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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated VFW (2019) in Movies
Jun 8, 2020
VFW had been an off the cuff pick for ones to watch, at the last minute it appeared in some listings and I was intrigued by the cast and the vibe I was getting from the poster.
When a young girl's plan for revenge goes awry she leads a drug fueled army to the doorstep of the local veterans club. The group must defend their home away from home and try to survive until the morning.
The opening scene paints a picture of a slightly dystopian present/future where drugs run rife and cities are shells of their former selves. There are addicts and revellers all in different states and they're either in lively party spirits or high and out of it. Right from the off I found the set up confusing because you're watching something that is difficult to assess, the darkness makes it almost impossible to gauge the surrounding and you're thrown for a loop when they cut to the bright afternoon scene that is pinpointed by captions to just three hours later.
VFW definitely has a heavy 80s vibe to it. The titles, the background hum of music and the style of the filming. The colours are great but it is incredibly difficult to see anything unless you're watching it in anything but darkness. On my first watch I found myself squinting and peering at the screen trying to decipher what was going on.
There's no logical consistency to things that happen even if you take into consideration that half the characters are supposed to be drugged up to the eyeballs. The event that starts off the whole caper gives you a fairly clear idea of how the addicts react to things, if that is translated to the rest of the hoard then there's no way this film is making it past 30 minutes. It would have been done and dusted.
Dialogue throughout isn't very inspiring, there's are some truly dubious moments and the rest is easily forgotten. The scenes themselves aren't believable, the main cast get lots of opportunities to have moments together inside the VFW club despite having moments before been under the threat of a siege. There was one point where I genuinely wondered if the baddies approached and went "No. It's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking."
What it's missing in those areas it makes up for in random violence. (Make sure to watch out for the plastic machete.) There's a vaguely amusing tooling up sequence and I kind of hope they got the cast drunk and let them improvise weapons all on their own for it. This is another thing that smacks of the 80s, a lot of that violence feels like it's been lifted out of retro horror movies and adapted to this film.
I haven't spoken about the cast, and it's something that left me a little frustrated. The names and faces on the list are epic, they're solid actors with a lot of good credits under their belts... but even though they get a couple of good points in the film it's not really what I'd want for them.
VFW has a lot of elements that could work but with the slightly b-moviesque action scenes and clear omissions for the sake of having a "moment" I think it misses the opportunity to be something more serious. It's not right for b-movie/spoof status and because it doesn't take itself seriously enough it's left in a no man's land and I just couldn't figure out what it was trying to do, especially as even they didn't seem to know if they were attempting to make zombie or an action film.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/06/vfw-movie-review.html
When a young girl's plan for revenge goes awry she leads a drug fueled army to the doorstep of the local veterans club. The group must defend their home away from home and try to survive until the morning.
The opening scene paints a picture of a slightly dystopian present/future where drugs run rife and cities are shells of their former selves. There are addicts and revellers all in different states and they're either in lively party spirits or high and out of it. Right from the off I found the set up confusing because you're watching something that is difficult to assess, the darkness makes it almost impossible to gauge the surrounding and you're thrown for a loop when they cut to the bright afternoon scene that is pinpointed by captions to just three hours later.
VFW definitely has a heavy 80s vibe to it. The titles, the background hum of music and the style of the filming. The colours are great but it is incredibly difficult to see anything unless you're watching it in anything but darkness. On my first watch I found myself squinting and peering at the screen trying to decipher what was going on.
There's no logical consistency to things that happen even if you take into consideration that half the characters are supposed to be drugged up to the eyeballs. The event that starts off the whole caper gives you a fairly clear idea of how the addicts react to things, if that is translated to the rest of the hoard then there's no way this film is making it past 30 minutes. It would have been done and dusted.
Dialogue throughout isn't very inspiring, there's are some truly dubious moments and the rest is easily forgotten. The scenes themselves aren't believable, the main cast get lots of opportunities to have moments together inside the VFW club despite having moments before been under the threat of a siege. There was one point where I genuinely wondered if the baddies approached and went "No. It's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking."
What it's missing in those areas it makes up for in random violence. (Make sure to watch out for the plastic machete.) There's a vaguely amusing tooling up sequence and I kind of hope they got the cast drunk and let them improvise weapons all on their own for it. This is another thing that smacks of the 80s, a lot of that violence feels like it's been lifted out of retro horror movies and adapted to this film.
I haven't spoken about the cast, and it's something that left me a little frustrated. The names and faces on the list are epic, they're solid actors with a lot of good credits under their belts... but even though they get a couple of good points in the film it's not really what I'd want for them.
VFW has a lot of elements that could work but with the slightly b-moviesque action scenes and clear omissions for the sake of having a "moment" I think it misses the opportunity to be something more serious. It's not right for b-movie/spoof status and because it doesn't take itself seriously enough it's left in a no man's land and I just couldn't figure out what it was trying to do, especially as even they didn't seem to know if they were attempting to make zombie or an action film.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/06/vfw-movie-review.html
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Lestranger than fiction.
I must be one of the last people to watch this in the cinema, thanks to an irritating bout of sickness and – well – frankly total bloody apathy! For me this is the franchise that nobody asked for and nobody wanted. (Well, “nobody” is probably overstating the case, since there is probably a bunch of Potterheads out there who are shouting at me right now). But judging from the opinion of my daughter-in-law, who could win “Mastermind” with her knowledge of the original Potter series as her specialist subject, I am certainly not alone in my lack of enthusiasm.
The Plot
I’d really love to tell you about the plot. I really would! But I would struggle to pull all the multitude of strands together from J.K. Rowling’s story and coherently explain them to anyone. If Rowling had put ten thousand monkeys (not a million – it’s no bloody Shakespeare) into a room with typewriters and locked the door I wouldn’t be surprised.
Let me try at a high level….. The arch-criminal wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is being tortured in ‘Trump Tower’, but manages to escape and flees to Paris in pursuit of a mysterious circus performer called Credence (Ezra Miller) and his bewitched companion Nagini (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) played fetchingly by Claudia Kim. Someone needs to stop him, and all eyes are on Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). But he is unable to do so, since he and Grindelwald are “closer than brothers” (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). So a reluctant and UK-grounded Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is smuggled into the danger zone… which suits him just fine since his love Tina (Katherine Waterston) is working for the ministry there, and the couple are currently estranged due to a (topical) bout of ‘Fake News’.
