David

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It’s time for a recent film based on the events of King David from the Bible. This one is particularly focusing on his rise to becoming the King. This makes for a pretty good adventure as that focuses on his strengths and his devotion to God. At this point we are only seeing the tail-end of Saul’s journey where he began to go crazy. Unfortunately being king is a huge burden and one that is far too much for just about any man after enough time has passed.

The film starts off by showing David being a good shepherd as he protects his sheep from a Lion. David was brave the whole way through even while knowing that he could be ripped apart by the Lion. David was not going to back down and that is absolutely crucial here. He would have to continue fighting opponents of a much larger stature than him like when he goes up against Goliath. That’s probably the most famous part of David’s journey so naturally it was going to be here.

Surprisingly it’s a fairly small part of the film though as a good chunk of it is really about dodging Saul’s many assassination attempts. I’d say this was a good idea because these are the scenes that you don’t see animated very often. It was definitely a really stressful time for David because having an actual king and his armies after you isn’t easy. Additionally, David’s troops continuously pressure him to murder Saul but David refuses. He refuses to go that far and will wait for Saul to see reason.

The animation may take you a little bit to get used to though. The character models and everything feels a bit off like this is almost a mix of 3D and stop motion. Still, the film does get the horror imagery across pretty well with how the Amalekite tribe looks. Their clothes really seem demonic and make them a clan that you don’t want to fight. David was able to put his trust in the Lord though and got everyone else to do this as they all began to sing and put their fear aside.

The film is part musical so there are different songs that play during the movie. On the whole I would say that the songs are good. None of them are going to end up being super memorable but they do work well in the scenes that they are in so I didn’t have any complaints there. Additionally, they don’t overdo it with the songs the way some musicals have one playing every 5 minutes. They are spread out pretty well here so there is always a purpose to the song.

The movie is also pretty straight forward so there isn’t a need for a bunch of twists and turns. Naturally if you’ve read the Bible before then you will know how the events play out so there wasn’t going to be much of a purpose in trying to keep anything hidden. Saul definitely feels like a very imposing character from the start who isn’t exactly oozing goodness so you’re not surprised when he ends up being a big antagonist.

It was good to see more of Jonathan as well since he was David’s best friend in the Bible and got a lot of screentime. Generally you don’t see him much in the adaptions though so this was really good. David’s brothers tend to appear a lot but this is the first time that his sister also got a role. So the film did well in expanding the characters and really fleshing everyone out.

It was also important to start off by showing David’s work as a shepherd. It’s a big part of his character growing up and sets the tone well. I was also glad about the fake out because initially it seemed like we would be starting the film off with animal violence which would have really been a rough beginning. It also would have completely undercut the first scene if you ask me so everything really turned out for the best here.

Finally David’s story is a classic example of how these situations were not ones that he could have solved on his own. If he had chosen to fight without God and just trust in his own skills, he would have lost. The odds were not in his favor and by any human metric David would never have survived this encounter. He would not have defeated Goliath with a slingshot under his own power. Nor would he have been able to evade Saul’s men for years and always find a way to make a counter attack. David was only able to survive this because he put his complete trust and control in God’s hands. While David would go on to have a rough adventure, this is why he is still looked up to as one of the men closest to God’s heart throughout the Bible. You tend to see him and Paul mentioned a lot in that respect. Paul went through a rough period to start things off while David hit the rough patch near the beginning. Ultimately they had to repent and confront their own weakness.

Overall, This was definitely a really good film and it’s clear that the writers were paying attention to the source material here. The animation may not be one of my favorite styles but you’ll quickly be drawn into the narrative so it won’t be a big deal. The film is really paying attention to details and has good pacing throughout. They cover a whole lot of ground here and the characters all act as they should. There is plenty of room left for a sequel should they ever want to do that but this one definitely covers the key events. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I definitely recommend changing that. Whenever we get a well done adaption of the Bible like this, you really want to see it as soon as possible!

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 Review

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Season 2 was really a huge one as the heroes were invaded within their own country and casualties were high. Rimuru was nearly destroyed by Hinata and had to make a tough choice. He became the demon lord of legend and was able to power everyone up to all new heights. That was a turning point in a lot of ways, one of which is that there are no longer many threats to Rimuru. While season 3 has its share of fights, there is never a moment where you think that Rimuru is in danger. He’s likely top 5 in his own verse at this point and at least 2 of those other fighters are in his army. Not much to worry about at that point.

The season has 2 main arcs here. The first one wraps up the rivalry with the holy church. Hinata decides to go and call for a true with Rimuru but after receiving a threatening notice from him, realizes that it might come down to a fight. She aims to give it her best but knows that this will likely be futile. Her friends are manipulated into following her and picking a fight with Tempest though. Fights are unavoidable now and they are basically fighting an army of unstoppable demons. That’s not going to go over very well for them.

Then in the second half you have Rimuru throwing a giant festival. Since when is he not throwing one right? Well, it’s an even bigger deal this time as kingdoms from around the world will be attending and they have even set up a big arena for people to fight and have a good time. Among them is a new character named Masayuki. He is known as a legendary hero who is basically unbeatable. While it initially seems to be in a toon force type of way, that is literally his power. He can use plot armor as he pleases and that’s a fun power to have. The guy isn’t evil or anything though o dealing with him won’t be too hard.

