Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Review

Posted on May 19, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to talk about peak fiction and by that I mean Boruto of course. It’s no surprise that initially a lot of people were rather down on the series. Sequels can often be met with a lot of skepticism at first because you’re worried at how they’re going to humiliate the old characters in favor of the new ones. Well I can say not to worry because Boruto is actually a great series. Yes, the old protags are done extremely dirty and the power levels get kind of crazy but at the end of the day the series does a lot of things exceptionally well.

The series picks up after the first series ends with the world finally at peace. Unfortunately becoming Hokage has gone to Naruto’s head and he has started to shirk his family duties to do paperwork all day. Gone are the days of Naruto being the ultimate family man and this has caused his son Boruto to resent him. Boruto has no interest in becoming Hokage and just wants to be a cool ninja so Naruto can acknowledge him. Unfortunately it won’t be so simple as more aliens are arriving on the planet and seem to do battle. Can he surpass his father and put these guys in their place?

For me personally, I actually get really excited whenever there is a big sequel. I love to see all of my favorite characters in a new setting. Did they keep up with their training and how quickly will they be power creeped? As long as it isn’t overly disrespectful to the old characters I’m generally okay with them being crushed and anything like that. The old characters actually get a fairly big role at first and it starts to lessen as the series goes on but they’re always relevant which is nice. This is a true sequel in that sense and not some thing 100 years in the future when everyone is dead.

To address the elephant in the room, I don’t think the art is all that great. The images I chose here are some of the worst so don’t think that the whole series looks like this but my main problem is that it often ends up getting too cluttered the more the series goes on. In some ways I would say it actually looked clearer before. Take the image of Naruto that I attached in this review. Sure people may poke fun at it but it is easy to read and you know that’s Naruto right off the bat. I’ll take simple art like that which clearly shows who we’re supposed to be talking about over something that’s more on the vague side any time. That’s just the way to go. Still, it’s not bad but I would consider the art to be the weakest part of the series.

Now let me address the next biggest part, what about Naruto and Sasuke? These two were absolute beasts in combat before. They are the strongest Shinobi on the planet. Well, for some reason Naruto never gave Sasuke his arm back and I could see that being for emotional reasons but still it’s a slight nerf. You’d still expect them to absolutely dog walk any opponent in the series and that doesn’t really happen. Delta actually gives Naruto a good fight for a while there. Then later on, Naruto and Sasuke struggle rather hard against Momoshiki, they get absolutely clobbered by Jigen, and they get humiliated by Isshiki.

They are consistently shown to be old news at this point. They get just enough hype to be used as hype tools for the villain but they aren’t winning the fights. So why do I still love Boruto? Lets face it, there’s nothing wrong with a little power creep. I do think that the way it is written doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. You can’t tell me that Naruto would be fodder with Sage mode when Boruto was holding his own against Kawaki while still being really young. It seems to be that Naruto and Sasuke were heavily nerfed to give Boruto his chance in the sun. I completely get fans being upset about it but in general power levels are not the kind of thing that I deduct points for. It hurts yeah and I definitely will always bring power levels up but at the end of the day I’m more concerned with portrayal.

In that sense, Sasuke still looks really good. He may have calmed down a whole lot since the old days but he’s still the tough rival. With his Rinnegan abilities he actually serves as more of a threat than Naruto at times. I would like to see him use the sharingan more often to one shot opponents immediately but in general he gets a lot of hype for being a tactical mastermind. He’s absolutely one of the highlight characters of the series. He did a lot in making Boruto a better character by showing him the true way of the shinobi. He’s still not quite what I would call a family man but he’s someone you can depend on.

As for Naruto….uh oh. Now here’s something the series did drop the ball with. There is still no possible explanation for why Naruto would have ditched his family like this. He doesn’t even attend Himawari’s birthday in person which crushes her and infuriates Boruto. From the dialogue we see that he hasn’t had time for them for years at this point. I’ve heard every excuse in the book for this but none of them stick. You want to know why? Shadow Clones. For a guy who can make thousands and thousands of these, there is no actual reason why he can’t just have a shadow clone doing the Hokage paperwork. You see all the memes all the time of how the previous Hokage handled the business better.

Is Naruto just a bad Hokage? I mean that’s possible but kind of a depressing thought. So Naruto was character assassinated early on. This was all for a character arc where Boruto gets him back into his prime self but that sure took a while and didn’t make sense. After that though he is back to being the Naruto we grew up with. He has a lot of great moments and it’s just really nice to see him again. We rarely get to see the main character after he has achieved his dream so this is really an honor. It’s another reason why I love the series, just seeing Naruto and Sasuke again is a blast. It’s why I will always appreciate Dragon Ball Super as well for all its faults. We get to see Goku and Vegeta again. It’s a bit different since they’re more or less the same age but it is still a vehicle for getting way more moments than what we had before so it works out really well.

Okay…so this review’s been way more about Naruto than Boruto so far but that makes sense since that’s what happens in real life as well. There are so many people I’ve seen online who basically skipped to the moments involving the original characters and ignore the Boruto stuff. Hopefully they’ve changed their ways though because it is great. So lets talk about that now. To do that, we have to start with the main character Mr. Boruto Uzumaki himself! This is the kind of character who can easily hold his own series.

At first I was more indifferent about Boruto. He was a nice enough main character but there wasn’t much to him. He was a little whiny at times and also cheated on an exam. Well, here’s where the character development really starts to come into play. He goes from that to being one of the more mature leads who really talks a good game. He absolutely dishes out the disrespect against all of the villains and it was great. At one point he was smack talking in every single chapter for quite a long time. That’s the kind of energy I want to see. Boruto doesn’t put up with any nonsense from anyone. He also does feel like a bit of a mix of Naruto and Sasuke. Boruto can make some good speeches and knows what it means to be a hero but he’s also more aggressive like Sasuke and will just start fighting at times.

There was a whole lot of pressure on Boruto himself in order for this series to be good and he definitely pulled it off. He held his own really well and so the series was able to take off. The fact that we already have a new sequel series for the time skip is super impressive. I expected that Boruto would still keep going for many years but this one only ended because the sequel was coming out which barely counts as ending. So in a way I still feel like I was right, you know what I mean?

As the main heroine, Sarada is solid as well. She has a hard time keeping up with Boruto here so as the series goes on her role gets smaller and smaller but she fights hard and does her best. It’s always fun to have more Uchiha fighters in the mix and the fact that she wants to become Hokage is a nice change of pace here. You would have expected that it would be Boruto and instead he went in the opposite way. I wouldn’t be shocked if he eventually makes that his aim though. If that happens then it could be hard for her since he is the son of the Hokage after all. For now at least it’s nice to see that the modern version of Team 7 actually gets along really well.

The third member of the group is Mitsuki and he’s not bad but he really gets the shaft in this series. He just doesn’t get a chance to show off what he can do even though we know that he should be pretty strong. If there’s any main criticism for the Boruto series, it’s that the supporting cast rarely get anything to do. They’re around to be sure but for the most part this is purely the Boruto series. If you’re not directly related to him or crucial to his story then that’s it. Interestingly the anime sort of works as an extension of the series so it you really want the side characters then you have to watch the anime. As far as the manga goes, you’ll barely know who half of the new Genin 11 even are.

The first main arc is about the Chunin Exams. Team Boruto is entering to finally get their ranks up and in the meantime the next two aliens are here to cause some trouble. It’s a great way to kick things off. Yes, it keeps the old characters in the mix to start the ratings off on a high note and then in theory you stick around for the new characters. I actually think this is a fairly good idea as a transition. It’s also a pretty good arc in general if you take power levels out of the equation. Again you won’t really care about most of the kids introduced but the villains are solid.