Throw in a potential love triangle between Newt, his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) and old Hogwart’s schoolmate Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz) and about a half dozen other sub-plots and you have… well… a complete bugger’s muggle – – sorry – – muddle.
A plot that’s all at sea
Above all, I really can’t explain the crux of the plot. A venerable diarrhoea of exposition in a crypt, during an inexplicably quiet fifteen minutes (given ‘im-who-can-be-named is next door with about a thousand other people!) left me completely bewildered. A bizarre event at sea (no spoilers) would seem to make absolutely NO SENSE when considered with another reveal at the end of the film. I thought I must have clearly missed something… or I’d just not been intelligent enough to process the information…. or…. it was actually completely bonkers! Actually, I think it’s the latter: in desperation I went on a fan site that tried to explain the plot. While it was explained there, the explanation aligned with what I thought had happened: but it made no mention of the ridiculousness of the random coincidence involved!
The turns
The film’s a mess. Which is a shame since everyone involved tries really hard. Depp oozes evil very effectively (he proves that nicely on arriving in Paris, and doubles-down about 5 minutes later: #veryverydark). Redmayne replays his Newt-act effectively but once again (and I see I made the same comments in my “Fantastic Beasts” review) his character mumbles again so much that many of his lines are unintelligible.
I also complained last time that the excellent actress Katherine Waterston was criminally underused as the tentative love interest Tina. this trend unfortunately continues unabated in this film…. you’ll struggle afterwards to write down what she actually did in this film.
Jacob (Dan Fogler) and Queenie (Alison Sudol, looking for all the world in some scenes like Rachel Weisz) reprise their roles in a sub-plot that goes nowhere in particular.
Of the newcomers, Jude Law as Dumbledore is a class-act but has very little screen time: hopefully he will get more to do next time around. Zoë Kravitz impresses as Leta.
Wizards of the screen
As you would expect from a David Yates / David Heyman Potter collaboration, the product design, costume design and special effects are all excellent. Some scenes are truly impressive – an ‘explosion’ in a Parisian garret is particularly spectacular.
But special effects alone do not a great film make. Many reviews I’ve seen complain that this was a ‘filler’ film… a set-up film for the rest of the series. And I can understand that view. If you analyse the film overall, virtually NOTHING of importance actually happens: it’s like the “Order of the Phoenix” of the prequels.
Final Thoughts
I dragged myself along to see this one because “I thought I should”. The third in the series will really need to sparkle to make me want to see it. If J.K. Rowling were to take me advice (she won’t – she NEVER returns my calls!) then she would sculpt the story-arc but leave the screenwriting to someone better. The blame for this one, I’m afraid, lies at Rowling’s door alone.
The Plot
I’d really love to tell you about the plot. I really would! But I would struggle to pull all the multitude of strands together from J.K. Rowling’s story and coherently explain them to anyone. If Rowling had put ten thousand monkeys (not a million – it’s no bloody Shakespeare) into a room with typewriters and locked the door I wouldn’t be surprised.
Let me try at a high level….. The arch-criminal wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is being tortured in ‘Trump Tower’, but manages to escape and flees to Paris in pursuit of a mysterious circus performer called Credence (Ezra Miller) and his bewitched companion Nagini (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) played fetchingly by Claudia Kim. Someone needs to stop him, and all eyes are on Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). But he is unable to do so, since he and Grindelwald are “closer than brothers” (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). So a reluctant and UK-grounded Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is smuggled into the danger zone… which suits him just fine since his love Tina (Katherine Waterston) is working for the ministry there, and the couple are currently estranged due to a (topical) bout of ‘Fake News’.
Throw in a potential love triangle between Newt, his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) and old Hogwart’s schoolmate Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz) and about a half dozen other sub-plots and you have… well… a complete bugger’s muggle – – sorry – – muddle.
A plot that’s all at sea
Above all, I really can’t explain the crux of the plot. A venerable diarrhoea of exposition in a crypt, during an inexplicably quiet fifteen minutes (given ‘im-who-can-be-named is next door with about a thousand other people!) left me completely bewildered. A bizarre event at sea (no spoilers) would seem to make absolutely NO SENSE when considered with another reveal at the end of the film. I thought I must have clearly missed something… or I’d just not been intelligent enough to process the information…. or…. it was actually completely bonkers! Actually, I think it’s the latter: in desperation I went on a fan site that tried to explain the plot. While it was explained there, the explanation aligned with what I thought had happened: but it made no mention of the ridiculousness of the random coincidence involved!
The turns
The film’s a mess. Which is a shame since everyone involved tries really hard. Depp oozes evil very effectively (he proves that nicely on arriving in Paris, and doubles-down about 5 minutes later: #veryverydark). Redmayne replays his Newt-act effectively but once again (and I see I made the same comments in my “Fantastic Beasts” review) his character mumbles again so much that many of his lines are unintelligible.
I also complained last time that the excellent actress Katherine Waterston was criminally underused as the tentative love interest Tina. this trend unfortunately continues unabated in this film…. you’ll struggle afterwards to write down what she actually did in this film.
Jacob (Dan Fogler) and Queenie (Alison Sudol, looking for all the world in some scenes like Rachel Weisz) reprise their roles in a sub-plot that goes nowhere in particular.
Of the newcomers, Jude Law as Dumbledore is a class-act but has very little screen time: hopefully he will get more to do next time around. Zoë Kravitz impresses as Leta.
Wizards of the screen
As you would expect from a David Yates / David Heyman Potter collaboration, the product design, costume design and special effects are all excellent. Some scenes are truly impressive – an ‘explosion’ in a Parisian garret is particularly spectacular.
But special effects alone do not a great film make. Many reviews I’ve seen complain that this was a ‘filler’ film… a set-up film for the rest of the series. And I can understand that view. If you analyse the film overall, virtually NOTHING of importance actually happens: it’s like the “Order of the Phoenix” of the prequels.
Final Thoughts
I dragged myself along to see this one because “I thought I should”. The third in the series will really need to sparkle to make me want to see it. If J.K. Rowling were to take me advice (she won’t – she NEVER returns my calls!) then she would sculpt the story-arc but leave the screenwriting to someone better. The blame for this one, I’m afraid, lies at Rowling’s door alone.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Fantasy Ranch in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019 (Updated Jun 12, 2019)
Little known fact: my family used to be involved with local harness racing and horse training. Not much actually rubbed off on me, personally, but I do remember going to the stables to visit with the horses, and I was even allowed to ride the stable goat since I wasn’t yet big enough to get on the horses. Ahh, memories. So when I heard that a game existed with a horse ranching theme, I just HAD to get it to the table. Is it a good game though? Let’s find out! (spoilers: IT’S EXCELLENT!)
