Mega Man Star Force (Re)Birthday Review

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It’s always good to see Mega Man coming up with a new manga even if it’s just a oneshot in this case. Star Force was always a fun trilogy and now with the collection it can reach a whole new generation of fans. This story has the heroes getting to team up against an old threat for one last hurrah. It definitely goes by quickly but still manages to be very nostalgic and satisfying all the way through.

The title starts off with Geo’s birthday being celebrated by his friends. He has saved the world 3 times in the past so it’s about time that he gets to relax a bit. Well, it doesn’t all go according to plan when the Crimson Dragon returns. This creature intends to destroy everything and so Geo is called in one last time to help out. The others tried to beat the Crimson Dragon on their own, but he’s too powerful. Mega Man is needed!

Now if I’m splitting hairs here, I feel like Ace and Bly should be enough to take the dragon out. He was really powerful as a final boss of course, but these guys are true power hitters. Maybe I am underestimating the Crimson Dragon though. Personally I never expected to see him again so that was a fun surprise. This also gave us a chance to see the whole cast show up and start throwing blows. It’s always fun to be reminded of just how fast the main characters can move with how they were in space right away. It may be the last time that Geo gets to really have a proper fight like this though so I’m sure he enjoyed it. If anything that makes the birthday more exciting.

There isn’t much more going on beyond that but it’s still enough to be a fun chapter. The artwork was excellent and I’ve come to expect nothing less from the Mega Man titles. Each page pops out and the action is drawn well. The characters have a good relationship between each other so it’s easy to root for them here. I don’t really have any negatives. While there isn’t much to say just because of the size of the chapter, it is a good time.

I was also glad that this takes place after the trilogy. You don’t always get to see what the main characters are up to once the main quest ends so this was a good way around that. The time skip isn’t very large so the characters still look the way that you remember them but it helps to work as a sort of epilogue. Maybe someday we will get a 4th Star Force game. In general I just want more Mega Man content because it feels like this tends to happen way too slowly.

Overall, This was a good one shot. If I had my way, every series would get a oneshot at some point so the franchise doesn’t have to be totally over. Of course a new game or ongoing series would be even better but I’ll take what I can get. It’s also cool that Capcom actually released this in English officially. So if you haven’t checked it out yet then you should change that. It only takes around 5 minutes to read it after all so it’s not like you are going to be missing out on anything. You owe it to yourself to read this and remind yourself why Mega Man is such a cool series.

Overall 7/10

Moriarty the Patriot: The Remains Review

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It’s time to look at the Moriarty spinoff. It’s always interesting to check out the spinoff of a title that has completed while the main one is still ongoing. So you’ll see the more in depth thoughts on Moriarty and the crew once that title is done with. It is fun to see the cast all having fun in rather low key cases compared to the main series though. Each adventure is a fairly cozy that shows how daily life is improved thanks to Moriarty and his crew. The 3 volumes definitely go by real fast.

The general premise for the main series is that Moriarty has decided to be the world’s ultimate villain in order to destroy the class system that has taken over the country. In the meantime he helps out those that he can. He’s certainly not the most heroic soul with how many murders are necessary for his grand plan. In this spinoff, we see a few day to day adventures so I’ll dive into those as I discuss the series.

The first story is about Moriarty finding out that his teammate Moran lost a game of cards. Not only did he lose, but he was found to be cheating and will be losing a great deal of money. Moran’s only hope is a double or nothing game against another cheater who has a lot of sway within the gambling circuit. Moriarty is forced to jump in and figure out a way that he can cheat without the cheater finding out. This is naturally a bit of a logic puzzle so it’s something that’s right up his alley.

It’s already a fun twist to know that Moran was cheating as well. The other guy was just able to prove it quicker than Moran could. So this isn’t a case where Moran is innocent or anything but Moriarty is always ready to help his friends. It’s a simple enough 2 part adventure here. There isn’t a ton of danger but it shows how close the group is for Moriarty to show up personally to help out here. This wasn’t something that he was going to let go on for very long. He is the lord of crime after all.

The second story is a prequel about how Jack the Ripper trained Moriarty and his brothers. Jack made a deal where he would train them on how to be excellent fighters if they could win a game of tag against him. Basically they have to tag him three times before he murders them. Yes, he is actually trying to destroy them all which is a part of the deal. If they are unable to survive then it just means that they were not ready for this level of competition. Moriarty and the others are absolutely ready to handle this threat head on but it won’t be easy.

Naturally, as good as Moriarty is at thinking, this will take some plot armor to really survive such a situation. You won’t really be able to buy into this but I give the manga credit for trying to write this as realistically as they could. Moriarty uses every kind of trick in the book and even then they only barely claim victory. I know they’re all villains but I always find it a bit iffy when the training involves a chance of dying. Always seemed counterproductive to me.

After that we have a story where Moriarty was doing some shopping when he runs into a girl with the power to see a person’s true soul. Her rainbow eyes can detect evil people from good ones. It’s not quite as perfect an ability as it sounds but it can still help her avoid total troublemakers. Unfortunately a group of robbers attack the mall and are holding everyone hostage. Moiarty will have to find a way to take all of these guys down without letting slip the fact that he is the lord of crime and an incredibly powerful figure in the underworld.

Since the girl can see into him, she notices the fire within his soul but is fine with it since she can tell that he’s not fully evil. I’d treat this like a spider sense where she knows that he isn’t targeting her at the very least. It’s a pretty fun story where Moriarty really gets to use his intellect in such a way where he can even manipulate the little girl into making the right moves. It’s also a story where he is really on his own for a lot of it which works well. I always like to see just how much Moriarty can achieve without any real backup.

Then in the next story the girl actually returns. Moriarty and his crew decide to host a survival game where they have to shoot each other with paint balls and see who the last man standing is. So you’ve got Moran, James Bond, and all of the other big shots around. Isn’t this a little too frivolous even for a spinoff? Well, it would be except that Moriarty is also doing this to drag a corrupted rich person out from the shadows. In that sense this story is the most similar to the main series where that is usually what’s going on. In the meantime it’s fun to see all the characters competing although it can be hard to tell just how hard they are going at each other while keeping the plan in mind.

