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Slide Quest
Slide Quest
2019 | Action, Medieval, Real-time
“Slippery When Wet.” What does that mean to you? What about, “Slippery When Dry, But Also Just Very Slippery Because There’s A Ball-Bearing On The Bottom Of This Little Knighteeple… Kneeple?” That’s more descriptive of what we have here in Slide Quest, and oh boy is it a doozy!


Ok so I originally heard about this game from watching one of Marco Arnaudo’s GENCON videos (he’s amazing btw and you should watch every video) and immediately falling in love with the premise. In this game it is your charge as a player to help the little blue knight guy, I’ll call him Sir Rolli, travel from Point A to Point B. That’s it! That’s all you have to do! However, there are obstacles in your path – fences, rocks, archways, dynamite, and even nefarious foes – foeeples. You do this by pressing down yellow levers that flip up one of the four sides of the game board. This then send Sir Rolli along the opposite direction, and depending on the pressure used, possibly right into a fence, or worse – a hole in the ground!
There are several modes of play and ways you can play. With different numbers of players you will have varied experiences. For instance, the first time I played this was with my son, 3, and my father-in-law, 60+. Now, my son obviously is in it to inadvertently sow mayhem, so my F-I-L and I had to compensate as much as possible. Even then, I loved playing it. The next time I played this was with three other players of adulthood status. Our experience was more focused, and we just tore through the different level with a surprising amount of success. We did not complete all 20 included levels, but we got close! Everyone who played had a great time, and we were all smiles the entire time.


This doesn’t mean that it is a perfect game. Nay. For this game can suffer an extreme quarterbacking issue. You know the type – (s)he who believes they know best in every situation and therefore feels compelled to tell everyone else what to do or how to do it correctly? Yes, even I succumb to this affliction at times, but I believe I have a great handle on it, personally. In any case, quarterbackers can also be shut down very quickly when they neglect to operate their paddle correctly and thus allow the team to suffer a lost health. It can happen, and that’s why I am placing that caveat here and now. Luckily, I have not experienced that in any of our games, so I hope that continues.
Components. I don’t know what happened over at Blue Orange Games over the last several years, but for the company that was known (at least in my world) as the “Spot It” company, and nothing more, they sure have upped their game (har har) significantly. These components are FANTASTIC and they really complement a fun and engaging game experience. Everything has a place, and the quality and art style are just through the roof. To me, well worth the price tag for the components alone.

So all in all, I absolutely adore this one. It is cute, fast, an easy teach, and can be a great equalizer as you can play with an array of different teammates. Josh has waffled on his rating for this one, but we all very much love this little gem. For the reasons mentioned and the fact that Josh added this to his cart and checked out before I was even done setting up the first map, Purple Phoenix Games give this one a slip-slidey 22 / 24. Go get this now!
  
    Master Fear of Flying

    Master Fear of Flying

    Travel and Medical

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    Snowboard Party Pro

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    DRAGON QUEST VIII

    DRAGON QUEST VIII

    Games

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    [Recommended Hardware] iPhone 5 or Higher/iPad (3rd Generation or Better) Please Note: iPhone 4 is...

Fighting with My Family (2019)
Fighting with My Family (2019)
2019 | Biography, Comedy, Drama
It's been many years since I last watched any wrestling, and I certainly haven't seen anything of the WWE Divas, or more specifically Paige - the wrestling name of the young British girl whose story is featured in Fighting With My Family. I first got into WWE wrestling, or WWF as it was known back then, sometime during 1986 - just in time for Wrestlemania 3 and the classic main event of Hulk Hogan Vs André the Giant in front of a crowd of over 93,000. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before, and I was hooked. Following that, I used to have to wake up my younger brothers at around midnight whenever there was a major wrestling event on TV, so that we would be able to watch it live from the US. And then eventually, in 1992, they brought Summerslam to Wembley Stadium, and we were able to finally attend an event a little bit closer to home.