Kinshiki and Momoshiki are sort of like Kaguya. They show up with crazy feats and start messing with everyone. Kinshiki sort of gets the short end of the stick here. He was a very loyal villain though and I rather liked him. He may not have lasted long but he did his best to fulfill his mission. Meanwhile Momoshiki would go on to be one of the most interesting villains. I actually liked him quite a lot. The guy had quite a lot of presence the whole time and would go on to have a lot of fun moments in the series. His role is like the Nine Tailed Fox’s but he’s not quite as nice as that beast was. Even by the end of the series you could argue that Boruto should not trust him at all.

After that we get the first main mission without the old characters so things are toned down quite a lot in terms of scale. The heroes have to deal with a cannibal villain and there’s a kid who needs protecting. The arc shows us more of Boruto’s character like how he plays video games and has a full card collection. This helps him bond with the kid somewhat. Boruto also gets to act a little more mature here. It’s a solid enough arc even if it is technically the weakest. The villain is rather forgettable though.

After that we have the introduction to the villain group Kara. They’re basically a poor man’s Akatsuki but they do have a rather big role in the series. We get to see how they’re such a big threat that even Naruto and friends have trouble. Ao even shows up so Konohamaru finally gets a good fight. The arc has a lot of good fights and in general this is always a soli thing about Boruto. Every arc has some big fights involved and so there are a ton of milestone moments. Again the power levels get dicey when Naruto and Sasuke show up but it’s still nice to see them having to give their all to fight these new threats. It does raise the stakes a whole lot.

Ao makes for a solid opponent. It’s interesting to see how far he has come during the Naruto days. You can easily see why he changed a whole lot. I don’t have much sympathy for the guy but his debut was undeniably cool and he left an impact. I was also glad to actually see Konohamaru show up and fight. The guy can actually hold his own now which is nice character development. his role is still really small overall but that’s just how it goes. There are a lot of characters to juggle.

Delta is one of my favorite members of the villain group. She has a lot of confidence and can fight really well. Her speed is impressive and her fight with Naruto still ranks up there as a highlight moment in the series. Then we have Koji who I found less interesting but there is a lot of mystery around his character. He looks a whole lot like Jiraiya so why is that? I just didn’t care much about Jiraiya back in the day which is why I found it hard to care about this guy. Koji is tough to be sure but he’s no Delta.

Then we have Jigen who is another true powerhouse here. The guy is crazy strong and that led to another hype fight. He would eventually be Isshiki so you could go by either term here. Regardless, the guy is one of the cooler villains here to be sure. It may be a valid complaint to say that he doesn’t have a ton of character and it’s more about his overall abilities but I’d argue that he still has enough to back him up. I was interested in what he was going to do at least.

Around this time we also got introduced to Boro who was one of the weaker Kara members. The guy was a power type so he mostly exists to get wrecked and show off everyone else’s hype. The role works well though as it still has Sarada’s best Chidori and I liked seeing everyone’s teamwork. I don’t really care about Boro but he had an intimidating character design. Then we met Amado, the scientist with a grand master plan. His whole thing is that he’s sort of like an evil version of Shikamaru. He’s always got a plan at the ready and has many different contingencies. You definitely don’t want to underestimate this guy.

I’m not really a fan at the moment though. He talks tough and gets a lot of hype but hasn’t done anything with it yet. Unless he has a super big reveal, I don’t really see him rising up the ranks. At least we do have Kawaki though, which finally gives us a rival for Boruto. The problem is that he’s no Sasuke though. When Kawaki first shows up you can see how he’s stronger than Boruto but that changes real quick. Kawaki gets crazier and crazier as the series goes on which ultimately does hurt him. I don’t care for his motivations or reasonings quite as much as Sasuke.

There is still a lot to like about his character though so don’t get me wrong. He’s solid enough as an antagonist and rival pre time skip. He gives Boruto a reason to keep on training hard and has a lot of clutch moments. At this point in time he’s a very interesting character and we needed Boruto to have a challenge. Most of the other figures here just can’t do that anymore.

Finally, we end the series with some more villains showing up. We now have androids at the ready. I do have some major problems here like in DBZ though. There’s no way you should be able to create new villains that can rival the gods. It’s just not happening and the power scaling goes absolutely crazy so you will want to avoid that. The main new villain here is Code and he wants to destroy Boruto to avenge Isshiki. He wants to take everyone down for that reason really since he basically worshipped the guy. To do this, he wakes up Eida and Daemon, two other figures to take down the heroes.

The series goes pretty hard in trying to set them up as powerful fighters but you can tell that the series is writing itself into a hole. First up is Daemon who cannot be injured. If you even so much as think about hurting him then the damage is reflected to you. He’s said to be stronger than Naruto and Sasuke combined. No worries, this technique gets nerfed in the sequel but for now that’s an absolutely crazy ability. I never cared for him as a character though. He may be strong but he’s not my kind of villain.

Then there is Eida whose ability makes it so that everyone falls in love with her. Additionally, she can see all events in the present and the past. It’s basically an omnipotence ability and it’s certainly handy. So nobody can really attack her and you can’t keep any secrets from her either. She isn’t really a physical fighter as far as we know but that means she doesn’t need to engage in physical combat anyway. Another character where I can’t say that I give her a real thumbs up though.

So that leaves Code and well the poor guy constantly gets clowned on. He got a ton of hype when he first showed up but it all went downhill from there. The main problem is that he gets surpassed too quickly which absolutely undermines his character arc. If he could have been allowed to slowly be surpassed that would have worked better. The guy just ends up whining a lot which doesn’t help his case at all. The guy had a promising future but he fell flat.

That’s roughly all of the characters. Shikamaru gets a big role on the heroes’ side but naturally he doesn’t look very good either. He’s mainly here to get wrecked or to hype up another character. His days of always being the smartest and being in the lead are absolutely over which is a shame. I’m still waiting for characters like Kakashi and Tsunade to show up as well. They should be able to help out a little bit after all and acknowledging them would be cool. Sometimes the series feels a bit too isolated which doesn’t work when everyone in the lead village should still be in peak shape. If they get to fight, it’s usually to get one shotted. So again, don’t get too attached to the old character.

At this point it’s a bit of a meme that we’ll never get to the quick moment that was teased at the very beginning of Boruto. It was a flash forward hinting at some epic things and it just never happened. So in a way people were right which is kind of crazy because you would have assumed that it had to appear. Still, it will likely show up in the sequel series which is what counts. I don’t think anyone could have guessed that this manga would end on a cliffhanger. Since there’s a sequel there’s nothing to worry about for folks who don’t like an unfinished story though. If anything this manga ends in an extremely hype way. The final page is awesome with another one of Boruto’s best moments. Like I said before, he really came a long way from the opening chapters and is just an awesome main character now. He can hold his head high next to Naruto.

Overall, Boruto was a great manga series. It really does a good job of continuing the legacy of the characters and showing us what happened next. This really is the next generation of Naruto and I can safely say that the legacy is in good hands. If you’re looking for great action and a solid plot then you have come to the right place. It can only adapt so much though so don’t expect this to answer your questions on where every old character is. Some have not yet gotten to appear and others probably won’t, even in the sequel series. For the most part you do get the picture of how things went down though. The sequel series is also off to a great start right now so it’ll probably be going for a long while. Once it has been completed then I will have a review up for it though.

