of the Transformers and working with Attinger in secret, plans to build and army of his own to usher in a new area of technology for humanity and of course lining his and Attinger’s pockets even further with their discovery.
The need to obtain more of the building components is key, and soon the action shifts to a new locale with the fate of a major city and humanity hanging in the balance.
Bay has crafted a film that is technically brilliant as it is an amazing visual spectacle, but yet is as cold and soulless as the very toys that inspired the series.
The film plays like a gigantic pyrotechnic and CGI demo reel as you can see countless examples of Bay orchestrating his fireworks to end in a grand finale.
It was almost comical how many explosions and car chases there were at the expense of the story. I think my wife summed it up best when she said that if the script was 50 pages long, at best 3 pages were devoted to dialogue.
I think it must have read something like this… explosion, explosion, gunfire, gunfire, car chase, explosion, Tessa!!, Dad!!! Vroom, vroom, explosion, car chase, bad line, repeat.
I do not see a film of this type expecting great acting or lines but some of them were so bad and out of place you could almost hear the cast of Mystery Science Theater chomping at the bit to get their hands on this one.
The film also blatantly sells out to appease Chinese audiences as we have a good segment of the film set in mainland China and Hong Kong which we get scenes of Chinese leaders being strong, decisive, and caring for the people, and other events in such a blatant Kowtow to ensure the film gets played in the all-important Chinese marketplace.
In the end the film does have plenty of visual entertainment but it drags out to the point where even the action and technical brilliance of the film and the 3D effects grows old. The biggest issues is that they have a strong and appealing cast, yet they are literally just along for the ride and are not given much to do.
The film is the first in a planned new trilogy so it is a safe bet, Bay and company will be back in a few years.
http://sknr.net/2014/06/27/transformers-age-of-extinction/
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) created a post
Dec 19, 2018 (Updated Dec 19, 2018)
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Colt Express in Tabletop Games
Feb 6, 2020
Aaaaaall aboard! Next stop, the Old West! Climb onto the Union Pacific Express and prepare for the journey of a lifetime. Your plan? To rob this train, of course! Unbeknownst to you, however, several other bandits have picked this exact train as their score as well! Which bandit can outwit the others and come away with the most loot? Or will the Marshall track you all down and hand you over to the Law?
Disclaimer: There are many expansions for Colt Express. I do not have any of them, nor do I have any gameplay experience with any of them. If and when I do get them added into my base game, I will either amend this review or write a new one! – L
Colt Express is a game of action programming in which players are trying to accumulate the most treasure over 5 rounds of play. Each round consists of 2 phases – Schemin’ and Stealin’. During the Schemin’ phase, players select action cards from their hand and play them to the center of the table in turn order. Possible actions are: Move between cars, Change floors, Shoot, Rob, or Move the Marshall. Depending on the round requirements, cards will be played either face-up or face-down. Face-up cards allow your opponents to see what you are programming and gives everyone a chance to counteract those actions, while the face-down cards leave some mystery to your strategy and your ultimate plan for victory. During the Stealin’ phase, the action cards are actually performed in the same order in which they were played. A new round card is then revealed, and players start the next Schemin’ phase. After 5 rounds, the player who has accumulated the most loot is the winner!
I have to start by saying that I generally do not like action programming games. I like to have a clear step-by-step strategy that I am able to adjust and adapt based on the current play situations. In action programming games, that really isn’t possible because you have to commit to your chosen actions before they are played out. That makes these games more chaotic than I would like because your carefully thought-out plans can be easily compromised by one single action of an opponent, throwing your strategy out the window. That being said, I think Colt Express approaches action programming in a unique way that takes the game to the next level. How? By varying whether your programmed actions are public or private knowledge. Depending on the round, you play cards face-up or face-down to the center of the table. As stated earlier, face-up cards give your opponents a peek at your strategy while your face-down cards keep some mystery in your plans. I really like this approach because it makes the game less luck-driven and gives players the opportunity to play with some semblance of strategy. Instead of focusing on just your actions and hoping that they aren’t inadvertently compromised, you get the chance to see some of what your opponents are planning and adjust your gameplay based on that. Yes, there will always be some twists and surprises that you didn’t see coming, but you’ve got to think beyond your strategy and keep yourself safe from other players. The added element of partial hidden-information makes Colt Express a more exciting game for me.