DISCLAIMER: The game comes with three modes of difficulty AND an included children’s game that also can be played on three modes of difficulty. For this review we are concentrating only on adult mode two. We felt mode one was too introductory, but we did not want to go all in right away on mode three. -T
As with most board games, you are trying to amass trophies (VP) and the winner at the end of five rounds is the rancher with the most trophies. On your turn you can take one Limited (standard) Action and as many Free Actions as you would like. Limited Actions include: buy a horse, buy a location on your ranch board, or farm your ranch for goods. Free Actions include: sell a horse, move horses to/from your home area to/from a different area on your ranch board, or trade goods at a 2:1 ratio. Once every player has taken their turn, you enter a show using the horses you have collected.
Buying a horse requires different amounts of food (in carrots) that you gain from different actions (farming your ranch, selling a horse). Luckily, spending food is a one-time action and you don’t have to feed your horses every turn. A great improvement over other “feed your villagers” games, in my opinion – yeah, I said it. Buying a location on your ranch board/playmat requires “tack,” which is symbolized by boot tokens (as seen below). You can always get more food and tack by farming your ranch, and you receive six goods of any combination, but that’s a Limited Action and prevents you from doing the other actions.
Selling a horse is easy, yet the separation anxiety is real, as you simply discard the horse for the amount of food it costs to purchase. Moving horses is easy too – your Home area of your ranch/playmat can only hold so many horses, so you will need to move horses of certain types to unlocked (purchased) matching areas on your ranch. This is important, as you cannot keep buying red horses or you will certainly run out of room for them, even if you unlock the red area on your ranch board. Plus unlocking sections of your ranch provides you with trophies at game end. The last free action is trading goods, which you do at a 2:1 ratio. So trade in two food for a tack or vice versa.
At shows you use horses for their specific specialty skills plus a die roll. Each horse has specialty in one area, and some skill in other areas. The number associated with a skill icon indicates the starting skill “strength” that you will add to your die roll. You roll all three dice of your color, take the highest result from the roll, and add the skill strength of the horse skill. That’s your score for the show. The highest number is awarded 1st place and the rewards printed, and so on and so forth for the other placing horses. This could result in more food or tack, or even your choice of horses for free from the sales barn.
On the very last turn of the game you will compete in three shows (instead of the normal two shows at the end of each turn) and can only use World Class horses, or buy your way into the show with food. The show process is the same, but it is the final push to earn as many trophies as possible before game end. And that’s it!
Components: This game is FULL of components. It’s a pretty stocked and heavy box, but still only the size of a Ticket to Ride box. The playmats, game boards, and cardboard chits are all of really great quality. The cards are great quality as well with photos of real existing horses (as well as the photos of real existing ranches on the giant ranch cards that are essentially beautiful player reference cards and resource holders). The best components of the game are the super cute little horeeples (oh no, that can’t possibly be correct). Horse-meeples. They come in different colors to match the areas on your ranch that you need to unlock and move them into so you don’t overcrowd your Home area. Even though my copy came with a green horse who lost his front legs, we know that he competes hard and lives his best life. The art is really really great and, though busy on the board at times, the game looks really good on the table. No qualms with the components on this one at all.
Here’s what I really like about this one. It’s a euro through and through, but it’s a euro that is actually exciting, with a unique theme, and one that I genuinely cannot wait to play again. I want to try mode three as soon as I can, and I really want to introduce my son to the game as soon as he is able to handle it. I am finding it really really hard to think of a game that comes ready to play three ways for adults, has components included to play the game three ways with children, and is actually super fun. I can’t think of any. This game is truly in a class by itself.
I love that no matter how tactical you play or how strategic you want to make it, sometimes the dice love/hate you and it could make all the difference. As you can see in the scores, we all love it (with the exception of my cousin Tony who rated it a three because of the dice – WHICH is odd because it is his father that was the harness racing jockey of the family). This review would have been live a week ago, but immediately after playing last weekend Josh said he would like to bring it home to play with his family. His wife is from Kentucky, and they kinda like horses and horse racing there. Well, his wife and son also rated this game out of 6. His wife gave Fantasy Ranch a 15 and his son rated it a 16. As that completely throws off my rating scale I did not add them, but as you can see we at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a very boot-kickin’ 19 / 24. If only we hadn’t invited Tony over to destroy the scores… We highly recommend you check this winner out. Seriously, it’s great.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/06/04/fantasy-ranch-review/
DISCLAIMER: The game comes with three modes of difficulty AND an included children’s game that also can be played on three modes of difficulty. For this review we are concentrating only on adult mode two. We felt mode one was too introductory, but we did not want to go all in right away on mode three. -T
As with most board games, you are trying to amass trophies (VP) and the winner at the end of five rounds is the rancher with the most trophies. On your turn you can take one Limited (standard) Action and as many Free Actions as you would like. Limited Actions include: buy a horse, buy a location on your ranch board, or farm your ranch for goods. Free Actions include: sell a horse, move horses to/from your home area to/from a different area on your ranch board, or trade goods at a 2:1 ratio. Once every player has taken their turn, you enter a show using the horses you have collected.
Buying a horse requires different amounts of food (in carrots) that you gain from different actions (farming your ranch, selling a horse). Luckily, spending food is a one-time action and you don’t have to feed your horses every turn. A great improvement over other “feed your villagers” games, in my opinion – yeah, I said it. Buying a location on your ranch board/playmat requires “tack,” which is symbolized by boot tokens (as seen below). You can always get more food and tack by farming your ranch, and you receive six goods of any combination, but that’s a Limited Action and prevents you from doing the other actions.
Selling a horse is easy, yet the separation anxiety is real, as you simply discard the horse for the amount of food it costs to purchase. Moving horses is easy too – your Home area of your ranch/playmat can only hold so many horses, so you will need to move horses of certain types to unlocked (purchased) matching areas on your ranch. This is important, as you cannot keep buying red horses or you will certainly run out of room for them, even if you unlock the red area on your ranch board. Plus unlocking sections of your ranch provides you with trophies at game end. The last free action is trading goods, which you do at a 2:1 ratio. So trade in two food for a tack or vice versa.
