Howdy people of the internet, as some of you may have seen, not too long ago I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus! This week’s episode is a good few days late for a various reasons, but let’s just say I wanted to wait til Friday when I was meant to go to the cinema, but then I had to go to the hospital, so I’m only getting my stuff uploaded today. 😛
Anyway here’s the seventh episode:
As you can see from the title, this week’s top of conversation is on the anticipation of films versus the payoff, and I get into the pros and cons of each and also give my own accounts of experiencing both. This was a subject matter that I’ve wanted to talk about for a while and while it is a little subjective, I hope that it at least gets people thinking and talking about it.
As I said before in each episode I’ll cover a different topic and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂
So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀
Howdy people, I’m back once agin with a TV review and after two years since my last review on this show, I’m back talking about Ultimate Spider-Man season 2. Now back in 2014 I was watching this show and I dunno why it’s taken me so long to get back to this show, but since I’ve had a bit more free time over the last month I decided to plough through the season and today I want to share my thoughts.
So let’s get this out of the way first, I’m not the biggest fan of this show, but season 1 had small, and I mean SMALL glimmers of potential for future episodes. And the thing about Ultimate Spider-Man is that with season 2 is that it’s not bad, but not great. With the first season it was a struggle but now with this season the viewing experience was a little more tolerable.
So here’s the pros of season 2:
The show makes attempts at character development
The show also tries to have emotional impact rather than focusing on humour all the time
Interesting character cameos
The amount of references to the comics for fans is pretty good
But for all the improvements there are cons and here they are:
All of the issues from the last season carry over into this season (horrible cut away jokes, bad character development, etc.)
Pointless episodic adventures
Lackluster fight sequences
Weak and repetitive villains
Best episodes:
Journey of the Iron Fist
The Parent Trap
Blade & Hollowing Commandos (two-part episode)
Sandman Returns
Just to expand upon the points I made above, USM season 2 does make an attempt to tell some more meaningful stories and has a better focus on Peter Parker’s solo adventures as Spidey or his interesting team ups with some other Marvel heroes. The relationship he has with his team is better and the development made between him and Luke Cage and Iron Fist was great. Also the show still looks pretty good with its art direction and animation, but that’s more or less solid. Oh and finally I liked how some of the story elements from last season carried over to this one and how some episodes came in two parts. That being said, this show is still infuriating with its use of poor humour which is bottom-of-the-barrel, silly, juvenile and comes at the worst times especially when it comes to certain serious moments. The use of villains were poor imitations of their comic book counterparts, some are poorly integrated while others pose no real threat some are used far too often without room for other villains to make an impression. But what really pisses me off about this show is the same reason I hated the first season, and that is the handling of the title character, Spider-Man. He’s written as an idiot. He’s always so cocky, hot-headed, impulsive and low in intellect. Now I understand that he’s young and still learning, and granted Parker does have decent moments of growing up and learning life lessons, but that is not an excuse to turn one of the coolest Marvel characters into such a dimwit for the sake of humour and being relatable to children. If Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Spectacular Spider-Man could make be shows that appealed to kids but didn’t treat them like they were stupid, then there’s no reason this should can’t do the same.
In conclusion the first second of Ultimate Spider-Man is better than before, with welcome improvements made in the story and character department, however that isn’t enough to make it must-watch TV or something worth watching for anyone other than children not familiar with any other Spidey media. Well as I head into season 3 I can only hope for better material.
Rating: 6/10 (Better than last season but not by much)
Howdy to you ladies and gents and welcome to the 9th edition of How I Feel In Pictures. In these posts I’ll upload a piece of art that I’ve drawn that basically represents how I feel at that current point in time. I can’t believe its been over a year since the last time I posted some of my artwork on this blog, but I guess life just got in the way and I forgot, but I’ve got something new to show off so let’s get started! 🙂
Check out my latest picture below:
Princess Rosalina, my lady in the Mario series. 😀
Above we have the latest form of art, Princess Rosalina first introduced in Super Mario Galaxy and well-known for her subsequent appearances in Mario spin-off games and Super Smash Bros. 4 too. For me I love the lady because she has a little more depth to her than the other princesses, plus she has an elegance and air of mystery about her that fascinates me. In addition to that she’s pretty and with the space setting it makes her a great subject for fan art, and this picture I’ve been working on for the last few weeks was born out of a post I reworked for this character, which was drawn on paper and then updated on Photoshop. This picture almost didn’t happen since my laptop has been giving me so much grief with the constant slow down, freezing and crashing as well, I was ready to sink into a sea of madness but I got it finished a few days ago and I’m proud. Honestly I work hard on most of illustration, but rarely does my work turn out the way I want it to, but I feel with my current skill set that I’ve done as much as I can with this and I think it’s pretty good. 😀
Well that’s it for this blog post, hopefully you liked what you saw and if you’d like to see more check me out at http://thehypersonic55.deviantart.com. Peace out!
