A little back story to this. I did a marathon on my Twitch.Tv channel of The Walking Dead episodes 1-5, made by Telltale Games. I fully got into this game, story, dialogue, characters and at the end I felt like I'd never been this emotionally challenged by a game. Choose who eats or not, who lives or dies, watching people make hard decisions for family and friends and the relationship of two people growing to the point where it you didn't want the story to lead to that point. To watch was hard, to choose (for me) was harder and I've never felt so conflicted (and in the end satisfied) playing a video game before. This song was playing during the credits of episode 5. So many feels to say the least.
I'm a big time fan of video games, as most of you probably know. Growing up we had NES, SEGA Genesis, SNES, N64, etc. I grew up playing Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, Donkey Kong, Pokemon and everything else I could get my grubby little hands on. So when I first saw the trailer for Wreck-It Ralph, I had a fangasm like no other. This is the first movie since The Dark Knight, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Avengers that I was really looking forward to this year. At the risk of sounding fanboy-ish, this movie could be the best film of the year.
Wreck-It Ralph follows the story of a video game villain named after the movie's title, but we'll shorten it to Ralph (John C. Riley). In his game "Fix It Felix Jr.", which is located inside of Litwak's Arcade, Felix (Jack McBrayer) gets all the glory for being the hero while Ralph gets left out of everything. At a weekly video game villain support group in Game Central Station [a place where all the characters in the arcade's games congregate], Ralph tells everyone how today was the 30th anniversary of his game, but confesses [to the dismay of people like Bowser, Eggman and Zangief] that he's sick of being the bad guy and just wants a little recognition. On his way back home from the meeting we learn, from Sonic the Hedgehog, if you go outside of your own game and die that you won't respawn. When he pulls back into his own game Ralph sees that the people in the game are throwing a 30th anniversary party in Felix's penthouse, of which Ralph was not invited. He crashes the party and essentially ruins everything. Ralph leaves after being told that if he won a medal, like Felix, maybe everyone would like him more. This gives Ralph and idea that takes him out of his own game to "Hero's Duty" where he meets the overbearing Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch). After being scared out of his mind by the gun-play, violence and aliens in the game he is yelled at by Calhoun. Ralph decides to forego the game play to get the medal, and does, but accidentally jets out of the game an escape pod, with alien young on his face, into the racing game "Sugar Rush." This is where he meets a young racer named Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) who steals his medal to be able to enter a qualifying race. Ralph must get the medal back and get back to his game before the arcade shuts it down, but makes an acquaintance, in Vannellope, that will have him choosing whether to get the recognition he wants by saving a video game, going back to being a "bad guy" or being deleted forever.
There is not enough good I can say about this movie I don't think, but we'll start somewhere. The presentation (a lot of 8-bit style that I loved) looks amazing and all the characters, games, scenery, and colors are right on point. It was never a strain to see what was going on. The music was awesome too. From real life songs, to modern game soundtrack scores, to retro music as well, the music all around pleased me. I'm pretty sure there's not a plot or story like this one out there and hell there's even a twist in this that gave me quite the little surprise. In short, I loved the story and really got into it. I love video games and this story reminded me of something you could feasibly see in one. Now I'm not a huge fan of Sarah Silverman so I thought she'd be the "weak-link" of the voice actors, but everyone did well (Lynch, Riley and McBrayer included). No one felt out of place and it really seemed like they all knew what they were doing, especially John C. Riley who voiced Ralph. There were video game jokes throughout too, like seeing a Mushroom from Super Mario Brothers or once the arcade closes Ken and Ryu wanting to go to the bar, that made me smile. Speaking of smiling, there are a ton of laugh-out-loud moments and one-liners in this. From video game comedy to puns and word play, I was laughing pretty damn hard at parts of this flick. The dialogue was done perfectly. The video game cameos, I mentioned a few above, were AWESOME to see on the big screen as well. Pac-Man, Clyde, Dr. Eggman, Zangief, Bowser, Sonic the Hedgehog, Q-Bert and his gang, M. Bison, Ryu, Ken Masters, and I could go on and on and on with this awesome list. But there's some that you have to notice and get excited for in the movie yourself.