Right away it is important to set your expectations here. Rimuru is so strong that there is no danger anymore. Like I said in the intro, that kind of plot stopped with season 2. You still have top budget fights and a great atmosphere, but the series won’t have you on the edge of your seat anymore. So how you feel about that will determine how much you enjoy the season. Fortunately I am totally fine with this. The Slime series has really been more about politics and world building for a while now. It is a power fantasy but one that focuses on teamwork and building ties among comrades. It’s a fairly unique spin on the whole thing.

Put it this way, Rimuru is friends with Vendora, known as one of the strongest forces in the universe. He is functionally immortal and everyone thinks twice before messing with him. Rimuru is best friends with Milim, the most physically powerful of the demon lords. He has the respect of all the others except for 2 who seem like crazy antagonists. Rimuru has earned the allegiance of Diablo, a demon so powerful that he evolved past the ranks of what was deemed possile. Rimuru is friends with all of the tree spirits, he has 3 evolved Oni fighters on his team as well as a master swordsman demon and an entire army of other creatures. Rimuru’s whole country is also boosted by his demonic energy so they can all regenerate from any nonlethal attack. It’s also worth mentioning that Rimuru has all the best scientists working for him so the country is also far more advanced than any others. It’s absolutely not fair…but that’s the fun of it.

There’s an ongoing joke about how the franchise is some kind of underground tax scandal conspiracy because nobody is actually trying to watch 5-6 episodes in a row of nonstop meetings. Well, while the joke is funny, I actually do enjoy the meetings. They feel realistic while never being bring and the characters are likable enough for the interactions to all be interesting. So when Rimuru finishes one meeting, only to start another one immediately afterwards with different characters, you don’t feel bad about it.

It all comes down to the writing which is extremely good. Then you also have meetings about the villains as they all talk tough and threaten each other. The show still has a veil of danger about it after all so you are supposed to be thinking that these villains could be a problem. Perhaps there will be a point where the meetings get boring but so far that has not happened at all. The show is also on the right trajectory here where, ever since it began to take things seriously in season 2, we saw a sharp drop in fanservice. That was the biggest credit to the series because that was quite obnoxious in season 1. Nowadays it is extremely rare and almost never happens.

The technical elements are also extremely good as always. The animation is top tier with some great cuts like when Rimuru has his rematch against Hinata. Diablo getting to show his stuff against the other characters is also very satisfying as always. You don’t necessarily need there to be a big threat to get some really fun battles established after all. Especially since the heroes like to hold back and sandbag a lot so the fight still appears to be competitive for a while there.

Then we have the soundtrack which is really good. There are a whole lot of tunes to the point where it can be difficult to find one that you are looking for on Youtube. You have to be willing to go through a whole lot of different songs. The opening may not be my favorite from the seasons but you still have the classic battle themes as well as new ones. It is very well rounded so I have no issues there.

Okay so lets talk about the characters. First up we have Rimuru who is a pretty fun character. He has improved a whole lot from when he was first introduced after all. Initially he was constantly horny like your average protag but after being a slime for a while he has mostly gotten past that. I won’t say that he is permanently past that but it’s not really a big factor anymore. He has learned what it means to be a king and is even starting to know how to use people. He has even begun to notice the various characters like Yuuki and Raphael being really shady.

Raphael is an interesting character as a result though because they are hinting more and more that she may have some secret plans at the ready. There is nothing definite but at times she seems to give Rimuru the wrong advice or will just hide part of the answer from him. It’s all a bit suspicious but so far there are no hints as to what’s going on. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a real character who has been pretending to be the A.I. all this time. That would be an interesting twist. After all we do see that all of the otherworlders hear this voice like Hinata when she first got transported to this world. Maybe it’s all connected.

One thing about the Slime series is that the cast of characters is absolutely humongous. As a result not everyone gets to have a big role in each season. There would just be no way to pull that off. So Veldora and Milim don’t get to do much here for example. They are immensely powerful and could end the fights in an instant so they have to get written out. Veldora always wants to help out but Rimuru tells him to cut it out. Likewise he doesn’t trust Milim since she sucks at holding back. These are the kinds of difficulties you run into when your army is too powerful.

Even Gobta and the Oni don’t do a whole lot here. Gobta gets one fight where he does well thanks to hos OP regeneration is in combat. Benimaru and Souei win their fights pretty easily so they don’t get a whole lot to do. Hakuro and Shuna are also around but there isn’t much time for them. They all got big fights in season 2 so that makes sense. Shion is the only one with a really big role in this season. Her new powers after evolution are absolutely intense.

She went from having a tough time (Albeit there were some specific circumstances there) in season 2 against one of the other outworlders to taking on multiple holy knights at once here. She is incredibly powerful now and is nearly invulnerable. Raphael even mentions that her rule breaker sword could even hurt Rimuru at this point. Shion’s loyalty is completely unmatched so that’s not a worry for him but shows how powerful she is. Shion is the kind of character that is super easy to root for throughout. I love characters who show that kind of loyalty and she has only continued to go up as the seasons go on. I may have her in my top 5 characters at this point. Off the top at least it would be Diablo > Milim > Hinata > Shion > Luminous

That’s why I really enjoy Diablo as well. He has enough power to really do whatever he wants but the guy is completely loyal to Rimuru. He intends to follow that guy forever and does his best to accomplish each goal. His role is that of a butler so Diablo has to find ways to win without murdering his opponents. That’s not always easy and goes against his nature but he makes it work. Diablo is very earnest and has good instincts. He has quickly become my favorite character in the series and that’s not easy with how many great characters are in this series.