So another E3 has come and gone and I am sad. To me there’s always a bit of a hollow/melancholy feeling when the biggest convention in gaming ends, that being said at least we have all these awesome gaming experiences to look forward to in the future. I have to say going into this E3 I was interested, but my hype levels weren’t nearly as high as previous years, but my god I was not prepared for all the awesomeness I was going to experience. This year E3 2016 wasn’t playing around, for the most part everyone brought their A-game and it was just a treat to watch. There’s so much that happened that I’m not even sure where to start but hopefully I’ll be able to cover everything that I saw.
The Press Conferences
I skipped EA because I don’t watch their conferences anymore and since I haven’t played any Bethesda games I skipped their show too. So it was down to Microsoft, Sony and Ubisoft, and while Ubisoft impressed me to a degree, it was Microsoft and Sony that really surprised me. Microsoft’s conference was straightforward and full of a lot of games I never knew I wanted, especially with the VR material, and Ubisoft as usual had some memorable moments with Aisha Tyler, the featurette on the Assassin’s Creed film and those colourful dancing people at the beginning of the show. But it was Sony that won E3 for me, their presentation was slick, moved at a swift pace, always showing new games and even had a live orchestra. You don’t get cooler than that.
But what’s E3 without talking about the games? While there were some games we’d seen before there were plenty that were new that I hadn’t seen which was great, so now I’m gonna talk about all of my favourites.
Forza Horizon 3
This was a game I wasn’t expecting to like because you know after you’ve seen one fancy-looking racing game, you’ve seen them all right? However I have to say the Forza series always has me coming back because the advances the developers make in graphics, gameplay, the types of cars, tracks and weather effects. And this game just looks gorgeous, I’m not even that big into racing games and yet I feel like I need tis game in my life.
Sea of Thieves
This was a big surprise for me as I didn’t know I wanted a game like this until I saw it. At first seeing all the people talking while playing the game was super cringey, but as the trailer went on I saw a game that I’d love to dive into and get lost in. Co-op gameplay in the world of pirates? Looks awesome, from the drinking and blurry vision, to sailing across the sea, to engaging in boat combat and having to make repairs once your boat start to sink. Sign me up yo!
Horizon Zero Dawn
I was really impressed when I saw this game revealed at last year’s E3 with the world, main character and robot enemy designs, but this year we got to see more of the world and some specific gameplay and I have to say I’m loving it. This game looks pretty unique in terms of its approach to combat, enemy behaviour and sense style with the art direction and animation which all looking pretty slick.
God of War PS4
This was the game that proved that you can never truly be sure what expect from a new game in a franchise. I’d heard rumours of a God War game for PS4 but I didn’t care, at this point I was over the franchise and didn’t care if it was revealed or not, but as soon as I saw the gameplay trailer I was sold. This game from a graphical standpoint looks great, but it is the way the game is framed with the third-person perspective and more cinematic camera shots that make it feel more intimate. From what we’ve seen here this will be a more story-driven adventure and the whole fact that Kratos is a father, is rocking a sweet beard and is teaching his son to hunt while also trying to keep him safe, that just feels strange considering what has come before in this series, but it is a very welcome addition. Kratos needs some humanizing and a reason for the players to care about him and this looks like a good start.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
As much as I’d like another season of South Park at the same time, if we’re getting another RPG game from Matt Stone and Trey Parker and Ubisoft, then screw it I can wait for the TV material as Fracture But Whole looks insanely fun. I’m liking the expanding game mechanics and the theme of superheroes being in a South Park game works so well that its ridiculous. The jokes about the current state of superhero genre and the specific references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phases of film or the whole Marvel vs DC film material was hilarious. I’m looking forward to this game a lot.
