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Leave Her To Heaven Review

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LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN

Leave Her To Heaven is a film that you may or may not have heard of. It’s essentially your typical romance film (Uh oh) that also features murder and danger! Adding those elements should definitely help the film, but how good can a romance get anyway right? (Unless you count Tsubasa) It’s time that we find out!

A guy by the name of Richard meets a girl on the train. After they take turns glaring staring at each other, they become friends. Her name is Ellen and if the long staring scene didn’t warrant any alarms in your head, then the plot twist will feel pretty sudden! Ellen and Richard head to the family’s house where Richard will be working on his book. According to Ellen, he’s not a good author, but she miraculously changes her mind later on! After she pressures Richard into getting proposed to her, they have happy days!…for a while.

Soon, Ellen starts to get jealous of everyone else and wants to be alone with Richard. Richard isn’t very sympathetic and he invites everyone that he can. Richard gets Ellen’s whole family to come over and we can’t forget about the Farmer. Ellen acts as mean to them as she can, but they stay strong for the most part. Later on, Richard’s friend dies…was it a murder or an accident? Ellen’s supposed to be a good swimmer, but she claimed that she didn’t notice in time.

Even further into the film, there is more disaster and fatalities. In theory, this should help the film to stay energetic and epic, but it doesn’t work. The deaths are tragic, but Richard is not a great main character. This is something that happens a lot in romance films; I couldn’t find myself liking any of the characters. They were all mean, jealous, or just not cool enough for me.

The main negative of the film is the fact that there is a lot of romance. Even if this is a romance film, they should try to avoid it. It tends to bog the film down with really drawn out scenes and unnecessary dialogue. It definitely took up a large chunk of the film and wasn’t needed to help the plot progress. I’m sure that they could have found other ways to continue the story.

Another thing is that the deaths are tragic, but nothing is really done about them. People dying in a random monster film or action anime is okay because they can fight back or at least they tried. There’s just not as much point when it’s from drowning or helplessness. We know that the character is a villain and that’s pretty much all that we need to know. Also, the main character went down fast when he expressed interest in destroying animals. Those were all the signs that I needed to write off the main cast.

So, I wouldn’t recommend this film to the average moviegoer. If you want a true story about a daring young man who must face all kinds of dangers to help out his friends, then watch DBZ. This film had one good scene in it, but that’s hardly enough to save it. (The Court Scene was pretty epic for the most part) If you really want to watch a romance film, then I recommend playing a video game to take your mind off of it.

Overall 2/10

Wasp Woman Review

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You can probably already tell that this is a horror film from the title right? Well, the Wasp Woman takes an interesting approach as the monster doesn’t appear for most of the film. This may be a good thing or it could be a bad thing. I’d say that it’s time to find out!

Janice Starlin is the main character of the film and her company is starting to lose steam. Ever since she was replaced as the model for the company, people stopped using their products. The “General Audience” isn’t open to change and they want Janice to be the model once again. She may not be as young as she used to be, but beauty isn’t skin deep right? Even so, Janice wants to look younger again and seizes the opportunity when a suspicious character comes along and offers her this chance.

Janice believes the poor fellow and he begins his experiments. He answers only to her and nobody can see what he’s up to. He gives Janice injections that will help her to become younger. Janice quickly gets greedy and decides that she wants to get younger at a quicker rate. The Doctor gets into a car accident, which writes him out of the film for the most part. Janice’s coworkers start to suspect that something is up and look into the matter. They infiltrate his lab, but they usually did it one at a time. If you’ve watched horror films before, then you probably know that this isn’t a good idea.

Slowly, people begin to vanish during the night. They are not seen the next day, but their bag/clothes may still be around. It’s as if they’re still in the building, but there are no signs of a struggle. What’s happening!? Not even the night guard is able to stand against this creature. The heroes may be doomed this time.

The Wasp Woman is an intriguing villain, but she’s pretty weak. Physically she’s about as strong as the average mortal and likewise with her defense, speed, and everything else. Her strongest attack is her bite which tends to destroy her opponents in a single hit. Still, she definitely isn’t the next Godzilla! I did prefer her to the Gill Man, but that’s about it.

One thing that hurt this film was the scene involving the cat. It was supremely uncalled for and was just here to fill in the old horror cliche, where an animal always has to die. The film definitely lost a lot of points with that scene and it just wasn’t able to bounce back.

So, this film didn’t really have any great characters. Cooper wasn’t bad, but I think he tried a little too hard to be “cool”. Janice forgot the true meaning of beauty and the rest of the characters didn’t make the right moves at the right time. If you really want to watch a horror film, then check it out, but I’d definitely recommend checking out Godzilla 2000 instead. Now that’s a horror film!