Overall 8/10

Cursed to Golf Review

Posted on May 19, 2024 by dreager1

Golf has never really been my thing. The game doesn’t move fast enough for me and the gameplay didn’t translate well onto the video game screen. The only exception to this has really been the Gamecube Mario Golf which was rather good. I figured this one could change things since it has the whole rogue genre going for it so I figured that would entail some fun gameplay. Unfortunately while there are a lot of gimmicks and items here, none of them really help to make Golf any more fun than it usually is. Instead I dare say that it may have been weaker than normal.

There is a general plot here which is that the main character was about to go and win the world championships when unfortunately he died and is now in the underworld. He will have to try and climb his way back to the surface but the only way to do that is to complete the 18 hole set in the underworld. If he can’t get the golf ball into the hole fast enough in any of the holes then he will be sent all the way back to the start. The stakes are high but hey the main character has his entire after life to figure this out. So he definitely has time on his side.

The general gameplay is your classic Golf of course. You have to use one of your 3 clubs in order to hit the ball into the hole before all of your turns are done. You may start with 10 balls for example, then that means you have 10 turns to sink it. Your clubs each have different specialties. One is good for ground balls, one to launch balls in the air, etc. Using them effectively will really determine just how far you get here. If you mess up then that will be it for you.

You will want to take a good look around the stage though or you may end up hitting your ball into the water or a ditch. If that happens then you will have really wasted a turn. You also have cards which work as special abilities. These cards can grant you extra turns, stop time, split your ball into multiple copies, etc. There are a whole lot of possibilities here so you will want to use them efficiently. As you progress through the stages you will bump into shops where you can buy more items or get other bonuses. Then there are the boss rooms which have a lot of holes and you have to figure out which one to use. This is the one I couldn’t figure out though. You have unlimited balls so running out isn’t a concern but I felt like I used every hole more than once and I still couldn’t win. There’s probably some kind of trick to it but I wasn’t a big fan.

You really need to like Golf to play through this game though because otherwise there isn’t much to keep you focused here. It’s really just golf with a bunch of items and special abilities but that makes things more chaotic without solving the main issue of making golf more fun. I would put a lot of the blame on how long each of the levels are though. It takes forever to actually get through each level and that’s a problem. I’d rather start off with half the balls but the levels are half length. That would be a much better balance. The length of the levels here make the whole game a lot more daunting than it really needs to be. It would take so many different attempts to win the whole thing and losing at the end would be absolutely demoralizing.

In general I’ve always been very pro check points though. Keep them coming fast and often. That is the best way to handle a game like this. It makes the whole experience better, maybe they could do that for a sequel. In the meantime to beat this one you will need a lot of training because the game is really difficult. Unless you get a lot of permanent upgrades which to be fair is standard for a rogue title, you are going to be in a lot of trouble here.

The graphics are really good though. It’s got that cute indie style which works well and all of the character models are sharp. The backgrounds all look sharp and I like all of the effects. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side though. It’s fairly calm and that works well with the golf gameplay but I’d definitely have preferred something with a lot more energy to it. That could have helped to energize the gameplay at least a little.

Overall, Cursed to Golf is a game with a really interesting premise but that’s enough to carry it to safety. The actual gameplay is just not very fun and the levels are way too long. Mix that in with the very heavy penalty of having to start from scratch when you lose and that’s it. The all time best rogue game has easily been TMNT Splintered Fate but I’ve heard good things about many other titles over the years. I just haven’t played many games in the genre but so far they’ve all been pretty solid except this one. This one I definitely do need to give a thumbs down to. Of course if you like Golf then you should definitely check it out.

Overall 4/10

Star Wars: Demolition Review

Posted on May 19, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for another old school title. This one deals with the Star Wars verse before there were too many huge characters. The character roster is really interesting because the only character I actually recognized was Boba Fett. I assume the bigger characters are hidden somewhere in there behind unlockables but you would expect at least a handful of other big players right? Maybe the game was trying to be accurate to the lore but in my opinion that’s taking things a bit far.

So the general plot is that Jabba The Hut is flexing on the empire once again. He has decided to continue doing some underground races despite this being illegal and now it’s even more dangerous than it used to be. Everyone is to test their mettle in these life or death races. A single mistake will mean the end of everything. Who dares throw themselves into the ring for money, status, and power? Well, Boba Fett is certainly in the running and he’s absolutely got the skills to do well here. Do not underestimate him!

The gameplay is really where the game falls apart for me though. There are two main types of gameplay. One of them is where you hunt a bunch of droids and see how many you can blow up in 3 minutes. Fairly simple but without someone else to play with there’s not much to this mode. There’s no progression or unlockables to be found here. Then you have the main gameplay which is fighting other ships. You are thrown into a map with a bunch of other players and have to take them down. This one actually had a lot of potential, but alas it could not live up to this. Here’s why that is the case…the game is too easy to run away from. When you appear on the map you can just drive in circles and escape the opponent.

Sure, he will hit you a few times but it takes dozens and dozens of hits to actually bring the other player down so there is never a worry about losing. Unfortunately the same thing goes for when you are trying to win here. No matter how many times you hit the opponent, he continues to get up again and again. It just never ends and that’s what will make you shake your head here. A single match really takes forever and at one point I ran into a glitch where the enemy ran inside a wall and I had to wait until a time out occurred.

If the gameplay were better then the whole experience would be saved but there’s not much that you can do once the gameplay is busted. The only thing that I can say for it is that it would probably be fairly entertaining with another player. Sort of one of those games where you mock it as you are playing it. That’s all I can think of there. It’s a shame because the game put in a lot of work in every other area. The soundtrack is nice and the graphics look pretty good for its time.

Then you have the death animation which is really hype. This happens in tournament mode, so if you lose a battle there is a whole cutscene that plays before the game over screen. You are brought over to Jabba the Hut and executed. It turns out that the penalty for losing really is death. I thought this was a nice attention to detail and in theory they rendered a cutscene like this for every playable character. Well done I must say. The fact that the game has a full opening and everything is cool too. It may not be the same as having a story mode but it’s still an extra detail that shows the level of effort that went into this one. It feels like this game was not meant to be some cheap tie-in even if the gameplay makes it feel that way.

It’s not exactly AAA though since the game is very limited in content but at least what is there was well polished. So this feels like a game of missed opportunities because I could have easily seen this being really good. It just wasn’t meant to be which is unfortunate. Maybe next time right? I mean it’s been many years so this is likely not getting a sequel but nowadays you never know.

Overall, Star Wars: Demolition is a game that’s okay but I can’t really see myself going back to it. It doesn’t really have a hook to keep you and the gameplay should have been way better than it was. The fact that it could not surpass that was definitely unfortunate. On the PS2 I played a few Star Wars racing games which were fun although this one is really about the combat so it’s a bit different. I think racing games are easier to pull off but the fighting ones can be a blast. You just have to really nail the timing, weapons, and how you want the rules to operate. This one didn’t quite get that taken care of which is what hurt it in the end.

Overall 5/10

Tekken 2 Review

Posted on May 19, 2024 by dreager1

It almost feels a bit strange to be playing Tekken when it looks so retro like this. I’m used to the big and bold plots and all of the electronic music hype. This one still does sound really great to be sure but it is rather basic. You’ll be playing arcade mode and that’s about it. I suppose you can’t ask for much more out of the PS1 era though. That’s just how things were back then. The game’s difficulty is impressively high as well.

When you boot up the game you are given the options to go with arcade mode or multiplayer mode. There might be a practice mode as well but I’m not sure if I saw that there. Either way your main time will be spent across these two modes. The Arcade mode is a classic of course. You go through 10 levels as you beat up on a bunch of opponents and get to see a little ending. It’s good fun but like I wrote earlier the difficulty level is really unforgiving. A few hits are enough to take you down for the count.