At shows you use horses for their specific specialty skills plus a die roll. Each horse has specialty in one area, and some skill in other areas. The number associated with a skill icon indicates the starting skill “strength” that you will add to your die roll. You roll all three dice of your color, take the highest result from the roll, and add the skill strength of the horse skill. That’s your score for the show. The highest number is awarded 1st place and the rewards printed, and so on and so forth for the other placing horses. This could result in more food or tack, or even your choice of horses for free from the sales barn.
On the very last turn of the game you will compete in three shows (instead of the normal two shows at the end of each turn) and can only use World Class horses, or buy your way into the show with food. The show process is the same, but it is the final push to earn as many trophies as possible before game end. And that’s it!
Components: This game is FULL of components. It’s a pretty stocked and heavy box, but still only the size of a Ticket to Ride box. The playmats, game boards, and cardboard chits are all of really great quality. The cards are great quality as well with photos of real existing horses (as well as the photos of real existing ranches on the giant ranch cards that are essentially beautiful player reference cards and resource holders). The best components of the game are the super cute little horeeples (oh no, that can’t possibly be correct). Horse-meeples. They come in different colors to match the areas on your ranch that you need to unlock and move them into so you don’t overcrowd your Home area. Even though my copy came with a green horse who lost his front legs, we know that he competes hard and lives his best life. The art is really really great and, though busy on the board at times, the game looks really good on the table. No qualms with the components on this one at all.
Here’s what I really like about this one. It’s a euro through and through, but it’s a euro that is actually exciting, with a unique theme, and one that I genuinely cannot wait to play again. I want to try mode three as soon as I can, and I really want to introduce my son to the game as soon as he is able to handle it. I am finding it really really hard to think of a game that comes ready to play three ways for adults, has components included to play the game three ways with children, and is actually super fun. I can’t think of any. This game is truly in a class by itself.
I love that no matter how tactical you play or how strategic you want to make it, sometimes the dice love/hate you and it could make all the difference. As you can see in the scores, we all love it (with the exception of my cousin Tony who rated it a three because of the dice – WHICH is odd because it is his father that was the harness racing jockey of the family). This review would have been live a week ago, but immediately after playing last weekend Josh said he would like to bring it home to play with his family. His wife is from Kentucky, and they kinda like horses and horse racing there. Well, his wife and son also rated this game out of 6. His wife gave Fantasy Ranch a 15 and his son rated it a 16. As that completely throws off my rating scale I did not add them, but as you can see we at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a very boot-kickin’ 19 / 24. If only we hadn’t invited Tony over to destroy the scores… We highly recommend you check this winner out. Seriously, it’s great.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/06/04/fantasy-ranch-review/
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Darkest Night (First edition) in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
One of the best parts of the board gaming experience is finding a fun group of people with whom to play! Sometimes, though, coordinating a game night is easier said than done. We all must occasionally forego the group experience and face the world as the Lonely Only. But fear not! The world of solo-play is a vast and exciting realm! What follows is a chronicle of my journey into the solo-playing world – notes on gameplay, mechanics, rules, difficulty, and overall experience with solo variations of commonly multiplayer games! I hope this will provide some insight as you continue to grow your collection, or explore your already owned games!
Once prosperous, your kingdom has fallen victim to a powerful Necromancer who has shrouded the realm in darkness. His minions traverse the land doing his bidding, and his army, as well as his powers, continue to grow. All hope is lost….or is it? Four heroes band together in a final attempt to defeat this evil being. Each brings unique powers and strategies to the table, and success will come in one of two ways – by defeating the Necromancer in direct combat, or by gathering Holy Relics and performing a ritual to undo his powers. But be warned: the Necromancer grows stronger with every passing moment, so be sure your chosen strategy is the right one. Otherwise you too will fall victim to the Necromancer’s might.
Darkest Night is a cooperative game where players take on the role of the heroes attempting to defeat the Necromancer. Each turn has 4 steps – Perform any start-of-turn actions, draw/resolve an Event card, perform one action, and defend against Blights (monsters). Each equipped with a unique set of powers, the heroes must work together to search the land for Holy Relics and destroy Blights before the kingdom is overrun. Once all of the heroes have had their turn, the Necromancer gets his turn, which entails advancing the Darkness track, moving towards the closest detected hero, and creating more Blights. Victory comes in two forms – ritual or combat. If the heroes collectively uncover three Holy Relics, they can use them in a ritual to break the Necromancer’s powers. Or if a hero gets strong enough, they could directly fight the Necromancer. If, at any point, the Monastery is overrun by Blights, the game ends in failure and the kingdom has fallen into darkness.
DISCLAIMER – This review is for the Darkest Night (First Edition) base game. There is a second edition, and several expansions, but I have not had experience with any of those, so my thoughts are solely based on the First Edition base game. -L
I’m just going to be up-front and let you know that I am not a huge fan of this game solo. The main reason is that this game is for four heroes, regardless of actual player count. So playing solo means that I have to control all four heroes. Controlling one hero, I can do. Controlling two heroes takes more focus, but is usually manageable. But controlling four heroes at once? Madness! At least for me it is. There is so much more for a single person to keep track of, and it can be pretty overwhelming. There are so many variables to keep track of, I often end up making mistakes – forgetting to draw Event cards, accidentally using one hero’s ability when it is a different hero’s turn, forgetting to give one hero a turn in a round because I thought they already had one, etc. If I am lucky, I will catch a mistake in-progress, or one turn later, and can rectify it. But to be honest, of all the mistakes I make while playing Darkest Night, I probably won’t catch 25% of them. Which can either make a game super easy, or super brutal. You might tell me, “Focus!” or “Pay better attention!” but believe me, I’m trying! I just feel like four heroes for one person is too much.
Patience is a virtue, but apparently I have none when it comes to this game. And by that, I mean that I feel like it takes an eternity to accomplish anything in this game. On your turn, you only get one single action. And movement is an action. Picture this – I am trying to move my hero to the opposite end of the kingdom (at least 2 spaces away). I am going to have to spend 2 complete rounds (active hero turn, other hero turns, Necromancer turn, x2) just to get there. And then once I finally get there, I have to wait for the 3rd round to even do anything in that location! I just get frustrated at the fact that something as simple as moving a few spaces takes multiple rounds to accomplish. Since everything takes so long to do, you have to be thinking so far into the future with every turn. That makes it difficult for me to strategize, and the game just feels so inefficient, especially in solo play, when you have to control all of the heroes. It can be tricky enough planning a few turns in advance for a single hero, but being in charge of all heroes just makes the job more complicated. And maybe I’m just not patient enough for this game, but I think that if every hero got two actions per turn, the game would be a lot more manageable.
