Lex Luthor vs Dark Vader

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Suggested by Destroyer Dark Vader has a lot of power within The Force. He can do just about anything he likes with it. Since the power is limited only by your force of will, Vader can just try to force choke Lex right off the bat. It won’t be enough though. In some cases Lex has obtained Superman’s abilities and he merged with Brainiac once. His physical speed is enough where he could snap Vader right off the bat before any attack could go underway. Vader’s durability isn’t high enough to prevent this from happening. Lex Luthor wins.

Pyrrha Nikos vs Savageman

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Pyrrha
Suggested by Destroyer Pyrrha Nikos is an incredibly talented fighter. She may not have lasted for too many volumes in RWBY but she definitely had an impact when she was around. In terms of close quarter skills she has more knowledge than Savageman but his stats are still a little better. In his base form he was able to resist a Program Advance and then he was upgraded further in his dark mode. Savageman’s speed is just crazy and that’s what will really prevent Pyrrha from taking the win here. She’ll be unable to keep up with him and her magnetism isn’t strong enough to break him. Savageman wins.

Duel Sieger vs Serpentor

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Suggested by Sonic Serpentor is a GI Joe villain but not one you are likely very familiar with. The guy never got a big role the way a lot of the others did like Cobra Commander or someone like that. Duel Sieger meanwhile has enough power to destroy almost any Buddyfight monster that he goes up against. The difference in technique is just crazy. Serpentor just won’t be able to keep up. After a while tactics can only go so far and power will just trump it in the end. Serpentor’s gun will have no effect. Duel Sieger wins.

Swampert vs Rusty (Acolyte)

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Suggested by Sonic This is a classic battle of fire and water. Rusty’s attack power is rather impressive with how he can finetune his attacks. It’s not quite at the level of Human Torch or Sunfire though. Additionally this just won’t help him much because fire doesn’t do a whole lot to a Pokemon like Swampert. Swampert is in another league here and has abilities that most characters can only dream of. His Muddy Water technique has great range and power behind it. Rusty would not be able to escape and the move could very well take him down for the count. Swampert wins.

Number Four vs Sailor Mars

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Suggested by Sonic Sailor Mars has been a scout for a long time. Her abilities have only continued to improve as the various story arcs would proceed. Number Four has some telekinetic abilities but they are at a very grounded level. He would not be able to block a full onslaught from Sailor Mars and that’s really where things get tricky for him. At best he could try to make a few narrow escapes and buy some time but that won’t be easy either. Sailor Mars can keep up with him and a direct hit or two will end this. Sailor Mars wins.

Rin Tohsaka vs Drosselmeyer

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Suggested by Sonic Drosselmeyer is a mastermind who has a lot of resources at his disposal but he has a lot more hype than actual feats. He’s not the kind of guy you’ll see shattering boulders or firing off a multitude of energy blasts. On the other hand Rin could certainly accomplish these feats. In particular she had a great showing in UBW where she was even able to take a servant head on. Drosselmeyer won’t be able to hide behind his story books or through vague dreams to unnerve Rin. She’ll end this with a decisive strike. Rin Tohsaka wins.

Squirrel Girl vs Punisher

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Suggested by Sonic Squirrel Girl has some decent super strength and speed at her disposal but it’s nothing that Punisher hasn’t seen before. He’s been shown to fight at a high level as well taking guys like Captain America on in the past. He has a whole lot of guns and even got the Venom symbiote at one point. Squirrel Girl’s unpredictable fighting style won’t be enough to give her a decisive edge over the Punisher. He’ll still find a way to claim victory the way he always does. She would need at least one more critical ability to win here. Punisher wins.

Patriot’s Day

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

The Boston Bombings was definitely a really big event. I remember Reddit had a lot of coverage on it and even got involved. Their investigation ended up not going so well but they did take steps that would ultimately force the authorities to move a bit quicker. Reddit still refers to this event when trying to solve other murders and such in the present. The movie seems to be a pretty accurate portrayal of events even if we do get a main character who isn’t really based on anyone who was there. I suppose the movie wanted someone to stitch things together.

The movie centers around Sergeant Tommy who has to work the marathon route this time. He’s not thrilled about the task because he doesn’t like the way the uniform looks. I dunno what’s so bad about it, the uniform seems nice and colorful to me. Still, Tommy’s requests to leave are denied so he’s stuck here. That’s when the bombs go off and throws the event into chaos. Once the dust clears the FBI are called in to investigate this. They need to track down who left the bombs at the event and track these people down. Tommy is an expert on navigating the immediate area so he is called in by the FBI to help get a lot of the key clues. Tommy even reminds them that they should probably check with the witnesses to see what’s going on here. The heroes have a plan but they need to hurry or the bombers will be long gone.