On the villain side, Luminous gets more of a role here although you could say that she is a total good guy now. We learn a bit more about how her group operates and it turns out that she has been using kid gloves the whole time. She was never downright evil like the other demon lords and so that makes you re-evaluate the character. She’s certainly not blameless or anything like how she let this cult of the Seven Luminaries get away with so much. Still, she has no intentions of going against Rimuru so that’s handy.

I do have to give the Seven Luminaries a shoutout for talking such a grand game though. They all go out like chumps but still made for some good cliffhangers. They made great speeches and are technically very powerful. They just happened to pick a fight with opponents who really cannot be defeated. None of them come remotely close to winning a fight and the entire group is defeated in this season. So much for those guys eh?

At least we had a big villain though. Otherwise Hinata would be the biggest antagonist here even though she is a good guy as well. We finally see the rest of her origin story here and how she would ultimately be manipulated by the holy church. In all fairness, those guys aren’t evil either, there are just a lot of bad actors to filter through. She has made a lot of great friends along the way and will be a valuable ally going forward. Rimuru may not have needed more powerful fighters but you may as well keep stacking the deck against the villains.

By the time the season ends there are really just 3 villain groups left. First you have the merchants, then you have the old man who seemed to control the Seven Luminaries, finally you have Yuuki. We know that Yuuki is powerful from his one spar with Rimuru a while back but you have to wonder how he can possibly be a match nowadays. None of these villain groups seem like serious threats but they could surprise me. In particular Yuuki seems like the most interesting figure, I want to see what his overall goals are. For now his being evil just feels random with how much time he spends being a nice guy and helping out. If it’s something as petty as being jealous of Rimuru then that will be a bad look for him.

There’s plenty of time to introduce more characters and keep the fights going though. Last season we saw the council of demon lords and in theory each of the other 6-7 could give Rimuru a good fight. So things could change soon but as it stands, most of them would be allies anyway. So whether we throw more festivals or get more fights in, I’m looking forward to what’s next. Slime absolutely knows how to manufacture a fun atmosphere and develop a ton of interesting characters. When your fundamentals are that good, it becomes very easy to have a successful season in any genre. While I hope we continue the fights in each season, a season of slice of life episodes would also end up working very well.

Overall, This is the best example of a comfort show that I can think of. You can pull up any episode and have a good time knowing that the heroes are too strong for anyone to really challenge them. It is nice to just see everyone getting along and imagining yourself being one of the residents of the country. This is one of the only series where you can feel really safe and not expect a random villain to just blow up the town or something like that. It’s a fresh change of pace and I definitely expect big things from season 3 as well.

Overall 8/10

007 First Light Review

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This was a game that looked like a blast right from the start. In a way First Light was kind of like a successor to the old Uncharted franchise. Yes this would be about James Bond but there was more of a focus on the hand to hand combat than on the gun gameplay. Can’t really say I minded that all that much. After all I love the hand to hand gameplay. Throw in a compelling story and you really have a great title here.

The game is essentially an origin story for James Bond as we start the game with him being a soldier. After one mission goes haywire, Bond ends up joining M16 and trains to become a numbered agent. Along the way he will have to deal with powerful rival agents and an information leak that could end the civilized world. Fortunately Bond is ready for all of this. He’s never been the kind of guy to shy away from a fight after all.

Bond is one of those characters that I don’t generally like. I feel like he tends to lose far too quickly in most films and gets outsmarted all the time. He’s also way too girl crazy and this comes at the expense of the mission. While those traits still exist in this game, they are certainly not played nearly as much as in the movies. Bond is much more focused here for the most part even if he still makes time for a few one night stands every now and again. That keeps him from being a great character but at least he came a lot closer here than he ever did in the movies.

The game is fairly long so you won’t beat the campaign too quickly. It’s certainly not 20 hours but is easily in the double digits and I was satisfied with the campaign. There are 10 main chapters here and there are a lot of collectibles and extra dialogue options in each level. Unfortunately the simulator mode is online only which is a shame since that part is supposed to be a whole lot of fun. I guess I will work on playing through that during a free PSN weekend or something like that.

For the gameplay, the action part has you focusing on lots of punches and grabs. Grabs are completely broken in this game. They go through any attack and you can trap enemies in unescapable combos. They only don’t work on bosses who are immune to physical attacks and you must use the environment against them. Not a problem, there are always a lot of things to throw everywhere. You also have your gadgets which can short change any fight. Each gadget can one shot the opponent standing in your way.

I think the goal was to make sure that the game is accessible to everyone and for that reason it is a little bit on the easier side. Tere are times you will die though. I definitely died in quite a few of the shootouts which are the toughest part s of the game. The stealth and hand to hand parts though? You will breeze through those.

For the stealth there isn’t much of a punishment to failing thanks to the bluff mechanics that are around. Just back up and start again or use one of your gadgets to stun the guy and walk past him. Likewise for the punching parts, if they manage to land a blow on you then you can just run away. Your health regenerates really quickly so you can go back to full health and then fight again. So if you really want a challenge then you should probably start on hard mode.

I gotta say that I approved of these mechanics though. It’s going to be hard going back to normal stealth after this since all of the bluffing just feels so satisfying. Additionally you feel the impact from every punch. The combat is super satisfying all the way around. I really don’t have anything bad to say about the gameplay. It is always consistently top tier and you have a whole lot of freedom to attack the levels in any way that you want to. I certainly have a lot of fun with freedom like that.