Let’s talk components next. I think the game components of Colt Express make the game so neat and cute at the same time. Colt Express is played on an actual 3D cardboard train! Each player has a meeple in their color, and you get to physically move your merson around the train according to your programmed actions. I think it works great by adding that spacial element to help players visualize their movement. The components themselves are pretty good quality, in my opinion. The train and the loot tokens are made of nice sturdy cardboard, and I know they will hold up to lots of plays. And don’t sweat it – the train can be stored fully-assembled in the box! That minimizes the time required for setup, and lets you get right to playing.
All in all, I think Colt Express is a fun game that requires strategy, but is not a brain-burner. There’s still enough luck involved to keep everyone on their toes, and the ensuing quasi-chaos really make the game feel like a train heist. If you haven’t tried Colt Express, I would recommend you do. It’s not on my list of favorite games, but it’s one that I like to bring out every so often! Purple Phoenix Games gives Colt Express a high-speed 15 / 24.
Disclaimer: There are many expansions for Colt Express. I do not have any of them, nor do I have any gameplay experience with any of them. If and when I do get them added into my base game, I will either amend this review or write a new one! – L
Colt Express is a game of action programming in which players are trying to accumulate the most treasure over 5 rounds of play. Each round consists of 2 phases – Schemin’ and Stealin’. During the Schemin’ phase, players select action cards from their hand and play them to the center of the table in turn order. Possible actions are: Move between cars, Change floors, Shoot, Rob, or Move the Marshall. Depending on the round requirements, cards will be played either face-up or face-down. Face-up cards allow your opponents to see what you are programming and gives everyone a chance to counteract those actions, while the face-down cards leave some mystery to your strategy and your ultimate plan for victory. During the Stealin’ phase, the action cards are actually performed in the same order in which they were played. A new round card is then revealed, and players start the next Schemin’ phase. After 5 rounds, the player who has accumulated the most loot is the winner!
I have to start by saying that I generally do not like action programming games. I like to have a clear step-by-step strategy that I am able to adjust and adapt based on the current play situations. In action programming games, that really isn’t possible because you have to commit to your chosen actions before they are played out. That makes these games more chaotic than I would like because your carefully thought-out plans can be easily compromised by one single action of an opponent, throwing your strategy out the window. That being said, I think Colt Express approaches action programming in a unique way that takes the game to the next level. How? By varying whether your programmed actions are public or private knowledge. Depending on the round, you play cards face-up or face-down to the center of the table. As stated earlier, face-up cards give your opponents a peek at your strategy while your face-down cards keep some mystery in your plans. I really like this approach because it makes the game less luck-driven and gives players the opportunity to play with some semblance of strategy. Instead of focusing on just your actions and hoping that they aren’t inadvertently compromised, you get the chance to see some of what your opponents are planning and adjust your gameplay based on that. Yes, there will always be some twists and surprises that you didn’t see coming, but you’ve got to think beyond your strategy and keep yourself safe from other players. The added element of partial hidden-information makes Colt Express a more exciting game for me.
Let’s talk components next. I think the game components of Colt Express make the game so neat and cute at the same time. Colt Express is played on an actual 3D cardboard train! Each player has a meeple in their color, and you get to physically move your merson around the train according to your programmed actions. I think it works great by adding that spacial element to help players visualize their movement. The components themselves are pretty good quality, in my opinion. The train and the loot tokens are made of nice sturdy cardboard, and I know they will hold up to lots of plays. And don’t sweat it – the train can be stored fully-assembled in the box! That minimizes the time required for setup, and lets you get right to playing.
All in all, I think Colt Express is a fun game that requires strategy, but is not a brain-burner. There’s still enough luck involved to keep everyone on their toes, and the ensuing quasi-chaos really make the game feel like a train heist. If you haven’t tried Colt Express, I would recommend you do. It’s not on my list of favorite games, but it’s one that I like to bring out every so often! Purple Phoenix Games gives Colt Express a high-speed 15 / 24.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Black Widow (2021) in Movies
Jul 11, 2021
After the MCU rounded up with Endgame I was having Marvel fatigue, I had my issues with the Spider-man movie, and I haven't been thrilled by the TV series that we've been getting on Disney+. I had managed to avoid most of the Black Widow coverage until getting back to the cinema, but even seeing the trailer on the big screen didn't get me pumped for it.