Overall 2/10

Pokemon Origins Review

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Pokemon Origins is a Pokemon special that got a lot of hype. Not only would Red finally take center stage as the main character, but Ash and friends are nowhere to be found. The first few seconds will confirm what you may have begun to suspect…this isn’t your classic Pokemon show! The animation is less colorful and Saturday morning style. Instead it plays out more like Summer Wars. The two animation styles are extremely different and Summer Wars type is considered to be far better than, the classic Tai Chi Chasers. (For example) This can be arguable and it’s all about preference, but it does help to set the tone for the movie. (Personally, I do prefer the TV show animation, but they’re both solid) The fight scenes are also pretty impressive in the special.

Pokemon Origins is significantly darker than the Pokemon show (Although, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that this is Death Note. Just picture the Pokemon anime without all of the little kids and the colorful animations. Also, there is murder and the stakes are a lot higher. Like I said…this isn’t your classic Pokemon episode!) and the dangers have never been more real. The beginning starts out pretty similarly to the Pokemon show as Red and Blue head to Professor Oak’s lab. I could have done without the Red tripping (for no legitimate reason) scene, but it wasn’t awful. Just out of character, but we’ll get more into that later.

Professor Oak wants Red and Blue to complete the Pokedex because he is too old for such things. Red obliges while Blue decides to become the strongest in the world. He’ll fill out the Pokedex as well…in all due time! He quickly challenges Red to a battle, but made sure that he had the type advantage. Charmander doesn’t do so well against Squirtle and it’s a lopsided battle. The director really wanted to stress how much grimmer this special is, so we get to see Charmander yelling in pain for a very drawn out scene. It was definitely unneeded and may wreck the impression that Pokemon battles are all about having fun. That isn’t always the case, but I would have been satisfied with a simple victory. Also….Charmander should really be able to make the fight a little closer than that. This scene definitely should not have been in the special and makes you wish for a 4Kids edit. Well, just make sure to quickly turn up some music for this scene and you’ll be okay.

Red realizes the importance of becoming stronger on his way to completing the Pokedex. He slowly starts to learn the ropes and he even takes on Brock. The special covers the entire video game so they have to skip a lot of things. They only have 60 minutes to cover many hours of content. It’s definitely a tough job, but they do a pretty good job of it. We get some montage scenes and narration to keep us in the loop. We also get to gauge how much we’ve missed based on Red’s GBA screen. He has to save the game sometimes, so you can follow him along via the play time.

Eventually, Red meets up with Giovanni and they have their first fight. It was pretty epic, but I’m not sure that Charizard would go down so easily. Giovanni is tough and I’m not doubting that, but so is Charizard. That guy definitely won’t go down without a really tough fight! It was one of Pokemon’s few true night scenes and it was definitely epic.

Another one of the scenes that got a lot of screen time in the special was the…..GHOST TOWER!! Red and Blue go in, but the ghost scares the living daylights out of Blue. Blue quickly lets Red wrap things up, while he goes on to fight the Team Rocket members. The story is a little sad since Team Rocket ends up murdering one of the Pokemon. It’s pretty unbelievable and while they did it to show us how “Evil” Team Rocket is, it was pretty unnecessary and made Marowak look bad. How could a fully evolved Pokemon lose to a mere human and his whip? I don’t think I buy that and I think that any Pokemon should be able to beat a human. Humans lack the speed and attack power that Pokemon possess so it should be a quick victory for the magical creature. So, that scene was really uncalled for and definitely hurts the film, but it won’t traumatize you for life or anything. It’s just something that you wish you had not seen.

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Well, that aside, things really heat up once Red clobbers the Elite Four. Blue is the final boss and he has some truly epic lines. He even says that he’s the strongest Pokemon Trainer on the planet! With that last line rocking you to the very core of your being, he throws his Pokeball. The battle starts so suddenly that you may be left in shock. Red does the only thing that makes sense in this situation and gives Blue a good fight. Professor Oak was a little cruel since he was late. If he had been on time, Blue could have gone into the legendary room of fame, since Red wouldn’t have made it yet. Ah well, you win some and you lose some right?

Unfortunately, Blue doesn’t regain his pride and he takes another loss to a mysterious Pokemon. Red goes off to avenge him…or just to see the Pokemon. He has a pretty climatic battle with this opponent and he even unlocks the power of the Mega Pokemon! It’s truly an epic moment and it means that Red has beaten Ash to the punch yet again.

Let’s talk about the main character, Red. The anime special had a lot of hype to live up to, since Red is known as one of the coolest main characters on the block. He’s a very no nonsense fighter and many have come to accept the fact that Red is the greatest Pokemon Trainer who ever lived. When the first trailer popped up, warning bells sounded in many heads. Could this rookie really be Red?