This will come as no surprise to you, but I enjoy this game more in a group rather than solo. This game is cooperative, and I like being able to talk strategy with my fellow gamers, rather than trying to figure everything out for each of the four heroes by myself. Group play also allows me to focus my attention on one single hero instead of multiple, which makes the game feel less overwhelming to me. And perhaps the second edition or expansions address some of the issues I have with the game, but for the time being, Darkest Night is low on my list of solo games.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/01/04/solo-chronicles-darkest-night/
Once prosperous, your kingdom has fallen victim to a powerful Necromancer who has shrouded the realm in darkness. His minions traverse the land doing his bidding, and his army, as well as his powers, continue to grow. All hope is lost….or is it? Four heroes band together in a final attempt to defeat this evil being. Each brings unique powers and strategies to the table, and success will come in one of two ways – by defeating the Necromancer in direct combat, or by gathering Holy Relics and performing a ritual to undo his powers. But be warned: the Necromancer grows stronger with every passing moment, so be sure your chosen strategy is the right one. Otherwise you too will fall victim to the Necromancer’s might.
Darkest Night is a cooperative game where players take on the role of the heroes attempting to defeat the Necromancer. Each turn has 4 steps – Perform any start-of-turn actions, draw/resolve an Event card, perform one action, and defend against Blights (monsters). Each equipped with a unique set of powers, the heroes must work together to search the land for Holy Relics and destroy Blights before the kingdom is overrun. Once all of the heroes have had their turn, the Necromancer gets his turn, which entails advancing the Darkness track, moving towards the closest detected hero, and creating more Blights. Victory comes in two forms – ritual or combat. If the heroes collectively uncover three Holy Relics, they can use them in a ritual to break the Necromancer’s powers. Or if a hero gets strong enough, they could directly fight the Necromancer. If, at any point, the Monastery is overrun by Blights, the game ends in failure and the kingdom has fallen into darkness.
DISCLAIMER – This review is for the Darkest Night (First Edition) base game. There is a second edition, and several expansions, but I have not had experience with any of those, so my thoughts are solely based on the First Edition base game. -L
I’m just going to be up-front and let you know that I am not a huge fan of this game solo. The main reason is that this game is for four heroes, regardless of actual player count. So playing solo means that I have to control all four heroes. Controlling one hero, I can do. Controlling two heroes takes more focus, but is usually manageable. But controlling four heroes at once? Madness! At least for me it is. There is so much more for a single person to keep track of, and it can be pretty overwhelming. There are so many variables to keep track of, I often end up making mistakes – forgetting to draw Event cards, accidentally using one hero’s ability when it is a different hero’s turn, forgetting to give one hero a turn in a round because I thought they already had one, etc. If I am lucky, I will catch a mistake in-progress, or one turn later, and can rectify it. But to be honest, of all the mistakes I make while playing Darkest Night, I probably won’t catch 25% of them. Which can either make a game super easy, or super brutal. You might tell me, “Focus!” or “Pay better attention!” but believe me, I’m trying! I just feel like four heroes for one person is too much.
Patience is a virtue, but apparently I have none when it comes to this game. And by that, I mean that I feel like it takes an eternity to accomplish anything in this game. On your turn, you only get one single action. And movement is an action. Picture this – I am trying to move my hero to the opposite end of the kingdom (at least 2 spaces away). I am going to have to spend 2 complete rounds (active hero turn, other hero turns, Necromancer turn, x2) just to get there. And then once I finally get there, I have to wait for the 3rd round to even do anything in that location! I just get frustrated at the fact that something as simple as moving a few spaces takes multiple rounds to accomplish. Since everything takes so long to do, you have to be thinking so far into the future with every turn. That makes it difficult for me to strategize, and the game just feels so inefficient, especially in solo play, when you have to control all of the heroes. It can be tricky enough planning a few turns in advance for a single hero, but being in charge of all heroes just makes the job more complicated. And maybe I’m just not patient enough for this game, but I think that if every hero got two actions per turn, the game would be a lot more manageable.
This will come as no surprise to you, but I enjoy this game more in a group rather than solo. This game is cooperative, and I like being able to talk strategy with my fellow gamers, rather than trying to figure everything out for each of the four heroes by myself. Group play also allows me to focus my attention on one single hero instead of multiple, which makes the game feel less overwhelming to me. And perhaps the second edition or expansions address some of the issues I have with the game, but for the time being, Darkest Night is low on my list of solo games.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/01/04/solo-chronicles-darkest-night/
Kaysee Hood (83 KP) rated All the Crooked Saints in Books
Nov 17, 2017
Music (2 more)
Mental Illness
Family
Saints Have Darkness, Too
Forget all you know about Stiefvater's previous books.
Okay, don't forget everything. Let me make it a bit clearer. Forget the characters you've known before. Forget the twists and turns, plots, and bits of information before. You'll need your mind clear to process All the Crooked Saints because a whole new world has been created in 1962 Colorado on a ranch in Bicho Raro where miracles take place, yet not the type of miracles you may have in mind.
The Sorias have a gift to perform these miracles on people who come, called pilgrims, where the darkness within a person becomes tangible. Some come believing once it is done then all is well. This is not the case. Drawing out the darkness is the first part. The second part is on the pilgrim to figure out on their own or darkness shall overcome the Soria who attempts to help. This is how it has always been. This is what the Sorias have been told. This is what the cousins, who the story is greatly based around, have been told. Yet is this the truth?
This is what the cousins (Beatriz and Joaquin) are trying to figure out when Daniel, the oldest of their trio, breaks the rule in aiding one of the pilgrims. They know neither can directly interfere. So Beatriz goes out on a limb using the radio system she has built for Joaquin to see if the broadcasting can help the others and let Daniel know he is not alone until they figure out how to change his fate. They've noticed the broadcast has done well for the other pilgrims, so why not their dear cousin, too? They have to figure it out before he dies out in the valley from the darkness, starvation, dehydration, or the elements.