This is a movie I wholeheartedly recommend for everyone to go see. Whether you're a video game fan or not. There was an older couple at our showing, people that are my age and families who brought their kids. It's truly a movie for all ages. As I said above everything from the cameos to the design to the story is all perfect and I already wanna see this movie again. Wreck-It Ralph makes the movie lover in me jump for joy and the video game lover in me want to button mash. I would not hesitate to "Press Start" on this movie.
I opened my Pokemon Black and White review by saying that "Pokemon has grown up." I was in awe at how big the game was. From the story to the design to the Pokemon itself, it all felt bigger and more real than ever. I started seeing those teaser trailers for Black and White 2 and was immediately excited. From rumors that the colors of the numbers were related to Ruby and Sapphire incorporation to it's release earlier this month. This game is Pokemon's biggest release ever.
Like the first games you are welcomed to the world of Pokemon by Professor Juniper. She tells you about what Pokemon are, asks if you're a boy or girl, name and the usual. There's a pull in to your new starting town, Aspertia Town, where you're living with your mother. It's been two years since the events of the first games. She asks if you want a Pokemon, Pokedex and to go on your very own adventure. She proceeds to tell you that Bianca is waiting for you in town to give you your first Pokemon. When you step outside you meet your best friend and rival, and his little sister. We find out that Team Plasma, who is now disbanded, took her Purrloin and he swears to get it back. He sends her sister home and accompanies you to get you first Pokemon from Bianca. He will always have "raised" the opposite type than what you picked. Once Bianca is done giving you your Pokemon and Pokedex she shows you around and explains what the Pokemon Center is. Afterward you meet up with your mother and friends sister one last time before setting off on your grand adventure in the Unova region!
As I said in the intro, that the first installments of these games were huge and expansive. Rightfully so as they were the biggest Pokemon games EVER. Well that was until Black and White 2. Everything is somehow bigger and more grandiose than in their predecessors. The cities and landscapes from the first game are still impressive, but they've managed to find a way to almost fully utilize the DS's power in a Pokemon game for the first time here. The cut scenes are new, more complex and amazing. Also the camera pull backs when you're on a huge bridge or city are still there. Mind you this is not a 3DS game. The Unova region is bigger and filled with five new cities and at least six new caves and areas upon the existing ones in the region. Also every gym has been redone. The gyms in the Black and White blew my mind and these just improved upon them in such a good way. Each gym is different, interactive, imaginative and expansive. There are three new gym leaders in the region as well as a new Pokemon League Champion.
You can also catch non-fifth generation Pokemon almost from the get go. While with Pokemon Black and White I liked that you could only start off with new Pokemon, I'm fine with being able to start with any Pokemon in Black and White 2. My reasoning here is, I've played Black and White, I'm familiar with gen five Pokemon. Don't limit my choices in the second addition to the Unova region, and they didn't. The battling and animations are still spot on, I don't think they changed any sprites or anything. That doesn't bother me as nothing really needed to be done. Everything, including the attack animations in battle look fantastic. Triple and rotation battles are a little more prominent as well, which can be fun or frustrating depending on if you like those types of battles or not.
The story is still great in this second part of the Unova region franchise. There's a familiar face as the "bad guys" in Team Plasma. But it's more like a renegade group of pissed off Team Plasma members still living in the past. The dialogue makes it feel that the RPG game its always been, the character development is still great and bringing back characters from the first game or changing their identities of established ones for this story was a great touch as well. The Pokemon Dream World is still in full force too. You can send your Pokemon to Dream World (on Pokemon-gl.com) where it collects berries, items and makes friends with Pokemon so that you can catch them in-game and put them on your team. The Entralink is still around too and you can still get stat-boosts and other effects for your in-game character after completing multi-player and single player challenges.
