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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Review

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It’s time for the weakest Indiana Jones adventure. This one definitely dwells a bit too much on the grosser elements of exploration as the heroes keep finding themselves in spots where the locals eat rather gross food options. Additionally the film definitely does decide to get a little extra edgy like having Jones be forced to take some corrupted blood. The end result is a film that doesn’t quite let Indiana Jones get as much adventuring in as you’d like.

The film starts off with Indiana trying to close out a deal he made with some shady individuals. They betray him but Indiana was ready and betrays them right back. His big mistake was in drinking some poison by mistake so he loses his leverage and barely escapes along with his life. His sidekick Short Round was definitely really helpful here but Jones is less pleased to have a lady named Willie follow along. The 3 of them are now stuck together and before they can go home, Indiana runs into a village where the kids have gone missing. Is it the work of a supernatural entity…or something a little more down to Earth?

Right away I can tell you that the romance in this film is quite abysmal although it’s not like the romance in the Jones films tend to be all that good anywhere. The third film actually gets even worse in that regard. Willie has no reason to like Jones after being tossed in this crazy predicament and she comes off as looking desperate. No worries, the same is true of Jones as well who really can’t ever seem to keep his mind on the adventure at hand. Perhaps that is why he tends to lose several times in every movie? He is constantly being outmaneuvered and manipulated by all of the other characters at every turn. He has to get lucky constantly in order to survive.

I’ll give him credit for doing his best to save the kids and help things end all right but as a character he can definitely be really annoying. In this film he is really outshined by his sidekick most of the time. Shorty saves Jones on multiple occasions and really does a lot better than I would have expected out of any kid. Usually the kids tend to be panicking or getting in the way but not this guy. He stepped up as needed and took a lot of risks. While I still tend to avoid having kids in film, this one wasn’t bad at least. He was probably even the MVP here.

Willie never really gets better even outside of the romance plot to be honest. She is constantly panicking and yelling the whole time. She has some valid points like I wouldn’t want to be forced to eat bugs either. Some kind of escape plan would be a good idea but at the end of the day you can’t always escape everything. Sometimes you’ve just got to take a stand but even to the end Willie was allowing herself to just be pushed around and go with the flow. Not the best way to really pave a path for herself.

Like I said at the start, the film definitely leans too hard on all the creepy crawlies. When characters aren’t eating them, they are in rooms covered in them or having to let them crawl all around. Crude humor probably isn’t quite the word for it so I don’t really know which term is right but it’s just overplayed. Meanwhile this is definitely known as a fairly violent Jones film for good reason. The deaths can get intense, then you have the gruesome drinking blood scene and of course Jones being used as a pin cushion.

While the climax gives us a really long action sequence, it actually takes a while to get there. In the leadup to that we have a whole lot of lore as things are being explained to Jones but the film basically takes a timeout. This could have worked better with a fun backdrop but of course it’s all about the bugs and the weak romance so you’re really just itching for the plot to begin again. Anything to get you out of the duller moments.

The villains are also on the very forgettable side. I’d say the villains from the first film were a lot more impressive. These guys are all insane cultists who fit all the primitive tropes well but do little to really impress you. They’re the kind of villains where you probably won’t remember any of their names or even much of their goals within a few weeks. They are obstacles for Jones to defeat and nothing more. I’m waiting for another big rival character like the guy from the first film. That would make for a much better dynamic.

Also by this point there is so much supernatural going on within the world that Jones needs to weaponize it. Clearly voodoo dolls work so using that to tie up his enemies would be intense. Of course first he would need to figure out how it works but this is all a lot easier once you know that supernatural things do exist. Likewise we had spirits in the first film. I know at the time Jones didn’t believe in the supernatural but surely by this point he does. He would be absolutely crazy to not have put the two dots together by now.

Overall, The Temple of Doom wasn’t particularly good. It’s also just a little too long for it to only be okay so there isn’t a lot of replay value here. To watch it again you would need a strong reason to do so. Additionally there is pretty much no screentime of Jones in his professor role which is a shame since I liked the whole dual identity. It feels like the film just sort of lost its way a bit here although it would rebound in time. I needed more fun tomb exploration and solving puzzles like a Tomb Raider game. That’s what I expect from an Indiana Jones adventure at least.

Overall 5/10

Spy X Family Code: White Review

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It’s definitely cool that Spy X Family got a big movie already. Many titles never get a movie or it happens at the very end but at this rate the series can probably squeeze another 1-2 films in before the series is over. It’s a fun adventure with a new setting to have fun in. The fact that it’s a movie also allows us to get a really dynamic fight scene in and Yor hasn’t been this relevant in quite a while. It works as a really solid stand alone adventure.

The film starts off with Loid taking down another villain group but his secret organization is not impressed and still says he will need to be reassigned from his current project. The only way to convince them otherwise is to make some progress really fast. He figures the quickest way to do that is by getting his daughter Anya to win the cooking contest and get the elusive Stella grand prize. Loid knows that the judge loves a certain kind of cake but it is only sold in another town so he plans a big vacation with his wife Yor and Anya to go try it out. This should be a piece of cake.

Meanwhile Yor finished her latest assassin mission and murdered her opponents but the next day she sees Loid seemingly kissing another woman. Her friends happen to be talking about infidelity and tell Yor to watch out for 3 big red flags. Sudden vacations, lots of presents, and new clothing styles. Yor is now on red alert for this big trip to try a cake. Is that the real reason for this trip? While her marriage to Loid may be a ploy, she has started to catch feelings and won’t let this slip away so easily.

Finally Anya is always really hungry and unfortunately she broke into someone’s luggage and ate their chocolate. What is even more unfortunate about this is that inside the chocolate was a tiny microchip containing a lot of important data and so now the government is after her. They need the data and aren’t afraid to murder Anya to get it. As Anya is just a child she doesn’t quite recognize the immense danger that she is in. Has she just doomed them all?

I would say that the 3 plots converge eventually but technically the 3 characters are together for most of the adventure. They just don’t know the specifics of what the other is doing for the most part. It makes for a fun dynamic and everyone gets something to do. It probably goes without saying that Anya has the weakest plot of the 3 though. For starters the whole thing is her fault since she should not have been eating other people’s chocolate. Yes, the eating part was an accident but she still opened the suitcase on her own which was not a good idea. We get a trippy dream sequence about using the bathroom as well which felt like something out of Teen Titans Go. Definitely not what I was expecting here.