However, there may be a slight problem with this plan. Well, two problems. One, Pete Wyatt arrived with a pilgrim to do odd jobs around the ranch to earn the box truck. The very box truck Beatriz fixed up and built the radio station in. As well as he is doing Pete may earn the truck before they can help Daniel. It's hard enough working under the time frame they have without the ticking time of Pete. Two, a Soria recognized Joaquin's voice. This means their secret is no longer a secret. This means they may not be able to help Daniel anyway.
They're pressed for time. Can Pete be talked to? Can Daniel, the saint, who should have known better, even be saved from his darkness? Or will the little bit of work be all in vain?
All this can be found out in the tale that will have you turning pages to find out if Daniel can be saved from his darkness, why he risked his life, and if the other pilgrims can be helped without bringing darkness to them all.
Okay, don't forget everything. Let me make it a bit clearer. Forget the characters you've known before. Forget the twists and turns, plots, and bits of information before. You'll need your mind clear to process All the Crooked Saints because a whole new world has been created in 1962 Colorado on a ranch in Bicho Raro where miracles take place, yet not the type of miracles you may have in mind.
The Sorias have a gift to perform these miracles on people who come, called pilgrims, where the darkness within a person becomes tangible. Some come believing once it is done then all is well. This is not the case. Drawing out the darkness is the first part. The second part is on the pilgrim to figure out on their own or darkness shall overcome the Soria who attempts to help. This is how it has always been. This is what the Sorias have been told. This is what the cousins, who the story is greatly based around, have been told. Yet is this the truth?
This is what the cousins (Beatriz and Joaquin) are trying to figure out when Daniel, the oldest of their trio, breaks the rule in aiding one of the pilgrims. They know neither can directly interfere. So Beatriz goes out on a limb using the radio system she has built for Joaquin to see if the broadcasting can help the others and let Daniel know he is not alone until they figure out how to change his fate. They've noticed the broadcast has done well for the other pilgrims, so why not their dear cousin, too? They have to figure it out before he dies out in the valley from the darkness, starvation, dehydration, or the elements.
However, there may be a slight problem with this plan. Well, two problems. One, Pete Wyatt arrived with a pilgrim to do odd jobs around the ranch to earn the box truck. The very box truck Beatriz fixed up and built the radio station in. As well as he is doing Pete may earn the truck before they can help Daniel. It's hard enough working under the time frame they have without the ticking time of Pete. Two, a Soria recognized Joaquin's voice. This means their secret is no longer a secret. This means they may not be able to help Daniel anyway.
They're pressed for time. Can Pete be talked to? Can Daniel, the saint, who should have known better, even be saved from his darkness? Or will the little bit of work be all in vain?
All this can be found out in the tale that will have you turning pages to find out if Daniel can be saved from his darkness, why he risked his life, and if the other pilgrims can be helped without bringing darkness to them all.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated The Black Pirate (1926) in Movies
Feb 18, 2019
Two-tone Techncolor milestone
Two Tone Technicolor in all its glory! This is it. The first widely distributed Technicolor movie back before we even had sound. This was hardly the first foray into colour, in fact colour almost goes as far back as film itself, as does sound, but it was not until the mid-1920’s that breakthroughs in both mediums would bring them into mainstream.
Sound would take first, with Technicolor taking just a little longer, mainly due to the technical issues of using it both in front and behind the camera. But as time went on, these issues were gradually dealt with with the rest is cinema history.
So, having gotten the technical bit out of the way, on to the Douglas Fairbanks Jr. blockbuster. And that is precisely want this was. A by-the-numbers acrobatic action movie by the undisputed star of the day, Fairbanks.
The plot follows a Duke (Fairbanks) whose ship is attacked and destroyed by a Pirates. He is the soul survivor and vows revenge. He soon finds himself in the company of the very pirates he is looking for and infiltrates their crew by being the best god-damn pirate there ever was!
He meets a princess (Billie Dove) and saves the day, gets the girl and the evil pirates are dispatched. All, amidst lots of colourful blood, to emphasise the Technicolor I suppose and slides down a few sails with his dagger along the way.
The performances are typical for a Hollywoodland movie of the day, but besides the outstanding physicality of Douglas, I would not say that there was anything particularly noteworthy about the acting, let alone the production on the whole. Having said that, the tone and cliche’s which this film has brought to the genre as whole are legendary and there is that foray into colour of course.
This were it all began folks…
The DVD
Unfortunately my copy was just the cheap R-0 version, whcih was clearly (ironically) taken from a old VHS recording. The colour is vivid but wrong. Greens have replaced blacks and the overall print quality was poor but watchable. I have seen bit s of the KINO HD Blu-ray edition and this looks great.
It also has the original score by Mortimer Wilson, something whcih this bargain basement DVD does not. The music supplied is okay; a mix of classical pieces on a loop but none this is cued and rarely suits the scenes let alone the action on screen. Further proof that there never was such a thing as silent cinema, just no synchronised sound.
For the real experience, get the Blu-ray, though it is very expensive at the moment, but if you just want to see what all the fuss is about, this DVD is quite watchable, at least as an entry version.
Me, I am after the upgrade!
Sound would take first, with Technicolor taking just a little longer, mainly due to the technical issues of using it both in front and behind the camera. But as time went on, these issues were gradually dealt with with the rest is cinema history.
So, having gotten the technical bit out of the way, on to the Douglas Fairbanks Jr. blockbuster. And that is precisely want this was. A by-the-numbers acrobatic action movie by the undisputed star of the day, Fairbanks.
The plot follows a Duke (Fairbanks) whose ship is attacked and destroyed by a Pirates. He is the soul survivor and vows revenge. He soon finds himself in the company of the very pirates he is looking for and infiltrates their crew by being the best god-damn pirate there ever was!
He meets a princess (Billie Dove) and saves the day, gets the girl and the evil pirates are dispatched. All, amidst lots of colourful blood, to emphasise the Technicolor I suppose and slides down a few sails with his dagger along the way.
The performances are typical for a Hollywoodland movie of the day, but besides the outstanding physicality of Douglas, I would not say that there was anything particularly noteworthy about the acting, let alone the production on the whole. Having said that, the tone and cliche’s which this film has brought to the genre as whole are legendary and there is that foray into colour of course.
