Not all movies stand the test of time. We’ve probably all experienced shock at rewatching a childhood favorite only to discover it’s not as good as we thought it was. I remembered The Transformers: The Movie (1986) as being sophisticated because Optimus Prime dies in it and tried to get my wife to watch it one time, only to be chagrined to find out it’s basically just one long toy commercial. Continue reading
Reviews
The Incredibles
I didn’t like The Incredibles (2004) the first time I saw it. Now that a sequel is coming out, I thought I’d give the original movie another chance. Let’s see how that goes.
The Incredibles seems to be an homage to the Fantastic Four (1961-present), a comic in which someone with super strength, someone who can stretch, someone who can turn invisible and make force fields, and someone who can light themselves on fire and fly form a kind of found family. In The Incredibles, we have someone with super strength, someone who can stretch, someone who can turn invisible and make force fields, and someone who can run fast forming an actual family. Continue reading
Catching up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Since I’ve last posted about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’ve seen the latest four movies. They just keep pumping them out as fast as they can, don’t they? Spiderman: Homecoming (2017) was an average superhero movie targeted towards teenagers, but I liked several things about it: it gave us a sympathetic villain, they didn’t bother giving us Spiderman’s origin story (we’ve had enough of those), the bully wasn’t stereotypical, and the high school students appeared to be – well – high-school-aged (in so many Hollywood movies, they have adults play fifteen-year-olds and it just doesn’t work). It’s also funny in parts. Continue reading
Marvel’s The Infinity Gauntlet
I read this to prepare for the upcoming movie. I know the movie will end up being completely different, but one thing they absolutely, positively have to keep the same is Dr. Strange’s mustache. If Dr. Strange doesn’t have a mustache in Avengers: Infinity War that automatically makes the movie worse than the book. If they let Thor keep his beard too, that would be icing on the cake. Continue reading
Video Game Review: Beyond: Two Souls
In Beyond: Two Souls (2013), you play Jodie Holmes (Ellen Page), a girl who is linked to another soul named Aiden. Working with this other soul, Jodie has several unique abilities including remote viewing, telekinesis, the ability to possess other people, speak to the dead, have visions, super healing, the ability to make herself bulletproof, and probably others I’ve forgotten. Continue reading
Movie Review: DC Extended Universe
That’s right. I’m doing a review of the entire DC Extended Universe. Except for Justice League which I haven’t seen yet. Which leaves only four films, so I guess it’s not that big of a deal to be reviewing everything all at once. But anyway. Continue reading
Movie Review: Marvel Cinematic Universe
That’s right. I’m reviewing all the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in one post. Well, except the two most recent ones which I haven’t seen yet. And I’m doing it all in under 500 words. Continue reading
Movie Review: The VVitch
I finally got around to seeing The VVitch (2015). I liked that people spoke in period appropriate slang and wore period appropriate clothing. The discordant and minimalist music really added to the tension. I’m not an expert, but I think the film makers really succeeded in portraying witches in the way people of the time thought of them. You can tell a lot of historical research went into it. The acting is great and features some impressive work by child actors. However, in the end, I think it was ultimately just a typical horror film in which people get killed off one by one in a variety of gruesome ways. The fact that it fully embraces its historical setting certainly sets it apart from other horror movies, but I don’t think it was as ground-breaking as many others seem to think. Spoilers, including descriptions of some rather unpleasant things, below. Be warned. Continue reading
Video Game Review – Life is Strange
Life is Strange was originally released in 2015, so I’m a bit behind the curve on this one. It’s a story-based game in which choices you make affect what happens later, so you could play it again and have different things happen. In some cases it’s something minor such as killing a plant from watering it too much to something major like an entire town being destroyed. Continue reading
Top Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Podcasts
I love podcasts. It’s great to have something to listen to while you’re doing yard work, house work, commuting, or doing repetitive tasks at your day job. I regularly listen to dozens of fiction and non-fiction podcasts (and I’m quite far behind on most of them as a result). Here’s a list of my favorites. If you know of any I should check out, let me know in the comments. (I’ve also listed my favorite stories from these podcasts on a separate page.) I’ve listed these in pretty much random order since which one is my favorite in each particular category changes over time. Continue reading