Anya definitely means well but you can see why she is still just a kid. She isn’t quite prepared for this situation. I’d have traded in her scenes for Yuri getting to do a bit more. He looked great here as he was immediately ready to go save Yor when he heard that she was in a dangerous place. Yuri was ultimately stopped but it is the thought that counts. He’s the kind of guy you can really count on to help as needed. Maybe he will get more to do in the next film.

Loid looks solid as always. He is always trying to basically do everything on his own and does a good job there. He doesn’t want to make anyone worry after all and he’s trained for things like this. he can always handle himself well in a fight and thinks his next move through carefully. He may not be perfect at reading the other characters but who is right? At the end of the day he continues to get closer to achieving his objective.

Meanwhile Yor does really well here. She did well to take down the two guys attacking Anya near the beginning and her fight within the burning ship was great. The background was really intense and the animation got to shine there. Dealing with someone who is basically not even human anymore is no small feat and this is a fight where even Loid would have been in trouble. She really had to use her athleticism and smarts to take this guy down. Her opponent would probably end up being one of the strongest enemies in the series. It’s also a fight that really benefits from being in a movie where the staff can really show off with the animation.

As a whole the animation is quite solid here. It may not be looking like Dragon Ball or My Hero, but it still shines considering that this isn’t first and foremost an action story. It manages to contain action stories that would make those titles proud. The soundtrack is a bit more forgettable. I was expecting at least one big lyrical song to play during the climax but what we got was still decent. Soundtrack is just something that I think the movie could have worked a whole lot harder on.

Yor getting jealous and insecure may be a bit of a stale plot point already but it’s not like that is the sole focus of the movie. It would have been dicey if that was the case but the movie has a lot going on throughout. Anya aside, the humor tends to be good and the film is very fast paced. Bond gets the shaft here but it’s not like there is much you could have expected him to do here anyway. This is really a mission for the top two fighters in the business and they get the job done. As I said before, it’s an easy film for new watchers to get into as well since the basics of the plot are explained at the very beginning. If you’re up for a fun action/adventure title then you’ve come to the right place.

Overall, This was definitely a pretty good film. It was fun seeing the characters in action again and Yor definitely had the best moments here. Every time there was a fight it was definitely a lot of fun to see. At times the film could maybe be moving a bit slowly and you don’t really care about Anya’s scenes all that much. While the new setting helps make this feel like a film, I would also say it feels more like an extended episode compared to other big films like Demon Slayer and the DBS Broly film. So it may not be nonstop hype all the time but there was definitely enough of it going around where it still ends up being a quality title all the way. It’s a chance to see the characters in a new adventure never before seen in any format and that alone is worth the cost of admission.

Overall 7/10

Raiders of the Lost Ark Review

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It’s time for the original Indiana Jones adventure. It’s definitely been quite a while since I’ve seen this movie. Did it age well or has the film absolutely been devastated by the cruel march of time? Well, I can safely say that the film is pretty solid. It’s actually a fun adventure that may drag on just a tad but there is a lot going on. We get a good amount of fight scenes and chases throughout. I’d actually like to see more of Professor Jones in his day job since I like the idea of an alter ego like a superhero. I mean he doesn’t keep it a secret…but you know what I mean.

The film starts off with Indiana Jones on a big mission but he ends up getting double crossed by his travel guide and then being wrecked by his rival Rene. Rene has historically always gotten the better of Jones and this adventure is no exception. Rene just has too many tools up his arsenal. He’s smart, rich, and always one step ahead of the adventurer. Jones crawls back home where he is then sent on another mission to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazi’s. The problem is that the Nazi’s have hired Rene and Jones has never beaten him before. He will need the help of his old friend Rene but she has not forgiven him for the dubious relationship of the past. Can Jones turn on the charm and win her over?

I would say the main adventure gets even worse for Jones because he has a clear step up over Rene since he knows where the key is which will help in getting to it. Unfortunately Jones forgets that Rene always likes to skip the adventure and just steal things at the end. Get ready to see Jones lose a whole lot of fights over and over again but he refuses to give up. Jones is no quitter, he will keep on fighting to the last. It’s why he is a professional. In a way it’s almost impressive how much plot armor the guy has because he should have died many times.

The worst instance is probably when he grabs a rocket and tries to hold everyone hostage. Rene calls his bluff and Jones surrendered. Look, you can’t surrender at this point. There’s no reason why Rene wouldn’t just shoot him there or be overruled by the Nazi’s where Jones would still be shot. You have to just go down with everybody at this point. Every time a hero decides to just throw in the towel I have to shake my head because that’s just a really bad idea. Jones makes a lot of questionable decisions though like leaving Marion in enemy camp where she might be tortured and beaten by the enemies because he doesn’t want them to know that he’s around.

Jones is a guy who really puts the mission first and the film makes that clear. He’s not here to make friends or anything like that. No, he’s here to do what he has to and live the adventurous life. For that reason the romance definitely doesn’t work at all here because there is no way Marion would forgive Jones, let alone get together with him. He showed how little he cared about her throughout the film. Honestly she should have just back stabbed him and ran away. It’s not like she is a great character either. She makes a lot of mistakes and can be annoying but she seems to have had a rather rough upbringing and was in a terrible situation so you can empathize there.

You certainly sympathize more with her than with Indiana Jones. Make no mistake, Jones is a fun character to watch. The film wouldn’t be the same without him but that’s definitely different than being a quality character. Meanwhile the rival Rene was good until the film inevitably made him girl crazy. It’s always a cheap way to suddenly make the villain look weak and give the hero a chance. Why make him so gullible? He was basically willing to throw everything away for a quick fling and that doesn’t make sense from a man who was so determined and strategic.

If he wants romance then he can find that on his downtime. The guy is rich so that should be easy. No, instead he messes around during a mission. Ah well, I’d like to see more of him and his rivalry with Jones in some prequels. There’s probably a whole lot you can do there, maybe even the reluctant team up. Now that would definitely be a fun way to go about things.