This were it all began folks…
The DVD
Unfortunately my copy was just the cheap R-0 version, whcih was clearly (ironically) taken from a old VHS recording. The colour is vivid but wrong. Greens have replaced blacks and the overall print quality was poor but watchable. I have seen bit s of the KINO HD Blu-ray edition and this looks great.
It also has the original score by Mortimer Wilson, something whcih this bargain basement DVD does not. The music supplied is okay; a mix of classical pieces on a loop but none this is cued and rarely suits the scenes let alone the action on screen. Further proof that there never was such a thing as silent cinema, just no synchronised sound.
For the real experience, get the Blu-ray, though it is very expensive at the moment, but if you just want to see what all the fuss is about, this DVD is quite watchable, at least as an entry version.
Me, I am after the upgrade!
Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Blood Oath (Nathaniel Cade #1) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
Blood Oath is an interesting and fairly refreshing variation on the vampire riff. Most of the current tales give us a suave, sexy predator who mesmerizes his or her prey, leaving humans pining for their presence. They might even fall in love with a human. Nathaniel Cade, however, refers to humans as food, saying, "Would you have sex with a cow?" That makes much more sense to me. It's a good thing he isn't interested, either, as the typical reaction people have to encountering him is utter panic, often involving the loss of bladder control.
Cade is definitely a predator, though - an extremely effective one. Farnsworth attempts to explain his abilities scientifically, rather than mystically (I'd classify this book as science fiction if I had to choose a genre, whereas most books featuring vampires and similar creatures are fantasy or horror). The same is true of the enenies he faces.
While I'm not generally interested in socio-political thrillers (which is what this book was, other than a story about a vampire who works for the president), I did enjoy the fresh take on an old trope. While I normally groan when I see the first book from a new author billed as the beginning of a series (do publishers even buy single books any more?), I'm somewhat pleased this time. I do wish they'd been a little more careful with the name of the series (The President's Vampire), as there's another book with the same name: [b:The President's Vampire: Strange-but-True Tales of the United States of America|690096|The President's Vampire Strange-but-True Tales of the United States of America|Robert Damon Schneck|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177264074s/690096.jpg|676444] by [a:Robert Damon Schneck|368998|Robert Damon Schneck|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]. Then again, if Farnsworth's book or series takes off, I suppose there's a chance that sales of Schneck's will as well. I'm sure he wouldn't complain about that at all. I've put it on my to-read list, after all.
I hope to talk my partner, Sam, into reading <i>Blood Oath</i>. If I do, it'll be fairly miraculous, as I don't recall him anything with dragons or werewolves in it other than ([a:Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg]'s Dresden Files) for most of the time that I've known him (12 years as of this writing). After his years at White Wolf, I think many books seem more than slightly derivative. He also did so much research before working on books he wrote for them (like [b:The Book of Nod|416122|The Book of Nod|Sam Chupp|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223664741s/416122.jpg|405290]) that he got a little burned out on certain subjects. Farnsworth's approach really is different enough that I think he might give it a chance. Will you?
Cade is definitely a predator, though - an extremely effective one. Farnsworth attempts to explain his abilities scientifically, rather than mystically (I'd classify this book as science fiction if I had to choose a genre, whereas most books featuring vampires and similar creatures are fantasy or horror). The same is true of the enenies he faces.
While I'm not generally interested in socio-political thrillers (which is what this book was, other than a story about a vampire who works for the president), I did enjoy the fresh take on an old trope. While I normally groan when I see the first book from a new author billed as the beginning of a series (do publishers even buy single books any more?), I'm somewhat pleased this time. I do wish they'd been a little more careful with the name of the series (The President's Vampire), as there's another book with the same name: [b:The President's Vampire: Strange-but-True Tales of the United States of America|690096|The President's Vampire Strange-but-True Tales of the United States of America|Robert Damon Schneck|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177264074s/690096.jpg|676444] by [a:Robert Damon Schneck|368998|Robert Damon Schneck|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]. Then again, if Farnsworth's book or series takes off, I suppose there's a chance that sales of Schneck's will as well. I'm sure he wouldn't complain about that at all. I've put it on my to-read list, after all.
I hope to talk my partner, Sam, into reading <i>Blood Oath</i>. If I do, it'll be fairly miraculous, as I don't recall him anything with dragons or werewolves in it other than ([a:Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg]'s Dresden Files) for most of the time that I've known him (12 years as of this writing). After his years at White Wolf, I think many books seem more than slightly derivative. He also did so much research before working on books he wrote for them (like [b:The Book of Nod|416122|The Book of Nod|Sam Chupp|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223664741s/416122.jpg|405290]) that he got a little burned out on certain subjects. Farnsworth's approach really is different enough that I think he might give it a chance. Will you?
Kristin (149 KP) rated When the Siren Calls (The Siren, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Infidelity, fraud, and just plain ol' lying: That's what Julian "Jay" Brooke is all about. Whether he's running around with his mistress Lucy, trying to get into the pants of assistant Gina or the married Isobel, or selling timeshares at inflated prices to the filthy rich, Jay always has something up his sleeve. Can he get away with it all, or is it just a house of cards, waiting to come down?
Isobel Roberts is a married woman, on vacation with her husband in Morocco when she first encounters Jay, who saves her from an unsightly development in the market. From that point on, she thinks of him, her feelings growing into more than she's ready for, or so she thinks. What will she choose to do: Stay committed to her husband, or stray into the arms (and bed) of another (married) man?
There are so many characters in this book whose stories grab your attention (aside from Jay and Isobel). Lucy's feisty in trying to get her way in her relationship with Jay; Isobel's friend Maria is the no-nonsense birdie on Isobel's shoulder, helping her along throughout her decisions, whether good or bad; Andy Skinner is always trying to figure out just what Jay has pulled him into with this timeshare business in Tuscany, and whether or not he's getting screwed in the process; and so many more. With all the people involved, how long will it take for Jay's lies to come to the surface, or will he get away with everything?
Honestly, almost from the jump I wanted Jay to get caught at something, whether it was the infidelity, the fraud in Tuscany, just something. There's so many people in the world just like him, who think they're above everything and everyone and nothing can touch them, and I REALLY wanted someone to knock him down a peg (or several). There's schemes going on, underhanded business deals, price-gouging against "holiday tourists", and so much more. For the life of me, I wanted to just scream at all the characters to get them to catch onto it all.