The characters say they are going all out but it’s hard to say. In a life or death match I imagine Moriarty would come in first, followed by Moran and Bond. Jack would probably be in 4th and then after that it’s tricky for the rest. The girl got to use her spirit powers once again to do pretty well in the game. She even managed to make a friend so that was pretty wholesome. The adventure is a fairly long one as they really had to set up a big trap for the villain and we got some extended fights in the meantime. From all the cases this was probably my favorite one. Even if calling it a “case” may be a bit misleading.

Finally it was looking like Holmes would miss out but he’s in the final adventure. It actually continues directly where the last one left off. Moriarty and crew managed to get their man but now they need a proper cover story and a “hero” to take the villain down. So they create some evidence which lures Sherlock Holmes into the mix. Once again you could say Holmes is one step behind Moriarty as usually was the case in their games of cat and mouse. Holmes still has to do a good job of putting all the pieces together though.

In a way it’s a real feather in Moriarty’s cap because he has to plan everything so thoroughly that he also anticipates every single action that Holmes will make. In that way it may sound like Moriarty is way smarter than Holmes but Holmes is often able to do a similar amount of deducing. As Holmes mentions in the main series, Moriarty just has the advantage since he is the one committing the crimes while Holmes has to solve them afterwards. It would be a completely different story if Holmes were a crook.

So the stories had a good amount of variety here. There may have been some danger in the hostage case but for the most part these were all just calm stories to look at while waiting for the main series. It’s a quality spinoff that can hold its own even if you aren’t familiar with the main series. Granted, it would probably be a bit less impactful since you wouldn’t know any of these characters at all. It’s not like the series goes out of its way to reintroduce them although characters like Holmes and Moriarty are fairly popular in pop culture so that shouldn’t be too confusing.

Moriarty is a fun main character as always. It’s nice to see him always in control here and you can see how he is far superior to the average crook running around. Moriarty always sees the big picture here and doesn’t miss a beat. Holmes also works well as the rival who is incredibly confident and knows that he can hold his own at all times. We don’t have time for banter between them this time but that is always the best part of their interactions.

The artwork is definitely solid as well. The angles are all very dynamic and the characters really stand out. It’s not like there is a lot of action here but the paint ball survival case got to do some pseudo fight scenes. Same with the mission against Jack and each one looked good so I don’t have any issues there. The series definitely delivers on the technical aspects. This may not be a series that you think about all that often but it serves its purpose as a fun spinoff.

Overall, This is one of those really safe spinoffs. Nothing particularly big is happening nor are any of the characters really challenged a lot. It’s just an excuse to see your favorite characters in some new cases. Fortunately that’s right up my alley. It makes for an easy read at any time and the quality of the writing is still really good. Each case will keep your interest throughout so I can easily recommend this to anyone. I’d be game for more spinoffs in the future.

Overall 7/10

Magic Knight Rayearth Review

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It’s been many years since I read the manga for this series so it was fun to see the animated side of things. Season 1 covers the main arc with the heroes heading off to save an entire world. The pacing is good and the arc goes by real fast. The characters and fights are good with a soundtrack that pops out more than you would expect. Whether you like magical girl anime or just a classic adventure then you should be satisfied here.

The series begins by introducing us to Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu who are on a class field trip. Hikaru stands out for having a lot of fun and enjoying the experience while everyone else just goes through the motions. All of a sudden the three of them are transported into a whole new world. They are told that the world will be coming to an end soon because Queen Emeraude has been kidnapped and she is the pillar which holds the world together. These three girls will need to quickly become friends and learn how to fight at a high enough level to stop the enemies that have conspired to keep Emeraude from saving the planet. Umi and Fuu aren’t so sure about this but Hikaru is eager to save the day. Will her determination be enough here?

Right away I can say that Hikaru is the best of the three heroines because of how quickly she focuses here. Hikaru wastes no time in wanting to be of help and throughout the show she is always very enthusiastic. It’s probably good that the three main characters are all very different for the contrast but at the same time it’s no surprise that Hikaru stands out the most. She gets quite a few scenes where everyone else has been defeated but Hikaru keeps on fighting. Without her the heroes would have really been doomed.

She just has good battle sense and so she is able to always put up a fight even though it takes a long time to get her own mecha. Other characters might have lost heart but not Hikaru. Umi mainly wants to go home and from the three leads it takes her the longest time to adapt to this world. She just doesn’t think it is their problem and wants to get back so she can be in the fencing competition. I was a little surprised at how long she stays on that point but it does show how seriously she takes her school commitments.

In terms of ability I would say she is second in strength to Hikaru. She clearly has a lot of talent but it doesn’t always translate as smoothly. As Umi begins to focus more fully on the world, she does better. She’s not quite as stuck-up or arrogant as you might have expected with her dignified background either. You could see her making a lot of friends real easily.

Finally we have Fuu and well I guess someone had to be in last place. Fuu is certainly not a bad character. She tends to be more soft spoken and her abilities aren’t offensive in nature so there’s a lot she has to deal with there. She also has a bit of a romance plot going on with Ferio so she tends to be a bit more distracted at times. They fight quite a bit when first getting to know each other and with the world at stake, there isn’t a whole lot of time for that. So Fuu is good but a big step below the other two.

As for Ferio, well he’s one of those charmers where it’s hard to say when he’s really being genuine or not. He works well in being the rival who shows up to change the situation but if I was Fuu it would be a bit hard to trust him after a while. He has more than one deceptive moment included here after all. He also tends to get discouraged when the going gets tough and just runs off to be by himself. I do like his fighting style though and he actually could hold his own for quite a while.

Presea is a supporting character who doesn’t appear much but has a good role in encouraging the heroes and being someone who could drop some exposition as needed. She didn’t last long but seemed like a powerful fighter. This tracks as the strongest characters tend to go out quickly like Clef. Clef is the ultimate super sage and yet he stood no chance against the villains. It’s why the prophecy about the three magical girls was so important because without them it is clear that the villains had an overwhelming edge here. The heroes were rarely in the same ballpark in terms of abilities and would have quickly been stomped. Clef has to come across as one of the most underwhelming characters because of all the hype though.

The first villain to go up against the heroes is Alcyone. Typically you could say that the first villain will always end up being the weakest. Well, in this case I think she was stronger than Ascot but it is safe to say that she wasn’t very powerful since a day 1 Hikaru was able to push her back and overwhelm her main spell. Alcyone has a one sided romance plot going on as well but it doesn’t do her any favors. You definitely have to be careful who you fall in love with, even if that’s not easy.

