Blog where we review MOVIES, VIDEO GAMES, and AWESOME things like that. In our realm, it's all a PIECE OF CAKE.
"For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake." -Alfred Hitchcock.
My name is Emmaus Nakagawa. Nice to meet you.
Hey there folks, it's been a long while since I posted stuffs. And I want you to know it's all been for a good reason. I've been thinking of how I can better the blog, and I realized that most of you don't want to read an entire summary of a movie, that's what the movie's for.
So I've decided to go back to the beginning of when I started to blog. That's right, WAYYY back in the day we're going. I'm going to restart, writing like an actual film critic. But don't worry, I'll try to not be pesky about it.
The idea is that for every post I re-write, I will delete the old one. And I also realize I've given a false sense that I will be able to review every single new movie that comes out... which you all know by now to not be true.
So starting from the beginning of the blog gives me a lot of content. And if I do review a more recent film, you'll know. I'll still review video games and trailers and whatnot, but now I'm going to get into a weekly rhythm of blogging. I want to blog 4 to 6 times a month, so you'll never be bored! And once I start feeling the groove, we'll make that number bigger.
That's about it, but stay tuned to my YouTube Channel too because I'm gonna be doing 2 videos a month as well. I'll be a busy bee pumping stuff out for y'all, so watch out!
Wow, I am really late for this one. Don't gemme wrong, I saw this immediately, but I've just been so busy lately. And I'm sorry for lack of YouTube videos, they're coming along, too. Don't worry. I'll get into a rhythm soon enough.
S P I D E R - M A N
H O M E C O M I N G
Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place not too long after the events of Captain America: Civil War. It actually begins during the civil war, when Tony brought him along to help in their fight
against Steve. He videos everything that happens as like a video diary, and in every respect, he is an excited kid who's in some pretty intense stuff. After his fight at the airport, Tony tells Peter that he can keep the new Stark-enhanced suit.
Tony tells Peter that if he ever needs anything, he'll call Peter. Until then, Peter is told to do some friendly neighborhood deeds, like stopping a grand theft bicycle, helping old ladies across the street, and stopping bank robberies. And all of that is dubbed the "Stark Internship", which can sort of explain why Peter sometimes disappears from places and Spider-Man shows up in his place.
Alright let's introduce you to the Vulture. Michael Keaton does a fantastic job portraying Adrian Toomes. Rather than being a frail old dude who doesn't seem like he'd be a good enemy for Spider-Man, Keaton scares you out of your pants. And there's plenty of opportunities where Vulture could have killed Peter, yet he doesn't. And that makes him all the scarier, because there's something seriously evil about keeping someone alive even though you could totally kill them. He's just trying to make money, and Peter is interfering with that, so you can imagine that Toomes is pretty pissed about that.
I'm not gonna get into the story, not because it's complicated but because there's a lot. And you all already know how much into Spider-Man I am. I'll still give you ratings though, so let's go there. And there's also gonna be a trailer below for ya.
S P I D E R - M A N
H O M E C O M I N G
Ratings:
Family Friendliness - 8/10 Web ShootersThis is a Marvel film, so you can believe that there'll be violence, but there won't be any serious blood. There's gonna be an intense story-line, but there won't be anything inappropriate like nudity. Definitely a movie that your kids will enjoy.
Story line - 8/10 Suits Okay, as a casual movie-goer, you'll be impressed. But as a Spidey geek like me, HOLY COW WHAT THE HECK???!!! Marvel literally combined around three or four different story lines into one, and it worked beautifully. I am continually shocked at how Marvel can weave such an amazing story by taking elements of different arcs and combining them to make an incredible experience for everyone to watch. Story Action Balance - 9/10 Boats This was fantastic. I mean, Spider-Man is meant to be an action super hero with incredible agility and fighting abilities and unbelievable strength, but he's also supposed to be a kid who's trying to juggle being a hero with being a smart high schooler involved in smart people stuff. Overall - 8/10 Stars Bibliography: "Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0D3AOldjMU> "Spider-Man: Homecoming Vulture" <http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/spider-man-homecoming-vulture2.jpg> "Spider-Man: Homecoming Wallpaper" <http://www.hdwallpapers.in/walls/spiderman_homecoming_2017_4k_8k-wide.jpg>
Alrighty folks, sorry for the lack of activity, but here we go with the new review! I understand that I'm quite behind, but please understand that I'm busy making new videos for y'all, too! Hang in there!