If I had any kind of nitpick with the game it could be that at times the story could move a bit slowly. I really enjoyed the intro, the climax, and a lot of stuff in between but then sometimes things would go a bit slowly. Walking through the villain HQ in the arctic for example was a bit on the slow side as you must maintain your cover and can’t just go in blasting. I know why we had to be subtle but I just wanted to get on with it. If anything I wish that the final part could have been longer since having to play as Bond without any gadgets or special powers was fun. It lets you see just how strong he still is even without any kind of backup like that.

I’m betting that the sequels will only continue to add new gameplay styles and gadgets to the mix so I’m sure things will only get better from here. Of course with a different game studio coming in that may not be as much of a guarantee as I was thinking. Either way I have high hopes though. This is definitely the kind of game that you should play right away. The story is still very good even if I thought it had some pacing issues. The villains also end up being quite memorable. The best boss fight in the game is pretty early on though where you have to take on two assassins at once. That was a great fight, wish we could have gotten more like that. Later on the bosses are all immune to physical attacks like I mentioned before so they are a bit more gimmicky than the usual battles.

Overall, The term “AAA” may have taken some shots over the years but this is exactly the kind of game that you would think of for this acronym. First Light feels like a game that had a lot of development time put into it and this was not wasted. Every part of the game is treated with a lot of care and dedication. The gameplay is smooth and every technical element is accounted for. There may have been one or two times where the game crashed but it auto saves constantly so you don’t lose much progress. All of the classic quality of life features are in this game as well which is another credit to its favor.

Overall 8/10

Hollow Knight: Silksong Review

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It hasn’t been super long since I played Hollow Knight so I was definitely ready to check this one out. Silksong is known as being even more difficult than Hollow Knight so I was really excited for that. There was a patch though so the gap has definitely been reduced. On the whole I think it is safe to say that Silksong may be a little more difficult….maybe. Honestly it was really close. The final boss is definitely easier though.

The game centers around Hornet, who is abruptly kidnapped from her land and taken to the mysterious Citadel. She wants out of this place and intends to slaughter everyone in her way. If anyone surrenders then that is fine but most of these creatures just want to fight it out anyway. Fortunately Hornet is no stranger to combat and I just love how aggressive she is throughout the whole game.

It’s a major reason why this one beats the first Hollow Knight for me. Hornet just has such great dialogue throughout the game and that adds so much depth to the title. The plot feels a lot more detailed as a result and she even has her own rival to deal with. A lot of the characters like to talk very vaguely like in the first game but Hornet just throws in a few threats and they cease all of that foolishness.

As for the gameplay, special attacks are much less of a thing than in the first game. You are instead using a bunch of loadouts based on your crest. There are around 8-9 different styles to use. I unlocked most of them by the end but mostly stuck to the power crest the whole time. It’s a bit slower but the downwards slash covers such a wide area. I was able to use that to successfully trounce just about every boss. The only time I had to switch was in the final rival battle where the Beast Crest carried me to victory. Each crest has its pros and cons so it will all depend on your battle style.

For example, the beast crest does not allow you to heal but you can use a primal attack that drains your opponent’s health while you fight. So it’s really risky but you do deal a ton of damage. That was key against the rival because I just couldn’t dodge her attacks consistently so trading blows was my best chance there. You also have a lot of accessories that you unlock throughout the game but they tend to be a whole lot weaker than the Hollow Knight ones. Aside from the map and collecting beads along the way, the rest of them don’t tend to do much.

I would have liked some stronger items to really incentivize you while walking through the map but I guess they didn’t want the game to get too easy. As it is, there is still a good amount of variety as you play through the game with your gear. Some abilities also tend to be huge game changers like when you get the double jump. Of course I got that after beating the final boss so it sure felt pretty late in the game.

There is a good amount of replay value to be had here as beating the game is just the stat. You will unlock a third act when you go down the true ending path which adds new bosses and such. Considering that the game was $20, this is really a steal. It’s just hard to beat that kind of a deal. The main campaign took me around 20 hours and getting the Platinum would likely be at least another 20-30.

The bosses are also well crafted. They’re all very different so one boss that might be super difficult for me might be easy for you and vice versa. It just depends a lot on your fighting style. In general I would say the best thing to do is fight slow and methodically look for counter strikes. That’s not generally how I play games but in this game it makes sense because their attacks deal a ton of damage. Just eating one attack will significantly set you back so you don’t want that to happen.

Go slow and you’ll eventually win. If I have a small nitpick it is that there should have been a few more quick travel points. Based on where you want to go, there will be times where you have to cross a long distance on foot and it’s a journey that you will have already done many times before. So you don’t really want to do it yet again. Not a big deal overall but you do start to feel the repetition a little bit by the end. Just one or two more train stops could have solved that issue.

As for the graphics, the game looks great like you would expect. The characters are really striking and the special effects are on point. I like the mini cutscenes that play every now and again as well. These are all small things that helped to pass the first game. This was really a worthy sequel. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side though so that’s one thing that this game does not have in its favor.

Overall, Silksong is definitely a game that I would recommend. It’s a great game with a whole lot of content and it was all crafted very carefully. there is a lot of replay value here and I will definitely be hyped when they announce the next big title. I know everyone is hyped for the Sea of Sorrow expansion in the meantime though. I’m sure that will be great as well but nothing beats a whole new game. Perhaps a crossover where you play as both characters or something like that. If you haven’t played the game yet and are worried about the difficulty, I would advise you to play it anyway. The difficulty level is high but it’s always in a air way. When you die to an attack, it is one that you definitely had the opportunity to dodge.