Spider-Man PS4
This game came out of nowhere, frigging nowhere. I saw this and I’m like what th fuck!?! Where has this game been hiding? A new Spider-Man game made by Insomniac Games? Gimme! Gimme dammit! The game looks incredibly detailed, versatile in terms of the combat and very over-the-top with the kinetic movement and overall presentation. Most Spidey games have sucked since Spider-Man 2 or at least Shattered Dimensions, if the developers can get the combat, open world and main campaign and mission structure right, then we’ll have the best Spidey game ever. 🙂
Death Stranding
Another game I didn’t expect to see this year. I guess we have no idea what this game is without further information or a gameplay trailer, but so see Hideo Kojima back in the spotlight at E3 and see Norman Reedus was just delightful! I have no clue what this game will entail but I’m as intrigued as hell!
Tekken 7
Now the main reason I’m including this is not because I’m looking forward to the game a great deal, I mean I am, but I’m more interested in the way it was presented. This was Akuma from Street Fighter versus Heihachi from Tekken, I thought at first that this was the Tekken x Street Fighter game fans were promised 6 years ago. It just felt like such a big troll to people who knew about the planned crossover, only for it to be revealed that Akuma had just to be a guest appearance in a new Tekken game, weak. Sorry if I’m a optimistic idiot, but the Street Fighter crossover came out years ago and the Tekken game has yet to be made, I think it’s about time that game came out.
Final Fantasy XV
What can I say bout FFXV that hasn’t been said already? The game looks damn good, very action-packed, with super kinetic combat and large-scale boss fights and most importantly it looks like fun too. I just need September to hurry up so I can grab this game already.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew
Never expected to be interested a VR game, let alone a Star Trek game, however during the Microsoft conference this game stood out and really got me in the mood to step into virtual world of the Enterprise and do some cool Star Trek bridge related activity with some friends. It looks like a very fun, interactive and nostalgic experience and I’m very curious to see more.
Resident Evil 7
I was not expecting this game to be the game that it ended up being once the trailer got to the end, I mean the trailer was very scary, atmospheric and like a real film. The limited view, lighting and lack of sound made me feel so unsettled, and to find out it was a new Resident Evil game? Bloody hell that shocked me, but in the best possible way.
Detroit: Become Human
I liked the trailer for this a lot, it had a great sense of style, art direction and tone, and to see this scenario of an android trying to talk another android from killing a human girl had my attention, but to then be able to play out that scenario several different ways depending on how you approach the situation was what really hooked me. It felt just like Heavy rain when I watched the trailer and my friend told me it was made by Quantic Dream, I was like “That makes so much sense.” I just hope the in-game graphics, story and choices are as captivating as this trailer.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
And finally there’s the game that stole my heart, Zelda Wii U/NX, now dubbed Breath of the Wild. Damn, this game had all nervous going in, I mean I knew it’d be good but I wasn’t expecting to be blown away… How foolish was I? That trailer hit straight away on Nintendo live stream and I was completely taken back by the amount of changes there was the basic Zelda formula. I mean where to start? The looked like a combination of Skyrim, Monster Hunter and Xenoblade Chronicles X. The environments are so much larger and varied, there’s wildlife inhabiting the area, the enemies has a little more variety and everything feels so new, mysterious and compelling in a way I haven’t seen since Zelda on NES or Ocarina of Time. also let’s talk about Link for a second, he has different weapons and armour, he can climb, he can hunt, collect and cook, and he can frigging jump! Oh and that voice over in the beginning, does that confirm full voice acting throughout the game? I really hope so. There’s a lot of ways this new game could suck or be a let down, but for now I’m choosing to believe it’ll be badass. 😀
Other Games Worth Mentioning
Firstly there’s Battlefield 1 which I didn’t think I’d be excited for, but the trailer and gameplay footage from everyone playing during stream looked so incredible and fun that I want to jump in (also shout out to Snoop Dogg haha). Seeing The Last Guardian in action again was great and to have a release date set October made me smile so much! Dead Rising 4 also looked cool with the new graphics and variety of weapons, also Scalebound once again proved to be a game worth playing with the crazy creature designs, interesting combat and multiplayer possibilities.