She at least had a strong presence though. Ascot has to be the most underwhelming villain because he can’t fight at all really. He just relies on his various monster summons and then gets mad when the heroes blow them up. At one point he yells about the magic knights almost 4-5 times for the episode cliffhanger with an echo in there and it just showed how helpless he was. If he really wants to stop this, then he needed to get into the ring and fight himself. Anything short of that and he doesn’t deserve to be one of the big monster commanders.

Caldina is a bit harder to scale because she also isn’t the most direct fighter. She likes manipulating the humans to assist her and then had Ascot as backup as well. She seemed reasonably tough but left as soon as she appeared. She actually got off rather easily considering she was a total accomplice to the villains here. She had a good personality and I liked the gambling gimmick. Her battle with Ferio was certainly a fun one.

Rafaga was a fun villain. He’s being mind controlled for most of it so that’s why I’d say it’s fair to refer to him as a villain. His abilities are clearly way ahead of the others and so only the main characters could really handle him. Well, naturally the main villain as well which is why he fell into this mess. He feels like a Fire Emblem character and I like everything about this guy. His powers, outfit, and personality are all very becoming of a knight. I would have liked to have even seen more action scenes out of this guy but he made every bit of screen time count.

Then you have Innova who is Zagato’s right hand man. This guy is definitely a really good fighter and his first battle with the heroines really showed what he could do. His barriers are able to nullify any attack and then he can launch attacks of his own. If anything it felt like he was a bit nerfed in his true monster form since he suddenly lost all strategies and just ran around like a mindless beast. Not a good idea when you’re fighting monster hunters like the main characters.

A good right hand man can always go a long way in an adventure like this and so I’m glad to say that he lived up to the hype. Then we have the main villain Zagato who is very good. He tends to win most of his fights with absolute ease. His goals also make a lot of sense and are dare I say admirable? He made a lot of great points and you could draw similarities to Homura Akemi from Madoka Magica. The system was broken and so he decided to make a move. It is a move that would destroy the planet but when you learn what the alternative is, it suddenly doesn’t sound so bad.

This may sound like madness to the average reader so you’ll need to watch the show to get the full context here. It comes down to the classic dilemma of sacrificing someone to save a group people. At what point are the numbers worth it, if ever? At least Zagato did something about this while everyone else was aware and chose to stay on the sidelines. It’s another reason why I give Zagato major points there. He ends up being the kind of main villain that you will not soon forget.

As for Queen Emeraude, well she has a lot more character than the average queen in these things. For starters it is also nice that she can fight. She has incredible powers at her disposal which is how she kept the whole planet stable. She isn’t some figurehead, but an actual leader who can be on the battlefield. I’d say her actions in the end will probably be questionable for some as well but ultimately I was on board with this. She had to make a lot of difficult decisions all throughout her life and finally made one last one in this show.

The animation is definitely pretty good. There are a solid amount of action scenes and the colors are always very striking. I’d say the show feels more high effort than you would expect from a magical girl title but then again it makes sense since this one loops all the way around to feeling like a true shonen. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also quite good. In particular there is a battle theme that is really solid and I’ve listened to it many times by now. It has a sense of danger that really supports the battles.

Good technical effects like this can always help to enhance a title. So like I said, the show is very good all around. We’re talking good writing, solid fights, good animation, etc. The ending is also a lot more intense than you would have expected. Of course there is a second season but on its own this would probably end up being known as one of the more depressing endings. Certainly not what you’d expect from a title that looks more like a feel good adventure.

Overall, This is definitely a pretty good series. I’d recommend checking it out. The show doesn’t need to have a giant cast or anything like that. It crafts a good adventure with monsters of the week as each villain gets a few shots before moving onto the next one. It always feels like the show is moving forward. Also a show like this is really dependent on the main cast being very charming and energetic. Hikaru is able to handle that side of the show with ease. There’s really nothing to dislike here and if you watch it you may find yourself being on Zagato’s side. In the end this isn’t as straight forward a threat as you would have assumed going into the show.

Overall 7/10

Seven Pounds Review

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It’s time for a film about someone who made a massive mistake and wants to find a way to stone. Films like that can always get tricky because some things are just tough to atone from. Ultimately the answer the lead comes up with is not the right one and so the film isn’t able to stick the landing, although I wouldn’t say it had been all that good even up to that point.

The film begins by spoiling the entire film with its opening scene so I’m going to ignore that in the summary. Definitely a bizarre way to open up the film, it reminded me of Tomrorrow Land. Anytime you do this narrative tactic, it’s a bad idea imo. Tim works for the IRS and he has to collect from a number of individuals. Unfortunately they are all down on their luck with rough circumstances and medical/personal issues. Tim wants to see if he can help them but it won’t be easy.

This is one of those sad farm films where it just keeps on upping the ante of how bad things are getting. One lady is in an abusive relationship that is continuing to escalate. Without some escape she will be dead before long. Another lady is slowly dying from a defective heart, etc. Tim is only one guy so there is only so much that he can do. Time is also not on his side since these problems need to be fixed really quickly or it’ll all be over.

As the film goes on we learn about Tim’s backstory and why he is so reluctant to talk about his past. It definitely makes for a tragic origin, particularly with how avoidable it was. So this has given him a bit of survivor’s guilt and so he wants to help an equal amount of people to how many died in the accident. It’s a noble goal but the issue is that he has completely devalued his life now as he feels like it doesn’t matter.

I wouldn’t say that the film handles this particularly well. Ultimately he needed some characters to try and stop him but for the most part the only one who could have talked him out of it ended up being an accomplice. In a sense I don’t need the film to be the moral police here, as long as the viewer knows that it’s wrong to throw away their life then I don’t fault the film too hard for not making the case against it. A scene or two showing that Tim came to the wrong conclusion would have been nice though.

So as the film builds to the ending, it doesn’t do the movie any favors. The film’s ending just isn’t satisfying. However, the film was already sinking by adding a big romance plot early on with Tim and Emily. You need to remember that Tim had a fiancée before tragedy struck so this is moving awfully fast. A rebound romance like this was never going to work. Moreover, it doesn’t really feel like equal circumstances here as he basically saved her from being homeless by waiving the IRS fee and she knows that death is imminent.