The opponent is also really good at creating distance. While I was fighting him, the a.i. would always maintain a perfect distance to dodge my attacks while immediately countering. It was definitely not something to be underestimated. So I actually went ahead and tried on easy mode as well and let me tell you that this was no picnic. The computer was still extremely difficult to defeat and had a lot of tricks up their sleeve. I was definitely taken off guard there. So it’s fair to say that the newer Tekken games are absolutely easier. They have not retained the incredible difficulty jump.

I played through Tekken 7 recently after all and it was nowhere near this tricky. The final boss was super tough, that part is true but it wasn’t the whole game the way that Tekken 2 is. That’s a whole other monster right there. The graphics are also good. Again they are dated, but in a fun way. The blocky style is fun and the game still went out of its way to have a full opening and everything. There are a lot of good attack animations all the way through. Then you have the soundtrack which is really good. It nails the electronic feel that the newer games have and that was probably a very rare thing for back in the day.

The replay value is really as long as you have someone to play with. This isn’t the kind of game that you stick around to just play single player for very long. I suppose you could do arcade mode with every character but there aren’t a ton of them so that won’t take you very long either. You’re here for the combat and the gameplay is on point as always so there is no problem there. You have your various moves plus the throw. What has always separated Tekken from the other fighting game titles is how much damage you deal. You can completely eliminate someone in just a few moves which is always insanely impressive. Just memorize a combo for any of the characters and you will be leaving your opponents dazed.

A big part of the combat is really about memorizing each character’s options. That is how you can dodge in time while landing counter blows of your own. Otherwise you will really just be guessing a lot. Reaction times are also very important to be sure because someone could just button mash and still do well if you aren’t able to react to their random moves. Tekken is definitely a game that really tests your skills and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There aren’t really any gimmicks here, it just comes down to you and your opponent’s skills. Do you have what it takes to bring them down?

Overall, Tekken 2 is a pretty good fighting game. It may be more on the basic side but back in the day that would be the case for all of these titles. It’s definitely a fun blast to the past to see all of the characters back in their earlier days so that’s enough of a reason to pop this one back in and play a few rounds. I don’t see you sticking with it for very long like one of the newer ones but it does age well as a novelty title. If you are able to get your hands on this one for free or for a good price then it’s worth the playthrough.

Overall 7/10

Acts of Vengeance Review

Posted on May 19, 2024 by dreager1

This is a review of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

All right it’s time for one of those classic thriller stories. This one goes through the motions and is a good film but I wouldn’t say it stands out a lot compared to the competition. It doesn’t have the same level of iconic lines as Taken for example although at the same time…there is a plot reason for this. The ending may not have left me completely satisfied but you will get some good action scenes here.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Frank whose job is to talk a lot. He is the defense attorney for a lot of crazy criminals and he’s really good at his job so he tends to get them off the hook even when they’re guilty. Hey, you can’t blame him, blame the system right? Well that’s easier said than done. One day his wife and kid are murdered and the cops admit that there isn’t much that they can do. There aren’t enough leads and people are getting murdered all the time around there so what are you gonna do? Frank lets people beat him up for a while before finally deciding to take action. He will become a martial arts master and track down the killer. Until he pulls this off, he will never say another word.

The vow of silence is definitely a solid way to show your determination. It does mean that Frank will stop at nothing in order to finish his quest but it can also work as something that holds him back when you think about it. After all, this means that he can’t really question any of the villains or anything like that. He has to rely on their facial expressions and what they start saying. Frank’s physical senses do begin to improve a lot which does help him out here though. It’s also good that his fighting skills worked out well since there are a lot of villains to stop and Fran tends to let them all go.

He plays a very risky game and you could argue that he has to have a lot of plot armor to make it through the trials here. For example, he lets quite a few mafia members leave with their lives but none of them manage to track him down and get the jump on him in time. In real life it feels like crossing the mafia in such an open way would really be a death sentence. Even by the end Frank opts to let the justice system do its thing but there’s no reason to believe he will be alive after the next 48 hours. He’s made too many enemies and not finishing them off puts him in a dicey spot.

I get that the film wanted to go for a positive moral where you know that this guy hasn’t crossed the line but within the film’s context I don’t think that it works out so well. Sometimes when you spare someone like this, all you are doing is dooming other people. Not saying it has to be like that of course but it is definitely one of the big possible outcomes. Then we have the main heroine Alma who is nice enough. She’s perhaps a bit too trusting since she warms up to Frank right away even though the guy should appear to be incredibly suspicious. Their first meeting is him already being rather beat up and having a gun so my first guess wouldn’t necessarily be that he is an upstanding citizen.

There’s a dog in the movie that helps Frank out a lot so that was pretty fun. His skills are definitely really helpful in solving the case. As for the main villain, there’s not a whole lot to say about him. His attempt at sympathy doesn’t work at all. Yes the guy has a tragic backstory but it does nothing to support his actions in the present. If anything you’d think it makes the whole thing worse. This guy should definitely not be trying to go after a child the way that he did. So yeah the villain’s just one of those crazies and he doesn’t do anything to actively elevate the film to the next level. You could switch him out with just about anyone and it doesn’t matter.

Part of the film is effectively a mystery as to who got Frank’s family and it’s sort of a tricky one. On one hand, the cast is extremely small here. So if the killer is a named character then you basically only have 2 real options but if the killer is some random mobster then you may not be as invested. The good news of course is that you don’t know either way until it happens so in that sense it still works well as a mystery that keeps you guessing. The film’s definitely at its best when focusing on the action though. The fight scenes are really solid.

Overall, Acts of Vengeance is a good movie. I liked the way it would use chapters to break up the story and how the quotes would also describe the chapter. Having so much inner monologue may feel like a bit of a cheat to the fact that the main character doesn’t talk much but still I appreciated it since I tend to like dialogue. The more words that are spoken the better, that’s what I’d say here. If you enjoy a good revenge story then you should watch the movie. If it’s not your genre then there’s not much else for the movie to offer you. It’s very straight forward in that way so the ball is really in your court here.

Overall 6/10

Mashle: Magic and Muscles Review

Posted on May 18, 2024 by dreager1

You know it’s actually a bit weird to think that Mashle only had 18 volumes. For some reason I figured it had around 30 or so. I guess it was shorter than I thought but it’s fine because the series was jam packed with tons of high quality moments. It hit way above its pay grade the whole time and you could even say it embraces the parody angle even more than One Punch Man did. Mash isn’t quite as invincible as Saitama was by any means but for the most part he still scaled above his opponents. This is definitely an excellent series that I absolutely recommend checking out. It’s a series where I recommend checking out the anime a lot as well since it did a great job of elevating the material even further. Yeah you’re definitely in a great position here.

The series starts off by introducing us to Mash who was born without magic for some reason. In this world it is seen as a curse to not have magic. Like you are not loved by the universe and it’s practically a crime to even exist. Fortunately he is adopted by a nice man who vows to keep him safe but the authorities find out about this. Mash must now enter a magic school and become one of the Divine Visionaries. Only by doing this can he keep his father safe and perhaps end this crazy discrimination against the magic-less users. Is he strong enough to pull this off though? Mash will be fighting the absolute cream of the crop, the strongest magic users to ever exist.

While the characters start coming around later on, most of them are unreasonable at first. It’s crazy how many people are basically jealous of Mash the whole time. They are rooting for his downfall and are no shy about it. They want to take him down for the count no matter what it takes. There are a lot of petty people here but I suppose that is almost to be expected at this point because most settings end up being filled with crazy people while the main character has to prove them wrong. Such is the fate of being the main character.