Naturally the film does well on the technical aspects. It looks good and the soundtrack is fun. The Jones theme itself has always been well known and it’s fun. Definitely has that heroic feel to it. Meanwhile the backgrounds look good and the fights are on point. They incorporate some nice humor into them as well like when Jones just shoots someone instead of trying to outfight them. The blend of action and humor works really well and that comes down to the writing which is really sharp. The script is good with all of the characters and helps to support the rest of the film.

At times the film can be surprisingly violent with how the characters die. The spinning airplane death and the trap near the beginning of the film definitely come to mind. This is definitely a movie where they aren’t afraid to really have characters bite the big one. It also underscores how Jones nearly dies on several occasions only to get bailed out. Can you believe he was ready to eat some fruit while in a dangerous territory? Yeah you definitely have to wonder how he survived this long. The film does keep things from being too extreme though which is good. It has a better balance than the next film does.

Overall, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a pretty good film. It has a whole lot going on and the fun script makes it go pretty fast. As I said it can feel a bit long at times, I would say particularly the part in the desert but not enough to really hurt the film or anything like that. It is also a long film in general so to an extent this may have been unavoidable. If you haven’t seen the film yet then it is a good time to check it out. The movie is known as a classic after all and you can see why that is the case.

Overall 7/10

Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire Review

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It’s time for another tactics title and unfortunately I am here to say that it is definitely not a particularly good one. As with the others that I’ve played recently, it takes away all the fun from the concept. The game goes too far in trying to be as realistic as possible and completely forgets about the fun factor. You always need a good balance in order to succeed here and the game completely forgot about that. It’s a shame since I think this could have really ended up being solid but in the end it definitely did not live up to the potential.

When you begin the game you get to pick which event you want to play through. Big history buffs will recognize the differences but to a casual player it all looks the same. Fun enough and all that but nothing to really hang your hat on. They may as well have only had one level for all the difference it would make. The levels can also be quite long as I managed to survive for well over a decade before dying and that’s considering that I had no clue what to do.

Aside from combat you can also make deals among the men, give them food, barter for items, etc. The game lets you simulate almost every part of a real war from back in the day. You definitely have a lot of control this way and I can definitely see someone getting a kick out of it but the problem is that everything takes so long. This is probably unavoidable for a game of this scale from back in the day but it also means that you wish it was not so intricate.

You want to be able to just rush in and start fighting but of course you are penalized for doing that. It puts you in a really bad position because you are meant to do all of the side parts of the game but in that case it will be forever until you see any real combat. The actual combat is slow enough as it is since you can barely move in each turn. It ends up feeling like a real RNG fest. I know a lot of it comes down to skill as well and I couldn’t figure that out either. So as a result everything ends up going sideways here. Not really the way to go about things.

At the end of the day this feels like a war simulation game but without any real hook. It doesn’t help that the graphics are not particularly good. They’re not awful or anything but they also aren’t testing the limits of the SNES architecture. You’ll forget all about them by the end, same with the soundtrack. It’s just very generic and doesn’t do anything to elevate the experience. At the end of the day it means that this is a game that will not withstand the test of time, not even by a little bit.

Throwing in a true story mode would really help for this kind of thing. Adding that in addition to the simulation mode would have been a really good idea. For starters it would give you a way to really identify with the characters as well as make you want to keep playing. There isn’t much reason to play through otherwise since there are no real cutscenes. You just have to absolutely love the gameplay and it feels like that would be a very limited audience. How many people actually enjoy that kind of thing? Give me a classic 3D beat em up instead any day. Then no matter what happens with my allies and the A.I., I know that I can do in and just start taking names. That’s a way more fun experience.

Overall, This is definitely not a game that you have a whole lot of fun with. It was too ambitious for its own good although even in the modern day I’m not sure how good a remake would be. If it can make things very cinematic then that could work but the key will be ensuring that every part of the game is fun. Counting up the money and distributing among the warriors doesn’t really seem like a good idea if you ask me. It’s just not the proper way to play a game and have a blast. Definitely skip out on this title if you can.

Overall 3/10

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League Review

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It’s time to explore the world of anime Batman once more and it’s still really impressive that the first Batman Ninja got a sequel in general. This one definitely has fun going crazy right from the start and I like how over the top it is. The rule of cool is definitely the highest priority for this movie and you know what? That’s not a bad thing! It’s important to have priorities and this means we get a lot of fun fights so you can’t go wrong with that.

The movie doesn’t waste time as within a few minutes we have Batman confirm that the multiverse is intact but things have changed in the timestream. There are Yakuza cyclones that spawn on top of Gotham and Japan no longer exists. Batman and Robin will have to jump across dimensions once more to fix things but this time they have to deal with an alternate reality version of the Justice League. This will not be easy…or at least that’s what Robin says. Batman is more optimistic and admits that defeating the Justice League will be a piece of cake. Well now it’s time for him to put that bravado to the test.

You can tell that the writers are big Batman fans. Right from the start he is shown to be incredibly confident, knowledgeable, resourceful, and powerful. The fact that he doesn’t bat an eye when going up against the Justice League is impressive. Batman isn’t phased by anything that happens during the movie, if anything he always seems to have expected this in one way or another. This is definitely a Batman portrayal that his fans will enjoy. He can basically do whatever he wants. Now that’s not to say that he’s invincible. He does get saved at different points but his confidence never comes into question.

Batman just appears as a natural leader which is really hype. His assortment of Robins also do pretty well. Red Hood is able to handle the Flash quite easily and then you have the main Robin not falling for any of Ra’s tough talk. Robin knows what side he is on and doesn’t waver. Nightwing and Red Robin get a lot of fun moments too. In general it’s just nice to have all of them showing up like this. The Bat Family is really a tough force for justice and by this point they are proving to be possibly as good as the Justice League.

Now obviously you do have to excuse a ton of power level issues for a fight like this. Obviously Flash should not be losing to a few guys in costumes and Superman should be able to easily end Batman. So you just have to turn your brain off and enjoy all the big action scenes. Fortunately there is a lot to enjoy with these fight scenes so that’s not really a problem. As far as the animation goes, well that part is a bit weak. The CG looks super off putting when you first start the movie. It gets a little more manageable as the movie goes on and you get used to it but yeah this is definitely not a top tier production.