The reason I dropped to 4 stars is because I got a little confused in the beginning as to the timeline, as weeks/months would pass between chapters, which bounce back and forth between characters, so I had a hard time keeping track for a little while. However, the time frame slows down, and it's easier to tell what's going on after the first quarter or so of the story.
Now, all that being said, DOES Jay ever get caught? Do his lies catch up to him, either in his personal or professional life, or does he get away scot-free? You'll have to read and see! =)
4 stars
Infidelity, fraud, and just plain ol' lying: That's what Julian "Jay" Brooke is all about. Whether he's running around with his mistress Lucy, trying to get into the pants of assistant Gina or the married Isobel, or selling timeshares at inflated prices to the filthy rich, Jay always has something up his sleeve. Can he get away with it all, or is it just a house of cards, waiting to come down?
Isobel Roberts is a married woman, on vacation with her husband in Morocco when she first encounters Jay, who saves her from an unsightly development in the market. From that point on, she thinks of him, her feelings growing into more than she's ready for, or so she thinks. What will she choose to do: Stay committed to her husband, or stray into the arms (and bed) of another (married) man?
There are so many characters in this book whose stories grab your attention (aside from Jay and Isobel). Lucy's feisty in trying to get her way in her relationship with Jay; Isobel's friend Maria is the no-nonsense birdie on Isobel's shoulder, helping her along throughout her decisions, whether good or bad; Andy Skinner is always trying to figure out just what Jay has pulled him into with this timeshare business in Tuscany, and whether or not he's getting screwed in the process; and so many more. With all the people involved, how long will it take for Jay's lies to come to the surface, or will he get away with everything?
Honestly, almost from the jump I wanted Jay to get caught at something, whether it was the infidelity, the fraud in Tuscany, just something. There's so many people in the world just like him, who think they're above everything and everyone and nothing can touch them, and I REALLY wanted someone to knock him down a peg (or several). There's schemes going on, underhanded business deals, price-gouging against "holiday tourists", and so much more. For the life of me, I wanted to just scream at all the characters to get them to catch onto it all.
The reason I dropped to 4 stars is because I got a little confused in the beginning as to the timeline, as weeks/months would pass between chapters, which bounce back and forth between characters, so I had a hard time keeping track for a little while. However, the time frame slows down, and it's easier to tell what's going on after the first quarter or so of the story.
Now, all that being said, DOES Jay ever get caught? Do his lies catch up to him, either in his personal or professional life, or does he get away scot-free? You'll have to read and see! =)
4 stars
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Lone Ranger (2013) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: The Lone Ranger starts with Tonto (Depp) telling the story of how he met the Lone Ranger John Reid (Hammer) the district attorney of Texas, we see how Butch Cavendish (Fichtner) killed John only for Tonto to bring him back from the dead to get their vengeance on the outlaws.
The journey takes the two men across the wild west to expose the truth behind everything that has been going on between the outlaws and the native Americans.
Thoughts on The Lone Ranger
Characters – John Reid is a district attorney in Texas, living in the shadow of his brother, but this time he gets to go on an adventure with his brother only to be murdered and bought back to life by Tonto. He must work with Tonto to get the people behind his brother’s death. Tonto is the native American that shows John the way as his own past makes him the colourful character that does things in his own direction. Butch Cavendish is the villainous outlaw not afraid to kill anyone who gets in the way of what he desires.
Performances – Armie Hammer in this leading role is good through the film, he must play the straight-laced character and pulls this off. Johnny Depp is going on one of his stranger character missions again here and at times is fine, but at others gets annoying. William Fichtner as a villain is something we always want to see.
Story – The story follows the origin of The Lone Ranger and Tonto as they faced their first enemy together in the wild west. The story plays out nicely just how you would imagine any Disney related material to, as an unlikely hero is born, even if it does follow elements of the Pirates beginning. This does have an adventure across the west feel which is nice to see and the twists and turns do seem to be easy to see unfolding, with a villain that knows the danger the two heroes pose to him.
Action/Adventure/Western – The action sequences do come off feeling like the highlight of the movie, with an amazing opening train sequence. The adventure side of the film is written all over the idea of going across the wild west to stop the villainous characters. The western feel comes through strong too, while not the most serious we do see both sides of the law.
Settings – The settings take us all over the wild west fitting into nearly ever typical location we know about.
Special Effects – The effects are good too in the film while only being used to cover up certain moments of the film.
Scene of the Movie – Ladder trick.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is too long.
Final Thoughts – This is a lot of fun even if it is too long in places, the cast do a good job and this one will be a film that you can switch off and enjoy.
Overall: Enjoyable action adventure.
The journey takes the two men across the wild west to expose the truth behind everything that has been going on between the outlaws and the native Americans.
Thoughts on The Lone Ranger
Characters – John Reid is a district attorney in Texas, living in the shadow of his brother, but this time he gets to go on an adventure with his brother only to be murdered and bought back to life by Tonto. He must work with Tonto to get the people behind his brother’s death. Tonto is the native American that shows John the way as his own past makes him the colourful character that does things in his own direction. Butch Cavendish is the villainous outlaw not afraid to kill anyone who gets in the way of what he desires.
Performances – Armie Hammer in this leading role is good through the film, he must play the straight-laced character and pulls this off. Johnny Depp is going on one of his stranger character missions again here and at times is fine, but at others gets annoying. William Fichtner as a villain is something we always want to see.
Story – The story follows the origin of The Lone Ranger and Tonto as they faced their first enemy together in the wild west. The story plays out nicely just how you would imagine any Disney related material to, as an unlikely hero is born, even if it does follow elements of the Pirates beginning. This does have an adventure across the west feel which is nice to see and the twists and turns do seem to be easy to see unfolding, with a villain that knows the danger the two heroes pose to him.
Action/Adventure/Western – The action sequences do come off feeling like the highlight of the movie, with an amazing opening train sequence. The adventure side of the film is written all over the idea of going across the wild west to stop the villainous characters. The western feel comes through strong too, while not the most serious we do see both sides of the law.
Settings – The settings take us all over the wild west fitting into nearly ever typical location we know about.
Special Effects – The effects are good too in the film while only being used to cover up certain moments of the film.
Scene of the Movie – Ladder trick.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is too long.
Final Thoughts – This is a lot of fun even if it is too long in places, the cast do a good job and this one will be a film that you can switch off and enjoy.
Overall: Enjoyable action adventure.