In the special, Red does mature as the series goes on, but is this the character that we all grew up with? He’s not quite as quiet and professional as he used to be, but Red is still a solid main character. He’s at his best towards the end of the special. He may not be the Pokemon Master that we’ve come to expect, but that’s all right. If we are being honest, there’s no way that Red could possibly top his reputation. He’s already known to be the perfect main character and we can’t ask for much more than that. The special still gave him a good role and that’s what counts.

Blue (They call him Green, but Blue is how I know him. We both know who I’m talking about anyway right?) gets a good role, although he looks pretty bad in the haunted part of the special. Not only is he afraid of ghosts, (Which is bad enough already) but he actually considered ditching Red and a helpless civilian. Definitely not hero material and while Blue may act stuck up, he’s a good guy deep down. He was really awesome when he made the speech in the final part of the special and had many good lines. He’s definitely a solid rival and gave Red a run for his money.

There aren’t really any other characters to talk about. Professor Oak gets a small role and appears very briefly. I’ve never been a big fan of the character and that didn’t change with this special. Giovanni had a cheesy scene at the end, but I’m glad that Red was able to get through to him. That took guys, courage, and epicness!

One thing that we can’t forget is the soundtrack! The special had an incredible array of themes that will blow you away. They really make every scene even more exciting as you are watching the special. They’re definitely nostalgic to hear and it shows that music is something that is timeless. I’ll still be enjoying these tunes 50 years from now. The music was definitely a solid positive that helped to improve the whole experience.

This is definitely a special that I recommend. You may miss Ash and pals, but you can always watch the new Mewtwo film to see those guys. This one is a nice change of pace and we get to see what Pokemon could have been. Imagine the whole anime series like this and it makes for a nice “What If?”. Hopefully we get a sequel to adapt the next games or a full series someday. Aside from the one scene with Charmander and the Marowak scene, I can completely recommend this film to all ages. You can rest assured that you will definitely enjoy this film. The music, animation, fights, and characters are all solid and that’s a very good thing for a special. With all of those positives, how can you not watch it!?

Overall 7/10

Gamaran Review

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Gamaran is a manga that I had always seen as I headed to the latest chapter of Bleach or Naruto. It’s a title that was always around, but I never realized that it was a really cool series. I had no idea what the plot was or if it really had any potential. After reading it, I can safely say that it’s one of the greatest manga of all time! This is a pretty bold statement, but it has earned the right.

The plot is very easy to describe even though it did last for 21 volumes. Gama is one of the last guys to use the Ogame style. (A way of fighting) Naoyoshi is one of the candidates to become the next Daimyo, (King of the land basically) and he comes across Gama. After witnessing Gama’s sword abilities firsthand, he decides to have Gama fight in his defense. The road towards becoming Daimyo is long and fierce. There are many obstacles along the way and the current Daimyo is having a tournament. To become the Daimyo, you must win the tournament, which sounds simple enough…right?

This is basically the plot for the first half of the series. While it may not sound like it can hold its own for over 7 volumes, it works. The fights are intense and Gamaran gets right to the point. We don’t see a lot of emotional scenes and dialogue doesn’t fill up whole chapters. The series is essentially nonstop fighting and there aren’t many breaks. At first it’s tough since Gama is the only warrior on Naoyoshi’s side, but eventually his comrades come in to help. Most of them are pretty cool and I will go into more detail about them later.

The plot for the 2nd half involves Jinsuke, the 1000 man slayer! He decides that it’s time to conquer the world and while we get some pretty emotional reasons for why he’s doing this, that’s all that you really need to know. I will delve deeper into his history as we go through the characters. Gama and his pals have to stop Jinsuke and his large army of allies while working to save Naoyoshi. (Who was kidnapped) Both arcs are incredible and it’s hard to say which one was better. I’m inclined to say that I preferred arc 2, but it’s very close. Lori got to have more fighting scenes in that section which definitely helped me decide.

The art is very solid for the manga, although the author does tend to draw people differently from chapter to chapter. Lori’s hair is constantly changing in size and his spikes really stick up at times. Also, after the time skip, Gama’s eyes start to look exactly like Lori’s. Beyond those minor issues, (Which aren’t really issues since I don’t mind them. They make the manga look unique!) the art is spectacular for the fight scenes.

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Gama is the main character so it’s fitting that I talk about him first. I didn’t really care for him during the first volume or two, but he quickly got better as the series progressed. His character is pretty similar to Ichigo’s and even the attire shares some resemblance. As you may have guessed from the picture, Gama is a sword fighter. Most characters in the series use a sword or at least a weapon that has a blade.