While the character models are really rough, the film does a good job with the speed effects and the shockwaves after each blow. For example, someone like Superman actually does feel very powerful with all of those effects. Naturally it also does make the fights more intense as well. The energy effects look good too so you can really feel how intense this would be if it was hand drawn. Especially with the large amounts of action that this film had. The movie does have fun with different art styles for some gags though. The biggest one was definitely when the artstyle changed to look like the Superfriends and classic anime. That was a really good tribute.

In general there are a lot of good homages to different Japan/anime tropes. You’ve also got the moment where two characters are laughing together and then suddenly a fight starts. That was a really good cut with how fast the battle started. The film is fairly short but still gives you enough time to really know all of the characters. Sometimes the editing could be a little distracting though as you would be in one plot for 5 seconds, then switch to another plot for an instant, only to go back to the first plot. Sometimes it felt like you just didn’t need to switch that often because it was only an instant like that.

As always Gotham PD looks pretty bad here. The fact that the first film just happened but Joker and Harley Quinn are already out of jail is crazy. Definitely some commentary on Arkham going on there, I can feel it. Harley is a true wild card as always with how unpredictable she is. She really comes in handy at different points in the film though. Without her, it’s no exaggeration to say that the heroes would have been doomed. Even Joker really comes through in a pinch.

As for the Justice League themselves, they were mostly likable. Wonder Woman looks the best as she retained her good soul even in the new origin. It shows what a strong character she had as she would continue to be on the side of justice no matter how things changed. Her abilities also get a great deal of respect as she holds her own with the likes of Superman and the others. Definitely not an easy feat. Superman definitely bought into the Yakuza logic wholeheartedly. He made for a fun villain though and I dare say his character had the most fun with the new role.

Some of the others are basically just the same character but evil while he had a completely different personality. It worked really well and made the guy interesting. I also liked the contrast when we got a glimpse of the real Superman. Green Lantern was another fun character here as her abilities are always fun to watch. Somehow Harley Quinn gives her a good fight for a while there but otherwise she should usually crush Harley.

Aquaman is basically the same character. He’s okay but definitely tends to be more on the unreasonable side and never backs down. I did like the way that he controls the water directly instead of having to rely on talking to animals or anything like that. Using water directly is absolutely the best way to go about it. Then for the Flash, he gets the least to do I would say. His loss against the Robins also has to be the cheesiest fight of the film. You just don’t buy that for even half a second. There’s no way that the Flash would lose under any circumstances. He’s just not that guy.

Ra’s doesn’t have a ton to do here but I thought the character was handled well enough. He actually had a bit of humor this time around like how he trolled Robin with the sushi. He’s a guy with a lot of charisma this time who likes fighting for style points. It would help if he could fight a little more though but next to the Yakuza league he comes across as more forgettable. He’s really just a stepping stone for Batman to crush once the league is taken down. They were the ones with the bigger focus and he’s basically just a final boss to fill in the numbers.

Ra’s does make sense as the final boss here with messing with reality but he just needed more time. Finally the soundtrack was pretty fun. Some real fast paced tracks like when Batman fought Green Lantern. The lyrics were more on the weak side but I appreciated the beat. It was a lot faster than anything you would have expected in this time period so that was really appreciated. You should not have to worry about the timeline when coming up with good tracks. A good track is a good track no matter what the context, that’s something you’ll want to remember for future use.

Overall, Batman vs Yakuza League was a pretty good film. It delivered on having loads of action and just got right to it without waiting for any kind of intro. It’s bonkers in all the right ways. The short runtime also works as it could probably get exhausting if it was too long but this was the right amount. I would say I enjoyed it more than the first film and this one definitely has a whole lot of replay value. Just seeing the Justice League running around in their alternate costumes is a lot of fun after all. Id definitely be down with more films in this continuity. I’m guessing it takes a while to prepare the animation with how frantic the pace of the whole thing is but it definitely ends up being worth the wait. As long as you like Batman then you’ll definitely enjoy this adventure.

Overall 7/10

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Review

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This film had me shellshocked from start to finish. A Lord of the Rings film with good characters? A film that actually had an interesting story and good graphics? Even cool setup for the actual films to mess up later? What??? If you told me this was not a Lord of the Rings film initially but converted in post I would believe you because it is legions better than the previous films. Now it still does make its share of mistakes like some unfortunate animal violence but the difference is still night and day.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Hera who is the princess to the mighty Rohan kingdom. This kingdom is ruled by the mighty king Helm and his two sons Haleth and Hama are each formidable as well. These 4 members of royalty all have the blood of the gods within them which allows them to fight with superhuman strength and stamina. Helm has laid waste to entire armies in the past. Well, not everyone is happy about this and a rival province wants to have Hera married to Wulf to unite these kingdoms. They were childhood friends once but Hera points out that they are only friends. Wulf’s father dies in one blow to Helm when they fight and now Wulf has sworn revenge. He will destroy the entire kingdom. Can they stop him?

Right away I have to give major credit to the animation which is quite excellent. In particular Hera’s red hair really stands out by being several shades brighter than any other object in the entire film. She radiates main character energy the whole time and definitely does well as the lead. The battles look good as well and so this is a film that looks way better than I ever would have assumed. This animation would stay consistent throughout the movie. While the soundtrack may have been more forgettable, the animation more than makes up for this.

As I mentioned before, the film also isn’t a total bore fest like the live action films. I think in large part this also comes down to the animation because the film actually looks good unlike the others which all take place in dreary areas with no color. Everyone sounds boring in those films and the characters have no passion. There is nothing like that here as we have a fairly large cast that all have interesting personalities. The only real negative here is the animal violence which is unfortunately significant enough to notch the film down 2 stars.

Whenever you see a film that takes place in an old school fantasy land you can unfortunately assume that there will be casualties. In this case that means a few of the giant elephants running around. These beasts have a whole lot of power but are mainly still terrorized by everyone else. One is eaten whole by another monster which was quite brutal and two of them take blows to the face as one is stabbed to death. I definitely would have preferred for these beasts to not have been in the film at all. That would have been my preference at the very least. You could show the abilities of the various characters in other ways.