Conclusion
In the end E3 2016 was an awesome experience, I did not expect to love the games so much this year and now I’m so stupidly giddy about the future. I pray that my wallet will be able to take it and that I’ll have the free time to be playing these games between now and next year. 🙂
So did you watch E3 this year and if so what games are you excited about? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next post, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents people, time for another single paragraph review and today I’ll be doing a brief review on the film Blackfish. Now this is documentary I’d heard about a lot especially after its release in 2013, it was praised for being such a fine documentary but also for being very dramatic and hard to watch. So I’d had this film on my watch list for ages and since I had time to spare today I thought I’d check it out…
So at the time of writing this I still a little shaken. I was not prepared for this film at all. Blackfish might me the most emotionally gripping documentary I’ve seen to date, the film is fascinating, but also very sad, heartbreaking and constantly engaging. At first I was just in awe about the killer whales and their relationships with the trainers, but then when learn about the way orcas were captured, the environments that they were kept in and the way SeaWorld handled all of these situations you realise that the film is so much more than you expected. The are multiple deaths, in-fighting between the whales in their pools and conspiracies surrounding SeaWorld with their training practises and means of covering up some of the more horrific sides of the live performances. This film was incredibly insightful and well-versed with knowledge and arguments from several individuals whether they were former trainers, friends and family other the dead performers or other specialists, and you discover what went into the whale performances, but also how things could go wrong in the blink of an eye, how orcas were smarter than people gave them credit for and how we as humans couldn’t really predict how a situation would play out once you got too close. The use of archive footage, voiceover and music really help illustrate the scary reality of being a whale trainer and the imagery, some of it was pretty graphic, and while not too gory, it was enough to leave a notable impact. I felt bad for the people who died and the friends who were left with the memories, but I also felt bad for the whales (especially Tilikum), and I was wondering for a while how long SeaWorld would just allow these crazy things to happen before changing the rules or at least being made accountable for some of the madness that happened under their watch. If this film’s purpose was to illIcit an emotional response from me, than mission accomplished, throughout as things my heart was racing, I felt tension, anger, sadness, fear and some points I wanted to shed tears. And there was an overall feeling of being deeply disturbed, not only by the way capturing, captivity and death, but also because of the actions of SeaWorld and how we as humans chose to steal whales not only from their habitats and family, but make them do tricks for entertainment. Now I’m not saying I’m a fully converted whale activist, but after watching this documentary, my opinion on killers whales and the establishments that own them has changed a great deal. In conclusion Blackfish was a harrowing, dark and informative documentary handled with such care and strong direction from Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and while it was certainly a great film, I’m not sure I could bring myself to watch it again.
So that was my review, have you seen Blackfish and if so what did you think of it? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy people of the internet, as some of you may have seen, not too long ago I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus! And after a week away due to technical difficulties with me laptop, I’m back again and today I’m sharing my thoughts on the TMNT: Out of the Shadows. Even though I already did a written review for this film, that review was fairly short and concise and believe me when I say that I had much more to say about this film. The podcast if anything allows me to flesh out my thoughts on not only the recent Ninja Turtles films but also how I feel on the franchise as a whole, and I think you’ll be interested in hearing it too. 🙂
Anyway here’s the sixth episode:
As I said before in each episode I’ll cover a different topic and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂 So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you like it. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀
Howdy people, it is review time again and today I’m reviewing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Now I’m one of the few people that liked the 2014 Ninja Turtles, while it wasn’t perfect, but it laid the groundwork for a better sequel. And after seeing it I’m ready to pass judgement.
Here’s the thing about TMNT: Out of the Shadows, I’m indifferent to it, but also quite disappointed. I don’t know. There’s stuff that I liked about this film, but after I left the cinema yesterday I was thinking to myself “I think I lied the 2014 film better.” And that just felt weird to me. Out of the Shadows corrects a lot of the key problems with the last film, but at the same time retains some of the those same issues and creates new ones as well. What works in the film was the Turtles, like the last film the Turtles had the right kind of personalities and chemistry, and I also really liked the Michelangelo as he was quite funny and light-hearted. I also liked some of the references to the old cartoon, some of the action sequences, Brian Tee as Shredder (in the small capacity he was used) and Megan Fox and Stephen Amell were decent as April O’Neil and Casey Jones. However the story was just a little nonsensical with a good few plot holes, several moments of humour felt stupid, juvenile, awkward and insufferable, and while I know this film was clearly aimed at children, I did miss the slightly more serious tone of the previous film whereas this film was more kid friendly but in the worst possible way. And while this film featured a lot of fan service which was fun from a nostalgic point of view, in the grand scheme of things it didn’t add much to the overall film. Also Bebop and Rocksteady, those two, there fluctuated between being stupidly fun to being absurdly strange and annoying. Shredder was wasted, Casey Jones’ integration in this film was horrible, oh and it has to be said, Krang, what the hell man? They ruined him and his inclusion in this film was completely pointless. So to conclude Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows was decent, however it wasn’t as good as I would have hoped. While some of the action and Turtle moments were good, there were massive issues story, characters, tonal inconsistencies and a lack of good ninja-based action and hand-to-hand combat fights. Fans and children may enjoy this film, but for everyone else I can’t recommend this.