I don’t think either of them are in the right headspace for a romance here and so the whole thing goes way too quickly. Emily’s not a bad character, it seemed like she was trying to make the best of it in terms of dealing with her condition. I give her a little more leeway here and tend to blame Tim more. He should have kept things professional while trying to look after her. As for his final decision, well it’s rough but it’s why you always have to talk with people about death early on. So they can cope with it and not try to change things. Everyone dies, some sooner and some later but the more you try to fight it off, the worse the situation will get.

The film is about Tim being selfless but since a lot of that is out of guilt, it’s hard to give him full credit there. As for the rest of his donations, well those are shakier but you can make an argument for them at least. There are times when self sacrifice works out and it’s a tough line to always follow. I won’t say there are easy answers here but either way it just doesn’t make this film a fun watch.

It is very melodramatic and sad throughout the whole runtime. Mix that in with the sad ending and you’re just wondering when you are supposed to be having fun here. Contrary to popular opinion, films are around to have fun with. If you aren’t having fun during a film, then it has lost sight of the ultimate objective here. The characters who got happy endings still had to go through a whole lot so everything always came at a price. Tim had to test a blind salesperson at one point to make sure he was worthy of recovery and the way he tested him was quite extreme with a lot of verbal abuse. The salesman handled it really well though. It’s hard to even imagine how difficult it is to live without eyesight. From the 5 senses I’ve always thought that would be the toughest one to live without.

Overall, 7 Pounds is really trying to test the limits of self sacrifice. In a way this is an interesting way to go about it but the movie could have absolutely done this with a lighter tone. I’d say it should have dialed back the scale of tragedy here and just focused on the main one. Have Emily be the only character who needs help and then the film can spend a chunk of time having Tim give arguments for why a sacrifice is needed here. The argument just can’t be one out of guilt. From there you have a pretty interesting film. Perhaps it may seem dry to some but I believe it would be engaging and you don’t need all the extra trauma. The movie would be way more focused at the very least. Still, that’s not how it played out so I would say to avoid this movie. It’s just a little too exhausting with how unrelenting the film can be with everything going sour for the characters involved.

Overall 3/10

The Pursuit of Happyness

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It’s time for a film based on a true story. Those tend to be fun based on the true events. Well…that’s barely even a statement since that’s true of anything I suppose. Well this one picks a fairly upbeat story so it works out well. The main character has to go through some rather rough patches but nothing too crazy and so it all works out in the end. The film flows by quickly.

The movie starts by introducing us to Chris who is in a tough spot. He was fooled into a dream of quick riches by investing heavily into medical scanners that are not in high demand at the moment. As a result he is incredibly behind on his rent and the financial struggles have also affected his marriage. His wife decides to leave and so now he has to raise their son on his own. Chris could have let Jr go with his Mom but has always sworn to be a father who will be around for his kids. So now he has to pull it together and find a way out of this hole.

Chris learns of a traineeship that could get him into the world of stocks but it will be difficult because this traineeship is unpaid. So it might lead to big money down the road but it’s a huge commitment and a massive risk. Only one trainee out of 20 will be able to get a full time job. Ultimately Chris decides to go for it. Personally I don’t think the risk is worth it and would have turned down the opportunity. You never know how things will ultimately shake out of course but the risk here just felt way too big and then he may even lose his kid at that point.

While Chris is down on his luck we have to see him get as resourceful as possible. He is forced to go to various shelters with his son to stay the night, they find themselves in a public bathroom for another one, etc. It’s very clear how this could have easily turned into a tragedy rather than an uplifting story that could become a movie. Usually I’d say that films dial up the drama for a real life based film like this one but instead for once I’d say that it’s probably toned down. I think it is very hard to capture just how stressful it is to be living with absolutely no money in the bank.

Just when Chris starts to turn things around, then his assets are seized by the IRS and other emergencies come up. He even gets arrested while waiting for the check to clear so he had to arrive into the interview in a non-professional manner. It’s really good that Chris was already known for his professionalism because otherwise that would have probably been disqualifying off the bat.

His kid does his best not to add onto the burden but can be rather slow on the uptake at times. He tends to talk rather loudly which puts Chris on the spot and he just doesn’t get the circumstances. He is young so I won’t go too hard on the kid but I still think he could have more or less figured out what was going on here without panicking or anything like that.

Otherwise the case is actually pretty small here. The wife appears early on and it’s clear that she’s frustrated by what seems like a never ending flow of empty promises. She was counting on Chris to be able to turn things around and instead the hole just grew deeper. Obviously leaving was the wrong move since you are meant to support one another through the good and the bad. She wasn’t able to live up to her vows and see this through to the end.

Then you have a lot of obstacles in Chris’ way like the time traveler guy who was crazy and then someone else who stole his gizmo. In both cases Chris was just being a little too sloppy. While the individual events were hard to predict, they were often triggered by Chris trying to do too much at one time. Given the stress and the tough time crunch he was in, it does make sense though. Ultimately he just had to keep his guard up at all times. As many bad breaks as he got, he also got good ones in the end.

There isn’t a whole lot to go into with this film because the story is pretty straight forward. The writing is good and I thought the pacing was on point as well. The characters were solid and felt realistic throughout. At the very least you never felt like anyone was being too cartoony or unrealistic. Each of the events felt like something that could really happen which is why I didn’t feel like they exaggerated any of the events too much.

The toughest part here is probably showing how desperate Chris is without making him unlikable. There is always a fine line there because you need to be able to root for Chris. So if he had started robbing people or something like that, then that would change things quite a bit. Fortunately it didn’t go down that way and Chris ended up keeping his integrity all the way through. The world of stocks is certainly a super stressful one as well but compared to being penniless without a job, you have to expect that it will feel a lot easier in comparison.

Overall, The Pursuit of Happyness is a fun film. It was clever how they set up the typo early on so the title made sense. It’s definitely a film about never giving up because sometimes things just look really bad. You just have to keep on moving forward and doing your best. Hopefully things turn out better as you go on. There is never a guarantee of it but you have to live your life that way because giving up eliminates any chance of things getting better.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t Review

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This is one of those series that is always a lot of fun. It may not make a lot of sense and by the end of the adventure you’re remembering how lucky the main characters got but the film is focusing on pure entertainment. So I really can’t fault it for that. As long as you have fun during the adventure then the film can get away with leaps of logic like that. You just have to stretch your disbelief to the max and as this is the third film in the series you are probably used to that. It also may be the kind of series that just gets better the more you watch it because I see that I was quite harsh on the first film when I originally saw it. My memories of it aren’t bad tho.