T H E
M U M M Y
Tom Cruise stars as Nick Morton, a military operative who is a high-key treasure hunter. Where he's stationed, it's crowded with enemies. He and his buddy Sergeant Vail are on their own, and Nick wants to go into the enemy-infested area to look for some loot. Vail doesn't like it, but Nick assures him, "It'll be quick. In 'n out."
Next thing you know, they're being shot at, and Vail is freaking out. He gets so worked up that he calls in an airstrike, and the tangos leave almost immediately after getting bombarded. One of the shots from the airstrike opens an enormous hole in the ground, and it reveals a mummy-looking statue. You can guess where the mummy is.
Now, I didn't mention the beginning before this particular sequence because I want it to be a surprise for you folks. It's the new mummy's origin story, and it's actually quite interesting. It's unique to Ahmanet and who her character is developed to be.
Okay, anyway, Nick's superior comes onto the scene along with Jenny Halsey, an archaeologist. Apparently, Nick and Jenny have a history, one as soon as the evening before. The backstory explained here is awkwardly dropped in front of Nick's superior, and it feels out of place in the whole unraveling of things. But watching the rest of the film, there's really no other place they could have done it. I kind of wish the two didn't know each other before this encounter, but it's whatever.
They dig up the sarcophagus, and as they're doing so, Jenny is examining the grave. She makes a bunch of ominous realizations (out loud thank god) about how the set up of the chamber is not anything good. The statues looking like Anubis are facing inwards, not outwards, meaning that they are guarding the individual from leaving, not from anything coming in.
The other thing is that there's a pool of mercury covering the sarcophagus, which is being
suspended by four poles held down by enormous rocks that act as a sort of pulley device. Mercury is significant because that's what the Egyptians believed could restrict the powers of darkness. Kind of like Dracula and silver.
And finally, there's no treasures inside the tomb. This is symbolic of no preparation for the afterlife. So whatever this person of nobility (hence the personal tomb) did, it was nothing good. And that's also why it's so far from Egypt itself. It's actually located in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. In other words, the Egyptians wanted nothing to do with this force of evil. So it's gotta be pretty bad. Of course it is, otherwise there wouldn't be a movie, right?
From there, I think you can deduce what happens. The only riddle you'll really have to solve is how Tom Cruise is alive for the remainder of the movie since he dies in the plane crash. So go and see it!
T H E
M U M M Y
Ratings:
Family Friendliness - 8/10 Sarcophagi The film is suprisingly family-friendly. I mean, don't gemme wrong, the mummies themselves are pretty scary. They're almost zombie-like, which kind of irked me because it felt like a World War Z-esque film. Nonetheless, there's hardly, if any, swearing, no nudity, and only a few scenes of intense violence and scary images.
Story line - 8/10 Mummies Alright, the story was there, no doubt. And since it was acting as a springboard into Warner Brother's "Dark Universe", it was good in that respect. It was interesting and unique, and I believe the writers did a fantastic job.
Compared to "The Mummy (1999)" - 6/10 Monsters DO NOT GET ME WRONG, this was a good movie on its own. But literally everyone has seen the 1999 version of an ancient Egyptian god come to life and terrorize the planet, so it's hard to live up to the precedent that film set. Had I never seen Brendan Fraser's incarnation of the movie, I would have loved this one so much more. But here's the reason why this 2017 version didn't live up: character development.
As a standalone reboot of the franchise we all know and love starring Brendan Fraser, it was kind of a disappointment. Each character, no matter how minor in the original Mummy, had something that defined them and made you understand them. That way, when they died, you felt bad! Even if they were being jerks to Rick! In this version of The Mummy, you felt no pity for those who
died. You were only attached to Nick and Jenny, and they were overall stale characters.
Also, if you compare Imhotep and Ahmanet, I believe Imhotep is a better mummy. Not because he's more badass or anything. Here's why: background. Imhotep was driven by love to summon the dark arts. So his rage came from something that was pure, and that made his story tragic. I pitied Imhotep, even though I knew he had to go.
Ahmanet was driven by rage from the get-go. There's nothing behind that except greed. So I don't really pity her because she was just being a selfish and whiny baby because she couldn't get the throne. AND she was so pissed about the throne being taken from her that she KILLED A BABY!!! How messed up d'you have to be to kill a baby? You've gotta have a screw loose or something. I don't think even Imhotep would have done that.
