Mad Max Fury Road Review

I did not get to see this movie until the Monday after it opened, so I had seen the reviews. I knew I was going into a great movie, but it truly did not disappoint. For those of you that have not seen it yet, go see it. For those of you that have, go see it again.

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Characters

I thought going into the movie that the action was going to stick with me, but what has really stuck with me is the characters. It is tough to pick a favorite. Nux, played by Nicholas Hoult, is a great character with a great arc through the movie. His character goes through a great transformation during the movie and really enjoyed him. Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, is another great character. A true warrior who does what needs to be done. She has some powerful scenes in this movie both in physical battles and in emotional struggles. A great fight scene with Max too. Speaking of our titular character, Max really plays a minor role in the movie on first look, but thinking about it more Max is really us in the movie. When he learns things we learn things. We know as much of the situation as Max. Although Max does have more post-apocalypse skills then us. Very clever and I liked Tom Hardy's portrayal of him. I was not surprised that these characters were good, because I have liked these actors in other movies before, but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as Splendid, was really surprising. This is the same actress that is in Transformers Dark of the Moon as the Meghan Fox replacement. She was powerful in her scenes. Her role called for her to be bold and she was. I could seriously go on with more amazing characters, but that would take too long. Just know you are going into  movie with great characters.

Action & CGI

George Miller has decided to upstage every CGI loving current Director out there and make one great action movie with minimal CGI. I would describe the action as a kid playing with his Hot Wheels in a sand box. Excellent chase scenes with crazy unique vehicles. The action is so very real. My favorite George Miller quote about this movie is around how technology has changed in the 30 years since the last Mad Max. What about technology has changed? That CGI makes every thing easier and possible? No. That digital cameras are so cheap now he could put them anywhere to get the shot and not have to worry about them breaking. That is awesome. That is a Director who understands what it takes to make a great action movie. This whole movie could have been shot in front of a green screen, but it wasn't. People are actually doing the stunts in the desert for this movie, which is crazy. This movie's action is going to hold up great for years. When there is CGI in this film, it is excellent too. The sand storm, seen in the trailers, looks so great and feels real. Furiosa's arm is great too. If you did not know from the trailer, she is missing her arm and has a mechanical arm. You show this movie twenty years ago and everyone would think that Charlize Theron did have a left arm. George Miller is in full control of all the stunts, action, and CGI in this movie and it really pays off.

Fast Points

• Saw the movie in 3D, it was cool, but it takes my eyes too long to adjust to truly enjoy it. If you can handle 3D, I would see it in it. 
• The whole religion behind Immortan Joe and his followers, the War Boys, is amazing world building. Spraying chrome on their teeth and yelling witness me, super crazy and helps make for terrifying villains 
• I love that you cannot tell if this is a reboot, sequel, prequel, or whatever. It is just a Mad Max movie and it super entertaining. Too many labels for movies in Hollywood. This is just a kick butt movie. 
• Even though this is just an action movie with one big chase scene, I really feel like I need to see it again to fully appreciate it. 
• I am not completely sure why this movie was rated R. I don't remember a lot of bad language in it (Captain America approves of this). It is violent, but not bloody violent or gory. It just feels like a border line R to me and I was expecting more of a Terminator 2 level R movie. Nothing wrong just pointing it out. 
• Finally, I want more movies like this....

Final Verdict: A

A must see action adventure with great character and an amazing world. Don't miss this in theaters!

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Review

After completing the very first Zelda game, it seemed only natural to play the newest (not counting remakes/releases) Zelda game out on the market... A Link Between Worlds! Well that and because I have a 2DS and it is ranked as one of the best on the system...

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How long does it take for me to beat a game? Well it took me since I finished my The Legend of Zelda review until now to finish this game. Moral of the story... when you get old you get less and less time to play video games.

Story & Dungeons

This is not an extremely deep or epic story, but it is a good one. A sorcerer invades Hyrule and starts turning people into paintings and is after Princess Zelda. Your job is to save Zelda and get back the paintings, which are hidden in the mysterious and mirrored world of Lorule! Very simple, but I liked simple in this case. It is a game on a mobile gaming device and I really felt that I could just pop in and play for a couple of minutes or a hour or two and either way it didn't hurt the story or make it confusing what is going on.  

Dungeons are a key part to the story in A Link Between Worlds (like most Zelda games) and they are very good in this game. Most dungeons you need a specific weapon for and they really use the weapon well in each dungeon. With all the weapons there are in this game, it helps to have specific dungeons for a weapon to showcase it.

Weapons & Special Abilities

A Link Between Worlds brings a new debate to weapon ownership... buy vs rent. In this game you are not finding all the main weapons in dungeons/castles, you are given the option to buy or rent. I feel like Nintendo decided that they need to teach children around the world about the age old debate of buy vs leasing, because that is exactly what the decision feels like. I found myself asking and thinking "This weapon is needed for this dungeon, but am I really going to need it afterwards?", "I could just rent every weapon right now and just save my game a ton and I will save so many Rupees!!", "I love this weapon, I going to buy this weapon." This is a fun feature, but really in the end there is no debate because this game just throws out the Rupees. You can easily buy every weapon when needed (this may not be true in Hero mode).

My go-to weapons were the Hookshot and Ice Rod. Hookshot was really helpful against the shield wielding foes and useful against all foes. The upgraded Ice Rod really helped when I was really surrounded by enemies (aka the Treacherous Tower). I found myself having these two equipped for as much as possible in the final castle.

I briefly commented above, but there are a lot weapons in this game, maybe too many. Example, I did not really use the bow at all in the game. A classic weapon like the bow could have been featured a little more. I don't think it takes away from the game by having too many weapons, I would prefer having the opportunity to really use all the weapons.

Wall-MERGING really EMERGES as a great new feature (I am too funny)
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I loved the merging with wall feature in this game. They really hit it out of the park with this new feature. Annoying enemy coming at me... merge into wall. Not sure where to go... merge into wall and run around. It is such a fun new feature to play with. I would see cliffs and would make note of them to find how to merge to a wall to get there. Puzzles were a lot more fun with this ability too. It makes you think about not only where you need to go, but how to get there. I would be very happy if this feature made a return in another Zelda game.