One of the first new places you're introduced to in the new Unova region is PokeStar Studios. Owned by Mr. Stu Dee-Oh, it's Unova's premiere destination for anything move related. Think of it as the Hollywood of the Pokemon world. It's a huge area that has a filming studio, theater with multiple screens and an area for hair and make-up. You can become a movie star if you visit this place and make movies, most all of them will be made with former gym leader Brycen. Movies are shot in the form of a battle with the likes of actions in scenes being the Pokemon attacks in a battle. There's different genres and difficulties depending on the movie you choose to do as well. The more movies you do, the more recognized (as an actor) you'll become.
Another great addition to the game is the medals. You complete various tasks in the game such as saving money, or buying a lot of things at the store and get medals for doing things. I think of this as the first time Nintendo has implemented something like an achievement system, like Microsoft and Sony have, and I really like it. As I keep playing it'll force my inner collector to want get all the medals as I already (try to) do on my PS3 and Steam games.
There's other things such as after story events, the new Dream Radar, the Battle subway being brought back, the new legendary Pokemon you can see (and form). As well as little things like keys to unlock different game modes, but I want to leave you with some things to discover on your own. I do want to highlight one more thing. That's the Pokemon World Tournament aka the PWT. Clay made this massive facility in Driftveil City where the Cold Stoage used to be. Here you can participate in various tournaments (single, double, triple battles, etc) to obtain battle points or BP to exchange for items, or get on win streaks to get medals. The cool thing about these tourney's though is that no one is off-limits once they're unlocked. You could run into Lance the Dragon Master, maybe some one like Cynthia, or any one of the gym leaders, world leaders, or champions from the previous games and regions. With so many fights and awesome leaders and champions to face this tournament is the most expansive ever in a Pokemon game.
After Pokemon Black and White I wasn't sure what was left for Pokemon to do. I had assumed that nothing more could be done or added without it feeling forced or out of place. Boy was I wrong and I can't find a single bad thing to say about Pokemon Black and White 2. Maybe this is my Pokemon fan boy talking, but these games are the best Pokemon games EVER released. From the updated graphics, the "big feel" of new Unova, the shiny new cut scenes (we've come a long way from SS Anne undocking in Vermilion), the brand new story, the extra bells and whistles added to the Pokemon and battling, these games are immense. I stated at the end of my Pokemon Black and White review that the game felt "complete." I'm not going to say that about this game, but not because it isn't. With the next installment they're going to find a way to either one up these two games or take a step back in production. This is the peak of Pokemon on the DS and handhelds in general. For now I'm just going to enjoy what is already hands down the best Pokemon game ever.
This is what I feel like everything in my life has boiled down to. Whether it's me doing it to others or them doing it to me. Whether it's all in my mind or really happening. I love Foo Fighters and I love this song. "Why'd you have to go and let it die?"
Foo Fighters- "Let It Die" from Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Like you probably just read in my Paranormal Activity 2, I do like the series. So when I heard Paranormal Activity 4 was coming out and saw the trailer for the first timeI was kinda excited because it really intrigued me ever since the end of the third movie. Like with Sinister I basically just up and went to see this and I kinda liked it..sort-of.
We open Paranormal Activity 4 by learning that it is now November of 2011 and Katie and Hunter are still missing after the events of the first two movies. Alex (Kathryn Newton) is filming her younger brother's, Wyatt's (Aiden Lovekamp), soccer game. Back at their house Alex shows her boyfriend, Ben (Matt Shively), her treehouse in the backyard. They discover the neighbor boy, Robbie (Brady Allen) in there for no apparent reason. They both think this is creepy as hell. Alex takes him back home and then later that night she sees and ambulance across the street. The next day Alex finds out from her mother, Holly (Alexondra Lee), that Robbie will be staying with them for a few days as his mother had to go to the hospital. Later that night, Ben and Alex find the two boys playing with the Kinect on their Xbox 360. Wyatt is sitting on the couch while Robbie plays with his imaginary friend. Ben turns off the lights and uses the night-vision to show them the tracking balls emitted by the Kinect. The camera picks up what looks like a figure sitting next to Robbie. At this point Alex becomes concerned and asks Ben to enable all the cameras on the computers in the house to record what is going on 24/7. With each day Robbie is over the cameras pick up strange things happening to the people in the house. Things happening to Alex, Wyatt becoming distant with everyone but Robbie and an increasing sense of tension between the family members. Robbie's mother returns home from the hospital and Robbie goes home, all while the strange things are still happening to the family. Can they be saved from what is now lurking in their house or they doomed to repeat the fate befell the others at the hands of Toby.