Story Action Balance - 7/10 Buses There was a lotta lotta action, and I don't think there was enough build up to the mummy's grand reveal to make her scary as much as Imhotep was scary in the original Mummy. Then again, that's my nostalgic self looking for something to live up to Brendan Fraser. Unfortunately, you can't look at this movie that way.
Overall - 7/10 Stars Personally, I think this is a generous rating. But I try to be generous with films as much as I can. I hope you can forgive this film more than I have, and I haven't even completely expressed my distaste for this movie so as to give you folks a chance to watch it. So please lower your expectations and give it a chance guys.
So far, the movies that DC has made haven't been able to deliver a really satisfying experience. The only ones worth noting are Man of Steel (until the neck snap) and this (until final boss battle). But luckily for you, DCEU fans, Wonder Woman has saved your cinematic universe. Let's just hope they can keep the trend going.
W O N D E R W O M A N
I will admit, this was a very cool movie. There were lots of laughs and plenty of action sequences that are sure to make you raise your eyebrows. It was an overall great film.
It starts out with Diana's narration of her story: "I used to want to save the world". But that
all changed because, y'know, war. But anyway, we see her being raised from childhood to adulthood. She has this yearning to become a warrior of Themyscira, but her mother won't allow her to learn to fight because "she will never need it." Psych, cause not long after, Themyscira is discovered, and many warriors die. As you can imagine, that pisses the queen off and she wants to kill the first dude that stepped foot onto her hidden island: Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). Isn't it interesting that Captain America and this dude are both named Steve and both played by dudes named Chris? Betcha didn't catch that one before. You're welcome. Using the Lasso of Truth, the queen finds out that Steve is an American spy assigned to British intelligence (not that she knows what that is). His job was simply to report back to HQ on the Germans' progress behind their mask of wanting an armistice. Turns out that Germany is really trying to create a new type of gas that will render gas masks ineffective, under the direction of a scientist simply known as "Doctor Poison."
Doctor Poison is very close to cracking the code to her new super weapon, but she keeps falling short. And when Diana hears about this doctor, who works for General Ludendorff, she believes that Ludendorff is Ares, the God of War. Because who else would initiate a World War, said to be "the War to end all wars?" That's Ares' ultimate goal: for mankind to destroy themselves. So Diana sets out with Steve to find Ares and kill him. Along the way, unnecessary characters are met, beautiful scenery is shown off, and Diana learns about snow. For a DCEU film, this was by far the best, and honestly saved the dying DCEU. I'd recommend seeing it, but don't expect an Avengers level type film, and you will surely be impressed.
W O N D E R W O M A N
Ratings:
Family Friendliness - 8/10 Bracelets I was very surprised. Aside from the trench warfare and disturbing gas sequences, Wonder Woman was not as dark as its Man of Steel stand-alone counterpart. It was very much lighthearted, with Diana being oblivious to a great many things, and the characters having to help her along as she sort of stumbles through London. But once she hits the battlefield, that's where she really shines.
Story Action Balance - 8/10 Swords The movie is very story driven, much unlike Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which was just trying to justify its pitting together two titans of the DC Universe and having them basically sissy fight. That was not the case for this film. Story and characters drove this home. The only thing I'd change is the final battle sequence, where Diana faces Ares. That kind of got out of hand, but other than that, Wonder Woman was a very enjoyable movie experience. Acting - 7/10 Shields Gal Gadot delivers a stellar performance, and so does Chris Pine! I mean, with an all-star cast, what else can you expect? Characters, although they drove the story like I said in the previous rating, were kind of dry. It seems like not a lot of effort was put into them. Diana and Steve were the centerpieces of the film, which is understandable, but I would have liked some more interaction and development of supporting characters. Because let's be honest, we all love a funny comedic relief, right? And it seems like everyone was that besides Ares. Story line - 7/10 Tiaras Basic, but dependable, Wonder Woman's story was an origin, and one following very closely to the comics. I was real happy about that aspect. What brought this rating down was Diana's consistent urge to be in a battle and just kill Ares, which kind of got annoying. Overall - 7.5/10 Stars I stuck to the math on this one because I wholeheartedly agree with it. DC definitely stepped up their game, but they need to keep doing this type of work, and better, if they want to have a successful cinematic universe.