The movie starts off by explaining that the Horsemen have gone into retirement and they haven’t appeared in the outside world for a long time. A trio of new magicians figure that this is their chance to get out there and so they begin to fight the good fight. Acting as modern day Robin Hoods they steal from those that they believe deserve it. One day they are approached by Atlas, one of the original horsemen. He claims they are all second rate at best but is reluctantly going to work with them because The Eye sent him here on a mission. The 4 of them have to steal the richest diamond in the world away from a power hungry lady who seeks to dominate the planet. The stakes have never been higher!

Right away I would say that the film’s greatest strength is in its nonstop banter. These magicians are all incredibly talented and they know it. This results in all of them having rather inflated egos with maybe one exception. They love to try and see who the real best magician is so we get a lot of fights between the original horsemen and the new cadets. It tends to be a closer fight than you might expect.

Atlas is easily the most enjoyable character in this arena because he is just constantly landing insult after insult. The guy just never stops and he perfectly nails the sarcasm in every scene. He may have the occasional genuine moment but you just wait for him to get back into sarcastic mode. I’d also say that Atlas tends to be the most proactive member of the group. He’s not just waiting for things to happen, he’s going out there to make it so. It’s why he was the first one to introduce himself to the new characters. Atlas also tends to take front stage on all of the big tricks.

He does have a good match against the main villain here though. Veronika is the last leading her global company to be found riches with her aggressive plays in the board room. Anyone who stands against her is completely threatened and could lose their lives. It’s all part of the plan and what a plan it is. She has a ton of safety features around the diamond to prevent it from being stolen and her head bodyguard is immune to hypnosis which is important. Also she isn’t some damsel who must be protected by security. Veronika knows how to use a gun and also set up a tremendous trap for the horsemen.

There is no twist like they got caught on purpose. In fact, it’s likely the most danger that they’ve been in throughout the 3 films because she built such an incredible trap. You could say that they really got lucky on this one. So she was a lot of fun to have on screen and is easily one of the most memorable characters around. Not saying you’ll be rooting for her to beat the heroes…but it may be tempting.

From the 3 new characters, Charlie is the brainiac of the bunch. He stays in the back and works on the tricks for the other characters to pull off. Charlie doesn’t tend to like the spotlight and as the film goes on he gets to have more of an active role. He’s one of the weakest characters for me and the reason is pretty self explanatory. I like really confident characters who spend their time boasting and showing everyone up. A more quiet character isn’t going to be able to keep up with that.

Then you have June who is very athletic and can handle all of the physical stunts needed for the illusions. She is way more confident and the kind of person you want to have on your team. She is quick to take on all challengers and even defeats her horseman counterpart in their first meeting. I would say she got the only definitive victory in the whole film because of how completely he was destroyed. She also did really well in the prison room using her size to evade the guards.

Bosco is probably the most emotional of the main 3. He doesn’t particularly like the horsemen and if anything resents the idea that he would need them for anything. Bosco feels like he can hold his own and that’s certainly valid. His group did just pull off a master heist after all. It always feels like the other characters are having to hold him back from making a big move and potentially getting them all in trouble. I do appreciate his loyalty though.

From the old cast of course we have Jack who is good at sleight of hand. Unfortunately, he does not look good here. Unfortunately his raw skills are beneath the rest of the Horsemen. If someone didn’t return in the next film, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was him. Then his ex/situationship Lula also doesn’t get a huge role here. She helps break them out of prison at one point and is upset at being excluded but doesn’t do a ton beyond that. I suppose I should give her credit for actually catching up to the rest of the team though. Their romance is fairly weak but that could be the excuse to remove both characters.

Henley is still the main escape artist here and she’s the one who really makes sure that the group escapes the big trap. Without her I don’t think they would have really had a shot here. She has also developed into being a really good all around magician with the other kinds of tricks as well. You really can’t count her out. Then you have Merritt who is still as self depreciating as ever. His hypnotic abilities are certainly handy although they meet their match in his one.

He probably spends the most time on the losing side here compared to the other horsemen but also helps to gather a lot of exposition on the main villain. He gets his own rage moment after one of the heroes is taken down but ultimately you could argue that his side initiated it so I wouldn’t say that you feel a ton of sympathy here. It’s like when a big villain has a best friend who is super upset at a hero murdering the main villain. Yeah it sucks but the heroes aren’t the ones who started this.

In this case Veronika’s group are not heroes or anything like that but the Horsemen are the ones who stole from them. So we’ve got a solid cast of characters all around and the main advantage the film has over most others if how basically everyone can get in on the banter. The movie moves at a really fast pace as a result and the flashiness of the film just works super well.

Overall The movie may not make a lot of sense if you focus on it too closely but that’s fine. We’re here for a fun time, not an accurate one. This does a great job of wrapping up the trilogy and it’s going to be tough to top this one. The films are really pushing the idea of the Horsemen being global agents who save the day and a full on mission for that could be fun but I feel like the heist element needs to stick around. Seeing them steal things and stay one step ahead of their pursuers is a big part of the fun.

Overall 7/10

Ranking all Season 4 Death Battles

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It’s time for the next season of Death Battle! You can bet that there’ll be a good amount of action here as always. The seasons are definitely getting more modern here and of course that also means the episode counts are starting to shrink. I don’t think we will see any seasons with 20+ episodes like the old days. A lot of these fights are still brand new to me so that’s always fun.

16. Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight: Verdict Incorrect

This is one of those retro fights. It works pretty well when trying to emulate the style of the old Duck Tales game as well as Shovel Knight though. It’s not going to rank higher since it lacks the verbal back and forth of other fights but is solid overall. In some ways it feels like such a random fight compared to others but of course you could make some comparisons between the two of them.

15. Venom VS Bane: Verdict Correct

This is one of those really classic power battles all the way. Both combatants have a whole lot of physical power between them even if it would seem obvious that Venom has the edge right from the start. His physical specs are just way too high for Venom. good amount of back and forth though so this was a good fight even if it didn’t end up being ranked super high.