Rapid Fire

• I am a huge fan of the look of this game. Instead of going for super realistic, which the 3DS cannot handle, they went with the more what I consider cartoony look, which the 3DS handles great. There is nothing wrong with the cartoony look. Bad realistic is the worst thing ever in games. Play to what your system can handle and that is what they did here.
• Huge shout out to the compass in each dungeon! Without you I would have been a mess. I am not a fan of search dungeons for treasure that could or could not be there. 
• Although I own it on Game Boy Advance, I have not played A Link to the Past (I know I need to play and will in due time). Those that have will probably enjoy this game even more since it has the same map as Link to the Past.
• Since I own a 2DS, I cannot comment about the 3D experience in the game. I can tell the part that it would be used and I am sure it is nice.

Final Verdict: A

Great gameplay, good story, great visuals, and great wall merging make this a must own for 3DS owners and all Zelda fans. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

I, with the rest of the US, saw Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend. Here is my review! There are some spoilers in the review. You have been warned!

Ending of Phase 2 

I wanted to start with what I think really holds this movie back... The fact that it is part of a SET Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you couldn't tell from the bolding and uppercase lettering, set is a key word there. The first Avengers we had no idea where we were going. There was going to be more movies, but really we were just part of the ride. Multiple superheros are getting together in one movie and it worked great. I remember being in the theater during the opening scene being like "Wow this is really happening." Now that it is happening a second time and I know where everyone is going, it takes the some of the charm away. We know Iron Man and Captain America are going into a Civil War against each other. We know Thor is going into a movie that could be really bad for some other worlds. We know that there are two more Avengers movies that are going to be huge. Nothing could happen in AoU that could take my mind away from that. At no point was I like "Oh wow Thor is not going to make it" or "This is it for Iron Man." Looking back at it, this movie ends with a lot of cool open ended questions, like where is the Hulk. This could have been Han Solo in carbonite level question, but he know they are coming back.

"Watch the Language"

Just like the first movie there is a lot of funny moments in the movie. The whole bad language inside joke throughout the movie is excellent. There were a couple of laugh out loud moments in the theater I was at. Superhero movies cannot be too serious (see Man of Steel) because they are meant to inspire and cheer us up. It also helps make the character much more real. You can connect with the characters that make jokes and that we have inside jokes with. I have read some people hate on Joss Whedon for all the one liners he puts in his works. I love them and if you love them then you are going to like this movie. To be honest, I think the jokes have stuck with me more than crazy action scenes/fights. 

Age of Scarlet Witch

I wanted Ultron to be a great villain. He had great lines, but really at the end of the day he wasn't much of a villain in this movie. Yes he is the one with the world destruction plan they are trying to stop. Yes he was menacing. But without the Scarlet Witch, I am not sure he would have made it far. He kind of failed... a lot and at everything he tried. For an AI he did not do a great job evolving and learning from mistakes. I think Ultron the villain suffered from all the set-ups to future MCU movies. It is really too bad, because they have a good baddie here. 

Quick Points

• All the action scenes in the movie are on par with Avengers. 
• Hulk Buster vs Hulk was a lot of fun. I thought it was going to be a re-tread from Avengers, but it wasn't
• The final battle seemed a little rushed to me. Rushed in the sense of it quickly started. It seemed like one second we are in this part of the world, the next second we are somewhere else, and then BOOM climax final battle.
• Love all the Avengers characters old and new. Marvel is truly great at casting. 
• Black Widow and Hulk? I thought Captain and Black Widow were going to be a thing after Winter Solider and their chemistry, but that was after all the Black Widow and Hawkeye stuff from the first Avengers. The MCU is not going for a love triangle they are going for a love pentagon!
• Not a fan of the random Thor story here. Feels really out of place, but...
• Shout out to Thor for someone somewhere in the MCU being like "Why are all these stones showing up?"
• I wonder if we are going to look back on this movie and wonder if this movie was needed in the MCU. Lots of set-ups to future movies, but what did it change?

Final Verdict: B

Solid super hero movie with great action, funny moments, but suffers from being a middle movie in the MCU and under using Ultron.

Jurassic World Official Global Trailer Thoughts

This summer is going to be a telling summer for movie franchises that are trying to recapture the magic. Terminator, Mad Max, and Jurassic World all are trying to restart their franchises. Indy 4 failed to recapture. Terminator has failed to recapture it once already. The Hobbit trilogy was no where in the ballpark of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Is it even possible to recapture the magic? More movie franchises are going to try and recapture the magic soon, Ghostbusters and Harry Potter. We will find out this summer if it is possible. Terminator is already not looking good. But I doubt Mad Max will fail. I also doubt that Jurassic World will fail from the trailers we have seen.

Here is the trailer that dropped today!

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I felt the fear in this trailer. The first two Jurassic Parks movie had a lot of fear in them. I wouldn't call it horror just a sense of fear for the characters, fear of the dinosaurs, and just an atmosphere of fear.

First the characters. I love Chris Pratt. Probably my favorite actor right now. He killed it on Parks & Rec (which is funny because I hated his character at first). He was amazing in Guardians of the Galaxy. With the wrong lead, that movie fails. You needed someone super charismatic and really can pull the dramatic strings when the movie needed it. I also love him as Emmet in The Lego Movie. Again super charismatic in that movie too. First part of the trailer we get to see him earning the respect out of the raptors. If raptors respect him so should we. Vincent D'Onofrio makes his first trailer appearance and I like him already. I literally love the show Law & Order Criminal Intent because of him. Such a strong actor and brings so much intensity to his roles. Super pumped he is in the movie and I hope he plays a big part. "Light him up!" I have no problem with kids in the movie. It is traditional to have kids running from dinosaurs in a Jurassic movie and I am all for traditions in movies. If you like the characters, you are going to fear for them. Bryce Dallas Howard... not excited for her in the movie. She has not had good "luck" with movie franchises. She is my biggest concern for this movie.