I will say that this is the first film in the series where the superhuman fighters actually feel strong. Yes, we know that several of the creature races are stronger than the others but in the live action films they all look like humans. Here we see Helm going toe to toe with a giant orc and you can feel his power. Likewise when he was taking down numerous foes in his warrior’s madness form. Those were impressive moments and likewise his two sons showed that they had far more power than the average fighter. It’s little elements like this which also made the movie more fun.

Hera is far more likable than Bilbo and Frodo. She knows what it takes to lead a country and never gives up. She comes out with plan after plan and also knows how to fight. Just because Hera was not picked to lead the country doesn’t mean that she slacked off on training. If anything she was glad not to have to rule the kingdom because this way she had her freedom. She didn’t agree to an arranged marriage or act docile at all throughout the movie. She kept on fighting and was only willing to make concessions to save her people. You couldn’t ask for a much better character than that. She may have been a little too curious at times and got the characters into trouble at times but that’s what happens when you’re an adventurer.

Her main defender was Olwyn, a powerful shield bearer from the past. Olwyn looks really solid here as she holds her own against the villains and comes in clutch to help Hera. This is the kind of fighter that you want on your side. She was still powerful even after decades of fighting which is not something that you can say for most characters. She was just in a league of her own and had a whole lot of confidence about her.

Meanwhile Haleth and Hama were also really solid. Haleth was always careful to look out for his sister and seemed to be a very reasonable fighter. He was the first to notice that they didn’t have as many soldiers as expected before the big battle and was the only one to take down one of the elephants in one on one combat. It’s a shame the way that he went out but it makes sense that the villains would use cheap tricks. In one on one combat none of the villains would have been close to his level. Likewise Hama was a great fighter although he seemed to be more of a long range specialist compared to his brother. Ultimately not investing in a stronger horse came back to hurt him but he never showed any fear in front of the enemy.

Helm was the most powerful character in the film and I appreciated that the film didn’t try to make him some faultless king. He had his issues like not listening to others and being quick to anger. The events of the film could have been way different if he had less pride and would listen to wise counsel. Of course this is likely also how he became King since you need a very strong will to pull that off. All in all I liked him. Yes he could be quite mean all the time but in his own way he was looking after the kingdom. The fact that he took out so many enemies amidst the freezing cold was really quite the feat. I dare say he would have finished the whole army if not for Hera’s rare misstep.

Frealaf was one character who suffered from Helm’s mistimed outburst. The guy was real loyal and having him around could have really changed the tide of battle. Perhaps they would have still lost as it wasn’t a huge squad but he was shown to be quite skilled and versatile with different weapons. I appreciated that his loyalty to the king and country were completely unaverred even after basically being told that he was useless. He had the mental fortitude of a strong warrior.

As for the villains, I can’t say as much for them. Wulf only does well in the film because of sheer numbers. It is made clear time and time again that they need dozens more men on their side to equal the fighting prowess of the heroes. Wulf basically loses every fight that he is in. He can’t defeat Hera in a straight fight, let alone someone like Helm or his two sons. He was struggling heavily against Olwyn as well. Wulf comes off as super whiny throughout the movie. You have to remember that his whole swearing revenge thing came out of a fair fight in which his father lost. There were no underhanded moves or anything of the sort. How are you going to be upset when you lose a fair fight like that?

Meanwhile he was expecting Hera to marry him because they were friends when they were kids? Nah that’s going far as well and even when they were kids he lost control of himself rather quickly. I ended up not liking Wulf pretty much at all when initially I thought he was going to be a really interesting villain. He services the plot well but that’s really all I can say for him. The guy also gets lucky on more than one occasion.

His general Targg was definitely wasted on such a man. Targg actually had good plans and words of wisdom. If Wulf had listened to him then he would have won the film several times over. Targg did look rather dumb in his last scene but in every moment before then he had looked good. It’s clear why he was well respected as a top general. The guy earned his station and ultimately just let his guard down a bit too soon.

That’s quite a lot of characters to develop in this film and so for a change I can say that the film properly utilized its long runtime. This was a movie that really needed the two hours and used it wisely. The film had a solid start, great setup, epic battles, and a satisfying climax. Like I said before, this doesn’t sound like a Lord of the Rings film. I was very impressed and I can say now that it’s time for more animated movies like this. Forget Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the realms. Lets do more prequels back when you had the age of the gods and more big fights like this.

Overall, This was a rather epic film. I can finally see why people like these classic war type movies. Now granted, for now I see this as an exception to the rule but what an exception it was. Honestly it would have been awesome if retroactively they made Hera the one to take down Sauron at the start of the first film. We did already have a cool twist with the name of the stronghold though so I can be satisfied with that. Yes, I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a solid fantasy film. It’ll really surprise you just how good this movie can get.

Overall 6/10

The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes Review

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It’s time for a really great romance film. I often say that romance is handled rather badly in movies and so it’s always good to have an anime film show up to remind me that this kind of a story can be done well. The title is a real mouthful but it is a great movie through and through. Get ready for a lot of emotional punches to be thrown at you throughout the movie.

The film starts by explaining there there is a secret tunnel in this one town. When you go inside it, you are disconnected from time itself. You can reclaim anything that you have lost within that tunnel but it will cost you something in return…your time. 3 seconds in there is close to 2 hours in the real world. So that’s a great deal of time. If you trip or spend too much time in there, well you will have been gone for a very long time. You would have to be crazy to believe that this tunnel really exists….and even crazier to give it a try. You should not dwell on the past…..

BUT THAT”S HOW A NORMIE WOULD THINK!!!! Kaoru realizes that this is how he can bring his sister Karen back to life. She dies when they were children in a tragic accident that tore his family apart. His father is constantly drunk now and beats him while his mother left a long time ago. There is no bringing the past back to life but bringing Karen into existence might be able to help things. A new transfer student named Anzu shows up to class and she’s interested in the tunnel as well. Her goals remain a mystery to Kaoru but he is happy to have company. Still, can he really allow this girl to throw her life away? Going far enough into the tunnel to find Karen could mean that decades and decades of time will have passed. Possibly even hundreds of years.

First up one of the things that I liked about the film was that it didn’t try to really prove why you should not dwell on the past. Some films can be heavy handed about this but in this case the movie didn’t seem to have a problem with the goal itself. Kaoru needed some closure and so the tunnel was the way he would need to go in order to get it. When you have something that can change reality like the tunnel then I’d argue that you probably need to use it. Why wouldn’t you use something like that right? It just makes perfect sense.