Natasha Romanoff is on the run... rewind the MCU a bit... Black Widow is on the run after the incident with the Sokovia accords. While she's on the move (and somehow invisible to detection despite being an Avenger... on the run) her past catches up with her, and after an awkward family reunion, they have to work together to rectify the mistakes of the past.
So how did this next outing in the MCU go down?
I wasn't mad about, or at, it. It nicely aligned itself with its position in the universe in a way that didn't feel too forced, and finally getting the history that the previous films alluded to... well, it was about time. I was surprised how well it managed to condense her story down and still manage to give enough to help it flow. I'm not sure it's the story I was expecting, or necessarily hoped for, but it was good. (I had assumed that we would be getting more about the inside of the Red Room, and not the results of it on the older recruits.)
Johansson gave a solid performance as you'd expect, she's perfected the role over the years and this performance sat well within the character she'd already developed. But what about the other cast members?
MVP for me was Florence Pugh as Yelena. A little frustrating for me to say, but I said it. The sisterly bond with Natasha was there in spades and she managed to grasp the emotion of the family moments so well. And her comedic timing with the sharp script was magnificent. I was delighted every time I saw her on the screen.
Playing Natasha and Yelena's parents are David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. An amusing pairing, with a very opposites attract kind of vibe. Alexie (Harbour) seems to change a lot from the historical points, and he also gets the comical treatment too, but in a more over the top way than Yelena. He had his moments, though I'm not sure it all landed. Weisz plays Melina, a straight-laced scientist/spy. Together they make an interesting team, but I'm not convinced that Melina would have stood up without Alexie.
My only problem with the case? Sometimes I found it a little jarring hearing those accents. Sure, it's nice to have a big recognisable cast, but listening to those accents from people you know really well from other things was continually off-putting.
I was thankful when the story started to pick up a bit. The beginning felt like a bit of a slog, and I was starting to lose hope. Looking back on it, 2 hours 13 minutes is a lot for what happened. It could easily have tightened up a bit and come in at around 2 hours. (And on the other end of the film, though completely separate to the run time... why put the credit scene right at the end?!)
The benefit of this film when it came to effects is that there was very little out of the ordinary that needed to be done. That meant that everything looked good on screen. I honestly didn't spot anything that stuck out like a sore thumb... or a Thanos henchman... that seems more appropriate given the film's universe. The studio have got CGI down to a fine art at this point.
As I said above, Black Widow gave a nice story to the character, and I can't help but think that they could have given her this before now, and not kicked her out into the sidelines behind the male superheroes. (Well, apart from Hawkeye, poor bugger.) I'm not bothered about seeing this again, which is odd for me as I will usually try and see a Marvel in 3D too. Even odder, because it's basically all that's on at my cinema right now. But I don't feel like I need to go back to try and spot things to link to other films. It feels very inconsequential at this point and, while I enjoyed it, a bit of a letdown.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/black-widow-movie-review.html
Natasha Romanoff is on the run... rewind the MCU a bit... Black Widow is on the run after the incident with the Sokovia accords. While she's on the move (and somehow invisible to detection despite being an Avenger... on the run) her past catches up with her, and after an awkward family reunion, they have to work together to rectify the mistakes of the past.
So how did this next outing in the MCU go down?
I wasn't mad about, or at, it. It nicely aligned itself with its position in the universe in a way that didn't feel too forced, and finally getting the history that the previous films alluded to... well, it was about time. I was surprised how well it managed to condense her story down and still manage to give enough to help it flow. I'm not sure it's the story I was expecting, or necessarily hoped for, but it was good. (I had assumed that we would be getting more about the inside of the Red Room, and not the results of it on the older recruits.)
Johansson gave a solid performance as you'd expect, she's perfected the role over the years and this performance sat well within the character she'd already developed. But what about the other cast members?
MVP for me was Florence Pugh as Yelena. A little frustrating for me to say, but I said it. The sisterly bond with Natasha was there in spades and she managed to grasp the emotion of the family moments so well. And her comedic timing with the sharp script was magnificent. I was delighted every time I saw her on the screen.