Fighting With My Family begins with a young Paige, real name Saraya-Jade, enjoying the WWF wrestling on TV with brother Zak and trying out some of the moves and holds on each other, similar to how I managed to perfect the figure four leglock on my younger brother.... But, that's where the similarities end as Saraya-Jade and Zak are positively encouraged by their parents to beat the crap out of each other, whereas I would probably have been grounded for making my brother cry or something. Their parents, Patrick ‘Rowdy Ricky Knight’ and Julia ‘Sweet Saraya’ are former wrestlers themselves who now run World Association of Wrestling (WAW), where grown up Saraya-Jade (Florence Pugh) and Zak (Jack Lowden) now fight each other for money in regular evening shows. Each day they head out in their WAW van to pick up a bunch of local kids, who would otherwise be headed down a path of criminality, and head to the gym to train them in the ring. Elder brother Roy was also a wrestler, but is currently in prison. It's a simple, close-knit working class family - all looking out for each other, highly passionate about wrestling and each having (or had at one point) a dream to one day make it big in the WWE.

One day that dream has a chance of becoming reality when tryouts for the WWE come to The O2 in London and Zak and Raya are selected to come along. WWE Coach Hutch (Vince Vaughn) puts them through their paces but only Raya is selected to move onto the next stage in Florida. While she heads out to continue her dream, a rejected Zak resigns himself to the fact that he's only ever going to be a small time wrestler. Raya becomes Paige and sets about trying to prove herself as the ordinary Brit girl in among all the dancers, models and cheerleaders who are also with her at boot camp. She's resentful of the others, as they were 'only selected for their tits and ass' and are without any kind of wrestling background. She's lonely, angry and lacking the self confidence she needs to really make it happen. Meanwhile, Zak is struggling with missing out on heading to Florida - disinterested in his new born baby, undertaking grueling matches in front of small crowds, and picking fights in bars just for the hell of it.

Fighting With My Family boasts some real laugh out loud moments, but there is also a lot of relatable family drama and emotion. The cast are all incredible, particularly Florence Pugh as Raya/Paige. Vince Vaughn is a lot of fun as the coach and The Rock also brings a lot of comedy to the few scenes he's in. I absolutely loved everything about this movie and couldn't really fault it at all. Despite knowing beforehand the outcome for Paige, the whole movie just has you wondering throughout if she's going to make it or if she's going to quit, which makes the ending all the more enjoyable. And when you see clips during the credits of her real life family, you appreciate just how spot on some of the casting and acting is too!
  
The Dark Tower (2017)
The Dark Tower (2017)
2017 | Horror, Sci-Fi, Western
Adapting Stephen King stories for the screen has long been a difficult problem for Hollywood. For every “Misery” and “The Shawshank Redemption”, there are many others such as “The Mangler”, “Cell”, “and Graveyard Shift” and many more where things did not go as planned.

The big issue is that King often creates detailed characters with complex backstories and puts then in fully developed worlds that despite their supernatural nature, often are easy for readers to relate to.

Also as any reader of his books knows, King is not one to spare the paper and his books can be very lengthy offerings. This is an issue for Hollywood as they are forced to condense a 400-800 page plus story in many cases to fewer than two hours of screen time. The solution has been to try television movies such as “The Langoliers”, “The Tommyknockers”, “The Stand”, and “It”. The problem with this format is that while spreading the story over multiple nights allows more time for the story, they gore and adult content which is often the core of the story has to be greatly watered down.

Which brings us to “The Dark Tower”, an adaptation of King’s largest offering as the series covers seven books and a novella, not to mention a Prequel comic and more. The series rolled out from 1982-2004 with King often saying that he might never finish the series. Fortunately for fans he released three books from 2003-2004 and was able to declare the story told.

The story tells of a world like ours, but different that has “moved on”. It is a dying world where Roland (Idris Elba), is pursuing a wizard named Walter (Matthew McConaughey), who is responsible for laying waste the world and killing all that come into Roland’s life. The books follow his unrelenting chase of The Man in Black over countless years and how he has become a cold and driven individual who thinks nothing of using people to get his revenge.