From the trailers I have thought the dinosaurs looked good in the movie. There is no terrible Terminator CGI here. Some of the comments to the video on YouTube comment about bad CGI, I am not seeing bad CGI. I was nervous about the hybrid dinosaur when I first heard about the movie. After seeing what they are going for, I like the idea. At least a raptor/T-Rex hybrid sounds different and fresh. Speaking of T-Rex, we got a small siting of him/her and another goat! Poor goat.... I have a sneaky suspicion that the T-Rex will play a bigger part than we are seeing in the trailer. Raptor training is an interesting idea. I need to see how it plays out before I judge. I hope there is more than three raptors in the movie. Hybrid and Raptor training has got some negative comments and they mainly seem based on the fact they "created" a new dinosaur and Raptor training does not sound realistic. That is a tough argument for a movie about extinct dinosaurs that were brought back to life with Dino DNA from a sap covered mosquito with the help of frog DNA. If you have a problem with hybrid dino and trained raptors, you should have a problem with the whole concept of the movie franchise. We have not seen a lot of friendly dinosaur moments in the trailers, I hope there is some. Those were some of my favorite scenes in the first two. The other noticeable dinosaur leads into my last point.

The end of the trailer just has an atmosphere of fear. The pterodactyl attacking and snatching up the tourist with the music set a very terrifying seen. You shouldn't feel safe around dinosaurs (at least in my opinion) and that is the sense you get in this trailer. Once the D-Rex starts breaking them out, it is chaos and fear. Just like in the first one when the T-Rex busts out.

I am excited for this movie! We have not had a good dinosaur movie in a long time and this looks like it will deliver!

Batman v Superman Trailer Thoughts

Another day and another huge trailer goes online!

I think it is official. You cannot plan a theater event for a movie trailer, because it is going to leak and it is going to force your hand to release an actual good copy of the trailer.

Here is the trailer!

Just to start out, I am not a fan of Man of Steel. I could talk about why, but I think Honest Trailers does a good job of summing up my feelings. Here is a link to that video.

I am excited for a Ben Affleck Batman. He seems like a very good cast for this movie. Jeremy Irons will be a good Alfred as we can tell from the voice over. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor I am on the fence about. I loved him in The Social Network, but that was a part he was just born to play. I am not a huge fan of the rest of the cast. Mainly because I was disappointed with Man of Steel and a lot of them are coming back.

This trailer is super dark. It looks like everything takes place at night. Everything is gloomy. I understand the idea of dark and gritty. That just gets heavy after a while, so I hope the whole movie is not like that.

There are a lot of shots from the trailer that remind me of The Dark Knight trilogy. Batman on top of the Skyscraper holding on to a pole looks like the exact shot of what we saw in Batman Begins except Affleck is looking away from the camera. The Dark Knight trilogy has a pretty unique Batmobile and now this Batmobile is extremely similar. More of a tank than a car. The whole Alfred telling Bryce something important message with Bryce staring at him with a serious face, this happened in every movie in The Dark Knight trilogy (this is pretty generic, classic Batman though too, so maybe we should give them a pass). A shot of the Batsuit looks sooo similar to Nolan's movie. It bothers me that they don't show off more in the trailer how this Batman is different. There is rumors about Robin. It has been said that Batman has been around for years. Show off that stuff in the trailer more than everything that is so similar to the Dark Knight trilogy's Batman. I did like the Alfred voice over and Ben's Batman voice.

The "Do you bleed?" line is an awesome line. It is a weird line for Batman to say to Superman. I know the title implies they will fight, but we all know there is going to be some other main villain that will unite them together aka dawn of justice. When Batman and Superman fight in The Dark Knight Returns comic, it is under circumstances that make sense for both characters. Those do not make sense based on Man of Steel at least for Superman. I hope that it makes sense why Batman would go into a fight saying that and wanting to fight Superman.

One thing I love when Marvel and DC movie trailers come out is fanboy fights in the comments section! First I think it is stupid judge them against each other. There is no reason to. Fanboys on each side are going to see both movie franchises. Second, DC has only had Man of Steel in their "cinematic universe" there is no way to tell what it will be like in the end. We had no idea what Marvel would be like after one Iron Man movie. Thirdly and very fanboy of me, I think the new Star Wars movies will blow both out of the water.

I came out of this trailer with my first thoughts of this movie reaffirmed: everything Batman related in this movie will be good... everything else will probably be Man of Steel quality. For some that is exactly what they want, it is just not what I want.

Star Wars The Force Awakens Teaser 2 Thoughts

Woo hoo! Trailer number 2 for The Force Awakens! What a great day!

Here is the trailer.

First off the voice over... Awesome call back to Return of the Jedi. I think it is Luke. Most people have referred to the voice as Luke. When I listened to it first with head phones I thought it was Luke. I thought it was amazing how his voice sounded exactly the same as in Jedi.  Then I listened to it without headphones and it didn't sounds like Luke. It got me thinking "What if it isn't Luke?" Vader's helmet, the family of a brother and sister, the similarity of what Luke said in Jedi...could it all be a red herring and someone else is saying this? "My father has it." That implies the father is alive and Vader is not "alive". Luke and Leia are not the only brother and sister ever. I am terrible with voices and matching them to actors, but maybe this is Domnhall Gleeson??? Is he Luke's son and Domnhall as an actor is trying to sound like Mark Hamill? I am not sure. Probably Luke's voice. Okay so I took a break and watched the trailer again and I think it's Luke's voice again. I am keeping my not Luke thought because that is a cool idea.  

Love the music in the trailer. Very classic Star Wars music but with a new twist. I am good at matching Star Wars music to movie scene and after listening a couple of times I cannot place it. So new music that has the classic themes in it? That is awesome and exactly what I want. 