Guy Ritchie delivers yet another fantastic movie, featuring stunning visual effects and phenomenal acting. And for movie buffs out there like me, you probably can't get enough of Ritchie's camera angles and intense fight sequences. This'll leave you only wanting more, I can promise that much.
K I N G A R T H U R
L E G E N D O F T H E S W O R D
The film begins with a background of the relationship between humans and mages. At first, they lived in harmony. In fact, the king of England (King Uther) had extremely good relations with the mages. But a dark mage by the name of Mordred wanted to assert mages' dominance over
normal men, so he launched a war against men. And England was his target.
The king defeats Mordred single-handed, thanks to his sword called Excalibur, given him by Merlin. After that, there's a celebration and the kingdom rejoices. But the Uther's brother, Vortigern (played by Jude Law), is not as happy as the rest of the kingdom. He takes his wife to a secret cave, and there, he kills her as a sacrifice of sorts. Uther awakes his wife and tells her that they have to leave the castle immediately. They pick up their son and run down to the harbor to flee in a rowboat. But along comes a demonic looking thing that kills Uther's wife and Uther himself. But his sacrifice allows his son to escape. And yeah, you guessed it, Uther's son is Arthur. WOW! So Arthur grows up, learning to fight and survive in a brothel outside of the kingdom. And he does fairly well. He's a strong fighter and he knows how to save cash. By the time he's an adult, he's got coffers stored up full of cash. He also knows how to get into trouble. He gets into a quarrel with a few vikings which actually sparks a royal raid of the bar and club that he lives in. So because of that, he gets shipped off
to the kingdom hub. At this time, the infamous "sword in the stone" that everybody knows of appears and is actually a threat to Vortigern. And he wants to know why it's shown up. But anyway, Arthur goes to the stone and pulls it out. He grips it with two hands and it actually burns him, then he passes out. He's then taken before Vortigern and is about to be executed, but there's a mage that helps him out. He and a band of rebels escape to a secret hideout, where they decide that Vortigern has to be overthrown. They plan an assassination and they proceed to carry it out. One of the people that's in on it is actually working for Vortigern. She's the spokesperson for the people of the kingdom. When the assassination is supposed to take place, Vortigern suspects that there's a threat to his life, so he sends out a decoy. The assassination fails and the band of rebels and Arthur have to book it. They almost get overrun, but Arthur takes out Excalibur and wreaks havoc on the oncoming soldiers. It looks pretty sweet, but the only thing is that Arthur can't control the sword's power yet. There's something holding him back, and it has to do with the night that his parents were murdered in front of him. Not gonna go any farther, because he finds out something that's actually pretty wild that has to do with the night that Arthur's parents were murdered.
K I N G A R T H U R
L E G E N D O F T H E S W O R D
Ratings:
Family Friendliness - 7/10 Coffers I guess it's safe to assume that most medieval times movies aren't too family friendly, what with all the violence in it. There's some scenes where you see people get impaled or you see their throats slit. The blood content is low, so you don't see much gore. I think it's a PG-13 movie, so honestly parents, it's up to you. If you have younger kids, please see the movie before showing the little ones.
Story Action Balance - 8/10 Stones The film is definitely story driven, and the action that comes along with it is very much justified. Only a few scenes where there's violence is it like "yeah they threw that in for filler". For the most part, the fighting drives the story forward and adds danger for the characters to escape from. I think it was very well done.
Acting - 9/10 Swords The movie has an all-star cast, so you can expect excellent acting from everyone. Can't really complain, except for the mage. I didn't fancy her too much, so she was the only one I had a problem with.
The movie starts with the Guardians fighting a giant octopus-looking monster that's trying to take some batteries. It's pretty nasty, and it's got some pretty tough skin. The only thing that's vulnerable about it is it's underside. So you can imagine that the Guardians are having a tough time. And Baby Groot is just running around and jamming out to some music.
After they beat the giant octopus thing, they go to the people that hired them, the Sovereign. They're like golden people. It's pretty cool. In exchange for defending their batteries, the Sovereign give the Guardians Nebula. So Nebula tags along with the Guardians as their prisoner. As they're leaving, Rocket steals some of the batteries to sell on the market.