Roland is the last of the “Gunslingers”, a Knight like group who protected the world and who used guns that were rare in their world to keep the peace. Roland is highly skilled and unlike his now dead companions, is impervious to the magic of Walter which has allowed him to remain alive and continue his quest.

The Man in Black is fixated on destroying the Dark Tower, which protects the many worlds in the universe from the outside evils that look to destroy it. Along with a young boy from Earth named Jake (Tom Taylor), Roland must find a way to save the universe and exact his revenge.

The film keeps the conflict between Roland and The Man in Black but greatly condenses the story as it includes references to things in the first two books but omits much of the backstory and plot of the novels to tell what I would call a story that was inspired by, but not based on the books.

This is at the core the biggest issue with the film. I have read the books and while I wanted an adaptation that was closer to them, I did find myself enjoying the film more than I expected to. The leads were very good and even though they had a very watered down script to work with, they did a good job and the finale does have some nice visuals and action to it.

People I know who have read the books have naturally been very disappointed with the film but those who have not read the books have mentioned that they enjoyed the film and accepted it as a fun bit of escapist adventure.

There has been talk of a television series that would focus more on the third book onward which hopefully would include how Roland gained new followers from our world who were trained to be future Gunslingers. That remains to be seen as the success of the film will likely hold the key. I hope we do get to see it as there are countless stories and characters yet to tell in this universe and I think fans deserve to see them as King wrote them.

http://sknr.net/2017/08/03/the-dark-tower/
  
Fighting with My Family (2019)
Fighting with My Family (2019)
2019 | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A biopic that’s not just for wrestling fans
Let me make something clear before I dive into my review: I don’t like wrestling. Actually, I hate wrestling. I could barely name another wrestler aside from The Rock and John Cena, so at a glance this film really isn’t marketed towards me. But when we go a little deeper, it becomes clear that this is an incredibly accessible film with a powerful message.

Fighting With My Family tells the story of Norwich-born Saraya “Paige” Bevis. Brought up in a family of wrestlers, Bevis spent her life wrestling alongside her parents, brother and the local community, drawing in small crowds on a regular basis. The family has dreams of making WWE and becoming professional wrestlers, even going as far as sending audition tapes to the company. When Saraya and her brother Zak “Zodiac” are called for an official audition, the family’s lives change for better and for worse.

With an all-star cast including The Rock (obviously), Vince Vaughn, Nick Frost, Lena Headey and Florence Pugh, it’s an incredibly appealing film. Everyone involved takes to their roles effortlessly, bringing all the charm and quirks of the characters to life. It’s so easy to like the Knight family, as they come across as a strange yet passionate family who’d do everything in their power to support the community around them. It’s refreshing to see a depiction of working-class life that doesn’t make the audience sneer or judge. I found myself rooting for the Knights all the way, and wishing them all the best. Pugh embodies Paige so well, to the point where it was easy to believe you were watching the woman herself. She’s so awkward, British and hugely likeable throughout.

I was also surprised to learn that Stephen Merchant (yes, that Stephen Merchant) was at the helm of this film. I adored his direction style and hilarious cameo, making this an unlikely project that worked like a charm. Based off the documentary of the same name, Merchant brings his own unique vision to the project, with the legendary Dwayne Johnson helping out as an an executive producer. It feels like an unlikely duo, but it seriously works.

Fighting With My Family has classic British humour and a familiar grittiness to it, reminding me why I adore British cinema so much. There are clear tonal shifts between the UK and US, emphasising the cultural differences and how out of her depth Bevis felt at first. This is where a lot of the humour comes into play too, as a pale, pierced Norwich girl sticks out like a sore thumb amongst blonde, bronzed models. As Saraya steps into the world of WWE with the ring name “Paige”, she has to face numerous obstacles that are both mentally and physically challenging. As it happens, her identity is one of them, and she soon becomes an outcast.

Yes, this film is about one girl’s rise to the top of the WWE ranks, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s about family, class divide, jealousy, among others. I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between Saraya and Zak, as there’s a clear case of sibling rivalry here. Whilst Saraya succeeds, Zak is dealing with a whole host of personal issues whilst wallowing in his own sadness. This is jealousy on a massive scale, causing a rift between the siblings, and in turn, the rest of the family.