So have you seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and if so what did you think of it? And did you prefer this one or the previous one? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents people, time for another single paragraph review and today I’ll be doing a brief review on the film Race. Now I’d heard about this film when it was released in the US back in February, but I didn’t think it’d get a release over here because it the marketing for it wasn’t all that high, but when I saw it appear in my cinema I knew I’d have to check it out before it left within the space of a week.
So Race is a biopic that chronicles the story of Jesse Owens’ rise to fame as the greatest track and field athlete in history of the world, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy during the 1936 Olympics. Now I’ve seen plenty of biopics in my life since watching Ray back in 2008 and you normally tell from the beginning whether the film will be unique/good or just by-the-numbers, and from some of the reviews I’d heard about, I was lead to believe that Race would fall into the latter category. However was surprisingly deep, emotional and engaging, and while there were definitely moments in the story where things felt like the followed the standard biopic formula, when the film committed to its story and characters, it ended up being a very entertaining film. What I really liked about it was the story and how it not only documented Jesse Owen’s life, but also dedicated time to the characters surrounding Jesse, showed he highs and lows of being an athlete and showed not only the racism of that time period, but also the complexities that came with the Olympics being held in Germany while Hitler was still in power. There were a lot of topics I didn’t expect the film to cover but it was done in a way that serviced the film, rather than take away from it. And the performances all around were pretty solid. Stephan James did such a great job as Jesse Owens having a great sense of charisma, urgency and likeability as a man who had talent, but also had a lot of responsibilities and the weight of the world of his shoulders. Jason Sudeikis was also very impressive as Larry Snyder, I’ve never seen Sudeikis in anything serious, and this is the first film that’s really made me like him as an actor. Jeremy Irons was also very good as Avery Brundage and really enjoyed Carice van Houten as Leni Riefenstahl, William Hurt’s appearance as Jeremiah Mahoney was good and I also liked Shanice Banton as Ruth Solomon-Owens. In conclusion Race was better than expected and while not perfect, the strong performances, and dramatic elements of the story really made it worth watching.
So that was my review, have you seen Race and if so what did you think of it? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents people, time for another single paragraph review and today I’m finally, FINALLY getting around to talking about Bad Neighbours 2 (originally titled Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising in the US). Now I enjoyed the first film, and while I didn’t love it, I really enjoyed the carnage and humour that came from Zac Efron and Dave Franco especially. So when I heard there’d be sequel I knew I’d have to give it a shot.
In a way Bad Neighbours 2 is essentially a retread of the last film with a few variations of the basic plot. In this film Mac and Kelly end up living next door to a new sorority who prove to be more troublesome than their previous neighbours, so they team up with their former enemy, Teddy, to bring the girls down. And what I liked about this film was that besides the fact that the humour was order-the-top, silly and full of all sorts of ridiculous situations, there was some heart and emotional themes relating growing up, friendship and finding your place in the world, and as someone who has experienced some of these same issues/anxieties it was pretty effective. With all that being said, not all of the humour worked and some of the emotional moments weren’t as effective as they could have been. When it comes to the cast the returning members did well and some of the new cast were cool too. Firstly Zac Efron (who was my favourite dude from the last film) returned in full effect as Teddy Sanders, and Efron had the same charisma and likability that made him so fun in the last film. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne also returned as Mac and Kelly Radner, and they were just as strange and good as they were last time. Ike Barinholtz was also as Jimmy Blevins and seeing Dave Franco again as Pete Regazolli was nice even if his role was much smaller. Chloë Grace Moretz did really as Shelby, as she was not only fun and charming, however similar to Teddy, she had a pretty interesting and emotional character arc. And finally Kiersey Clemons as Beth and Beanie Feldstein as Nora had their decent individual moments, but weren’t as funny as some of the other cast members. In conclusion Bad Neighbours 2 was a good follow-up the original film and while not all of the humour and story elements worked, on the whole it was worth a watch in the cinema.
So that was my review, have you seen Bad Neighbours 2 and if so what did you think of it? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy people of the internet, as some of you may have seen, recently I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus! And after a week away due to technical difficulties with me laptop, I’m back again and today I’m sharing my thoughts on the recent Warcraft (aka Warcraft: The Beginning). I already did a written review for this film last week, however I have a few more things to say about this film.
Anyway here’s the fifth episode:
As I said before in each episode I’ll cover a different topic and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂 So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you like it. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀
The Hypersonic55's Realm of Reviews and Other Stuff 