Obviously, the Sovereign figure that out and, as you can imagine, are pretty mad. So they send their fleet after the Guardians. And it's pretty cool how the fleet is operated. They have pilots, but they pilot the fleet from a room that looks like Mission Control at NASA, and they're controlling the fleet from there. It's almost like they're playing a video game.
So, naturally, the Guardians get outnumbered and they have to crash land. Now, there's these things called "jump points", where a portal of sorts allows interstellar travelers to jump from one galaxy or planet to another with ease. Rocket and Quill get into a fight over who should be piloting the ship, and that's eventually what gets them crashed.
Not long after they land, a ship follows them onto the planet, and an older looking man called Ego emerges from the ship. He claims to be Peter's father, and takes him to his planet. Spoiler,
Ego is a living planet, as you can see to the right. This leaves Rocket, Nebula, and Baby Groot to watch the ship.
At the same time, Yondu is on a different planet, and is at a bar with his Ravagers. He's been disowned as a Ravager, meaning that he won't have an honorary Ravager funeral once he dies. He's reminded of this by Stakar (played by Sylvester Stallone). Fun fact: Stakar is actually one of the original Guardians of the Galaxy in the old Marvel comics. But anyway, Yondu finds out about a bounty on the Guardians from the Sovereign, and that's how he gets entangled in this whole affair. That's as far as I go, but just know that the film is great fun. There's a lot that's revealed about Peter's origin and his potential as a very important contender in the final battle with Thanos. The movie is also a lot about family, and that's quite apparent as it goes on, especially between Peter and Yondu. By the end of the movie, you've been tear-jerked, shocked, angry, and on the edge of your seat, and then the credits roll and you're left to watch the five after credit scenes. Don't worry, you'll have time to digest everything. Cuz there is a lot! Still, go see it. You won't regret it.
I'm so proud of myself, I'm pounding these reviews out like they're nothing. Here's the next one y'all.
M I D D L E - E A R T H
S H A D O W O F W A R
How bout this trailer? I am pretty sure that this game is going to be twice as good as the last, which I can't even comprehend right now. So basically, it picks up right where it left off in the previous game. I would know because I just replayed Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. Talion, at the end of that game, says "It is time for a new ring to be made." Then the screen goes black and that epic music starts playing. It looks like maybe a few days have gone by and Talion and Celebrimbor are just finishing
up their ring. There's a flash of energy that signifies that it is complete and it blows Talion back, also knocking Celebrimbor, his conduit for life, out of his body. But the new ring bonds to Talion and revives him. So my first question is, where's Celebrimbor? Does this mean wraith abilities will be temporarily disabled? Or are we simply left to the devices of a man for the rest of the game? Now, I'd think that the first question would be the most likely answer. Why you ask? Well, I've seen the first 16 minute gameplay walkthrough of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, and you can still zip on over to animals. In that walkthrough, Talion mounts a dragon, and that looked so cool. I know that this trailer for Shadow of War is not really revealing too much of a story, but it seems to me that Talion is actually going to go toe-to-toe with the Dark Lord himself. And Sauron is pissed that a Ranger from the North is all that stands in his way of taking over the free world. Now keep in mind that this storyline takes place beforeThe Fellowship of the Ring, and maybe ten to twenty years following the events of The Hobbit. If you played the first game, you met Gollum, who is searching for his "precious". That means it was only recently stolen, and he hasn't been captured by Mordor yet. So he's just kinda floating about. Now what should we be psyched for? First of all, the Nemesis System. Oh my god, if you played Shadow of Mordor you know what I'm talking about. Apparently, it's supposed to be so much better than the previous one. And this time, Orcs whom you've helped will remember your aide and will actually follow you into battle. Watch the 16 minute gameplay walkthrough and you'll see what I mean. The video will be down below and the link will be in my bibliography. Next, armies. This is Star Wars: Battlefront II (Playstation 2 and XBOX original version, not 2017 version) but for the Lord of the Rings mythology/universe. You are in an open world where there are outposts both inside and outside of Mordor that you can conquer with an orc army that you lead. This is another reason why I believe Celebrimbor isn't fully gone. In Shadow of Mordor, the only way you could command orcs was through Celebrimbor's influence. Who knows? Maybe it's the ring and it acts as a sort of Wraith-like entity. And finally, the Balrog. Don't say its name out loud or Gandalf will scold you quick like, but tell me that it does not look sick and you are a straight liar. I really hope you can command one, or at least fight one. Hey, why not both? If you could have a Balrog as a part of your army, you would literally be unstoppable. Just bring in that sucker on your front lines and you have got yourself a conquered outpost of Sauron. All-in-all, I think this is going to be one of the best games of the year. Best believe I'm pre-ordering this.