Gama is about as skilled as a human can get and his heightened speed and power are impressive. His mostly uses thunder techniques, (Which don’t use thunder, but are very quick) which are epic. They become less effective as the series wears on, but they definitely help to give Gama an edge. He’s easily one of the best main characters out there and puts a lot of the others to shame. This is a true warrior who never gives up.

Zenmaru is one of Gama’s allies and he’s pretty annoying. I never found him to be a likable character and he definitely overestimates himself. Many times, Gama will have to do all of the work, but Zenmaru will act as if helped a lot. I’m sure that you’ve seen this type of character in other manga series, but if not, be warned! He uses a really big (slow) sword and this is probably what limits him. Swinging the sword takes time and his speed isn’t nearly as good as Gama’s. By the end of the series, Zenmaru has gotten pretty skilled, but it ends up feeling forced.

Shinnojou is another one of Gama’s allies and he’s a big improvement over Zenmaru. Shinnojou is an expert fighter and he’s the highest ranked member of the Ogame school. (He’s not the toughest, but the highest ranked) Shinnojou is more of a tactile fighter than the other two and he uses his wits a lot. Shinnojou’s water techniques also revolve around trickery and sudden movements. He does pretty well for the whole series and while he doesn’t fight a whole lot, he always looks good. I definitely had no complaints with him and he made for a good character.

Lori is another one of Gama’s allies and he’s definitely the best character in the series! (Gama being second) He doesn’t fight as often as the others, (Until arc 2) but we see that he is definitely the most skilled. He is the only character in the series who was able to give Jinsuke a good fight. While the fight didn’t go as I had thought that it would, it was a good battle. Lori acts like Zaraki or Sasuke in terms of personality. He always keeps his cool and manages to act epic at the same time. His hair is very spiky and when he power ups, you would think that he’s a super saiyan. He uses a lot of raw power in his swordsmanship and he can even use a Rasengan themed attack on the opponent. He doesn’t even need a weapon to take out some of the higher ranked villains.

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There are so many villains that it can be hard to choose which ones to talk about. Let’s start off with Jinsuke. Jinsuke is the main villain of the series and he also happens to be Gama’s father. Defeating him is one of Gama’s goals in life, but it may be tougher than it sounds. Jinsuke was able to defeat 1000 warriors and that’s a feat that is nearly impossible with a sword. He definitely has a strong aura, but he only gets one serious fight for the entire series. Still, he definitely makes for a good villain.

Ranmaru is one of Jinsuke’s highest ranked officers. He becomes Gama’s main rival and they do get to fight several times. He’s another really cool character and a highlight of the manga. If Lori’s my favorite hero, then Ranmaru is my favorite villain of the series. We even find out a nice twist about his abilities. Who said that there were no supernatural abilities in this manga!? His ending may not be as happy as some of the other characters, but at least he got to live his life to the fullest!

Another big villain is Zenmaru’s big brother/rival, Kai. Kai uses the same weapon as Zenmaru and he’s a pretty sharp fighter. His relationship with Zenmaru is similar to Sasuke and Itachi’s…Counting the plot twists! Take that as you will….Unfortunately, I never really liked Kai. He wasn’t a very likable character and I can’t sympathize with him. I couldn’t really forgive Itachi either, but his decision was reasonable in comparison to Kai’s! Kai only fights a handful of times, but that’s really all that we needed.

Riko and Kujou are two other members who used to be part of the Ogame school. Did I mention that part already? Well, Jinsuke, Kai, Riko, and Kujou decided to destroy the rest of the Ogame school to go rule the world. This is the reason why Gama wishes to destroy them, Jinsuke in particular. They just can’t forgive the mass murder of their comrades!….until they do. Riko is a pretty minor character for the most part, but he does get one cool fight. Kujou doesn’t really fight until the very end. His fight is pretty good, but I wasn’t terribly interested. He’s a decent fighter, but not one of the best.

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Kiyomori is a character that appeared during the final volumes of the series. He actually uses hand to hand combat, which shows how fast he is. Otherwise, one sword slash and he would be down for the count. He’s a pretty intriguing character and while I don’t think he would have lasted a second against Lori or Gama, he made for an epic villain. He’s definitely not someone that you would want to underestimate.

Banri is one of the divine spears and he is the strongest member. While the others only get to appear for the first arc, he manages to last for the entire series. He ends up becoming a rival for Shinnojou. His skills are very good with a spear, but he was never much of a threat. I never pictured Shinnojou losing to this guy. Still, he was another example of an epic villain.