14. Sub-Zero VS Glacius Verdict: Correct

This is very much a retro fight all the way. Both combatants do their best to destroy the others. No real setup or banter, they’re just trying to claim victory and get the upper hand. I can definitely respect that. The fight itself is also really short so this one goes by quickly. Visually it holds up quite nicely and that raises this fight up in general.

13. The Shredder VS Silver Samurai Verdict: Incorrect

This was a very high intensity sprite fight with a little prelude added in for good measure where the Shredder crushes his opposition. The fight definitely has that retro violence to it as well. I don’t see the Silver Samurai losing to the Shredder but this was clearly an intense battle all the way. Certainly a fight that ages pretty well even if I do tend to be a bigger fan of the 3D slugfests.

12. Natsu VS Ace Verdict: Correct

Having a guy who eats fire fight someone who shoots it out definitely tends to make for a very one sided blowout. The fight feels a lot older than the others in the season though so I wonder if it would have been meant ore as a season 3 fight initially. I like the matchup and I’m always a big fan of fire abilities so that helps out here. It may not be the best fight of the season but it does have a lot of explosions and flare to it.

11. Android 18 VS Captain Marvel Verdict: Correct

I remember being surprised that they got this fight correct. Android 18 is an absolute beast in combat and deserved to win. I would have liked some more dialogue in the fight but otherwise have no real issues. This is an intense battle all the way and that’s why it is fun to have both combatants who can fly and move around at super speeds. It sure opens up a lot of doors on what you can do within the battle.

10. Lucario VS Renamon Verdict: Correct

A fun Pokemon vs Digimon battle. Those are always classics and you could see why these two would be matched up against each other. Ultimately I would always be leaning on Lucario here but could see it being a fun fight. His energy projection and sheer speed are just too tough to beat though. He would always have the upper hand in the end. The fight showcases both of their high speed levels really well throughout.

9. Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog: Verdict Correct

A whole fight being in flash style was definitely not something I expected to see. This was a pretty fun way to do it though and each fighter got their hype. You never knew who was going to be claiming victory until the end. I’m not super familiar with McGruff, but Smokey definitely seemed like he should be winning this one.

8. Power Rangers VS Voltron: Verdict: Incorrect

This fight was pretty fun because I kept mixing up both teams over and over again. They just look so similar in the mechs, especially while they are fighting. I’m sure a bigger fan could keep track of them better but hey what are you gonna do right? The action was intense and both groups got to really show off their teamwork. You really can’t go wrong here as one of the stronger battles.

7. Balrog VS TJ Combo: Verdict Incorrect

This was a surprisingly good fight. The 3D part gave it a true buff compared to what it would have been otherwise. I also liked the boxing angle here. The fight was really fast and the music worked well within the arena. So even though I’m not a big fan of either character, the fight ended up going over really well and this became one of the best fights of the season out of nowhere. Now that was a true twist.

6. Metal Sonic VS Zero Verdict: Correct

I go back and forth on who would really win this a whole lot. I’d say it was fair to have Zero win this, particularly back in the day. Nowadays I would have Metal Sonic win thanks to his continuing to get more appearances and powers while Zero hasn’t gotten anything of note. I would have liked to have seen Neo Metal show up here but again this was an old fight. Visually it holds up really well and there’s a lot of action here. No complaints from me.

5. Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 2099 Verdict: Correct

This was a pretty fun fight and if you’re going to do a sprite battle, it’s important to keep in this level of fun. Solid effects all around and a good amount of banter. Each fighter got to bring his tech support in as well which also added to the effect. Made this feel like a fancy 2 v 2 battle. The backgrounds were also really striking, definitely a really enjoyable battle all around.

4. Naruto VS Ichigo Verdict: Incorrect

I think we all know that Ichigo absolutely slams Naruto, but the fight itself was really cool anyway. I liked all of the zoom in shots that were done to enhance the sprite animation parts. Really made the whole thing feel like it had a bit of hybrid animation going on. The fight also has a solid length so both fighters were able to put in their best effort. That’s why this fight holds up so well.

3. Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake: Verdict: Correct

This was a really fun fight. I still haven’t seen much of Nathan Drake in general so I was really rooting for Lara in general. Additionally, she should probably win since she tends to go up against crazy powerful fighters. A lot of good banter here and the animation has absolutely held up. Right off the bat it’s one of the best fights of the season.

2. Thor VS Wonder Woman Verdict: Correct

Another intense battle here, this one really went all out on the animation. It was also one of the longest fights this season even if I didn’t grab the exact runtime. Both fighters got to show off a whole lot of their abilities. I was actually surprised at the outcome here but ultimately the speed does feel like it would be the biggest factor here. Speed will always beat power in the end.

1. Sephiroth VS Vergil: Verdict Correct

It’s no surprise that this would be a top tier fight. The battle got incredible 3D animation and both characters have a ton of charisma under their belt. The fight looks like something that could have happened within a cutscene and they’re just fighting at such a high level. This would be a great fight in any season.

That’s all the season 4 fights! 11/16 had the correct fighter win which is pretty impressive. I’ll be back soon with season 5 as we edge ever closer to the present day. It’ll be a real feat to finally be able to say that I’ve seen all of the Death Battles! It’s also been fun to see how the series has steadily improved throughout each season.

The Little Prince Review

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This is probably one of those films I should be mor familiar with since the book was a big deal but for the most part it really got past me. It’s a pretty decent adventure although at times it can be so focused on the slice of life aspect that it almost gets a little dull. The slow moving nature of the story is what keeps it from being just a little bit higher. I would still recommend it though if you’re looking for an abstract film about adventure. Also props to the film for never actually giving us all the names for the characters. Whenever a film does this organically where you don’t even notice, I gotta give a little shoutout.

The film starts with a girl and her mother moving into a new home. The mother has a very detailed plan for her daughter which accounts for every hour or every day for the next few years. The idea is that this way her daughter will be able to achieve her life’s dreams with no delays. Obviously this is done to a rather insane degree but it really shows how much her mother was thinking of her. Coming up with this plan had to have taken an incredibly long time. It’s sort of the old issue of worrying about your kid so much that you go a bit overboard and end up creating more work for them.

Well, her daughter aims to do her best at each task. Unfortunately their crazy next door neighbor launches a rocket which breaks a big hole into the apartment and this kicks off a series of events that lead the main character to stop following the schedule. She is much too interested in the neighbor’s stories about a young prince in space. the more hours that are used up, the more that the plan can no longer work. Should the girl continue going off script and hanging out with the neighbor or should she begin to get back on track?