Of course as this is based on a real event you should know most of what’s coming depending on how much you know about the actual events at the time. Reddit isn’t mentioned even though you could say they were quite influential in this event but I suppose that part may have been a bit exaggerated from the site…possibly….maybe. The film also shows us the villains in their planning phase so while it’s a mystery to the heroes we know exactly who they are from the start. They’re definitely radical lunatics just trying to inflict damage on a lot of innocent people for no true reason. Fortunately the film doesn’t bother creating any sympathy for them. They’re portrayed as pretty bad people in general. One of them is a little more hesitant on this at the start but only offers half hearted resistance before going through with the plan.

The movie is definitely pretty intense given that the bombing scene is quite gruesome. Additionally we get some big fights with the two bombers as they had a lot of pipe bombs with them and in the event a cop was killed so that was kept in. It definitely does remind you how dangerous it is to be a police officer particularly when you have to deal with people waving guns around like this. Even when they have the bombers outnumbered it was hard for them to make any headway since their equipment just wasn’t as good.

It was nice to see the FBI looking good here. Of course it’s largely because this was based on real events but otherwise in the films the FBI tend to either look very shady or just not very good at handling their business. Here we see their vast resources and how they’re able to quickly set up a mobile base of operations. We also just see a lot of co-operation between them and the Police as well as the Governor who shows up to make some calls as well. There were definitely a ton of parties involved and the film also includes a speech or two from the President on the events as well. The Boston Bombings certainly effected a lot of people and was definitely one of the biggest terrorist acts in recent memory.

The heroes all look good here. Tommy also makes for a solid lead. I can see how people probably wouldn’t be thrilled with how he takes up a lot of the story. It’s similar to Chris from Sonic X as he took away a lot of screen time from other characters. Still, I thought Tommy was a solid character. In the context of the movie’s story he was definitely instrumental in helping solve the case and catch the bombers. He helped the FBI and also took a lot of risks of his own in surrounding the boat and trying to drag the guy out. There’s nothing particularly bad about his character. At worst he just doesn’t particularly standout at times, he’s portrayed as just an average guy doing his best to help out.

Overall, Patriot’s Day is a pretty solid film. If you aren’t familiar with the Boston Bombings then it’ll probably have some extra impact for you since you won’t know exactly what to expect. The film did a good job of balancing together a lot of different plots taken from real accounts at the time. There’s also an epilogue where you get to see a lot of the real people from the events and current status updates. It’s not like this was super long ago so there are some elements ongoing to this day. So if you’re up for a thriller on real events this would definitely be the one to check out.

Godzilla Raids Again Review

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Godzilla has had a rich history with lots of films and adventures over the years. He has easily become the most well known monster of all time and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. He’s just too legendary at this point. Well Raids Again was one of the first films to come out in the series and it’s pretty interesting to see him back in the original days. Godzilla was still a pretty heroic Kaiju at this point in time but this was back when the government really didn’t understand him so they spend the whole film trying to bring him down. It’s a movie that has aged pretty well and gives us a lot of the fun Kaiju scenes you’ve been waiting for. There is a little less stomping on the buildings here but we still get our share of action.

The movie starts with the main characters doing a routine patrol when one of their planes has engine trouble. Tsukioka goes to rescue Kobayashi from his fate but getting out of here will be quite difficult. They have landed on Monster Island where Godzilla and Anguirus are currently duking it out. The two characters figure they should get out of there and escape as Anguirus and Godzilla fall into the ocean. The government quickly decides that they have to find a way to destroy Godzilla and fast but how to do it? Without the Oxygen Destroyer they are at a loss. Meanwhile while they focus on Godzilla what if Anguirus ends up making a comeback?

Anguirus is a pretty solid supporting character but is typically portrayed as one of the weaker Kaiju. He’s usually more of a sidekick to Godzilla compared to Rodan who’s portrayed as an equal. In this film he looks pretty good though and even has Godzilla on the defensive for a good chunk of the film. The king of the monsters just can’t shake the guy and he also appears to be immune to the Atomic Breath which is very handy indeed. Anguirus just shakes it off each time. Ultimately once Godzilla gets his bearings he is still the stronger Kaiju here though. He won twice fair and square.

This movie seems early enough in the mythos where Godzilla was more of a mindless monster and doesn’t seem to think a whole lot though. He’s distracted by bright lights and just seems to go everywhere on instinct. Even at the end of the film while the heroes are burying him alive Godzilla doesn’t really do anything to escape. He roars a bit and looks around but doesn’t do anything more than that. You feel like he should have been able to escape this either way though so I would say this was probably one of Godzilla’s least impressive appearances. He would only get stronger from here though and the movie does portray him well. It’s always fun to see Godzilla show up and I feel like we didn’t have to wait as long as normal to see him this time around.