I loved the overall message that the film delivers: that it’s important to always be true to yourself, and do what makes you great. Whether that’s big or small, you can make an impact. This is something that Zak eventually learns whilst he’s feeling jealous of his sister’s success. The familial bond is so strong in this film, and it’s a truly beautiful thing to witness. They might be slightly bonkers, dysfunctional and off the wall, but they’d do anything to support each other. Isn’t that wonderful?

https://lucygoestohollywood.com/2019/03/21/a-biopic-thats-not-just-for-wrestling-fans-my-thoughts-on-fighting-with-my-family/
  
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
2014 | Action, Sci-Fi
Story: This follows up from the first one so we have to remember unlike the Avengers and Dark Knight we are dealing with a teenage superhero. He has different problems like whether he wants a girlfriend or whether to go to college, you know the serious stuff. We have him putting out all the cheesy lines against the person he fights not taking anything seriously. While Peter is trying to figure out what his life holds next, the people against him start their own stories. We have the generic loner scientist who ends up having an accident, gaining powers and using them for evil, been there seen that in every Spider-man film. We also have the Harry Osborn who wants Spider-Man’s blood to cure his sickness and when he can’t have it he goes on a rampage against Spider-Man. It would be fair this is a slow moving film and it really is building up for the next chapter. (7/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Andrew Garfield: Spider-Man/Peter Parker while trying to figure out what to do with his life he carries on fighting crime, he has to decide whether to keep with his girlfriend when her father’s dying wish was to leave her so she couldn’t get caught up in trouble. He does ends up having to face the biggest battle of his life after his battles with Electro and Green Goblin. Good performance in a character that develops as the film unfolds. (8/10)

 spide

Emma Stone: Gwen Stacy ambitious girlfriend of Peter, who wants to excel in her studies and gets that chance to but with Peter in her life she will always be in danger. Good supporting performance, but I always find relationships for superheroes only get in the way and annoy. (7/10)

emma

Jamie Foxx: Electro lonely scientist who has helped the city design a better power source. He feels like everyone is against him but when Spider-Man saves him he gets a boost of confidence. Just when things look good for Max he ends up having an accident at work and turning into Electro, who starts off just wanting help but when he feels betrayed by Spider-Man he wants to take out the web-slinger and the city. Good performance playing a very difficult character that really looks the part. (8/10)

 eletrco

Dane DeHaan: Green Goblin/Harry Osborn an old friend of Peter who wants him to find Spider-Man so he can use his blood to cure his terminal illness. After both Peter and Spider-Man refuse for safety reason he finds out his company secretly has some stored away and he uses it and becomes the Green Goblin out to stop Spider-Man. Good performance from the always solid Dane. (8/10)

harry

Director Review: Marc Webb – Great direction creating a story that really is building to something bigger, creating some very memorable fight scenes and a villain in Electro like nothing we have seen before. (8/10)

 

Action: When the action happens it is all very good, with some great camera spinning shots of Spider-Man in battle. (8/10)

Superhero: A solid entry in the superhero genre. (8/10)

Settings: New York makes a great setting because without all the building Spider-Man couldn’t swing as much. (9/10)
Special Effects: Great special effects used throughout the film. (10/10)

Suggestion: This must be watch by all the superhero fans out there, it is creating a big picture without having to use separate films to add to one of franchise. (Superhero Fans Watch)

 

Best Part: Spider-Man battles Electro round two.

Worst Part: It does start slow, nearly an hour before we meet Electro.

Action Scene Of The Film: The final battles

Believability: No (0/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: Has one planned

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Box Office: $708 Million

Budget: $200 Million

Runtime: 2 Hours 22 Minutes

Tagline: His greatest battle begins

 

Overall: Solid Addition to Spider-Man Franchise

https://moviesreview101.com/2014/09/01/the-amazing-spider-man-2-2014/