I could go on and on listing the various villains, but I’ll stop there. Muraku is one villain that started out as a pretty cool fighter, but he quickly got worse. When he appeared for his final battle, he was completely unlikable. It’s like his character did a complete 180 for the worst. Also, I never saw how he could really give Gama such a good fight. Gama is far faster than Muraku could hope to be. There are also several good guys that I didn’t get around to talking about like the old mentor and his rival. The two old guys team up during the climax and they’re definitely solid fighters. One of the old guys just came out of nowhere, but he was a nice addition for the most part.

One negative that I should mention is the ending. It’s very rushed and feels a little forced. We don’t really get any closure for some of the plot lines and the ending just wasn’t satisfactory. This is only a mild negative since most manga tend to have bad endings. There aren’t many exceptions to this rule, but Megaman NT Warrior managed to end on a high note. The ending definitely could have been worse, so at least it wasn’t!

There is one more negative that I should note. Kashitarou is one of the worst characters that I’ve seen in a while. If you know who Oolong and James Bond are, then you know all that you need to know about Kashitarou. Kashitarou is the definition of an awful character and there was nothing that he could do to fix that. Once he appeared for the first time, I knew that it was over. You’ll want to ignore all of his lines and he won’t bring the manga down too much. He barely appears which is definitely a good thing!

It should be noted that the manga can get pretty violent. There are parts that make Bleach look like kid stuff! So, while I highly recommend the series, I wouldn’t recommend it for kids. On the bright side, there isn’t really any romance in the series. There’s no time for that since the battles are always happening. Another positive for the series is the fact that they power up, DBZ style! It’s always good to see characters using aura in manga and tends to be one of the key things that separate them from comic book characters.

So, if you ever wanted a really awesome manga about sword fighting, then I’d recommend checking this one out. The series has some pretty great characters and a nice array of villains. The series concluded with over 20 volumes so there is enough content to keep you busy. You won’t have to worry about a lack of fights or screen time for your favorite characters. I’d say that it’s time to check it out!

Overall 9/10

Batman Mad Hatter’s Movie Madness Review

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It’s time for another Batman book review. Batman’s books tend to be pretty good, but can it keep it up? Robin gets a lot of screen time in this story, so while Batman is still the main character, he doesn’t get to do as much. The Mad Hatter’s not a very interesting villain, but he’s definitely better than Hugo Strange.

Batman and Robin go to watch a movie in theaters, but they are going to watch it in 3D! This is pretty big and something that they didn’t want to miss. Unfortunately, the shady glasses guy delays them and they barely make it to the movie in time. What makes things even worse is the fact that Batman has to give his glasses to a little girl since hers broke. Batman still watches the film, but it would seem that he missed out on the true experience. Batman tells Alfred to order him a pair and Robin disappears. Batman figures that Robin is already on the case, but is that really what happened?

Well, the book didn’t do Batman justice in the detective department, but he can’t always be a genius right? He wasn’t able to figure out that the villain was using his secret identity to trick people into putting on the 3D glasses. The Mad Hatter isn’t much of a threat so he doesn’t get to fight Batman at the end. Unfortunately, there aren’t really any fights in the whole book. This one’s more of a mystery/thriller I suppose. At least, that’s what they were trying to do.

I’m not sure that Robin would be mind controlled so easily, but that’s a minor gripe. A bigger gripe would be that nothing seemed to happen in this book. All of the chapter books for DC have been small in length, but more tends to happen. In the Superman and Green Lantern books, we get intergalactic fights and a lot of action. This one under performed in those areas, but Batman got to appear. I suppose that is what counts in the end.

So, if you’re a fan of the DC superheroes, then I recommend this book. It’s a good read and while it’s incredibly short, at least it won’t bore you. You’ll be done with the book in a matter of minutes. Batman is mostly in character and the Mad Hatter isn’t a great villain, but he doesn’t get to appear too much. There may not be any action, but it can be fun to see the heroes interact. If you want a true DC experience with lots of action, check out The Death of Superman!

Overall 5/10

Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Predacons Rising Review

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Long name eh? Well, Transformers Prime was such a success that they went ahead and added a movie. This would maybe clear up some of the loose ends that the show didn’t wrap up and give us a complete ending to the series. While that proved to be a little too much to ask for, the movie did give us some more robot action! So, how did it go?

Well, Unicron has woken up and he wants to destroy Cybertron. To accomplish this, he wakes up Megatron and decides to inhabit his body. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime and Wheeljack head to space to find the Allspark. It’s a noble endeavor, but they left the other Autobots on a hostile planet with Decepticons and Predaking. I definitely has to wonder if Optimus Prime’s decision was a good one. In another subplot, the other Autobots decide to look for the Decepticons who are still hiding somewhere.