All the visual effects look great. Practical or CGI. In 2015 you would think all visual effects would look good, but watch the new Terminator trailer... The crashed Star Destroyer looks awesome at the start. The Tie fighters have a different look. The wings almost look translucent. All the spaceships at least look CGI to me. What is cool is that they have eight month to only make it look better!

The Darth Vader helmet and Luke's/Anakin's lightsaber make an appearance. Both have already been rumored to be part of movie. It was nice to see in the trailer. It will be interesting to see how Luke's old lightsaber was recovered. Side note: if I ever get a Force FX Lightsaber (which I really should), I want the Luke/Anakin Lightsaber, it is too iconic to pass up. I am expecting on some level the villain(s) of this movie are going to be Vader worshipers or followers or something. Vader is such an iconic character that it tough to not have his presences in the movie if it is just his helmet.

The Han and Chewie piece at the end was nice. A very good line for Han to say for a trailer. It looks like they are in the Falcon, so it kind of implies that the Falcon isn't owned by him anymore? Han Solo and Falcon go together like bread and butter. The idea of a different owner is a little sad. The Falcon can still fly that is for sure. Chewie looks like he hasn't aged. The benefit of being a wookie I guess.

I want to see more of everything in this trailer. More X-wings flying around. More Chrome Trooper. More droids. More new characters. More classic characters. December cannot come soon enough!. 

Terminator Genisys Official Trailer 2 Thoughts

We got two new trailers today! Ant-Man and Terminator Genisys. One was fun and great! The other was super spoiler filled and a weird marketing play. We are going to talk about that one.

Here is the Terminator Genisys Official Trailer 2.

Wow. This trailer gave us a huge plot twist and I have no idea why. This movie has not looked great. Was the hope of revealing more would get the buzz up? I am sure they are getting some bad press for this twist and any press is good press, right? I have no problem with the twist itself, but why show it in a trailer when you lose the shock factor in the theater? My only guess is that this is not the biggest twist in the movie. We still do not know Matt Smith's character in the movie so maybe that is a bigger twist??

Casting for this movie is way off and you can tell from the trailers. Jai Courtney is not Kyle Reese. He is not even close to the actor that Michael Biehn was in the original. I read that he is not trying to be like Biehn's Reese, because it is a different movie. What? We know for a fact that a shot for shot recreation of Reese's arrival and shopping center scene are in this movie. How is that a different Kyle Reese? Jason Clarke as John Connor wasn't a big deal to me, because I thought he was going to have a small part. Well, looks like his part is huge. So... not excited for this now. Jason Clarke was kind of forgettable in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and I am not sure he can be war hero John Connor. Bad guy John Connor maybe. Also, I think his scars look terrible. Also, I feel like Jason and especially Jai are way too beefy and muscular in this movie. I know this is a weird take, but they are survivors in a Man vs Machine post-apocalypse war. You are not going to be that ripped. Are they drinking protein shakes in between huge battles? End of weird take.

The Machine War scenes look terrible. The Terminator and T2 made the war look super terrifying. This looks like a cheap SyFy movie or a cheap video game. Why are we inducing new machines in the war that are terrible CGI? I am talking about you weird machine that jumps in front of John and Kyle, better seen in the first trailer. The machines in the originals are prefect. Those war scenes from the original still freak me out because they are so real and a metal Terminator is so scary looking.

Final thought. Why are they pumping up the 1984 Arnold vs Old Arnold fight so much? We know it will be an early scene. We know who is going to win. What is going to make it so amazing? It is a fun idea and could look cool, but why was that one of the last teases in this trailer? I am not going to go to this movie to see that.

I am fully expecting this movie to bomb. In fact, right now I am not sure how it is going to succeed.

Mad Max Fury Road Main Trailer Thoughts

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This Mad Max movie is really starting to look completely and utterly insane. I mean that in a good way. In a time when all the other summer blockbusters are looking to create Cinematic Universes and highly connected and detailed stories, it is great to see a movie that is literally just going to be one massive car chase. This movie has never not looked awesome, but this trailer pushed it over the edge.

New trailer came out today. Link is here!

I watched this trailer at work today. I didn't watch it just once and I was not getting any work done after watching it. I had to get up and walking around a little bit. The intensity in this trailer is so high. I could not imagine going to a movie, sitting in my seat with my popcorn and pop, and then seeing this trailer for the first time, then be expected to watch a movie. Do we know if this is going to be attached to any movies coming out? Furious 7? I don't want to be the movie to follow this.

In the first trailers, I feel like we got a good feel for Charlize Theron's Furiosa character. In this trailer, we get a great look at Immortan Joe villain. Holy crap, he is super creepy. His whole outfit...Creepy. His voice... Creepy. His walk.... Creepy. That mask... Creepy. He looks and acts like a nightmare. That is what a villain needs to be.

Starting at the 1:31 mark, where they post "From Mastermind George Miller", this trailer kicks to a gear most trailers never touch. The music, the voice over, all the crazy scenes. I expect it to peak and wind down, but it doesn't for a whole minute. If this movie is two hours of that, I am not sure I am physically going to be able to handle it.

Everything I have seen and read about this movie is we are pretty much in store for one long car chase. Yes. Sign me up. Simple movie plot. A massive car chase from point A to point B. Chaos to get there. It seems to me George Miller is just trying to recreate a Hot Wheels chase he created as a child. I also read today (after researching more into this movie after the high from this trailer) that Miller wanted the visuals to come first and wanted the film to be understand in Japan without subtitles. If I read that Michael Bay was going to try that for a Transformers movie, I would be like "Yeah, good luck with that", but with Miller and this movie? It is going to work!

If you couldn't tell I am super excited about this movie and ready for the summer blockbusters to start!!!

Spectre Teaser Trailer Thoughts

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Bond... James Bond. Hooray! We get a Bond movie this year! I grew up playing Goldeneye. Then renting the early Bond movies and at the time going to the new Pierce Brosnan Bond movies in theaters. Then Die Another Die happened. I own it on DVD for some reason. The series needed to shift and it took a couple of years to do that. Enter Daniel Craig...