Playing Natasha and Yelena's parents are David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. An amusing pairing, with a very opposites attract kind of vibe. Alexie (Harbour) seems to change a lot from the historical points, and he also gets the comical treatment too, but in a more over the top way than Yelena. He had his moments, though I'm not sure it all landed. Weisz plays Melina, a straight-laced scientist/spy. Together they make an interesting team, but I'm not convinced that Melina would have stood up without Alexie.
My only problem with the case? Sometimes I found it a little jarring hearing those accents. Sure, it's nice to have a big recognisable cast, but listening to those accents from people you know really well from other things was continually off-putting.
I was thankful when the story started to pick up a bit. The beginning felt like a bit of a slog, and I was starting to lose hope. Looking back on it, 2 hours 13 minutes is a lot for what happened. It could easily have tightened up a bit and come in at around 2 hours. (And on the other end of the film, though completely separate to the run time... why put the credit scene right at the end?!)
The benefit of this film when it came to effects is that there was very little out of the ordinary that needed to be done. That meant that everything looked good on screen. I honestly didn't spot anything that stuck out like a sore thumb... or a Thanos henchman... that seems more appropriate given the film's universe. The studio have got CGI down to a fine art at this point.
As I said above, Black Widow gave a nice story to the character, and I can't help but think that they could have given her this before now, and not kicked her out into the sidelines behind the male superheroes. (Well, apart from Hawkeye, poor bugger.) I'm not bothered about seeing this again, which is odd for me as I will usually try and see a Marvel in 3D too. Even odder, because it's basically all that's on at my cinema right now. But I don't feel like I need to go back to try and spot things to link to other films. It feels very inconsequential at this point and, while I enjoyed it, a bit of a letdown.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/black-widow-movie-review.html
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Potion Explosion in Tabletop Games
Jan 6, 2020
Your senior year at Horribilorum Sorcery Academy for Witty Witches and Wizards is almost at an end, but one thing stands between you and graduation – final exams! You’ve passed everything with flying colors, and now it’s time for your final exam in Potions class. Do you have what it takes to brew the most difficult and impressive potions? Or will amateur mistakes result in inaccurate recipes and ultimate failure? The time for studying is over, and the time for potion making is NOW!
Disclaimer: There are several expansions for this game. I do not have any of them, nor do I have any gameplay experience with any of them. If and when I do get them added into my base game, I will either amend this review or write a new one! – L
Potion Explosion is a game of set collection in which players are trying to complete potions for end-game VPs. To start the game, each player takes two beaker-shaped potion tiles to be kept in their desk (play area). On your turn, you will select one marble from the dispenser and play it to one of your potions. Easy enough. The marbles are housed in an angled dispenser, so when a marble is removed from one of the tracks, the rest roll down to fill in the gaps. Neat, right? But there’s a catch. If the marble you take causes two marbles of the same color to collide as they move down the dispenser, you have triggered an explosion! That means that you are allowed to take all marbles of the same color that were involved in the explosion on that same track. Sometimes, by removing all the marbles involved in an explosion, a second explosion may be triggered! In that case, you take all of those marbles as well!
Once you’ve taken a marble (or multiple, depending on any explosions), you immediately play those onto your active Potion Tiles. You have the option of keeping up to three marbles in the Ingredient Pool on your desk to be played in later turns. Extra marbles that cannot fit on your Potion Tiles or in your Ingredient Pool are returned to the dispenser. If you complete a potion on your turn, return its corresponding marbles to the dispenser and place the Potion Tile beneath your desk, to be scored at the end of the game. Then you select another Potion Tile from the available stacks to be added to your desk. You will always have two Potion Tiles on your desk. Your turn is now over, and play continues with the next player. The game ends when a certain number of Skill Tokens (earned for completing sets of 3 identical potions, or for completing sets of 5 different potions) have been awarded to players. Play continues until everyone has had the same amount of turns, and then VPs are counted. The player with the most VP is the winner!
I’ve got to lead this off by saying that one of the things I love most about Potion Explosion are the components. The Potion Tiles are nice and thick cardboard, and the marbles are just so much fun to fiddle with throughout the game. Yeah, I may accidentally roll some off the table every once in a while, but they’re a neat addition to the game. I’ve heard that the cardboard dispenser doesn’t hold up after many plays, but I have yet to see that issue, and know that lots of people are now 3D printing dispensers for themselves to circumvent this problem.