Overall 8/10

Annie Hall Review

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Woody Allen films are consistently about a whole lot of rambling and characters talking in a way that just doesn’t make sense. They fill the air but none of the lines have any real substance behind them. They’re just creating more and more problems where no character ends up being likable by the end. There’s not a whole lot of plot going on here either so the story is forced to throw in a bunch of flashbacks and third wall breaks. You’re definitely in for an adventure of some kind here.

The movie starts with Alvy reflecting on when he used to have a strong relationship with Annie before things fell apart. He has already been married twice but in both of these relationships things did not go well. Annie was someone who actually understood him and they had some fun but it seemed to be very surface level. After some time had passed, they would grow further and further apart. Wait…so we already know the ending? Yes, this is one of those films that spoils the ending immediately so the movie is about the events that take you there. I never liked that cinematic plot device but what are you going to do right?

From the start you can see why it would be hard to stay with Alvy though. He is constantly depressed and complains about everything. He tends to be a complete doomer and you can barely even tell when he is having fun because he is still finding time to complain. That’s not the kind of attitude that is really going to get him far. Alvy’s a comedian but one who lacks in confidence so he gets stage fright and panics about every little thing.

For some movies there may be a bit of a mystery on why the big romance falls apart but it’s obvious from the start here. They are just way too different. Annie is more sociable and wants to hang out while Alvy’s idea of a good time is staying cooped up indoors. While some modern couples think it makes their relationship stronger to be able to still flirt around with other people to make the partner jealous, it’s just a terrible strategy in reality. They were both friends with people who were definitely the type to mess around and that increases the chances of it happening to them as well. You become the kinds of people that you hang around after all.

Towards the end they can’t even be intimate without Annie having to get high the whole time. They just have to casually use drugs and there doesn’t seem to be anything romantic about the relationship. They satisfy their physical desires and that’s it. You’re never going to have a meaningful relationship that way. None of the side romances are any better in this film.

As for Annie, well I can’t really give her any props either. The way she and Woody meet just makes her look a bit desperate. She clearly has ambition and drive in her life so staying with someone like Woody who has already given up on his future is not a smart play. Annie also tends to be a little too scattered like how she starts seeing a psychiatrist because Woody recommended one and then takes all of the advice in without thinking about it. She starts attending school classes because Woody suggested them and that leads to meeting with the teacher and starting more drama. She kept on starting new tasks because Woody would recommend them without really thinking about it.

Needless to say, it’s hard to picture either character being a reliable friend here. They would both just be annoying you to bits the whole time. You could also rest assured that they would be talking about you behind your back right away. That’s just how they operate and again that’s not the healthiest kind of personality to be associated with. I’m sure there are people like this but these are the kinds of social circles that you want to avoid. Everyone is two faced and fake with no real sincerity anywhere.

Now that isn’t to say that the film is devoid of humor. I actually think that Woody’s fast way of talking has some appeal to it. It certainly tends to miss a lot more than it hits but there will be some fun moments in the dialogue. A few jokes that will hit or a wisecrack that feels good. I tend to like fast, snappy kind of dialogue for humor and that is what this film is going for. With a stronger writer then this could have been a good recipe for success. To be really funny you should be hitting on around half of your jokes though, not 10%.

Also the film really needed more of a plot. To me this feels like an Abbott and Costello setup. Woody Allen films I mean. They all have him being really nervous and panicking the whole time but so far without much of a plot to back it up. Abbot and Costello would be about two guys joking around with some light plot in the background but it works because they are really funny. Additionally they would also tie the plot into something throughout the movie even if it was slight. I’ve got a mystery review coming up which addresses this to an extent at least.

So if you had some cool hook like the main two were stuck on a boat or travelling to space then you would have something there. You could keep the same tone but at least there is a real story to sink your teeth into. It’s not like this would have totally saved the film or anything like that but it would absolutely be a whole lot more watchable. As it stands, the film just doesn’t have any reason to make you watch it and you are desperately waiting for the characters to get more likable but it never happens.

Overall, Annie Hall is not a film that I would recommend. It’s a bit of a dreary watch with no real end point in mind. There can be a kind of humor in the way the dialogue goes but for every laugh you will have a number of groan worthy moments. This kind of film desperately needs direction and an end point. Without that or a good romance, there is no reason to get really invested in the film. I would definitely advise staying away from this one, it’s just too mindless the whole time with a lot writing standard. I’m still waiting for Woody to deliver on making a really good film.

Overall 2/10

Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 Review

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It’s time to return to Poppy Playtime! I think the biggest mandela effect here is that it’s Poppy Playtime vs Poppy’s Playtime. I dunno I’m used to the latter version but apparently it’s never been like that. The adventure continues on here as the lead is still stuck in this facility with no way out. This place sure was huge and it looks like the journey to the end is going to get a bit longer for him. If you thought that the villains were out of cards, think again!

The game picks up where the last one left off with Huggy Wuggy about to finish you off for good. There is no escape, no way out. Only death awaits but fortunately it turns out that there was a door behind you so you escape with that. At this point it’s hard to say if there is anyone left to save so you just have to get out of the facility but there appear to be more creatures across every corner. Additionally we learn a bit more about the origins of these creatures.

Chapter 5 brings in the main gloves from the first 3 games but changes out a few of the ones from game 4 for new controls. You now have a steam hand that can be used to overload doors and push objects as well as an elemental hand that can control the powers of fire and ice. It allows the game to have fun with more puzzle variations outside of the usual hand movements. As a result this is the first time I’ve completed the game without needing to use my grabbers over 200-300 times and got that bonus trophy. So that was pretty neat.