Daniel Craig's Bond run has a been pretty good so far (I would say great but Quantum of Solace happened) and Spectre hopes to continue that trend. Today we have our first trailer!

Here is the trailer. 

Very few characters in the trailer, but we can see that Spectre takes place almost right after Skyfall (which is interesting, see below). Bond looks very focused, which plays to Craig's strengths. Christoph Waltz makes an appearance at the end and no surprise it looks like he is going to deliver as the villain.

One thing that I am excited for in this movie, but we did not see in the trailer is Mr. Hinx, which is Dave Bautista's character. From what I heard, he is going to be like Jaws and Oddjob, but for our generation. I am all for this. I loved Jaws when I was growing up. Super campy character, but scary, power, and memorable. I doubt Mr. Hinx will be campy based on tone in Craig's Bond, but he should be going for memorable. Bond needs memorable villains and they don't have to be the main villain. I hope this means multiple movies for Mr. Hinx otherwise I do not consider him a memorable villain like Jaws. When you will have 24 Bond movies, to be a memorable villain you almost need to be in multiple movies just to stand out (yes there are exceptions). So I am excited for what Mr. Hinx will be!

Back to the fact this will all take place right after Skyfall. Let me paint you a picture. Imagine a great Bond film that rejuvenates the franchise. The next installment is announced, which is going be a direct follow up to that great Bond movie. This is different because Bonds are usually not direct sequels or tie too many events together. The film before was great so this story and continuation will be great, right? Sound familiar? We did this before with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Casino Royale was amazing. Quantum of Solace not so much. It just seems interesting to me that based on what happened so recently with a directly connected follow-up (with the same Bond actor no less) they would try this again. This is just a teaser trailer and we could find out this is going to be completely different, but I am a little bit worried.

I have a lot of faith in this movie, but this teaser made me curious though. We know Craig will kick ass and Waltz will be great, I hope the story does not disappoint!

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Trailer Thoughts

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Movies usually do not sneak up on me, but yesterday and today Mission Impossible Rogue Nation snuck up on me. I went from not knowing when exactly MI5 was coming out to knowing when Rogue Nation is going to come out and I am pretty excited for it. I literally had/have a smile on my face after this trailer and thinking about it.

Here is the trailer. 

A trailer should get you excited for a movie. This trailer got me very excited for this movie. It just looks like it is going to be a lot of fun. While Bond is going a little darker and more gritty (which I have no problem with, I loved Skyfall), it is nice to have an action/spy movie franchise that is pretty much all about action set pieces, fun characters, and a plot that really is just there to drive the action set pieces.

One thing that MI has always had going for it is it's star: Tom Cruise. As an actor, he just makes great movies. Edge of Tomorrow (or Live Die Repeat or whatever you want to call it) was a great movie. Oblivion was a good movie. Age is not slowing him down. He is still an action star and I am glad that he hasn't stopped making action movies. I know that a lot of people dislike Tom Cruise off the big screen, but you cannot deny that he has/is/will continue making fun movies.

Simon Pegg has also been a great add to this series and really sets it apart from other franchises. He is just great comic relief, but he can also be serious. Just listen to his delivery at the 1:56 mark of the trailer. It sounds like that was unscripted; it rolls off so well. His character really is for the audience to help relate to. He is not going to shoot guns, hang from buildings, or get into a fight. He is there for the ride (and computer skills) and we are with him. Good humor in an action movie is really under appreciated.

As for the signature action set piece? That is featured in the poster and at the end of the trailer and I love it. Is it at all possible? Absolutely not, but who cares? There was crazy stuff in 1-4 that was not possible (you could say Impossible ;) ). Embrace the crazy action set pieces. Fast & Furious franchise is doing this too and I love that as well (although they are really starting to push my limit, which is driving a car out of a building into another building and ejecting from the car...really?). I am also glad Rogue Nation's signature action set piece will not feature a building. I believe 2, 3, and Ghost Protocol all had signature building action set pieces. Not that I don't like Ethan Hunt hanging from a building, but let's shake it up and have him hanging from a plane. I already am eager to know why the hell he is hanging from that plane and how is he going to get in it!

This summer is going to be an intense movie summer before really knowing what Rogue Nation was. Now that we know... Get your popcorn ready and buckle up for July 31st!

Why I Watch and Like The Following

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This week marked the return of The Following! I feel like I am one of the few fans of this show. I can understand some of the hate, but this show is good enough to stay on the air. I see a lot of comments that Hannibal is a better show. That is true, but that doesn't mean this show shouldn't exist! Here is why I enjoy this show:

The main reason I enjoy The Following is I like the cast. Who does not like Kevin Bacon? Have you ever said to someone "I am not seeing that, Kevin Bacon is in it." I haven't. You have be to a well liked actor to have this associated with your name. Still don't believe me... Watch this. If Kevin Bacon is your lead, then you are a step ahead of other shows. Also, I like Shawn Ashmore aka Iceman with Kevin Bacon. I have the tendency to transfer over my enjoyment of one character from a different show/movie to the new show/movie that actor is in. I liked Iceman from the X-Men movie, so I like Mike Weston. James Purefoy is great as Joe Carroll. If Joe Carroll was played by a crappy actor, this show would not work no matter what. Even though Joe is the villain you never really want to see him die.

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Another reason I like this show? It is way over the top. Nothing close to this story is ever happening in real life, but I am completely cool with it. In the Series, Joe has now gone on three different killing rampages and prison escapes. Not possible. No way that anyone has a master plan this elaborate and it works to a T. Also no way that the FBI and people chasing him are this dumb/unlucky. YOu would think that they would catch a break at some point. I will say that the whole taking over a different Cult from season 2, pushed the limit. It proves that if James Purefoy is your Joe Carroll, you can get anyway with anything story-wise. Like I said, I am cool with all this. I am more invested in the characters then caring about if what is happening is really possible.