Yoo, there's so many good video games coming out this year. I really wanna pre-order this one, "Middle-Earth: Shadow of War", and "Call of Duty: World War II". Just shut up and take my money.
S T A R W A R S
B A T T L E F R O N T I I
I really enjoyed the first game, I'm not sure about you guys. The only thing I didn't really like was the overheating system with all of the weapons, and how I couldn't go prone. Maybe that's just the Battlefieldplayer in me. But seeing this new trailer just had me like "whoa." I didn't even freak or anything, I just sat on my bed in absolute awe because... it was like a remastered version of the Playstation 2 or Xbox 360 Battlefront II, and man. The only thing I could think was, "I need this." You best believe I'm about to be pre-ordering this game as soon as I pre-order Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. Alright, first thing's first. The engine footage was phenomenal. And gee, it really hit me that you can literally play across all eras with the most iconic characters of the entire freaking Star Wars universe! And I also like that they're taking the perspective of the Empire's soldiers after the Death Star is destroyed. It doesn't exactly follow the original Battlefront II story, which was also cool, but it's still the view from those who are loyal to the bad guys and just want to follow their orders. I think you're really going to be able to feel the impact of the Death Star's destruction and the devastation that everyone under the Empire felt. It'll be a really interesting take, and I'm sure gonna be routing for the bad guys this time around. I mean, who won't be? Then... THE MILLENNIUM FALCON!!! Then space! Then Luke! Don't tell me you're not hyped because if you say so you are lying. Just stop lying to yourself, because this is going to be one sick game. But please developers, let us have actual rounds and let us go prone! I'm so excited to play across all the eras. I really want to play in The Force Awakens era as like Rey or Finn or something. It's gonna be sick. Bibliography: "Star Wars: Battlefront II Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDzmjP6-1Zo> "Star Wars: Battlefront II Millennium Falcon" <http://assets1.ignimgs.com/2017/04/15/swbfii-reveal-screenshot-2-1492279586547_1280w.png> "Star Wars: Battlefront II Wallpaper" <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/23/SWBF2_box.jpeg/250px-SWBF2_box.jpeg>
Alright folks, this is Trailer 2 for PoC to review! I am so stoked.
S P I D E R - M A N:
H O M E C O M I N G
TRAILER
Alright, I'm not sure if y'all are aware, but I am a huge Spider-Man fanatic. Something for the ladies to know, if you just wanna see me blabbing and geeking out, ask me anything about Spider-Man and I will go on an hour rant. I promise you.
But we're not here to talk about me, we're here to talk about Tom! First off, I love the fact that Marvel has really shown him to be such a nerd, but one that hints at a struggle to balance being a kid and a hero. And this is kinda like "Spider-Man: Year One", which I really like. DO NOT
GET ME WRONG, I absolutely loved the original Spider-Man Trilogy, Tobey Maguire was my childhood. The Amazing Spider-Man series was phenomenal. Even though Andrew Garfield was kind of a stretch for me at first, he ended up being one of my favorite actors. And I think the same can go for Tom. I'm giving him a chance, and I can't wait to see what they're gonna do with him!
First thing we see is Peter running into a back alley and whipping out the suit. And oh my goodness, if you didn't like the whole loose-to-fitting suit feature, just stop reading because that was so freaking cool. I think everyone can agree (especially cosplayers) that that's something that Spidey has needed. It's such a tight suit! So he just keeps it under, but this is cool because it's strip, throw on,
fit button, BOOM, Spider-Man.
Next thing is a swinging sequence. I've always loved every single swing sequence we've ever been shown, and this is no different. Spider-Man's agility, seamless swinging, and even his funny character is shown in the next few seconds. I guess what I woulda liked more is the realism of the actual swinging.