If you’re wondering what the Decepticons are up to this time, they’re still cloning the Predacons. They’ve created two more of them and they manage to crush two of the Autobots. Because of this, Ultra Magnus doesn’t really get to do anything for the whole movie. PredaKing still rules the dead Predacons, but it’s a pretty lonely existence.

Well, I think the problem with this film was that it juggled too many subplots. The different story lines were all over the place and the film just wasn’t long enough to show them all. Many scenes were rushed while others were longer than they needed to be. Optimus Prime and Unicron has their climatic fight, but it was only 2-3 minutes. Maybe 5 at the most. The fight was over before it had even begun.

Starscream and Shockwave are really the last two Decepticons on the loose since Knockout is captured aboard the Autobot base for the most part. Towards the end, he looks even worse as he makes a critical decision. Starscream does pretty good for the most part and he even fends off two Predacon warriors. His ending is pretty ambiguous, but I’m confident about his chances. My key reasoning is that Shockwave is attacked by dozens of Predacons at one point, yet he appears almost unscathed towards the end. If he could defeat them while stuck in his alt mode and being crushed, Starscream can definitely take 3 of them on.

Bumblebee’s voice is still hard to get used to. Why does he always get a “hardcore” voice? First he sounded like Ichigo Kurosaki in War For Cybertron and now he sounds like Batman Beyond. I still don’t care for the character, but at least he sounds cool. The other Autobots weren’t especially cool either and they just lacked something. Not even Optimus Prime could stay epic as he had to rely on underhanded tactics and team assists to finish his fight. Some Autobots like Arcee and Ratchet get the shaft. Arcee doesn’t really get to fight at all and she acts pretty out of character for some of her lines. Megatron’s ending was definitely good, but it was definitely cheesy. Ah well, we can’t win them all!

Either way, we’re here for the fights, not the characters or the plot! The fight scenes are pretty good and the best one was probably Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen vs the two Predacons. Unicron against the majority of the Autobots in the base was also pretty fun. Unicron definitely had a lot of cool abilities and his fights were fun to watch. I just wish that he could have fought for a little longer.

Spoiler alert, Shockwave is still out there! I think that there is definitely room for a sequel. With Optimus Prime gone, Bumblebee can be the new leader until Rodimus steps in. Shockwave can hire some new recruits and then the series will have restarted. Maybe he could even bring in Soundwave. If anything, I think that this movie would lead in pretty well to Regeneration One if not for some major plot lines.

One pretty positive thing about the film was the soundtrack. They threw in a couple of good opera musics and there was even a retro G1 theme thrown in there. The music was fun to listen to and it made the film more enjoyable. Any scene is always made that much better when there is a good beat to listen to.

The Dinobots do not appear in the film which is pretty sad. I was definitely hoping that they would appear, but I guess we’ve got Transformers 4 to look forward to for that….maybe. The Predacon army was all right, but while they were a lot of them, they didn’t really stand out. Once again, the Autobots were heavily outmatched, but they made it to the end thanks to a lot of lucky breaks and bad aiming on the Decepticon side.

The review may have had a lot of faults with the film, but it was still good. It’s definitely best if you look at it as a few lost episodes instead of as a movie. I think that the series finale was a better end to this part of the franchise, but this one is still good. It does not feel like a film since they kept in the theme song and it didn’t look higher budget, but one could argue that it makes the film more nostalgic. If you want some good popcorn fun, then you should enjoy the film. Of course, if you want the perfect robot experience, you’ll need to check out the original Transformers movie!

Overall 7/10

Street Fighter IV Review

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Street Fighter is a very popular fighting game series that has earned quite a large fan base over the years. Some would argue that the games even top the Mario games, but that’s a debate for another time. I have played several Street Fighter games in the past, but this is the first mainstream one that I have owned. Was it spectacular?

The intro is pretty good and we’ve definitely got a lot of good animation going. The intros for each character’s arcade mode is pretty good as well. It feels like a nice anime episode that you may have caught on TV. The character’s also get their own endings although Ryu’s may seem a little depressing for some.

The gameplay is definitely the main reason that people have come to play the game. (Along with the nice multiplayer options) The gameplay is pretty solid and I can see why the game has so many fans. Mastering all of the combos can definitely take a while and even then, it’s hard to stay consistent. One wrong turn on the control stick and you’ll be using a completely different attack. I must say that I love the challenge! Of course, good ole button mashing will still take you pretty far. I’ve nearly won 50 online battles using this technique and also classic mind games. (Setting someone up with a Hadoken and then using an Uppercut!) The best part is that luck isn’t a factor in this game. (Very minimally at most) If you lose, you just have to accept the fact that you never stood a chance.

There is also a Challenge Mode in the game, but I wouldn’t say that it’s my favorite. I don’t really like the way that they went about creating it. There are only 100 challenges, but since each challenge is several rounds long, it’ll take you a very long time. I did a few challenges myself, but I don’t really have the time to finish them all at the moment.