My biggest problem with the Series is it has been a little too happy killing off good characters (which is a funny statement since this show has way too many fake out deaths). My prime example is Jacob Wells from season 1. They really spent time developing his character. We got to see him struggle with everything that was happening and meet the people that really cared for him. I wanted more of him and less of Emma. Emma was a good character, but Jacob became a wild card that I would loved to see more of. Clearly they were probably going for this feeling with killing off Jacob. With the continual killing off of good characters, new characters are continually added and they are carbon copies of the characters that were killed off or not as well developed. I get based on the nature of the show, a lot of characters have to go, but it is still tough.

My season 3 thoughts: I have seen the first episode and it was typical The Following. I like where Mark Gray's character is going, something crazy and different for the show. I am really excited about Michael Ealy joining the show. He was great in Almost Human playing an android and I can picture that transitioning into a emotionless serial killer nicely. I am also interested to see how Joe comes back this season. He better not escape another prison.

I don't know what would have to happen in this show for me to consider that it jumped the shark, but it would have to be crazy. So I am invested until the end. If that is just this season, then fine. Hopefully we get a couple more and they only get better!

Age of Ultron Trailer 3 Thoughts

The third trailer hit today for most likely the biggest movie of the summer! Easily the best trailer for it yet. Got me really excited for the movie. Here are my thoughts after the trailer.

Here is a link to the trailer.

James Spader as Ultron is going to be excellent. I have a feeling he is going to be the star of the movie and the reason this movie will be great. His voice over at the beginning of the trailer is a lot of fun and I expect his dialogue to be like that in the whole movie.

Captain America doesn't say much in the trailer, but I am excited for his role in this movie. I am a big fan of Chris Evans, he has been good in a lot of different styles of movies. From the trailer we see that he is going to have a couple of good fights with Ultron and Quicksilver. I think his character has been the strongest throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and it does not look like that will change here.

Also, love that this trailer didn't reveal anything I did not already know. Trailers lately have really been giving a way a lot of the movie (looking at you Amazing Spiderman 2). We have seen most of these ideas already just some different shots and lines. We did get to see Vision. I have no idea what to expect from him, which is refreshing. Because of this I wonder if we have seen all shots of the final battle yet?? No more trailers needed for this movie. KEEP THE SECRETS!

I was not a huge fan of the first teaser trailer. It was filled with cliche trailer moments and quotes, for example Black Widow's "Nothing lasts forever" line is so cliche and sounds awkward. I know it is taken completely out of context (at least I hope), but I expect better from Marvel because they raised the bar with Avengers and Captain America Winter Solider. The trailer also played into my worry for the film, which is....

My concern for the film is it is going to feel too detached from the overall Infinity Gauntlet/Thanos theme of the MCU. Another way of putting it is that I feel it is going to feel too much like a side quest for the Avengers. When you think about a second part of a trilogy (not saying this movie is a second part, but you can make the argument that the Avengers movie series will be like a trilogy within MCU), you should leave your heros wounded, defeated, and lost, which I am sure they will feel (for sure Tony Stark), but it should also strengthen your overall villain aka Thanos. I am not seeing that connection yet. I am probably going to be totally wrong about this, but I wanted to express this concern.

Also, I know that the Hulkbuster armor Iron Man vs the Hulk battle is going to really look cool and be a really fun scene, but didn't we do this already in Avengers? Loki's plan was to turn the Hulk against them and now it is Scarlet Witch's plan too?

This movie is going to be the best movie of the summer and it is only two months away! Now that is exciting!

What were your thoughts?

Resident Evil Revelations 3DS Review

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"RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS" Any true Resident Evil fan read that in the title screen voice over which has been part of every Resident Evil game (also for some reason is still terrifying). I have been a fan of the series for a long time and I am now at the stage where I buy any new Resident Evil game (not Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City, we all know that is not a real RE game). To be honest this series has been disappointing lately. I was nervous for this game, but Capcom finally made another good RE game.

I am reviewing the game for the 3DS (again played on a 2DS because that is what I have). This game did come out for Xbox 360 and PS3, but I have not played those versions. This is a straight up 3DS review.

There are two different modes in the game and I am going to review them separately, but will start with gameplay:

Gameplay:

I thought the controls for this game were great! It does not play like an action shooter like RE 5 and RE 6. To me it plays a lot like RE 4, but on a 3DS. In my mind RE 4 controls are the closest to perfection in gaming control, so having similar style is a great compliment. You either run from an enemy or you stop and you shoot it, that is survival horror, no run and gunning (or stupid slide moves, yes I am talking about you RE 6).

The weapons are good in this game as well. Multiple versions of handguns, shotguns, etc and there are special power ups so you can really customize your load out. I like this because you can fit your load out to your style. My go to was the rifle and handgun. This really becomes important in Raid mode.

Nothing really special to note about the enemies. Dog are terrible to deal with as usual. There was one part where I felt completely overwhelmed against enemies because not only was there multiple enemies in a tight spot, but a time limit as well, not ideal.

Again overall great controls, I am still going to complain about something. I hate the idea of the Genesis scanner. Switching to it was annoying. It was just used to make you scan everything, which slows down game progress. There really isn't anything like this in the series before this, so I am not sure why they added it. At no point did I say "Yes finally I can scan that goop on the floor! I have always wanted to do that!"

Story Mode:

Resident Evil plots are pretty standard: You are trapped in BLANK. This time the blank is a ship. One thing this game does that is not typical of RE games until this game (and RE 6) is that there are multiple playable characters and locations. So I lied above, the main area you are trapped in is a ship, but you are also trapped in a city/building and a secret snowy base. Surprise, surprise, one of these locations is much much better than the other two, hint hint it is the game's main location.

With the multiple locations are multiple characters. You have the classics of Chris and Jill (these two may need a survival horror intervention, just stop putting yourself in these situations), but you also have newcomers Parker, Jessica, Quint, and Keith. New playable characters are completely hit or miss in the RE series and these new players are no different. I completely didn't like two, one was fine, and I liked one and hope he would return in a future game (I may have pictured him below). 1 out of 4 is not great new player success rate.