As always there is going to be a big mix of chase scenes and puzzles. The chases tend to be my favorite as they can get legitimately difficult and force you to really memorize the map. The toughest part is always transitioning from crouching to running. I tend to get eaten a few times during the chases but the check points are spaced well so retrying isn’t a big problem. At most I can say it would be nice not to have to sit through the quotes every time you die but that’s a staple of the series.

Most deaths are also spaced after an unskippable cutscene so you don’t have to wait too long. The only exception is during a tense game of green light/red light. Although it’s not like I died a ton of times so maybe there are other tricky death points. As for the puzzles, they are consistently better than other games. Puzzles can be really hit or miss for me but most of these felt rather balanced. There are maybe a few that are super unclear but most of them you can brute force your way out of when needed.

This may be the darkest game in some respects. It’s hard to say though, maybe that should be the earlier part with the hour of joy. You get to see a lot more of what the kids and toys had to go through here. While it is done stylistically with the toys, the whole intro is pretty disturbing with the outimals. The game uses your imagination as the scare factor here which is how it can keep to a T rating. So you are given enough tools to picture what happened without seeing anything. The better your imagination, the darker it gets. All in all, nothing too crazy but the game does want to really remind you how tough things are.

We don’t have the kid in your ear trying to tell you that everything will be okay this time after all of the twists in the 4th game. So this time you have a little guy here as your moral support but he wanders off for most of the game anyway. As a result the game is a little quieter even with the various audio tapes around. This was nearly the first game where I got all of the audio tapes on my first playthrough but unfortunately I missed one which held me back. I saw the VCR and everything but could not find the tape.

The graphics have definitely improved from the last game. I would say without a doubt that this is the best looking out of the Poppy games. They’ve done a great job with the colors and designs. I would also say that the sound effects are nice and eerie for the game. There isn’t much of a soundtrack here but I’ll give it a bit of a pass given the horror vibes of the game. Not a full pass mind you since horror games should still have great music but at least I understand where it’s coming from.

The game is fairly short like most Poppy titles but does last for 5 hours which I believe does make it the longest game in the series. It’s a bit easier than some of the earlier parts but still has enough difficulty where I would expect you to lose several times during the playthrough. There is an extra trophy in it for you if you can beat the game without dying though. Getting the platinum would be very difficult in this game because of how specific the trophies are. You would need to complete the game under a certain time limit and without dying. Given the constant auto saves, it’s a bit tough to get around that but there is probably some trick to it.

Every game has a big boss and of course this one is no different. She has a fairly strong powerset even if her design isn’t quite as scary as most of the previous enemies. They’re going for more of a crazy angle with her. I’d say she leaves more of an impression than the crazy doctor from a while back and even beats Doughy but is not on the level of Huggy Wuggy or Catnap. Those bosses are definitely all time threats.

Overall, I definitely recommend checking Poppy out. There are a few glitches that will cause you to have to restart the game but that’s normal for while it is new. A patch will probably fix this. Just try not to go too fast, the glitches tend to happen if you do something before the game is ready for it. This especially happens during one of the flashbacks where you have to pick some toys up. You never lose too much progress though. As we get closer to the end, we’ll see what the main character can do to finally get a win here. He is probably going to need a full on hand gun at this point. The game ends on a pretty weak cliffhanger but I’m sure there will be a lot of fun theories to come out of this. Either way I will definitely be there once episode 6 is out.

Overall 6/10

Interiors Review

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It’s time for one of those dreary films where all of the characters are unlikable so there isn’t anyone to really root for. This film was really doomed on arrival as a result because I can’t really see any way that it could have turned out to be good in the longrun. There are definitely ways that it could have been a little better than the end product but not too many ways where it could have landed in the green. You at least need some humor or positive story beats other than the drama. This one didn’t really have any of that and your only chance of enjoying it is either ironically or if you also think that people are super annoying so the film wins back the realism points that it loses very quickly otherwise.

The film introduces us to Arthur and Eve who have had a very rocky marriage for a long time. Eve appears to have gone completely crazy and Arthur seems to want a fresh start. Well, it turns out that they are getting a divorce so now it is time for the three sisters to see how they can handle the situation. I can tell you that it won’t be easy because none of them are really having satisfying lives of their own either. The situation only seems to grow worse and worse so without even the possibility of a happy ending here, what can be done?

First off even though this is about the 3 daughters, the youngest one doesn’t get much of a role. It takes a long while for Flyn to even show up into the main story and nothing goes right for her there as well. She is attacked in her van by Frederick, one of the drunk villains who had a lot of red flags from the start. Aside from this being a needless scene that hurried to keep dragging the film lower and lower, it doesn’t make sense that nothing ever came of this. While the characters are all in toxic situations and seem so worldly that they may let such an attack go, the film ought to have at least addressed it.

Flyn never really gets any wins in the film and ultimately it seems like her decision to be far away from the others was probably for the best. In general if she had not come home, that would have ended up working out way better for her. There’s nothing much more to say about Frederick since being a villain is really his only role. He likes to insult everyone constantly without taking any responsibility for his own actions. He just keeps on getting more and more drunk as the film goes on and you wonder what Renata ever saw in him.