This movie is nice because it's different. Well not that different, but a family not related to to the one that's been terrorized for three movies is nice. The story is pretty nice compared to the rest of the series and the way everything plays out in a different manner is good to see they're not out of subtle nuances for the plot. I liked Kathryn Newton and Matt Shively as the two main people, as it the first time a younger duo is the lead in the series. With the younger kids playing their parts extremely well. As well as them [SPOILER] bringing back in Katie as the "hurt" mother [SPOILER] it was a nice twist in a series that doesn't have to many of them. The scares were, to no surprise, like the rest of the series all based on jump scares. Some were done well, with some being predictable. Though some of the people in the theater are less than antiquated with horror and still jumped and yelled. The innovation of using computers, coupled with the now infamous camera and the great use of the Kinect tracking balls, made some nice changes to the kinda stagnant filming style. Also like with the rest of the series it really starts to pick up at the end of the movie. Shit hits the fan and everything goes south in a very innovative-ish way. There are a few problems, you can tell the kids aren't well versed in acting, it felt a bit longer than the others (this was not even a director's or extended cut) and the ending was so sudden it left me saying "Whaaa"?
All in all this was a decent enough edition to the series while opening the possibility of a fifth installment. The acting, scares and plot were alright. While the innovative way of filming and the nice story kept things a bit fresh. If you don't like or haven't seen the series this isn't gonna make you a fan or open your eyes to the series. But if you are a fan this is a decent addition and reintroduces I'd say the favorite starlet of the series so far.
So I'll admit it, I enjoy the Paranormal Activity series for whatever reason. The fourth movie which I got home from earlier will be posted after this is. I watched this earlier today partly to be familiar with the events leading up to the fourth, but also to review it as I've done one and three. I thought maybe I'd finally come around to liking it more than seeing Katie in her bikini.
Paranormal Activity 2 is a sequel set before the events of the first movie. In 2006 the Ray's home is "burglarized" where the only thing taken is Kristi's (Sprague Grayden), who just had a baby, necklace that was given to her by her sister Katie (Katie Featherston). Dan (Brian Boland) installs cameras around the house to make the family feel safer. Their maid, Martinez (Vivis Cortez), who now thinks the house has an evil spirit in it burns sage while the parents are out on a date, they come home and Dan is uncomfortable with what she is doing and fires her. Their daughter, Ali (Molly Ephriam), begins to investigate strange goings on in the house and gets locked out one night investigating a loud bump she heard. Ali also learns that demons can make deals with humans by sacrificing their first-born son and realizes Hunter, the newborn, is the first newborn male in the family. These paranormal acts begin to increase in severity and the Ray family is tormented by an unseen force that seemingly wants them.
This movie is still the weak-link for me for whatever reason. It improves upon the story and lore of the PA universe. Te acting is solid enough, the characters are relateable, and the scares work like with the rest of the movies. I can just never get into it. I will agree though that the end of the movie is good. Like with the rest of the series, everything fires up near the end in the movie and its well worth trudging through the slow pace of it all.
This is a short review cause I don't have much to say about this. If you like the series you're gonna watch this. As I said it improved upon everything established in one, even if I can never get into it. The series, even at this point, is in a groove and really doesn't break new ground. It's a solid sequel to a good modern horror movie. Plus you know, Katie in a bikini.
Halloween Movie Month 2! TV Shows #15: Community
Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #16: Scream 3
Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #17: Sinister
Halloween Movie Month 2! TV Show #18: American Horror Story