The artwork here is really good, in fact I would go as far as to say that it’s spectacular. The author absolutely nails both the comedic and action parts of the story. That’s what happens when you have a top tier artist like this at the ready. It holds its own with the upper echelon of Jump titles here. The fights are incredibly satisfying. It’s channeling the energy of the older Jump titles like Kenshin where you had everyone fighting the final boss one by one. They would all go down and then the next fighter would make a move. The fights are easy to follow while the abilities remain very creative and colorful the whole time.

I’d also say the pacing is good. Every chapter has something going for it. Again that could vary between a really hype action scene occurring or maybe it’s a really good gag. Either way the story never just pauses in the middle to leave you hanging. You can be reassured about that. Also while a lot of stories tend to have endings that aren’t all that great, I thought the ending here was pretty fun. It worked well with the themes of the series as being sort of serious if you zoom into the themes but comedic on its face. It’s definitely a fun way to do this.

There’s definitely quite a few arcs in this. The first main part of the story involves getting the stars needed to enter the big tournament coming up to set the stage for the visionaries. This pits Mash up against some steep competition like Dot and Lance at least they were tough back in the day as well as a whole cult group. He has to make sure not to lose himself during these battles either. If he lets his guard down too soon then it’ll all be over for him. Fortunately he’s not the kind of guy to stress about anything. He just eats some cream puffs and gets to work. Definitely one of the bravest fighters out there without a doubt and it helps to have the level of ability that he has. One punch is enough to usually win the day. Quite a few of the characters become main characters by this point and join the good side so a lot happens in the intro.

You may expect that the series gets more and more intense with stronger villains that it would get a lot more serious but that isn’t really the case. Right up through the end the series is still managing a really good balance between comedy and action which is definitely impressive. Most titles would not stand a chance at that or it would feel very weird with the tone but that’s never a problem here. That just shows how good Mash is. The Divine Visionary exams take up a very large part of the series so hopefully you like them but I don’t have many doubts about that.

Mashle does a great job of keeping every challenge fresh and it’s always a lot of fun. Then we jump into the big climax against Innocent Zero and his forces. Like I said before the climax is really great. We’re talking nonstop fights here with a lot of great appearances from everyone involved. Everyone has a part to play and they complete their roles flawlessly. Whether it’s a supporting character who has been around since chapter 1 or a very recent villain, everyone does something here. The whole montage of fighters is really impressive to be sure. One of the best climaxes I’ve read in a while. It makes full use of how many characters have been introduced and fleshed out over the years as well as the increasing power levels here.

At most you could say that it does highlight some power level issues in general though. For example, it feels like there should be no way that half of these characters can survive a single hit from Innocent Zero. At this point the amount of power we’re talking about it crazy after all. You’d expect that Mash himself would murder say Dot or Lance with a single hit if he’s serious and this guy is leagues stronger than Mash. So there may be a little plot armor occurring at different points here that you will have to try and ignore. This is something that happens to any series once the power levels are high enough though so it’s not like it’s a shock. It’s just the way that the ball bounces.

Now lets talk about the characters a bit. First up is Mash who is a very solid main character. He may not take things seriously all the time but he can fight well and ultimately wants to do his pops proud. He has his deep moments when avenging a friend where we see that he notices more than he lets on. So all in all he is definitely the guy you want to have on your side. I would say he balances out the serious and comedic parts of his personality really well. He ends up being funny without being annoying so there really aren’t any big downsides to his character.

Then you have Finn who is one of those really scared characters. For the most part he is not ready to deal with the big threats but eventually gets his man up moment. So naturally you know that I don’t really care for the character too much. I always appreciate it when he steps up as needed but that’s too little and too late to really bump him up the ranks for me. I would need to see that done on a consistent basis.

A better example of a flawed character who is still rather solid is Dot. Dot falls for all the traps and his weakness to girls is a really big one. At the same time he can still fight rather well and always talks tough. So he can actually back himself up and continues to get stronger as the series goes on. He may not be one of the strongest fighters out there but he is a consistent ally who always does his best and he is entertaining. So I give him a thumbs up there.

Lance is an even better fighter. This guy is the genius of the main characters and so he was able to master his craft at an early age. There are very few other fighters who could have managed that. His fighting style is also very direct. He plunges you into the ground with his gravity which is an ability that is really hard to block or dodge. You just have to be even stronger so that the gravity doesn’t affect you. The guy’s main quirk is a bit much so that can hold him back but otherwise he’s solid.

Lemon is the main heroine in a way but she gets a really small role next to her competitors. You can go through just about the whole series and only find a rare handful of moments where she really got something to do. She’s a super minor character all the way around and wasn’t that interesting. Wahlberg may not do much for a large chunk of the series but he is at least rather cool. I don’t think that he’s a great headmaster since he tends to take his time making the right choices. He will ask the other students for their input a little too much and tends to be rather passive. However, I can forgive just about all of this for one big reason, he is strong. At the end of the day, that helps a character overcome many obstacles. So by the end I would say that he was rather solid.

Rayne is one of the first divine visionaries to appear and get to fight. The one catch with that is he doesn’t get as much time to be mysterious and get a lot of hype. Still, his abilities are the real deal and I like him. He’s not quite as much of a stickler about the rules as some of the other characters which I can appreciate. He doesn’t lose sight of the forest for the trees while other characters lose sight of that immediately! My favorite visionary is easily Ryoh though. He’s the light visionary who is really cool and confident in his own abilities. He may brag a lot but that is rather deserved when you consider how strong he is. Why wouldn’t he brag right?

He gets some really good fights in the series as well an left a big impact. His screen time relative to some of the other characters may have been small but he was still a lot of fun. Tom is another fun character who doesn’t appear much. He wants Mash to join in the sports events and it’s easy to see why since Mash is a super athletic star. At the same time, this guy can’t fight so he is written out real quick. Definitely don’t expect much out of him.

Margarette is one of the big antagonists early on and is definitely powerful. I actually forget how close the fight with Mash was. The ability to use sound waves and then shape them into various objects is really impressive. Margarette leaves quite the impression even if I am not a big fan of the character. Carpaccio is someone who has even less of an impression. Cool character and definitely a lot of fun abilities but a very small role. One of those characters who really existed for Mash to beat up but otherwise didn’t have much to do.

Innocent Zero is easily one of the biggest villains in the series. It’s not surprising as he is introduced as the big bad fairly early into the series. His abilities are the real deal and they get more impressive as the climax hits. He’s a really solid villain. Although I feel like I tend to remember him more for his super powerful abilities than as a character. That’s the kind of figure that he is. You’re not thinking about a grand origin story and super ambitious goals but more of a classic final boss kind of figure. It works well enough with him though and he leaves more of an impact than most of the others.

An exception to this is Doom though. He’s the best villain in the series by far. The guy’s another crazy strong fighter but he has a good honor code and is also just a lot more interesting. His fight with Mash felt more personal and his impact on the story was bigger. He was the true benchmark for Mash to compare himself with and serves as the last main opponent before the final boss. Doom got to fight quite a few opponents during the series and always dominated in his matches. Yeah that guy was awesome.

By the end of the series we even get to see the god of the world show up which was certainly interesting. It was another chance for Mashle to showcase its unique form of humor and it felt like something out of One Punch Man. I wouldn’t be shocked if that series pulls off something similar at some point but in the meantime this is really a Mashle exclusive. The god here is fairly powerful to be sure, probably one of the strongest but he’s no Mash. Okay now lets circle back and look at some more of the characters.