The online battles can definitely be fun. You can make a match or join one. They even have tournaments where you can really test your skills! They keep track of your online records, but you don’t get to see your opponent’s while you’re battling. I think that I would have liked that option, but it doesn’t matter very much. The player data that they keep for you in the main menu is pretty useful and while it could be a little more in depth, (Like how much Ultra combos you’ve used) it is good enough. Play time is always the most important thing anyway.

The graphics are pretty good. I wouldn’t call them groundbreaking or anything, but they suffice. While they can’t hold a candle to other PS3 games like Soul Calibur V and FFXIII-2, they are still solid. The trophies for this game aren’t insanely hard either, although you may still find yourself in a jam a few times. (All Medal types, 100 wins, Completing all challenges)

This is a game that I would definitely recommend. If you’re a fan of fighting games that require technique and don’t really have any gimmicks, then this is your game. The character selection is pretty good and there are over 15 characters. Around 20-30 I believe, but I decided not to go and check. One very solid thing about this game is the amount of replay value. There is plenty to do in this game and you could find yourself playing it for dozens of hours.

Overall 8/10

Hereafter Review

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Hereafter is a film that deals with the old question, “What happens when we die?” Well, as a Christian I know that I am going to Heaven and that Hell is also a real place where many will go as well. I’m not going to go to the “White Beyond”, the “Eternal Nothingness”, the “Final Slumber”, the “Next Life”, etc. So, with the basis for the film’s plot already solved before the film has begun, could it still be good? Let’s see!

There are three different plots where we see the main characters. We have George, Marcus, and Marie. Let’s go through the plots one by one and see how they fared. This way we can cover all of the bases and I will also comment on which plot was the most interesting. I will also cover which one was the least interesting and I may as well say that it wasn’t even close.

The first plot that we will go with is Marie’s. “Why?” you may ask? Well, Marie’s was the first to appear so it makes sense. After getting hit by a Tsunami, (she should have played more video games. It probably would have increased her reaction times and it may not have been such a close shave.) Marie decides to take a break from her job and write a book. (It’s too bad since the job was pretty interesting)

Unfortunately, she decides to change the complete plot of the book which leads to her being alienated from her employers. To their defense, she did change everything without their consent. I would have been pretty disappointed as well. Eventually someone picks up her book, but will people take her seriously? She believes that she saw a glimpse of what comes after death, but it’s hard to say what it was. She consults many people, but they aren’t really of any help.

Let’s go to George’s plot. His is definitely the best since it starts to delve into the realm of super powers. George has the power to communicate with the dead. This can come in handy, but it’s also a sad power since it always involves death. He doesn’t really use it for petty reasons like winning the lottery or finding out who makes the best pizza. Instead, he lets people find out what their dead relatives had to say…for a price!

George retires from this and decides to work in a factory. Unfortunately, there are the inevitable budget cuts and this isn’t a very stable way to live for the future. George goes to a cooking class, but things don’t go very well for him. (He never even gets to make a pizza!) Can George show the world that he doesn’t need his powers to be rich and famous? To be honest, there isn’t really much more to say about his plot. It was fun thanks to the super powers and the cooking part was intriguing.

Marcus had the worst subplot. He’s not even going to get 2 paragraphs for the summary! His brother is murdered, (An assisted murder is still a murder. They didn’t mean to destroy him, but that’s essentially what they did. Although we can call it an “accident” if you want) so Marcus tries to find out how he can bring him back, or at least talk to him. His foster parents are pretty cool, but he doesn’t give them a chance. His real mother appears a little towards the beginning of the plot and at the ending. If only there was a character who could talk to the dead… Why was this plot the worst? The quick answer is that I don’t really find kids entertaining to watch in the movies. I don’t know why, but they’re usually pretty boring and Marcus is no exception.

The three plots all meet up towards the end. It’s intriguing, but there’s not really a big payoff. There is a very rushed romance at the end. It definitely didn’t help the film and shouldn’t have been included. I don’t see why films feel like they need to add this. Melanie wasn’t a very good character either. Thinking about it, Neuvic was also pretty awful.

So, this is a film that was…okay. It’s a drama film that includes some romance in it so you weren’t expecting me to give it a really good score right? If you’re into the genre, then you’ll probably like it. The characters aren’t really that great and there are no noticeable music. The forced romance can be a bit much and Marcus’ subplot wasn’t that great. Personally, you’d be better off watching Kanon. That is a drama/romance that manages to cut away most of the romance and makes the drama a bit better. Did I mention that there are demons?