Not sure if you are completely aware of this, but in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the first time we see Spidey in his new suit, his swinging seems to be heavily rooted in physics. His angel dives give him his momentum to swing far and to swing high. There was even a camera that showed his perspective of the swinging, and every time he came to the bottom of the web, there was a slight lurch. WHICH IS TOTALLY ACCURATE. If you think about it, that lurch would dislocate any regular human shoulder because of the G-Force, but since Spider-Man is enhanced, there's still the lurch, but he can handle it.
In this trailer, I didn't see any realism in the swinging motions. Nonetheless, the sequences are cool.
Thirdly, we see Peter and Tony together, and Peter is wondering about how he's going to
play a role as an Avenger. Which is pretty cool, but he seems eager to join the team. In the comics, Peter has been eager to join teams before, but in the end, he's always ended up solo because he believes that's the best way he can operate. Even in the new comic series The Amazing Spider-Man (2017) he primarily works alone, even though he's got a giant corporation behind him. The company is simply there to back him.
Then Peter decides to be sneaky and climb on the ceiling of his room, which he obviously fails at, which is pretty funny. So he accidentally lets his buddy in on the secret that he's the Spider-Man. Cool!
"Can you summon an army of spiders?" Man, I'm telling you, I'm gonna love this kid. He's gonna be so funny. But also, he's going to be a good support for Spider-Man in his times of need. Which I think every hero needs. Think about Tony and Rhodes! They've got it good.
"I stole his shield" was probably one of the coolest scenes they showed. Cuz yeah, this movie doesn't take place too long after Civil War. So he's still proud of that.
Alright, I geeked out too much, but now we see Vulture. And oh my god, I didn't believe in Michael Keaton, but he is gonna be a hella good villain. And the Vulture suit just looks scary in general. It's dark green, he's got freaking talons, and he's got crazy tech that blows everything up. All in all, I am very impressed with this new trailer and I can't wait for the film.
S P I D E R - M A N:
H O M E C O M I N G Arrives in Theaters July 7, 2017
I saw this movie the other day as a birthday gift from my parents. 17!!!
K O N G
S K U L L I S L A N D
I was very impressed with this movie overall. The CGI was phenomenal and I really like that I got to see so much of Kong. It seemed like the CG Artists forgot virtually nothing when constructing his physique and movements.
Overall, character development didn't seem like a very important thing. It seemed like they just wanted to show off a giant ape, giant spider, giant grasshopper, and whatever the hell the
"Skullcrawlers" were. However, Kong was portrayed as a "good king. Keeps to himself", and he protects the native inhabitants of the island who are human. It was like Kong understood that the people didn't want to hurt him at all, and he inherited his duty to protect the natives from his murdered parents.
The story to get to the island was quick, underdeveloped, and rushed. The opening sequence was cool though, going from World War II to Vietnam through a series of clips and reels that set the stage nicely for when Kong was first discovered. How he will resurface for his big fight with Godzilla though is a good question that I hope the writers for that big film address.
Alright, characters: John Goodman played a man obsessed with the idea of giant monsters being the original inhabitants of Earth before mankind came on the scene. What isn't really explained is why the monsters went into hiding once man "took over". Maybe they were alive when the dinosaurs were so they went into hiding during the meteor shower.
Samuel L. Jackson is a general that was originally stationed in Vietnam. And he's just itching for a fight. Sam basically played himself, screaming at everyone and making sure that the giant monsters don't hurt anymore people.
Tom Hiddleston is supposed to be an explorer that can handle himself in uncharted jungle terrains. His abilities aren't really showcased, but he looks pretty cool with a sub-machine gun and not a staff (for those Marvel junkies out there, I'm one of y'all). Brie Larson is an anti-war photojournalist who actually contributed to the public's outrage over the war in Vietnam. At this point in the movie, American troops are being pulled home from Vietnam, and Brie is pretty happy about that. She's got a pretty nice camera, too. Those are the main folks, and I'm dipping my toes in the waters of actually going for reviews rather than giving y'all a synopsis of what happens. So we'll see how you like it. If you don't, please comment and I can go back to telling you the movie.
K O N G
S K U L L I S L A N D
Ratings:
Family Friendliness: 7/10 HelicoptersI was rather impressed with the whole movie being relatively kid-friendly. I mean, apart from short sequences of people getting eaten and blood spattering, it's pretty clean. I don't really remember any cursing, but don't take my word for it. I'm sure Samuel L. Jackson would be the one to drop a language bomb.