Renata is the oldest of the 3 daughters and constantly fight with her younger sister Joey. There’s always been a one sided competition here as their father only ever wants Joey’s opinion and Renata can never really seem to match her. No matter how much success Renata gets, it is ultimately used against her. Now she is in a toxic marriage of her own and so things are not looking any better. Her way of coping with these constant issues is to essentially encourage her mother in the delusions that the parents may get back together again. Not a good idea but in general no response would be very helpful there.

Joey gets the biggest role out of all the characters but does end up being one of the most annoying characters as a result. She has done her best to get close to her mother over the years but all of the attempts have been futile. She is stabbed in the back every single time so her problem is essentially the flip side of Renata’s. Clearly everybody is just in a tough situation here.

Joey’s problems are largely self inflicted though. She tends to get bored of all her jobs and so she jumps around a whole lot. Joey seems to have a lot of confidence issues and also doesn’t want to start a family with her boyfriend so that starts up a lot of fights as well. Joey just allows her mother to call the shots at all times even when it means wasting a whole lot of money. She then takes her frustrations out on the new step mom. There’s just nothing likable about Joey. You understand her actions during the story and see why she is upset but Joey always manages to handle these situations in the worst possible way.

Mike tries to be the most reasonable one around. He isn’t a pushover like Joey and the others but at the same time he does want their relationship to last so he does his best to make her happy. He just can’t seem to do enough as she always has a bunch of complaints around. I don’t see how they can possibly be happy long term but he’s trying so I have to give him some credit there. It’s definitely not an easy circumstance.

As for Eve, well I’m afraid she loses the sympathy points rather early on. She is going through a lot and that is sad but she just never stops complaining. You can see where Joey gets it from. Eve is never happy and will always find the negative in a situation. She’s the kind of character where if you helped her out 99 times but couldn’t do so once, she would always bring up that one time. She’s the kind of person you would generally try to avoid or at least make sure you weren’t in the same social circles with. So it’s no wonder that Arthur wanted to get away from her, although he is far from blameless. Ultimately Eve makes the wrong decisions all the way to the end.

As for Arthur, well the guy got tired of Eve and decided to split up. That’s always going to be the wrong decision there. I can only defend that if there is serious abuse going on, whether physical or verbal. Then to compound the issue he immediately gets married to his rebound pick and brings her over to show off. It all makes him look quite selfish. If he was going to rebound then at the very least he needs to be more discreet about it. I’m afraid the time to show her off to the family may never come but he has to accept that. For what it’s worth, she seemed fine. A lot of red flags with how Arthur would be her third husband but that’s his business.

It’s not as though the relationship seemed any weaker than the others. All of the romances in the film were quite dreadful. Meanwhile the writing is pretty bad as the characters talk a lot but don’t have a great deal to say. The whole film is just so jaded like this is how you imagine people are talking behind closed doors. There are probably some who are like this but they would be far from the majority. The film was also way too determined to be a sad drama the whole time. I get not wanting to have some humor but just a few jokes could have gone a long way.

For any film the main goal is going to be to entertain the audience. You’re not going to be entertained with this one and the pacing is much too slow. It’s also hard to feel bad for anyone because it’s hard to imagine being friends with any of the characters in this film. They would all be talking behind your back constantly and slipping insults into every sentence. The film’s ending doesn’t help matters either as it is an extremely weak one. The film just fumbled everything from start to finish. One little thing the film could have done at least as a fun little easter egg would be to have mentioned there were 4 sisters but the 4th one decided not to show up. I could have at least written a paragraph about how that was the smartest character in the movie.

Overall, Interiors is a film that I would definitely avoid. It’s much too dreary and the characters are so bad. Usually they’d just be bad in a super unlikable way but then you have Frederick who becomes an actual villain and this is never addressed. He should have been in prison by the end at the very least. There were simply no chances to enjoy the film as every moment that would even hint at being light hearted was immediately slammed down. A movie just can’t survive on those kinds of negative vibes. The characters are all written to be as unlikable as possible and that’s already a hard enough issue to get past without all of the other problems.

Overall 1/10

Ball X Pit Review

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I’m a really big fan of roguelike games at this point. As long as there is some way to get stronger while you are playing then I am definitely game. So by all accounts this one would be up my alley. To an extent that is the case and I had a good time but it does feel like the game made a few key missteps. One of them is adding in a gardening/town building mechanic. Lets keep that stuff in Animal Crossing! As far as this game is concerned, I just wanted to dive into the action.

This is essentially an endless runner in terms of gameplay except there is an ending so that’s not quite right. Basically you start off with your baseball that you shoot at enemies automatically. It will bounce off of the enemy based on the angle and then go back to you. You will want to catch the Baseball and then send it right back at the enemies. This will save you a few seconds per throw. As you progress into the level you will get level ups and new powers. They all reset once you lose or complete the level but you keep some permanent stat boosts through the XP that you got at the very end. Each level is around 10-15 minutes in length.

I got to play this game thanks to the Nintendo Game Trial which is a super cool feature. It’s not something they do super often but it’s always great to see and makes a real difference if you are unsure about a game. Or in my case, if it’s something where you can play the game enough to do a review without having to buy it. This game makes sense for a trial since it is virtually endless but without a story there wasn’t a reason for me to keep going. I made sure to eventually beat level 1 after about 15-16 tries and then I was satisfied.

Once you beat a level, you cannot move to the next one until you beat it with a second character which means a lot of rinse and repeat there. Based on the icons for the next levels this would grow each time. So soon you would have to beat the level with 4 characters for example. It’s an interesting mechanic that forces you to try everyone out. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a mechanic be mandatory though.