Overall 2/10

Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides Review

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I believe that this is the first film of the franchise that I have reviewed. I have seen the others, but they were before my reviewing days. (And I don’t plan to re watch them, just so that I can get the reviews!) Long story short, I’m not a fan of the series and it tends to bring shame to the pirate name. (Rhyme intended!) Could this film switch things up since it would be so different? Well….let’s see.

Trying to cover the plot is usually tricky in these films. They are after the Fountain of Youth, but they spend most of the film getting caught up in the sub plots. Jack Sparrow is being impersonated (He’s the main character) by another pirate and he’s (Very) mildly upset. He tries to get his title back, but since his doesn’t have much in the way of sword skills, he may need help. He’s never been the most loyal ally to have in a fight and you can never tell what he’ll pull.

After the events of the previous film, he doesn’t have the Black Pearl and he doesn’t even have a crew. Jack Sparrow can’t really be called a Captain at this point and he’s mostly just having fun doing nothing. Blackbeard and Barbossa are around so at least we have our villains right? Well….if you can take them seriously. One of them ended up selling out while the other doesn’t make for a compelling villain. James Bond could probably defeat these guys in a fight and I’m sure you know how embarrassing that is right?

Angelica is the pirate who impersonated Jack Sparrow. Somehow this ploy actually worked since nobody has enough respect for the Captain to even remember how he looks. The Government also gets involved, but they don’t look very good for the entire film. Jack Sparrow ends up outsmarting them a lot of the time. (They did have 1 good scene where they outsmarted him though)

There’s one thing that I should mention. If you’ve seen the other films in the series, you’ll probably already know this. Still, this must be said so that all can beware. There has never been a single interesting character in the series! Every character in the whole franchise is unlikable (Monsters not included, but can be subject to the rule) and they really get on your nerves. It’s just sad how many mistakes these guys make. They wouldn’t last long in a tactical battle.

The Pirate films tend to be pretty long and this one still manages to crack the 100 minute mark. That’s not Very long right?…..you’d be surprised. They always drag on when Jack Sparrow is involved and this is not an exception. The camera can get very dark so you don’t really see what’s happening, but maybe that’s a good thing. There are less zombies and undead guys running around so there aren’t as many “Gross Out” moments in this one. On the other hand, we have the mermaids who don’t really add anything to the film.

So, what’s the verdict? I tried to make it painstakingly clear through the review, but let’s quickly go through the run down. Bad characters, Convoluted Plot, Bad Camera Work, Drags On, etc. The graphics still feel very old and this doesn’t look like a recent film. I don’t think that the series will be able to turn it around and we are going to need a reboot. To be honest, I actually preferred this one to the earlier films. That is definitely not a good thing! If you want a film with real pirates and cool action scenes, check out One Piece! You won’t regret it!!

Overall 2/10

Sinestro and The Ring of Fear Review

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DC has definitely gotten a lot of chapter books over the last few months. This one in particular features Sinestro as the main character, but Hal Jordan still gets a decent role towards the end. (The book is around 50 pages so the beginning is like being near the end, but Jordan gets enough screen time) Could Sinestro hold his own comic as the main character or would the plot get dull fast? It’s time to find out!

Sinestro has decided that the Green Lanterns should be defeated and he becomes the leader over two different races. They put up a good struggle, but can anyone defeat an opponent who can basically destroy an entire planet with a single attack? A Green Lantern attempts to stop Sinestro from causing havoc from planet to planet and he does much better than I would have guessed. I thought that Sinestro would just whack him to the side, but he actually chases Sinestro away. Granted there were circumstances and some may call it a bit of a stretch to say that he “Chased” Sinestro away, but that’s basically what happened.

Sinestro got his partners to terrorize other planets as well. This way they could collect enough fear to power up his giant lantern. Hal Jordan hears about this and gathers up the Green Lanterns scattered across the planet. This is definitely the most ambitious climax that I’ve seen in a DC book. 100 Green Lanterns fighting 100 Yellow Lanterns is nothing to sneeze at. Hal Jordan does a pretty good job and he actually punches Sinestro off of a planet. Would you be shocked if I said that Hal nearly knocked him out of the Solar System? Well, you may want to check this out just to see that.

Well, this was a fun book. I’ve always been a fan of the Green Lantern books since they can use more sci-fi elements and make for good beam fights. The book was short so it definitely didn’t drag on, but at the same time, it would be cool if the books could be longer. If you’re a DC fan, then I recommend checking this out. It only takes around 15 minutes so you won’t even lose much time if you dislike it. Although, I would still be surprised if you did not like the book. It’s so short that it’s hard to dislike it. The ending is arguably tragic or very thrilling. It depends on whose side you were on. So, who will you be rooting for in this book?

Overall 7/10