Abel is one of the first big villains and he was a whole lot of fun. The guy’s role has aged well and he just makes for a very imposing figure. The series goes into the redemption arcs without too much thought into them which is fitting for a light hearted title. So you may be a bit dubious on everyone being cool with Abel but it is what it is. He’s a solid villain through and through. I also liked his right hand man Abyss a whole lot. That guy is super loyal and he was also a terrific fighter. He really gave Mash a tough run for his money during their initial encounter. I always value loyalty in a character.

They had a number of other fighters on their squad who showed up but for the most part they were all written out after they were dispatched. Back to the visionaries, Orter is another strong member but definitely the most fixated on the rules to becoming a borderline villain. The fact that he is always so eager to execute Mash reflects real poorly on him. Here’s the problem, Mash at the end of the day is someone who is actively working to fight the villains. So taking him down doesn’t help at all except to restore the status quo. It’s my big problem with a character like this who completely loses perspective. So he’s okay as a villain but I wouldn’t acknowledge him as a hero.

Kaldo is a lot more interesting. He doesn’t necessarily approve of Mash in any way but he gives him some advice. Kaldo recognizes the benefit in having another strong fighter on board which immediately makes him a whole lot more interesting. I also like the sword that he uses. I wish he could have appeared a little earlier on so that he could get more fights but he still made the most of his screen time.

Brad is one of those bullies who quickly turned over a new leaf and it’s a good thing that he did or Mash would have really gave him some trouble. He ends up being a reasonably entertaining character in the background but he definitely never gets much of a serious role. Same goes for Regro who did a good job of raising Mash but after that he is really written out. There just isn’t anything for him to really do at that point.

Not all of the visionaries get a ton to do though so I’ll go through a few of these quickly. Renatus is one of those guys who is rather tough with a psychotic streak. He’s definitely interesting but I would have liked to have seen more of him. I can’t say that I liked Agito at all. The guy definitely doesn’t stack up with the others and his being quirky doesn’t end up really being a positive.

I can’t say I remember Sophina or Tsuara much at all to be honest even after refreshing myself on the wiki. So I’m going to list that as a demerit. If I don’t remember you very well then that means there is clearly a big problem here. It’s a shame but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Meliadoul is an interesting character. She shows up really late to the whole thing but gets a solid role near the end. She’s actually rather tough and I admire her fiery resolve. She is the opposite of Ochoa who is one of the worst characters in the series. Right up through the end he proves himself to not be trustworthy at all and someone who will seek his own safety first. There’s definitely no room for a character like that in these ranks and I wish he could have been more likable. He was good for some of the gags but gets a thumbs down.

Cell War is a fairly cool villain and I definitely like the name. His spikes are hard to dodge and so he is a very powerful fighter all the way through. He’s rather twisted and evil but without overplaying that card. Everything about him is really memorable so you aren’t likely to forget about him anytime soon. Domina was another one of the more impressive villains. His water skills were really good and even by the end of the series he is one of the most powerful members. He is one of those guys where you might not buy into the redemption arc all that much though. You have to suspend a little disbelief there but it was definitely satisfying seeing him show up in the climax so that was cool.

Charles doesn’t quite have the same energy behind him. He’s also rather strong but not as impressive as the last few. I did like Levis a lot though. He’s another villain who is more on the crazy side and fights hard. His ending may not make him look super impressive but for the most part you can count on a tough fight from this guy. Famin is super strong and one of the more twisted villains. It seems like the clown/jester villains always have a bit of an edge to them right? Don’t let this guy’s quirkiness fool you, he’s as deadly as they come and really leaves an impact.

Epidem has one of the most memorable scenes later on because how much of a sucker he proves the heroes to be. The main thing to remember is that if a villain offers you food, you probably shouldn’t take it. That’s like the first lesson everyone learns right? Well, you would think that was the case at least. So his entire fight was really fun. Delisaster is another villain I’m drawing more of a blank on but the design is really solid. It’ll be fun to see all of these villains animated at some point. There are just so many great fights to be had.

Mashle is a series that has tremendous amounts of replay value though. There are so many great fights to be found throughout all of the arcs and like I said the humor is also really good. It takes you back to a nostalgic time in Shonen Jump and it really always keeps a good balance between action and humor. I’d have been cool for the series to have kept on going for a long time. This could have been the next Naruto in terms of impact.

Overall, Mashle is an absolutely elite title. One of the all time greats and definitely a story that you need to read. It’s not every day that we get another big action Shonen like this so you need to check it out right away. The character cast is fun and there are so many fun little references and easter eggs here. The world is really well fleshed out and so you are absolutely engaged in everything that is going on from start to finish. Also if you like cream puffs, this series will likely help you take that to the next level!

Overall 9/10

Spider-Man 2 Review

Posted on May 18, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to continue the Spider-Man run. This time we’re at the full on sequel that takes place after Miles. If you skipped the middle game then you definitely don’t have much context on some of the Miles’ sub plots but for the most part you should be able to follow along from the main game either way. It’s definitely another excellent title that slightly switches up the gameplay in a few ways. Some of them positive and some of them negative which is how things always go but in the end I would definitely give it a thumbs up either way.

The story starts off with Harry finally feeling better thanks to the experimental symbiote that was put on him. He no longer has to be confined to his bed or a stasis tube so that’s great and he’s even ready to help Spider-Man on his journey. The tricky part here is that a new villain is in town though. His name is Kraven and he is slowly hunting all of Spider-Man’s most dangerous opponents. Once he is done with them then it may be time to go after Spider-Man himself. This guy has to be stopped but can Peter really juggle being Spider-Man and Peter Parker?

So lets start off with all of the positives first. The hub world is still huge with a whole lot to do. You can swing through the buildings really quickly so it never feels like a burden though. Instead it’s just a lot of fun and so you will likely find yourself very quickly going through the bonus content even as you complete the story. It’s the kind of game that really rewards this by increasing your stats and abilities accordingly. You actually do feel a lot stronger as you level up and that’s a good thing. The side quests also have a good amount of variety so if you’re bored of beating up on the enemies then this will help to reset your gameplay. Some missions involve controlling a robot, zipping around, and even playing as Peter Parker and using your bike.

The gameplay is also really smooth as you would expect. You have a lot of great hand to hand combat skills up your arsenal along with the web abilities. You get much stronger special abilities here than in either of the first two games so that definitely helps you to really pack up the enemies. If anything you may start to get sloppy as you rely on them so be careful about that. They do take a long time to load so when you’re up against big bosses then things can be tricky. You also have 4 different web abilities that you will want to throw into the mix as well. Everything can be leveled up and of course there are different customizations possible.

One change to the gameplay that I didn’t care for is the new parry system. Basically this is a mechanic so that you can’t dodge some attacks. Your spider sense simply isn’t good enough and in these moments you have to just block as best you can. So what’s the problem with this? The symbol for parrying is the same as the symbol for command grabs and if you try to block one of those then you take a lot of damage. These grabs can’t be dodged either, you have to jump out of the way. It definitely adds some complexity to the gameplay but it was in more of an annoying way. I didn’t think that it ended up helping the experience.

This is still a top tier gameplay style of course but it makes the system a bit weaker than the last two games. I bet if I hadn’t played them back to back it would feel more natural since I would be used to parrying already but that just wasn’t the case here. You can still choose to heal or use a special attack but in this game it’s almost always worth healing instead since the super attacks don’t do enough damage to justify their use. Keep the heal ready instead and just use a special move as soon as you are able to do so. Also once you have symbiote powers, you will be hard pressed to ever want to use anything else. They’re just way too good.