The tunnel itself is certainly scary but we see how Kaoru really has nothing to lose. Yes he has a friend at school but there are no other serious connections. It only makes sense that he would be fine with tossing his life into the void. I’d probably have at least stuffed some money into a savings account so I’d have a nice sum upon my return but beyond that you might as well jump into the void. You could say that Anzu is the only real complication here since now he is slowly having a reason to keep on existing in the present.

Anzu is rather depressed and also doesn’t really have any friends or close family to keep her tethered to this world. That said, this slowly does begin to change as the film goes on. It leads to a really selfish move on Kaoru’s part though. I can definitely say that he made a huge mistake there and I wouldn’t blame Anzu for holding a grudge over that. She ends up being a really standout character not just for her tough personality in the present but for her loyalty and perseverance in the future as well. A lot of characters would have cracked or given in to rebounds sooner but not her.

I also liked that she stood up to the bullies right away in her school. That was a good way to solve the issue as opposed to just taking it or something like that. I always like when a character is guarded and tough to start out with. Anzu wasn’t accepting favors from anyone without a fight and she could defend herself. So that made for a high quality character. Meanwhile I also thought Kaoru was a really solid main character. Again I really appreciated his determination. He had a goal and was really determined to see it through. He didn’t waiver but he also gave Anzu the choice to turn back when he saw that she was having doubts as well.

Kaoru had to endure a whole lot over the years and he never let any of it crush him. That can definitely be tough to handle. Now I do think he should have ensured that he recovered what was lost and then went back to the real world. Based on how the tunnel works this should have been possible. I actually thought Anzu was going to be the one to save him by virtue of her “losing him” which would fit the criteria. Some pretty interesting ways it could have ended but the way it was handled was also good. We got enough repercussions where it didn’t feel like the movie had a cop out here.

It instead feels like an ending where none of the characters will have any regrets. It’s a super satisfying ending and yes it was a really well developed romance. I can say that it clears almost every romance I’ve seen in a very long time. The relationship took a while to develop and made sense with what they had gone through together. It’s just easy to root for. Meanwhile Karen may never have appeared in the present but she still left a good impact. It’s clear that she was a really good character and you can see why Kaoru missed her. It’s always nice to see a character like that who looks on the bright side of things and keeps the vibe light.

Kaoru’s father unfortunately got worse and worse as the film went on. Naturally it goes without saying that there is no excuse to get so drunk that you hit your son. It also sounds like this wasn’t the first time that he hit him. Then showing up later on with a surprise wife? Even the way he handled Kaoru when the latter was throwing up (Throwing him out of the room) showed how crazy he was. I was expecting some kind of redemption arc for the guy but it never happened. At least thanks to the way the ending goes, Kaoru shouldn’t have to deal with this.

The animation is pretty solid here. The film gets to really show off with the tunnel which looked really nice. The colors were striking and it definitely had a good air of mystery about it. I also liked how the flip phone looked which is always a retro design. The whole thing looks nice. The soundtrack is a little more forgettable but the lyrical song at the end is solid. The movie does well enough on the technicals.

Overall, I always enjoy a good film about time travel. It’s more appropriate to say this was about time displacement though as there is no actual travelling through time here. Regardless, you get the idea though. The concept was really interesting and the story is super engaging. The film has its share of sad and happy moments along with a great ending to tie it all together. I would definitely recommend this one. It’s a great title and you won’t be forgetting it anytime soon after you have watched the movie.

Overall 8/10

My Happy Marriage Season 2 Review

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It’s time for the return of the rare romantic drama series over the many romantic comedies running around. Typically I’d say that a comedy will always beat a drama but this has been a good show. The first season was fun enough although held back by Miyo herself. Season 2 is a definite improvement but Miyo continues to develop rather slowly and isn’t really being aware enough of her surroundings. She needs to tap into the classic power fantasy elements that have made characters like Jinwoo and Boruto living legends. Miyo has the abilities for this, such is her birth right. So now we need to see her using them.

We’re able to squeeze in a few different arcs throughout this season. The first few episodes are about Miyo finally meeting Kudou’s parents. Naturally this is always a fairly big moment in any romance series. As you would probably expect from Kudou’s demeanor, his mother is quite strict. She begins bullying Miyo in earnest and when Miyo doesn’t fight back, the bullying only intensifies. In a way she seems upset that Miyo isn’t tougher since Kudou’s partner has to be strong. Kudou’s father is a lot more mild in comparison. It’s a fun enough way to start the arc although it’s fair to say that it’s the weakest arc of the season. Miyo just doesn’t handle herself with enough poise here and we should have been done with the bullying stuff by the end of season 1. Nobody should be able to mess with Miyo by this point.

Miyo has come a long way from the days of season 1 where she was a punching bag to every character in existence. She doubts herself less here although she still moves with less poise and authority than she should. Miyo is at
her best when Kudou’s life is on the line as she quickly proves that she doesn’t have a “No kill” rule. That’s a good thing in this kind of verse where it would be difficult to imprison everyone and you have to deal with politics running around. She is slowly getting more used to using her powers in an offensive way as well.

Miyo has a ways to go but if she keeps up her training then she will be a force to be reckoned with. The problem is that she seems to be actively deciding not to practice her abilities and I could see that being a huge problem down the road. When you have special abilities I would argue that it is your duty to practice using them and improving your craft. It’s just not an optional obligation by that point and I need her to start embracing this. Miyo also needs to work on establishing stronger boundaries like not letting Arta constantly pine after her. Shutting that guy down once and for all would be a good thing and I’d also argue that she could probably tone down her attempts to sympathize with everyone.

Sympathizing with a guy who has been on a big mass murder spree just isn’t the right move if you ask me. So Miyo had her ups and downs here but if she continues the trend of getting better after every season then we should be in a good place. Meanwhile Kudou is still a solid character as always who is ready to take Miyo’s side. He defends her from everyone including family so I appreciate his loyalty. He is generally more confident and uses his powers as needed. While his battle intelligence takes a huge hit in this season, he looks good beyond that. It’s a case where his core personality is still really good which is the main important part. He also makes a big decision near the end of the series that was definitely a good one. I can see this being a huge benefit over the next seasons as he will have more free time now.