Parker maybe you will STAR in a new RE game??? (pun intended)
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To be honest, I am not sure why they needed all these locations and characters. Seems like they built a elaborate story for the game, and made the gameplay fit in that story. It would have been very easy to adjust the story to just be on the ship with Jill and Parker. The story is completely B Horror film story too, which I am completely fine with and typical for RE series. Don't come for A+ story.

To help fit multiple locations and characters, this game plays out in chapters, which there are 12. RE has been doing this for a while now, started in RE 5, but chapters, even if your supplies carry over between chapters, make it seem less like a survival horror game. In RE 4, I was saving the game in some random shack, there was no end of chapter celebration. In games before RE 4, I was conserving ink ribbons to save the game. I believe I read they did this to make the game more mobile and not require long sessions to play, which in theory makes sense, I just don't agree with it.

I got about 10 hours of gameplay out of the Story Mode, which I think is good value for a 3DS game.

Raid Mode:

I thought this would be a pass over mode that I would try and really not play. Boy was I wrong! This mode is outstanding! I played this mode longer than the story mode and I only got through a third of it! Whoever came up with this mode at Capcom, needs to get promoted. So addictive.

This mode basically turns the game into a RPG game, where you replay the locations from the Story Mode, with different enemy layout and enemy difficulty. You decide what you want to bring in and how you want to tackle it. The better you do, the better the rewards, which prepare you for the next level. You play with whichever character you want to and each character has different abilities, like reload speed for certain weapons.

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One gameplay change in this mode is a health bar above the enemy, which you can see in the picture above. Love this addition. Saving ammo is key in this mode as well, so knowing how many bullets you will need to take down an enemy is super helpful. I felt that I could be more surgical with my handgun and rifle shots.

I think if they made a RE: Raid Mode game with all our favorite locations, make it highly playable online with friends, it would sell like crazy. So Capcom, if you are reading this, just do it.  This mode seems like the tip of an iceberg for a mode/game that could redefine RE forever.

Final Verdict: B+

Good Story mode + great controls + return to survival horror + excellent Raid mode = a must own for 3DS survival horror fans.

Bonus Rant

Resident Evil Revelations 2 came out this week for practically everything except 3DS. Sigh Capcom.... Really? I mean really? I know there was an article out there explaining that "the engine used was the same as the port from RE Revelations to PS3 and Xbox 360 and that engine does not work on 3DS." Fine, okay, whatever you say, but why on earth did you call it RE Revelations 2? You could have called it anything. RE 7 or RE Code Veronica 2 (since it does have a same main character as RE CV) or RE Episodes (that is a different rant). At least in all the trailers and articles I read, Chris, Jill, Parker, or anyone from the first game are not going to be in it. Personally, I think it is a dumb decision, but I guess whatever floats their boat.

The Legend of Zelda Review

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"Oh cool, you must be doing a classic review, since The Legend of Zelda came out almost 30 years ago" Nope. I just played and finished The Legend of Zelda for the first time! I was looking to cash in my Club Nintendo points and saw this available and figured I would give it a shot! I am really happy with the choice!

Why had I waited to beat my first Zelda game until now? Well I had played prior games, for example I own A Link to the Past for Game Boy Advanced. Whenever I played Zelda, I had no idea what I needed to do, so I would run around a little bit and then stop playing the game. Gaming before the internet was really a totally different beast. There was no way to look up what to do if you got stuck. Either you had to figure out what to do, had a friend who knew what to do, or own a strategy guide. Now with the internet and having it on my iPhone, I can pull up a guide when I get stuck! (I know the counter argument to this would be an actual gamer would spend the time to figure it out, well I don't have the time anymore and there are so many games I want to play, so internet = my friend)

When you first start this game you can really tell it is a blast from the past. Talk about cold opening, you can get a little bit of story for the title screen, but not much. Now a days you start a game and you have to sit through 20 minutes of opening cut scenes or a step by step tutorial. This game throws you in the deep end and says "Figure it out!" I really liked that about the game (with being able to look up a guide to tell me generally where to go).

Here is a little breakdown of my first couple minutes of play:

• "Okay just got dropped into this world... what do I have to do..."
• I walk into cave... "Cool! I got a sword!"
• I find my first enemies. "Look! Enemies to kill. Wow, I can throw my sword! That will make things easier!"
• "Crap took my first hit of damage, well better throw my sword at this guy..."
• "WAIT, why cannot I throw my sword anymore! "
• And in the chaos and panic of trying to escape the enemy still attacking me... I am killed...

This is how a lot of learning happens in the game. Learning how to kill new enemies, learning new weapons (I made a costly mistake with learning how arrows work, literally), etc. Some will not like this, but I thought it was a fresh change of pace from current games.

I do not know how anyone beat this game without a guide or the internet. I used this online guide to help me through the game (thank you!), mainly for the locations of the Dungeons and special items on the main map. A really nice walkthrough and I loved the detailed maps. With a guide, I felt the difficulty of this game was do able, but if you are going rogue without help... Good luck because you are going to need it.

I love how this game really let's you do whatever and however you want to do it. If you want to do Dungeon 2 first, go for it, it will not be easy but you can. You want to do a ton of preparation before the first Dungeon, do it, because that will make the game much easier.

Special shout out to Dungeon 6! YOU SUCK! I was going through the game at a good pace and then BOOM! Dungeon 6 knocked me back a peg or two. I mean it was crazy tough. Those damn Like-Likes really pissed me off. Whoever created this enemy is evil. "Yeah, let's make an enemy that just eats expensive shields, that you have to work really hard to get. People will like that. Oh wait let's call it a Like-Like to symbolize their enjoyment!"