The story here is definitely a lot of fun as well. It’s nice to see all of the villains showing up although you have a hard time believing that Kraven would do nearly as well as he did. That’s a stretch. The beginning can be a little slow as we get flashbacks to Peter’s old days but once the story really starts you are all set. Even though I am not a Black Cat fan I will say that her role was really underwhelming here. The game seemed to be setting up a big role for her only to stop that short. Maybe it’s a subversion but not one that helped the story out. Ah well, at least we have a bonus story of sorts involving the Flame cult which is real interesting.

There are a bunch of different side quests but for the most part they’re a bit on the dull side otherwise. You have to find an old man who is lost in the park, you share memories with someone else, take photos, etc. There is just one mission that I would say was really downright bad though where you have to help someone set up a prom date. The problem is that the game goes rather PC on this one and the whole thing feels rigged because not only is it easily one of the longer missions but you can’t look away at any part of it or the mission stops. So that’s really the game forcing you to watch the terrible dialogue and saying that you cannot escape. It’s the only mission like this at least from the ones I’ve completed and I’ve done most. It’s just way too forced so the whole time you know exactly what they are doing which is rather iffy at best. The other elements of this present in the game tend to be more subtle and at least aren’t stuffed in your face.

The graphics are naturally top tier. Some of the character models may not be as good as older ones but there’s nothing that will take you out of the experience. It is still as if you are watching a movie and even if the game isn’t quite 20 hours, it feels like you’re playing this for a really long time because of just how much dedication they put into the project. This is clearly not just your average title. The soundtrack is also really good, I have to give the Kraven some credit here. The ominous music that plays whenever he is on screen is really great.

So naturally there is a ton of replay value here due to the content I mentioned before. After the story mode itself which is already reasonably long, you have a lot of different bonus missions to complete and collectibles to accomplish. The Platinum trophy itself should be rather easy to get from what I’ve heard but it will still take time. So you definitely shouldn’t underestimate it. There’s a lot of bang for your buck here and this still sets the standard of what a AAA game should play like. They pull out all the stops for this one.

Overall, Spider-Man 2 is definitely another great game. It’s really cinematic and has a ton of content within it. This is not a game that you will just knock out in a day or two. You will definitely be here for the long haul and there are a lot of fun memories to create. It’s a game you won’t forget anytime soon. While the ending may not be the best, I am interested in the Flame plot for the next game. I’m also interested in what Osborn will do next. The guy writing the final chapter? I really don’t care about that. As for Peter, I still hope he has a big role in the next game. We have to see how that goes but it wouldn’t feel in character for him to not be doing much, no matter what the ending implies. Hey, we’ll just have to see how it goes I suppose.

Overall 9/10

Heartbreak Ridge Review

Posted on May 16, 2024 by dreager1

This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a classic war film that’s pretty fun. You always like to see the gruff commander show up to get the younger men into shape. He really turns the Z squad into the A squad in a fairly short time. We still get the serious war scenes to be sure but a lot of the film is really spent on the build up to the war so we see how the training goes.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Tom who has served a lot of time in the army and now life is rather boring for him. He gets himself placed into prison a lot for rather mundane reasons. Well, now he has been transferred to what is easily considered the worst division as a punishment. Well, nobody is going to mess with Tom. His toughness does get the team to respect him fairly quick though. Do they finally have a chance at greatness?

You see a lot of war films where the army platoon leaders are super cruel or just corrupt which can be annoying so it’s nice to see a leader who is tough but knows how to balance things out. He’s always in charge and can take care of himself without actually being mean about it. For example he gets his revenge on Stitch who stole his money early on but then from there on it’s all even. He’s not going to be vindictive about it or anything like that. Then when the squad calls in their big hitter Swede, Tom just shows him what’s up and keeps on moving. There’s no time for grudges in the army, he’s just trying to have a winning squad.

He set the tone immediately in the first scene when he beat someone up in prison and never goes back from there. Tom is easily the standout character in the film and all of his scenes are great. I also liked the main villain Malcolm. He could perhaps be a bit over the top but he works well as the foil. He’s corrupt and everything that Tom is not. This is the guy that you absolutely do not want to be your squad leader because he’s going to lead you into every kind of disaster possible. The guy absolutely puts his petty rivalries above the actual mission and he will do that every time. It’s certainly not very becoming for an officer, especially such a high ranking one. He had a bone to pick with Tom right from the start.

It gets worse when you find out that he actively sabotages the main squad so they can always lose to his squad. He sees his group as being the best and so the others don’t matter which is not effective in the slightest. The character who really steps up when it counts is Lt. Ring. At first he is way too inexperienced and reads everything out of textbooks. The guy doesn’t know what to do in a real fight at all. So this is his chance to really step out of his shell. I’d say that he makes the most out of the opportunity. He was annoying at first but was a good character by the end.

As for Stitch and the other soldiers, I wouldn’t say that I ever ended up liking any of them much. Yes, they assembled under Tom’s leadership but it feels like they are all easily swayed. If someone other than Tom had shown up then they would all still be delinquents. Of course their character redemption arc is the whole point of the movie but I just wasn’t as convinced as I could have been. Their scenes still tend to bring a lot of humor though so it’s not like that’s something that would bring the film down. I particularly liked it when Tom would troll them with the different shirts the whole time.

The only plot that wasn’t particularly good involved Tom’s ex wife Aggie. This is the romance subplot where they are trying to get back together but there’s just way too much baggage here. It feels completely unrealistic and at no point do you really believe that they even like each other. It comes across more like they’re both just lonely and desperate which isn’t a great reason to get back together. The romance isn’t a big focus in the movie but it’s still big enough to be mentioned. It’s easily the weakest part of the film.

Of course when you just have one general weak point then you are in a good position. The movie as a whole has really good pacing the whole time. There’s a good amount of action in the climax as well. I would say that the film is at its best in the first half with Tom showing everyone up with a lot of clever dialogue. He’s not exactly a big talker but always knows how to pick the perfect moments to deliver some killer lines. He really keeps the characters on notice there. The writing is really solid here and granted this is the edited version so the script might be a little more intense otherwise but in this version it was good.

Overall, Heartbreak Ridge is a pretty good movie. It is a war movie but most of the film is about the training so it almost feels like as slightly different genre. Maybe army training if that’s a real sub genre. Either way it’s a satisfying watch that feels like there was a lot of effort put into creating this one. It’s a well crafted experience. If you like a solid army film that has a good sense of humor then you should check this one out for sure. Whether you view it as an inspirational title or just a funny one, there are lot of lessons and morals to take away from this. Always bring your best and it’s never too late to improve yourself.

Overall 7/10

The 6th Day Review

Posted on May 16, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a sci-fi film about everyone’s worst fear. Imagine you go home one day and a clone has taken over your life? Definitely not a fun feeling. The movie balances out the sci-fi and action really well and makes for a solid watch from start to finish. A quality film that I would recommend checking out without a doubt.

The movie starts by introducing us to the 6th Day laws which prohibit anyone from making clones of humans. It’s just not the right thing to do and the tech isn’t ready for it. This will prevent anyone from trying to perfect the technology and causing accidents in the meantime. Our main character here is Adam who flies helicopters and one day his partner has to go on a mission without him since Adam needs to buy a doll for his daughter’s birthday. The crew is destroyed but Adam doesn’t know this. He heads back to the house back in time for the party only to find that “Adam” is already there. Now there are a bunch of people trying to murder the lead so he has to get to the bottom of this conspiracy and reclaim his family before it’s too late.