Kudou’s father Tadakiyo is a reasonably fun character. He takes a more laidback approach as he lets his wife largely do whatever she wants. He is happily retired and just likes to keep the peace. It means that you can’t really count on him in daily affairs but he can fight as needed. He’s not a particularly interesting character as a result but he gets the job done. His wife Fuyu starts off as a big bully but softens up later on. I think the anime’s pacing was a little too quick in this case though as she basically becomes a completely different character within a few episodes. That was a little annoying but I suppose she’s still solid enough. Maybe the writer just figured things would be too hard on Miyo to have to deal with another big bully and so that plot was cut short.

As always Arata is around and I really appreciate the open disdain that Kudou shows him the whole time. Kudou just can’t stand the guy and with good reason. Miyo may be able to overlook a kidnapping attempt and some flirting but not her future husband. Arata seems like one of those guys who just can’t take a hint and is always on the wrong side of every matter. His plan is absolutely terrible in this season and I’m convinced that he is basically just around to hold Miyo back. She needs to cut this guy out already. Honestly he’s just gone way too far for anyone to ever trust him. I don’t see him ever really going up as a character.

We start to get glimpses of the main plot as the legendary Usui declares that he will be taking Miyo. This guy is the most powerful member of the Usuba clan and he can use complete hypnosis to mess with your 5 senses. So as a result he could be anyone or anywhere. Kudou takes Miyo to a guardsman base for her protection where she meets a girl named Kaoruko. The problem is that Kaoruko also likes Kudou and most of the soldiers here are all big bullies for no reason. Will Miyo have what it takes to put an end to this once and for all?

For the record I don’t think taking Miyo to this base is a terribly good idea but no location would be all that safe. Realistically there is no defense against Usui due to his ability. The main plan that would have made sense would have been to expedite her training instead. Still, it’s a good chance for Miyo to make friends and she handles herself pretty well in this arc as she stands up to the bullies and defends Kaoruko. If anything it’s just a really bad look for the army that they are unaware of all this treatment or simply don’t care.

Kaoruko makes for a fun character. She is a solid fighter and doesn’t let all the bullying get her down. I did have some suspicions about her that ended up being well founded but despite that she is okay. It just feels like there is not much of a point to her being in the story just yet so we’ll have to see if that changes for future arcs. Since she seems to be lacking in particularly strong abilities, I don’t see her being very useful in a fight. Her last big appearance is mainly crying at a party so it was a rather sad way to go out.

The big climax happens when Usui finally makes his move and kidnaps Kudou. For once it looks like Miyo will have to be the one to save the day and fortunately she is aided by Kudou’s shikigami. Although what she doesn’t know is that the Shikigami shares all of Kudou’s senses and he gets the memories so Miyo would definitely be rather embarrassed if she realized what was going on. Nevertheless, it’s time for action and the shikigami is unfortunately very weak so she will still have to do most of the heavy lifting on her own. Not like this will be the first time that she has done so though so this ought to be easy. It’s just the first time in a combat sense.

The final arc has quite a bit of action which is nice. It also gives the soldiers something to do as they fight a bit in the subplot. In general I always found the soldiers’ plot to be rather boring compared to the main Miyo plot but at least it went somewhere. The show was hinting early on at a possible argument between Miyo and Kudou when he rats out a protest group but nothing came of it. Maybe it was just showing that she was a bit sympathetic instead of her being upset. Still, it’ll be interesting if that turns into anything.

The soldiers have powers and such but they all feel so weak. Kudou has one right hand man who is important but most of the soldiers are rank and file otherwise. I think their plot will be more interesting as we get to learn about more and more of the specific soldiers within the group. That’ll help balance things out a bit there. Also we’ll need their plot to be good because assuming we don’t get another fighter like Usui for a bit, I’m not sure the romance is enough for the show to hang its hat on.

The romance between Kudou and Miyo does tend to be rather weak. I like the fact that it’s not a rebound or anything like that but Miyo is much too timid and since the two characters are ultra stiff around each other, there isn’t much in the way of banter. You could pull out a random anime from any year and it would probably have a better romantic dynamic between the leads. Maybe that will change in the next saga, hopefully it does. I would imagine this should be a natural part of the development.

As for Usui, he was a good main villain. His overall plan was rather lackluster but he does have a sad backstory. He just mishandled the whole situation and let things quickly get out of hand. The show also may have made him a bit too powerful. There’s a reason why complete hypnosis is used so sparingly in media. There is basically no counter to it. You need a high tier series with FTL fighters like Bleach for a proper fight to really be put into action. Realistically Usui should be able to handle the entire verse here. His ability to be completely invisible is unmatched and of course he is also an expert sword fighter. The show may have used this guy up a little too soon but of course there could be stronger characters in the winds. We’ll have to see.

The animation looks solid here. The show gets to show off a bit more this time since there are more action scenes at the ready. It’s always fun to see the fire and electricity shooting out at the opponents. The hand to hand fights are also solid as are the sword battles. Towards the end some of the fight scenes do make you shake your head a bit though. I get the feeling that the author is definitely not used to fight scenes as much as the romantic ones. For example Kudou’s final fight just doesn’t make sense as he seems to forget object permanence immediately. He knows good and well that his opponent has the ability of illusions and yet he’s shocked every time his attack doesn’t land.

Throughout the fight he learns nothing and makes the same mistakes over and over. It just makes Kudou look absolutely terrible as opposed to making the villain look better. As someone who was said to be the strongest in the verse, I would expect more out of Kudou. Particularly since his abilities have a wide range of destructive effect. So it shouldn’t be particularly hard for him to land a blow by predicting where the villain will be and striking. Yeah it was not a good look for him.

Meanwhile the soundtrack isn’t bad although it’s not particularly memorable. I would like the next season to really introduce some proper battle themes. The theme song is also okay but that’s about it. So you could say that the soundtrack is more of a weak point in general. This is a story that has to thrive more on the plot and fights which is fine, the series is able to do that. A nice soundtrack would be appreciated though, so fingers crossed for the next season.