Story-line: 7/10 MountainsNot really much to go on except for the fact that they just want to get off the island. I guess that's easy to follow, so I gave it a decent rating.
Story-Action Balance: 7/10 IslandsI guess there was good balance. We meet an old World War II vet that's been stuck on the island for about twenty or so years and he basically gives the gist of Kong's background and his role as king and protector of the native people. I'm glad that not all of it was shooting and fighting, but there was definitely a good chunk of it.
Acting: 8/10 MonstersDon't gemme wrong, each actor lived up to their character, but because the characters weren't that well-developed, there wasn't a lot of acting to fill into their characters.
Intensity:8/10For sure, I was on the edge of my seat for all of the monster fights. At one point I was really worried about Kong, but then I remembered that they're going to do a fight between him and Godzilla so I was okay. But still, all the fights were intense.
Rewatch Probability: 7/10 I probably wouldn't rewatch this as much as I would Hacksaw Ridge or something along those lines, but it's still a decent film overall.
I'm sure you guys are seeing this everywhere, and that's great! I just wanted to show it off a bit and then I'll do my own little review of it. I've decided that this blog is going to expand to trailers, posters, reviews, drawings, and anything that's cinema related because hey, it's all a piece of cake.
Alright, I'm not the biggest fan of the DCEU, but I have to admit that this trailer is pretty sick. I really enjoyed all of the different scenes, and so far, it looks like the movie is going to be exectured well. Hopefully Zack Snyder doesn't mess it up like Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Okay, the first thing that struck me was that the beginning of the trailer is set in a very similar region like that of Batman Begins. Now maybe that's a coincidence, but c'mon, you can't tell me that the icebergs and everything don't remind you of Christian Bale's first climb to meet Ra's al Ghul. Alright, so Bruce Wayne gives some voice-over about a threat coming to Earth, to which Diana
responds that it's already here.
I'd like to know how Bruce Wayne is even aware that a threat is coming from off-world. Now, granted, he's rich and he's probably got a secret satellite floating up in space, but that's something I'd like explained.
Okay, next thing that comes up that I think is worth a mention is the little box that morphs into a sort of Blue Beetle/robot bug looking thing that is obviously bad. I don't know much about DC, but based off of what people have been saying, I guess it's some minion of Steppenwolf? Don't kill me DC Fan boys.
Up next! We have Aquaman, who I must admit looks like an absolute boss. His costume I think was done very well in the sense that Zack Snyder tried to modernize it. The trident is something I wouldn't want to be on the other side of.
Cyborg! I dunno, I'm used to the Teen Titans version of Cyborg, so I'm not really digging
the whole skinny Cyborg look, but I like how he's still got the one red eye and that his mechanical figure is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Now, the Flash is probably going to be my favorite character in this film. He's quirky, fast, and weird. Kinda like me. But I like that he's going to be sorta the comic relief in the movie. He's basically everyone's kid. Annoying, but they keep him around. The suit looks stunning, and I really like what they are doing with his zooming and how there's a blue electric aura around him whenever he goes super speedy-like.
Alright, next up: Diana's next line in the voice-over. "They said the age of heroes would never come again." Who's "they?" Cuz last I checked, everyone likes a hero. I guess it's just one of those catchy and cool lines that every movie tries to throw in to make it more appealing, y'know?
Probably just to give it an epic feel. If that's it, I dig it.
"Justice For All" are the captions we get, which... I guess. But it doesn't seem to pertain to anything. Another epic buff most likely.
I think my favorite part of this whole trailer was the dialogue between Barry and Bruce: "So what are your superpowers again?" "I'm rich." Haha, basically. It's good that DC can make fun of themselves a little bit.
Right after that, the remix of "Come Together" didn't really click with me. If they had left it with the original version, it probably wouldn't have fit the trailer, but I still didn't like the new singer and heavier chords. It's just not right, and as an 70s and 80s fanatic, that kinda turned me off.
But the trailer saves itself by showing A LOT OF ACTION. Oh my gosh, this is definitely going to be a jam-packed movie. I just hope they don't overstuff it like they did BvS, that was just too much. I want a lot of punching, cool one-liners, and stunning visual effects, which is what Zack Snyder seems he's going to be delivering.
Overall, I was very impressed with the trailer, and I can't wait to see what they're going to do in the three hour frame they're formatting the movie in.