I was glad that the film didn’t make the mother overly unreasonable. I think this is one of those situations where if the girl had talked to her more, they could have avoided some of the issues here. Instead by working in secret and dodging the schedule it caused things to get more tense than needed. The mom was trying her best and ultimately just lost sight of the big picture here while she was trying to help. It’s one of those issues where I can feel really sympathetic since sometimes you are trying to help a lot and things just don’t go the way you want them to. That’s just how these things go.

She was willing to readjust the plan to account for a friend after all. Having to totally discard the plan is a bit more of a difficult ask though. It’s why you usually want to let your kid find their own goals through exploration but when you’re really successful it can be easy to want to craft a good life for your kid. So yeah there are a whole lot of things to consider here.

As far as the animation goes, the film looks decent. The scenes on the human world look decently good. It may not be high-end, nor are there scenes to really test this out since this is a very realistic film but I would say that it works out pretty well. The dream sequences within the stories tend to be a little too experimental for my taste though. I’d say that’s a good part of why I would just want the film to return to the human world some more. The dynamic between the mother and her daughter was far more interesting to me even if the stories were more supernatural.

The neighbor was also decent but I don’t cut him too much slack here. Apparently, his inventions haven’t been working for a long while now. He should know better than to still be testing his rockets in a place where they could possibly hit someone. Blowing up part of the house was a gag but a situation that felt dangerous all the same. It could have easily gone lethal depending on where the girl was.

A large part of the film is about the story though so lets talk about that for a minute. The Little Prince had some sheep and flower friend, then he went off to journey through the cosmos. He met many people like a King, a wealthy guy, and more. Unfortunately the story had a sad ending where the Prince got poisoned and died so this leads the girl to try and find him in the real world. Now how much of this is figurative vs literal is up to you but of course I always like to take this at face value. It turns out that things have not gone well at all as the prince is now a janitor and has basically given up all hope. All of the figures from his story appear but in different circumstances than the story had suggested.

This leads to a classic story about not giving up hope and finding your way once again. The Prince eventually gets better but sure takes his time in doing so. There’s nothing wrong with the story itself but the plot on Earth just feels a lot more tangible. You can really empathize with what’s going on and the gravity of the situation. For the Prince plot, well it still feels like a story book even once it’s “real”. In a way the story book intro kind of doomed it. I think there would be a chance to get past that in a longer film where you had more scenes for the second act. This one just doesn’t have enough time for it.

You’ve still got a well written film and I certainly wouldn’t say otherwise. That said, it’s not going to have a ton of replay value here. The film is just too soft spoken for that. It’s a quiet kind of film that tackles good concepts that are worth discussing but you only need to do that once. After that there is no big spectacle or action scenes to carry it through. I should note that the film is also quite serious. Not dark by any means but there aren’t a lot of jokes here which is also something that could have helped the replay value.

Overall, The Little Prince is a good movie. I would recommend checking it out at least on an initial watch. It’s not like every film needs to be watched twice after all. It can be a bit slow but doesn’t really have any bad scenes. It’s a safe watch for just about anyone. If they ever make another film like this, I would say to either incorporate both plots so that they live in a world where there is a prince or go all in on one world or the other. There just isn’t enough runtime to really get into both. I would also forget the experimental type animation and go for something with classic hand drawn instead.

Overall 6/10

The Spy Who Loved Me Review

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It’s time for more Bond and this time he will have to deal with a rival who may even be on his level. The concept is definitely cool but as the film goes on, you realize that the rival is a paper one. I’ll explain more about that in a minute but needless to say this film still falls into the usual issues of a Bond film. Perhaps that is just the inevitable fate of most Bond adventures.

The film starts with showing us how both Bond and Anya are messing around despite being called the world’s greatest secret agents. Bond manages to murder a bunch of enemy agents as he heads back to base though. MI6 has called him in to find the missing nuclear submarine that someone stole from Russia. Naturally this is a pretty big deal since it is a national crisis. Russia has also sent in their best agent, Anya to find out what’s going on. Both of them will be crossing paths as they uncover the mystery behind this but can they keep their hands to themselves?

I do like the hook of finally seeing another secret agency in the forefront. Surprisingly the films don’t often do this. Sure, other agencies like the CIA are referenced but typically they tend to just get wrecked off screen. That said, the film doesn’t totally commit to the bit as Anya isn’t super skilled. Perhaps relative to some of the other agents but she consistently feels outmatched here. This is why I would call her a rival on paper.

So on paper Anya is a genius, master of martial arts, and her resourcefulness speaks for itself. She should be able to hold her own against anyone. Well, on the field it just doesn’t play out that way. She may be able to defeat Bond at times in word games like when she mentions where the submarine is. Additionally, she is able to defeat him by using his weakness to women and spraying him with a knock out gas. The whole thing was super embarrassing for Bond but when it comes time for a fight, she is dispatched quickly.

She allows Jaws to defeat her even when she had a gun on him and he was unarmed. When she crosses with Bond, she is pitting her karate chop against his gun. Anya just wasn’t ready for this and the fact that she can distract Bond with her charms just feels like a consolation prize at best. I would have liked her to have been out there in the field murdering a ton of fighters and really giving Bond a reason to respect her abilities. Considering the series we’re watching, this will probably only be possible if the rival agent is a guy.

As for Bond, well he looks pretty bad as always. The whole world is in danger with the nuclear weapons here and he’s still trying to make a pass at everybody? Bond needs to lock in at this point and he just doesn’t have enough moments like that. Bond is ready to have his fun and lose the mission which is not what you want a hero to do. I appreciate his smug attitude and how Bond talks down to everyone but it’s still hard to overlook his faults.

Meanwhile Jaws is a solid villain because of his skills even if he lacks the overall charisma that Scaramanga had. Jaws is shown to be borderline superhuman with how he can absorb so many blows. He walks away from a massive car crash at one point with essentially no injuries. Bond is clearly not able to beat him one on one but is quicker so usually the environment ends up being the deciding factor. Jaws mouth is metal after all which makes things difficult for him around magnets.

His boss is technically the head honcho but that guy doesn’t look all that good. I appreciate all the tough talk and how he dispatched several characters in the opening scene. He knows how to stay on top but ultimately gets a little too cocky. His gun needed to be quite a bit shorter to be effective and the trigger needed to be silent. The guy had an interesting goal of wanting humanity to only live beneath the waves though. I’ll give him some points for originality I suppose.