Overall, This season brought more action which was definitely nice. At times the actual story is still not the most engaging though and the show’s attempts at humor tends to be on the weak side. It’s not really the kind of show where you’ll crack a smile. That said, we’re finally approaching the wedding and it’s about time since that should have happened already. I’m ready for Miyo to embrace her role as a Kudou and really start to show off some confidence. This is her chance to shine and she can’t let anybody stop her. If she continues to develop her powers as well then she should be a real threat. Also a change of scenery could be nice for the characters to get away from the main cities and not be tied down by regulations. Could be a nice way to explore their being a power couple. If you’re looking for a solid romance to check out, this one fits the bill.

Overall 6/10

My Hero Academia: You’re Next Review

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It’s time for the next movie in the My Hero series. As the main series edges closer to the end of its run, the movies have to deal with the stronger incarnations of each hero. Will they be able to bring in more quirk fighters to handle the strongest fighters in the verse? Well they do bring in some strong fighters but you do have to suspend a little more disbelief than the last times that these guy can actually hold their own. It’s a great movie with lots of action as you’d expect though.

The movie starts with the heroes taking down some more villains as usual but then they bump into a girl who is being held hostage by a guy who is acting like he’s the new All Might. He calls himself Dark Might and wants to be a new symbol of peace…using fear. His villain organization intends to dominate this world so Deku has to stop them and save the girl. The rest of the heroes are ready to help along with the addition of the mysterious Giulio but is this guy really an ally they can depend on or is he just another criminal to mop up?

Since the power levels are a fairly big thing here lets get into them first. The villains all have rather intense quirks that seem to have no real drawback. You could argue that they basically break the balance of the verse. All Might’s successor, Stars and Stripes, All for One, and One for All are basically the 3 strongest quirks in the verse. Nothing is really on their level as the latter two were built over whole generations while Stars and Stripes is just super busted for no reason. Shigaraki’s decay quirk is also super good but he does have to grab you. The powers these guys have just don’t seem to have any limitations.

For example one girl can look at you and send you into a dream world where you are completely helpless. She could then stab or shoot you and it would be all over. Even Deku with all the other spirits residing within him was unable to break out so it was up to Giulio to do his thing. The idea that his robotic parts can activate on their own and do something was pretty handy but you can see how this power is fairly broken. She would be able to dominate most fighters with ease in any setting.

Then you have the guy who can effectively stop time. He makes a wide area around him slow down to the point of being negligible. Deku had to really go at full power to even stand a chance and the guy being shocked was the only reason it started to work. Seems like it doesn’t drain much stamina with how long the guy can keep this up and of course he can move at normal speeds so he can easily murder you while the time slow is active.

We also have a teleporter who can teleport instantaneously everywhere that he can see. It’s also fairly busted but normal in the sense that every verse has some kind of a teleporter running around. His partner with the telekinesis was probably the most normal one. There is a guy who sets up an RPG land but I was a little unclear on if his power was summoning/reality warping or if that was incidental because the monsters kept getting generated even once he was gone. The sheer infinite numbers of them was intense though.

There is also a guy who can erase quirks like Eraser but it’s a bit different. He shuts off powers over a wide range and then keeps them on if you are next to him. Great in team competitions especially with how wide the range is. It’s impressively deep so it would be really hard for this guy to lose so long as his partners are at least halfway decent. If they let up at all then he is a sitting duck though so it’s good that he’s part of a team.

So these guys are all very powerful with their hax abilities but what about Dark Might? Well, he uses energy coins of sorts which he can use to form energy objects. He can make punches, barriers, etc. It’s a very versatile weapon but he does have to be throwing them around. He has no super strength or speed of his own. The film never quite convinces you why Deku can’t just speedblitz the life out of this guy and end things in a moment. I would say he feels like a downgrade compared to the villains from the previous films.

I was also surprised we didn’t get more of a battle of ideologies with him and Deku. It quickly becomes apparent that this won’t be a thing that happens when Dark Might quickly turned into a generic villain who just wants to conquer the world though. I was surprised they didn’t go for some kind of a justice parallel. At least make Dark Might think that he is the hero of justice before Deku exposes his flaws or something. Instead he’s basically just pure evil the whole time. So I like the concept of the character but thought the execution was off.

Regardless the fight scenes were excellent though. It’s always great to see the big 3 teaming up and in general Deku always provides the best fight scenes with his speed. The fire and ice effects were also solid from his helpers and you can tell that the movie got a really solid budget. They were not holding anything back here which is as it should be. The soundtrack is solid as always too so you definitely had no worries on the technical aspects.

The side characters all get some moments here including the pro heroes. It’s always nice to see them show up and use their signature attacks even just for the acknowledgement that they are around. Always better to have a cameo than to just not appear. Now should they have done a little better in stopping the ship? Probably, but at the same time I do think Deku has long since surpassed all of the pros here so if he was having a hard time then we can buy it a bit more for these guys.

Giulio is the main OC for this film and he’s not bad. I think he gives up a little too quickly though in terms of jumping right to trying to murder the girl. He definitely needed to think of other options. Why not call in the pro heroes? In some cases that’s not always easy but this seemed like one without any real downsides. Surely they would be able to help out a little bit. The guy has a solid character arc and I like his gruff personality but it was still hard to look past the murder attempts. It’s kind of a big deal when you think about it. The heroine here is okay but doesn’t really get much to do. She’s being mind controlled for 99% of the movie and every time she snaps out of it she is kidnapped and mind controlled again. Quite the cycle when you think about it. So not really her fault, but she didn’t have a chance to shine.

When you pop in a movie like this you’re mainly looking forward to the big fight scenes and the film definitely delivers. While there is some down time between fights, it never goes on for too long or anything like that. So you can really sit back and enjoy the fireworks. Power levels are things you contemplate during the movie but they don’t end up hurting a film. I’m just glad that we got the action and that the villains had fairly inventive quirks. You could make a case that they would wash the League of Villains if they fought but it would be interesting to see how all of the hax go up against each other.

Overall, My Hero Academia churns out a lot of consistently great movies and this one is definitely no exception. The action really doesn’t let up and you get to enjoy seeing Deku and friend fight off against the most powerful villains out there. I’ll definitely be eager to see what film comes out next. Hopefully some kind of a crossover with the Vigilantes cast because that would have a ton of potential. If it takes place completely after the main series it would be a good way to expand the world development. In the meantime, definitely check this one out.

Overall 8/10