I do not like you a little bit, I do not like you at all...
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The game has definitely opened me up to play more Zelda games. I purchased A Link Between Worlds and that will be my next 2DS adventure! I even dusted off the old Game Boy Advance SP to play A Link to the Past. With that said, everything that I have read and seen makes this game seem not extremely highly rated compared to other Zelda games. So the games audience now is probably just NES super fans and Zelda super fans, or people like me who just wanted a good deal and gaming experience :)

Final Verdict: B+

A classic NES title that is still fun 30 years later, but now is probably only for NES or Zelda Fanatics

Super Mario 3D Land Review

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It seems whenever you buy a Nintendo system, there is a Super Mario game that you must own. Super Mario 3D Land is that game for the Nintendo 3DS/2DS (wait why did he call out the 2DS??? Yeah I did because that is what I own! BOOM! Expect a 2DS review post in the future). This game is everything you hope for in a Super Mario game.

When I got my 2DS last year, I struggled between this game and New Super Mario Bros 2. You have to have a Super Mario game with a Nintendo system (there is a personal N64 story that comes with this, that I will have to tell some day) so I had to pick and I made a great choice. I enjoyed this game so much I got it for my 8 year old nephew for Christmas last year (shout out to Target for having a crazy Black Friday sale on it too!)

One of the reasons that I got a 2DS was because I did not have time to sit down and play video games for hours at a time anymore, because 1) I am not at home that much and 2) I have a 14 month old son. Super Mario 3D Land is a game that you could play for five minutes or 5 hours, if you really wanted to, because you can play one level and be done or plow through the whole game.

I really like the audience this game reaches too. My nephew and I, who are at completely different skill levels, can play and enjoy this game. All you need to do in each level is get to the end, but for more advanced players they can collect three golden coins hidden in each level, which can require certain powers and creative thinking. Also, there are special more difficult levels after completing the game the first time, a real value adder for those looking for more of a challenge (and it added Luigi to the equation!).

Since I have a 2DS, I cannot comment on the 3D in the game. IGN's Review praises the 3D in the game, so I am going to trust them. Without the 3D feature, it can be difficult to collect some of the Golden Coins, but it was not an issue.

I was a little underwhelmed by the power-up options in this game. Typically in a new Super Mario, a new power-up really shines, but while there is a new power-up, the Boomerang Flower, it was the classics that were the most important. I love Fire Power and the Tanooki Suit aka raccoon tail pictured below, but comparing the Power-Ups to my favorite Super Mario Games: Super Mario Bros. 3/Tanooki Suit, Super Mario World/Cape Feather, New Super Mario Bros Wii/Ice Flower, it felt a little like a missed opportunity.

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Speaking of comparing this to other Super Mario games, this is not the best ever. Some of the levels feel a little too short. I was beating some levels in a minute. I know there are special levels that double the game, but the main game feels too short compared to other Super Mario games. Also in previous games, I had way more concern for lives. This game I did not have that problem. Not being the best Super Mario game is not a knock on this game, it really speaks volumes to the quality of the Super Mario brand.

Final Verdict: A

Great game and should be owned by every 3DS/2DS owner. I don't think this will be remembered as the best Super Mario game ever, but it may be the best handheld Super Mario.

Review Grades

Welcome back for post number 2! 

And I am sorry it is still not going to be an exciting one! I was going to start writing my first review and thought "How am I going to score/grade games?"

I started thinking that 1-10 would be good, but then I have to define the difference between 7-8 and 8-9 etc. So I thought let's do 1-5. Again what is the difference between 3-4 and 4-5. Thinking about most of the gaming sites and magazines I read and their review score systems, I realized most are using a numerical system. I come from a long line of teachers, so screw it, I am going to use letter grades! Everyone understands letter grades so me having to define them is not as big of a deal.

There is one other piece to my review scores: expectations matter. If I go into a game expecting high quality  and only get pretty good quality, that game is going to be penalized for it. That may be harsh and make it a little more difficult to judge game vs game and movie vs movie, but it is my belief that expectations matter and whether you like it or not it will always effect your feelings of a game.

Here is a quick break down of the my letter grades (game and movie are interchangeable):

A+ Cream of the crop. Legendary. The absolute best. I am going to make this very hard to get. (As a side note, I am going to review some of my favorite games to start so of course you will see a good amount of A+ work, but I promise it will not be the norm)

A Great Game but not legendary. A must own game.

A- Great Game, but there are a couple of things holding it back. Still a must own.

B+ Game that should be played, may not need to own or put a high priority to do

B Good Game that should be played

B- Maybe not a good game, but definitely better than average.

C Average. At this level no more pluses or minuses. You are what you are.

D Below Average, but not a complete train wreck.

F Failure. Train wreck.

Everything is set! Let's get started!

Prelude

It is finally time....

Time to start blogging my random thoughts!

After thinking about blogging for centuries a couple of months and always getting hung up on the name of my blog, I said screw it and started with a generic super boring name! CPB GAMER! It does seem a little cooler in caps and what the Blogger template is calling "Largest" font, but still very generic. I reserve the right to change it if I get popular.

You may be thinking "What is this amazing blog going to be about?!?!" Well first off I love your question and per the name, I enjoy video games so I am going to review games and lay out my video game thoughts. As an adult with a child, my video game prime is in the past (for now, soon my child will grow and be ready to game with me!), so I am going to review games as I finish them (don't expect these a ton), but at first I am going to review and talk about my favorite games from the past. Also, I love sports and movies so I am going to post about that too. So won't it be fun in two years when we come back and look at this first post and be like "My blog is nothing like this, what was I thinking?"

Some ground rules:

• Gonna Hate, Hater Are: Two things for this 1. I love Star Wars and 2. No hatin' with this blog. I welcome opinion on subjects I bring up, but leave the hatin' on me, the blog, or others at the door. Ain't got time for that.
• Me Fail English that's Unpossible: I am not an English major and am horrible at spelling. You expectin' beautiful grammar it is not going to happen. I am decent at grammar, but I am going to make mistakes and probably already have. 
• Let's have fun: I am going to try and keep my posts pretty short. I don't want to take up your life, you got games to play, movies to see, and sports to get heart broken about.

Let's do this....