As always the film suffers from fanservice and terrible romances which distract from the main plot. In fact, this time it’s even worse because the plot is completely going against the romance. Anya’s whole plot is to avenge her fiancé but she’s messing around with Bond right away. You could try to defend this by saying that it’s part of her job and she’ll get with everybody in order to further the mission but that really doesn’t help at all. It just pushes forward the worst trope of a female agent which is having to do any of that stuff in the beginning.

Nah you need to be able to solidify her as a top tier threat who doesn’t need to do that. Bond never does either, he just does it for fun. That needs to be dialed back as well so that he can actually be a likable character. The film’s general pacing and story is good but these things hold it back quite a lot. The fanservice is unrelenting and is something you don’t see so much of outside of the Bond films. In a way that’s what makes it so notable here.

I should mention that the songs aren’t all that impressive for me. I didn’t cover that in the prior Bond film but generally none of the songs have moved me so far. They sound decent, I’m certainly not calling them bad. However, I would not be looking them up on Youtube or anything like that. They really lack a better beat or incredible lyrics that force you to rewatch them. These just feel like what you would expect from a Bond film tbh and I don’t really mean that in a good way.

Overall, This film had an interesting premise but didn’t live up to it in classic Bond style. I will always take a plot like this with multiple factions over not having them at all though. If you have liked the Bond films up to now then you should like this one as well. In a lot of ways it is playing the adventure completely straight and that’s not a bad thing for the most part. The series just needs a way to lose the fanservice and then it can one day rise up as one of the all time greats! Until then, it will have to be satisfied with being at the back of the pack when it comes to action/thriller franchises.

Overall 4/10

The Man with the Golden Gun Review

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James Bond has certainly has a lot of films over the years. While Bond himself may spend a good chunk of his screentime getting kicked around, he always rises back up to end the threat. I’m not typically a fan of his movies for their over-reliance on fanservice and terrible romances but the action scenes tend to be fun. The movies have a good blend of humor mixed into the fight scenes. This one also has one of the best enemies in the entire series. That being said, it ends up falling into line with a lot of the other films.

The movie starts with an assassin taking out a powerful gunman. This man is Scaramanga, the world’s number one hit man. His trademark is a signature golden gun by which he finishes off his prey. This guy’s next target is James Bond, Britain’s top agent from MI6. He has the agency so scared that Bond is immediately taken off of his mission and fired. The only way for Bond to get his old work back is for him to take this guy down but nobody’s even seen Scaramanga before. This won’t be an easy fight.

I will say that MI6 looks absolutely terrible here for them to panic so quickly. Yes, Scaramanga is a dangerous foe but this level of panic should be reserved for taking on a whole government right? For a single man to make them bench the #1 agent is crazy. I don’t think M could possibly come back from this. Fortunately Bond is quick to get out there and end this would be assassin. It’s the only real way to move forward if we’re being realistic about this.

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t say that Bond is a great character though. As always he is distracted by every woman around and he can never truly keep his eyes on the prize. He has to rely on his plot armor most of the time in order to stay in the game because there are many chances for him to be removed. The villains had him dead to rights but sent him to school instead of finishing him off. A bizarre decision to be sure.

He doesn’t take his coworker seriously either and spends the whole time flirting with her instead of trying to come up with a plan. Yes, Goodnight was a poor agent who just held him back but Bond should have still been able to find some way for her to be of assistance instead of adding onto that. Anytime Bond is fooling around with these various characters, it is more time that he could have spent staying in a ready position with his guard up.

Bond gets results which is why he is known as the number one agent but at the same time he nearly dies constantly. Personally in terms of overall skill I would have to lean on Scaramanga here. In a one on one fight I believe he would defeat Bond. You could argue that Scaramanga did not think so since he ended up evading the one on one fight for his more theatrical version. That ended up being a mistake on his part.

Scaramanga is a full on villain so you can’t let his gamesmanship fool you. He doesn’t treat his allies particularly well and was quick to bump off the girl who was working with him. She probably had the most tragic role here since there was really no way out for her from the start. Death was always going to be the end result and it’s not like Bond really helped her to get past that here. Ultimately he wasn’t in the best place to help her either since time was ticking and he didn’t really have anyone to trust. That said, you still could have hoped that things would go better for her.

You’d almost think this was the only plot around but the Bond films are always able to cram a lot of story into these adventures. So we also had Hai who hired Scaramanga and was working with solar technology that could end the energy crisis. He gets rather overconfident for somebody who can’t fight which results in his end though. Honestly he may have been doomed either way but the way he went out just made the guy look silly.

We didn’t really need this plot or the whole karate interlude though. Sure we got to see Bond score some more wins and take advantage of terrible villain plans but it didn’t actually move the film forward. Personally I would have spent that time further hyping up Scaramanga and maybe even having Bond do some training to prepare for the battle. It’s a bit hard to picture since both characters are extremely arrogant but would have been interesting. Their inevitable matchup is easily what you are looking forward to throughout the movie. Everything else is ultimately just noise.

So the negatives with the film all stem from the endless fanservice and one night stands here. None of the romances are worth anything and they’re just here to pad out the film. It’s why I always look forward to seeing a more serious Bond who is ready to take on the villains without fooling around. While the film is very long, I would say that the pacing is generally fine. There is always a lot going on so it doesn’t drag on. The fight scenes are also pretty good.

They feel rather old school with how they aren’t overly choreographed or anything like that. This is a basic fight with good hand to hand at all times. Bond also looks very mortal as he is stronger than the average fighter but isn’t the world’s best or anything. We even have a classic car chase which works well. The overactive sheriff may be a tad too silly for some but generally tends to be a fun character. The absurdity just works especially since the film as a whole was pretty light hearted anyway. He would probably overstay his welcome if the scenes were too much longer.

Overall, This film did a good job of finally giving Bond a true one vs one fight to look forward to. Sure, Bond does lose a lot and tends to be out planned by the villains but this is one of the few times where the whole film is building up to such an encounter. I appreciated that and while it couldn’t do enough for the film to beat out its own issues, this still made for a pretty memorable experience. If you really like Bond films then I would recommend checking this one out.

Overall 4/10