This may be a 2000 film but it’s got a classic 90s vibe to me. There’s a lot of fast paced action here while also still making time for a good amount of quips and humor. It’s balanced well so the film’s what I would call a light hearted thriller. Adam is a great fighter who knows how to use a gun and take care of himself. No matter how many enemies you throw at him, you know he’s basically got this.

There’s time for a good amount of lore into how the future works with cloning at the ready and the character cast is good. I actually thought the main villains were rather fun. One of them dies quite a few times before he has to be cloned each time which sounds rather painful to have to keep going through that but at least you never die right? Dr. Weir is the only villain I wasn’t big on though. He’s one of those guys who started off with rather reasonable goals and everything but then he went too far.

So in the end he turns back on this and tries to see the light but he waited too long. He really just ensured that the rich Mr. Drucker would have to take him down. It’s always rough when you see the scientist making a dumb mistake like this. If you’re going to betray the villains then you should really cover your bases before doing it. Have some kind of a plan right?

Drucker is a much more interesting villain because of how he just goes all in on the plan. His opening speech is basically him admitting that he’s evil and doing human cloning despite the rules being against it. He’s rich and nobody can stop him so why not right? He’s a very smug kind of villain which works really well here. He can’t fight but he has a lot of goons on his side.

I also appreciated that the film handled the topic of clones very well. After all once a clone does exist, he is sentient so now you can’t exactly end him right? So lets say with Adam and his clone, you need Adam to get his life back but the clone also thinks that he is real and has the same love for his family. In a way there is no real way to win in this situation. Someone is going to have a sad ending here and that’s the case in practically every film of this kind.

The Sonic 90s show and God of Highschool easily have the saddest endings when it comes to clones but this film’s ending can be rather sad as well. Yes, it’s not played off as a sad ending and I appreciate that but it is still sad when you think about it. One of them can’t be with the family unless they alternate days or something which would be weird as well.

So the film handles it as best as possible. It’s a satisfactory ending and the rare sad ending that I can be fine with. You definitely hope that cloning never becomes a thing in the real world because it would really just be scary. The whole film has a bit of a scary undertone despite how it’s fairly light hearted the whole time. I’d say it’s because you could easily picture a future like this.

It’s all handled rather realistically I would say. Definitely a lot to think about when it comes to the story and I do dig themes like this. It’s why Sci-Fi’s so good. Like I said earlier, the fight scenes are really good and the effects are solid. The soundtrack is even pretty good. The violence isn’t over the top either, a few intense moments but mainly your classic action type of content. Fairly minimal fanservice although one character has a weird VR maid that shows up. That’s one of those spooky elements that’s already shown up in the real world but it does seem like you’d have to be really desperate to go that route. The main romance is actually rather decent since the main character is already married at the start so they don’t have to run into the usual drama.

I also wouldn’t expect her to realize that Adam’s clone is around since the clones in this film are effectively perfect. They have all of the memories and think that they are real so I wouldn’t expect any key differences there. The film’s pacing is good so really as you can see the positives really outweigh the negatives.

Overall, The 6th Day is a pretty good movie. It takes the subject of clones a lot farther than I would have expected since you’re just thinking about a classic action thriller here. The comedy is also handled well and helps to kick this to the next level. This movie isn’t brought up very often so if you happen to see it online then I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Overall 7/10

Fever Pitch Review

Posted on May 14, 2024 by dreager1

All right it’s time for one of those classic rom-com films. It’s definitely got a retro feel to it because at this point the early 200s are actually rather old. It feels rough saying that but it is what it is. The film has some fun moments, there’s always a lot going on here and I do like that it keeps up the energy well. As always with these films, it’s at its best when the film is focusing on the humor rather than the romance. Still the film does keep the main characters more in check than other titles so it’s not like they ever hate each other which is good. That’s usually what makes the romance more on the unrealistic side.

The film starts off by introducing Ben as a super big Red Sox fan. He has really built his entire life around them. Well, one day when he is leading a school tour as the teacher, he meets a lady named Lindsey who is really smart and good with numbers. The kids tease Ben about her and so he decides to actually make a move and asks her out. This basically flies in the face of most titles like this so I have to give him some serious props here. The guy actually has a lot of guts. The two of them start going out but there is one big problem here. They both have very different priorities. Ben still wants to follow the Red Sox across the country and never miss a game while Lindsey is trying hard for a promotion so the two don’t have much time for each other. Can this really work?

Lets start off with the film’s stronger aspects here which are the characters. Both Ben and Lindsey have fairly successful lives going on right now. Neither one of them are creeps or just hopeless in life. They actually feel like real people who have made choices and everything. Lindsey has more corporate success but can be rather lonely. She does have some friends but it’s clear that Ben has the better support network. He may not be doing as well but he still has enough money to go to training camp with his friends and they’re always having a blast. So the romance is adding something extra for both of them but it’s not like their lives revolve around this.

It also makes the drama a bit more realistic since neither person wants to sacrifice parts of their life too easily. So Lindsey brings her laptop to the games and Ben picks the games over dates. Now I would put more of the burden on Ben here though. Lindsey is fighting for an active promotion right now so of course she has to give it her best effort. I absolutely get why she needs to be putting in overtime and everything. For Ben, hey I get that he likes Baseball a lot but he does need to make some concessions here. Baseball has over 100 games, if he’s going to watch them all then he’s not going to be available for her much at all.

He can barely go a day without the games. At one point he decides to skip one to make her feel better so they have a good date and everything but despite saying what a great day it was, he completely flips on this when his friends let him know that he missed the best game ever. He pretty much guilt trips Lindsey at this point when it’s not like it was her fault or anything like that. In this film naturally both characters will be at fault a lot of the time but I would say it was usually Ben’s fault in the end.

Ben’s friends are also solid in general. They actually do give good advice from time to time and their scenes can be funny. At one point for example Ben has them all dancing as a way to compete for who gets to see which game now that he has the season tickets. It gets rather competitive and it’s nice for a change to see the guys hanging out without the topic quickly being about which girl they like or things like that. They’re actually good friends that just have a good time hanging out so that was fun.

Unfortunately the film’s climax doesn’t feel very satisfying on Lindsey’s end. She ends up having to make way more sacrifices and I would have liked a more positive ending there. A lot of times the films like this act as if only one side can win but we could have had a scenario where she gets the promotion, Ben still has the tickets, and they just put in some boundaries/guard rails to keep things from being crazy. That would have been way more reasonable and a better ending. The ending itself could have definitely been worse but it’s just not nearly as good as it could or should have been.

As with any comedy film, I’m not saying that all of the jokes will land but on average you will like more of them than you don’t. The writing is good as well and at least tries to give you some reasons why the two characters would go out. For starters Ben asking her out at the start was a big move since he was more proactive than the average guy. He can still be rather immature at times but since Lindsey is always super serious, you could see her going with him to get back in touch with her inner child. There is actually a lot of time that passes by in the movie as we follow the whole Red Sox season so it also avoids my usual complaints about the romance being really rushed and unrealistic. A lot more care and detail went into this film compared to the usual experience and of course having the sports element in there was also a nice way to add a little boost for me since that’s always fun.

Overall, Fever Pitch is a good movie. It manages to avoid making the drama be too forced and doesn’t go as extreme as other comedy films go. You get the usual formula of the main two getting together, falling apart, and then getting back together but it’s done in a way that actually feels realistic. So by avoiding the usual pitfalls the movie ended up being more effective. The pacing is good and the humor tends to land so I had a good time here. It’s not exactly the kind of movie I would be clamoring to see again or anything like that but if you’re looking for a fairly wholesome romance movie then this is a good one to watch.

Overall 6/10

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The 6th Day Review

Fever Pitch Review

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