So how does it play? Potion Explosion is relatively fast to play, and requires more strategy than meets the eye. You’re selecting and playing marbles, but you’ve also got to keep an eye on any explosion possibilities. Maybe you need 4 blue marbles – are any of the dispenser tracks loaded with blues so that you could strategically trigger an explosion? Or is your neighbor really going for red marbles, so you trigger a red explosion just to keep those from them? The marble placement in the dispenser may be random, but your manipulation of the available marbles is not. Strategy is everything here, because one mistake in marble selection could end up handing your opponents the game.
I thoroughly enjoy Potion Explosion. It’s fast to teach, fast to learn, and fun to play with all ages! The mechanism of the marble dispenser is pretty neat, and it adds an extra element to the game. This game keeps me engaged the entire time because it is just so fun to watch the marbles moving down the tracks and potentially triggering multiple explosions. Although it requires good strategy, it’s a light enough game to give your a break in between some heavier brain-burners. If you haven’t had the opportunity to try Potion Explosion yet, I would highly recommend it. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a bubbling 14 / 18.
Disclaimer: There are several expansions for this game. I do not have any of them, nor do I have any gameplay experience with any of them. If and when I do get them added into my base game, I will either amend this review or write a new one! – L
Potion Explosion is a game of set collection in which players are trying to complete potions for end-game VPs. To start the game, each player takes two beaker-shaped potion tiles to be kept in their desk (play area). On your turn, you will select one marble from the dispenser and play it to one of your potions. Easy enough. The marbles are housed in an angled dispenser, so when a marble is removed from one of the tracks, the rest roll down to fill in the gaps. Neat, right? But there’s a catch. If the marble you take causes two marbles of the same color to collide as they move down the dispenser, you have triggered an explosion! That means that you are allowed to take all marbles of the same color that were involved in the explosion on that same track. Sometimes, by removing all the marbles involved in an explosion, a second explosion may be triggered! In that case, you take all of those marbles as well!
Once you’ve taken a marble (or multiple, depending on any explosions), you immediately play those onto your active Potion Tiles. You have the option of keeping up to three marbles in the Ingredient Pool on your desk to be played in later turns. Extra marbles that cannot fit on your Potion Tiles or in your Ingredient Pool are returned to the dispenser. If you complete a potion on your turn, return its corresponding marbles to the dispenser and place the Potion Tile beneath your desk, to be scored at the end of the game. Then you select another Potion Tile from the available stacks to be added to your desk. You will always have two Potion Tiles on your desk. Your turn is now over, and play continues with the next player. The game ends when a certain number of Skill Tokens (earned for completing sets of 3 identical potions, or for completing sets of 5 different potions) have been awarded to players. Play continues until everyone has had the same amount of turns, and then VPs are counted. The player with the most VP is the winner!
I’ve got to lead this off by saying that one of the things I love most about Potion Explosion are the components. The Potion Tiles are nice and thick cardboard, and the marbles are just so much fun to fiddle with throughout the game. Yeah, I may accidentally roll some off the table every once in a while, but they’re a neat addition to the game. I’ve heard that the cardboard dispenser doesn’t hold up after many plays, but I have yet to see that issue, and know that lots of people are now 3D printing dispensers for themselves to circumvent this problem.
So how does it play? Potion Explosion is relatively fast to play, and requires more strategy than meets the eye. You’re selecting and playing marbles, but you’ve also got to keep an eye on any explosion possibilities. Maybe you need 4 blue marbles – are any of the dispenser tracks loaded with blues so that you could strategically trigger an explosion? Or is your neighbor really going for red marbles, so you trigger a red explosion just to keep those from them? The marble placement in the dispenser may be random, but your manipulation of the available marbles is not. Strategy is everything here, because one mistake in marble selection could end up handing your opponents the game.
I thoroughly enjoy Potion Explosion. It’s fast to teach, fast to learn, and fun to play with all ages! The mechanism of the marble dispenser is pretty neat, and it adds an extra element to the game. This game keeps me engaged the entire time because it is just so fun to watch the marbles moving down the tracks and potentially triggering multiple explosions. Although it requires good strategy, it’s a light enough game to give your a break in between some heavier brain-burners. If you haven’t had the opportunity to try Potion Explosion yet, I would highly recommend it. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a bubbling 14 / 18.