Let me not make it sound like I’ve played a ton of these though. I’ve played Vampire Survivor and a Justice League mobile game which had the same concept. Both of those were vastly superior to this game though. The movesets were more fun and the games had a lot more variety. It feels like the budget was a bit lower on this one and so the repetition becomes more obvious. It still takes a lot of strategy and memorization though so this game isn’t for the faint of heart.

Yes, you have permanent power ups so eventually you will win without a doubt. That’s the appeal of the genre but how quickly you progress is really up to you and your talents within the game. You’ll gradually see which power ups are worth obtaining and which ones aren’t. There are a lot of different weapon and ability combinations as well and I imagine those you will have to learn through classic trial and error.

So why don’t I like the building aspect? Well for starters it is throwing another grind on top of the main game’s which is already considerable. You have to find logs and stones in order to make houses which allow you to unlock new characters. You then have to play a pinball minigame to break the houses and can only play it once per run. It all just feels like a distraction from the main game. For this genre the most enjoyable part is just getting into the action. The building parts feel a whole lot clunkier.

If you’re going to do it, there shouldn’t be a pinball game. Just let me make the houses and watch them grow over time. That would be so much more satisfying and would just make for a better form of side content in the long run. The main gameplay is pretty fun as it is and the title could stand up with that alone. I would remove the need to beat every stage with every character though. I feel like the game should just put some good rewards to make you want to do that without forcing you into it. Then down the road I would do it and the game wouldn’t feel as repetitive.

The graphics are fairly decent. Nothing as good as the cover art/promotional images for the game which are incredible. Still good though, you won’t lose yourself in all of the explosions or anything like that. The developers clearly have a flair for the dramatic which works well for this kind of title. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though, nothing like Hades. I feel like more Indie games should invest in having a great soundtrack or some customizable music options. It would really help to support the gameplay quite well.

Of course you can’t knock this one for a lack of replay value. The stages being at 10-15 minutes long in length is great for replaying. You will be going through them a lot after all so having the levels be 20+ minutes or anything like that would have been a mistake. This feels like the right amount of time and it’s also clear that the game has hundreds of hours of content in it. If you want to beat everything then it is going to take you an extremely long time to get there. This game gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

Overall, I feel like this game is entering a heated market right now with the genre being so popular. It is unfortunately not going to be up to the task of conquering its rivals but I do think this is a fun game. It is a title that I would play a lot more if it was free. If it had a real story, I dare say that I would have purchased it on the spot. Alas that wasn’t meant to be. I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are looking for a fun game to play on the side though. It is the perfect palette cleanser.

Overall 6/10

Dragonite and the Special Delivery Review

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It’s time for a fun little Pokemon short. They’ve made a decent amount of these so it’s always fun to see another one come out. Dragonite was always a well known Pokemon for being one of the first ever pseudo legendaries. I would even say that in the present day he still lives up to the hype. This special doesn’t have him fighting or anything but is a fun enough adventure.

The short begins by introducing us to a mail system where Dragonite delivers mail around the world. He can deliver throughout any kind of weather situations and at great speeds so he is the perfect Pokemon for the job. A girl named Hana would like to be out there making deliveries along with him but she was hired as a cadet and has to go through some training first. She finds this training to be absolutely boring but can’t convince her supervisor to make an exception and let her get out there early. It’s all quite depressing but when a letter gets rejected for not having an address listed, Hana realizes that she has a chance to stand out. This is her moment and nobody will be able to keep this from her!

So we see Hana searching the town for a while and eventually she does stumble upon the sender and his sad story. Ultimately Hana realizes that she doesn’t have the power to save the day on her own and needs Dragonite. So it makes for a pretty wholesome story that doesn’t need a bunch of twists and turns. Hana does what she needs to do and we get the happy ending. I do feel like the dilemma was a little forced in a Pokemon world though.

Basically there is a kid who wanted to send a card to his father but didn’t tell his mother ahead of time and so he messed up. That whole thing could have been avoided with a proper address. Additionally though, how come the father can’t travel over there? We have many Pokemon who can learn teleport, others which have hypersonic speeds, etc. This guy also seems to be a big shot in the world of science so it’s not like he would be without the resources to do so. It may be a bit beyond the scope of what the special was all about but I had to think about these things during the adventure. Either way the adventure is fun though.

Hana isn’t the most likable protagonist with how impatient she is but you can tell that she is a nice kid overall. Hana learned a whole lot during this adventure so I don’t think she will take the mail duties for granted anymore. Now she knows that all of the duties are quite important. Meanwhile Dragonite was awesome as always.

On the technical elements, the special holds up. The animation is solid and the pacing is good on the whole. I wouldn’t say that there is a memorable soundtrack but this is a very short adventure so there is only so much you can do on that front. There are pros and cons to having such a short adventure. One pro is that the adventure isn’t likely to drag itself out or make many mistakes but a con is that there isn’t much of a chance to show off either. So this adventure isn’t one that will end up being very memorable but I can easily recommend it to anyone.

Overall, It’s always good to see more Pokemon adventures. Small scale stories like this one also help to flesh out the world and environment as a whole. You can see how day to day tasks like delivering the mail gets handled. A capable writer could easily take this concept and make a nice ongoing series about it. So I’d say to watch this with the mindset of it being a pilot episode and that adds a little fun to it. Regardless I would say to check this out whenever you’ve got about 10 minutes to spare. It’s also a good reminder for any kids watching to make sure your mail has an address on it because the mail office isn’t psychic.

Overall 6/10