It’s definitely good to have Godzilla showing up but that’s not to say that the human plot is bad. Of course when you’re watching a film like Godzilla then you’re really in it for the Kaiju. Anything else would be considered a bonus at best. The most important thing is that the human plot should not take away from the Kaiju one. So as long as you don’t have a bad plot in you’re good. There are two main human plots going on. The first is the prison break with the villains escaping from transit to another jail. As you may expect things don’t go great for them but it’s a pretty fun scene. They all band together for the plan and then dash like their lives depend on it. I think it does underscore why travelling in a van like that with only two guards is incredibly dangerous. If you don’t almost immediately fire off your guns then you’re going to be on the defensive.

Then you’ve got the main characters with “Mr. Groom” who are all just trying to have a good time. Things tend to end rather tragically for most of these characters. Kobayashi definitely didn’t play the ending right as he let things get too personal and it clouded his judgment at a critical time. The plan was always going to be very dangerous though so it’s not surprising that Godzilla took most of them down. He doesn’t tend to start the fights but he certainly ends them. Tsukioka and Yamaji meanwhile are pretty good friends to Kobayashi and make sure to keep on working hard. Tsukioka’s on the field so he gets to directly try to avenge him while Yamaji helped him have a lot of fun while he was around with playful banter and teasing about the secret name he had in his book.

Overall, Godzilla Raids Again is a solid film. It’s got your classic monster action at the ready and some decent characters running around. Just having a second monster always makes a huge difference in these films and I’m of the opinion that this was actually better than the original entry in the series. The film’s pacing is on point and the movie has no real weaknesses. It’s just a lot of fun and the pacing is fast so something is always happening. It’s also nostalgic to see one of Godzilla’s first suits. It’s aged pretty well I’d say and same for Anguirus I’d say as the suit looks a lot like the newer ones. He’s definitely not a character you can really afford to underestimate. If you haven’t seen this film yet then you should definitely change that and check it out.

Overall 7/10

Creepshow Review

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

Uh oh, this time around we’ve got an anthology film. While it’s possible to have a good movie using this format it’s definitely not very likely. Creepshow proves this to be true as it ultimately flounders. The first story was easily the best one and then things began to dip from there. Most of these stories definitely end up being quite mean spirited and by the end of it you can see why parents wouldn’t have wanted their kids reading this stuff. It could certainly get intense that’s for sure.

First the film starts with a kid trying to read a copy of Creepshow but his father shows up and snatches the comic book away. He’s quite adamant about this comic being terrible and throws it in the trash outside. The kid resents this and prepares a method of revenge. This plot shows up here and there around the rest of the stories that are from the book until it returns as the closing piece of the movie. They definitely portray the Dad to be over the top mean towards the kid so he serves as the antagonist. Still, the kid’s quick method of revenge basically proves his theory correct about the comics being a bad influence as the kid heads straight to violence. It’s basically a negative cycle there with both characters making things worse.

Now as for the actual stories, the first one is about Father’s Day. There was this rich guy who was quite mean to the rest of his family so nobody liked him. Still, he was rich though so they’re all happy to at least get some money. Legends say that Bedelia murdered him but aside from the newest member of the family none of the others are too concerned. After all, it benefited them. Their immediate problem will be the fact that the father seems to have returned from the grave as a ghost to finish them all off. Personally I found this to be the most engaging story. The zombie father made for a solid antagonist. It could be a little hard to make out what he was saying at times with all of the audio mixing but he was definitely a figure to be feared. It also plays out a lot like a typical horror film as he goes around bumping off the cast one by one. It just felt like the most well developed segment in the film and also had a pretty sizable cast of memorable characters. You couldn’t really forget them even if they would meet violent ends.

Next up is more of a lowkey story. Jordy was wandering around outside when a meteor hits the area. He figures maybe he can get rich off of it but touching the meteor causes him to be infected with the plague. He is now slowly turning into a plant and there doesn’t seem to be a way out. Should he go to the doctor or will they try drastic measures on him now? This story’s a lot weaker than the first. Jordy doesn’t make for the most interesting of leads. He’s quite overdramatized in terms of being shocked at everything and not too bright. He really messed up in not going to the doctor right away. It may not have done anything but it would have been better than just staying at home and slowly dying out. It’s a pretty gruesome way to die too when you think about it as turning into a plant seems pretty tough. The story may have been pretty light and cartoony compared to the rest but the ending is still pretty dark.

The third story is about a guy named Harry who is cheating with Becky on her husband Richard. Richard definitely isn’t going to have any of this so he heads over to Harry’s place and threatens him by saying that he has Becky. Harry follows Richard and promptly buries himself in the sand. Now Harry can only watch as the tide rolls in. Richard intends to watch the two of them drown from his hotel suite thanks to a lot of cameras he has set up in the area. It should be impossible for them to escape their fates right? Well, the film definitely isn’t trying to have us like Harry or Becky much here since they were cheating on Richard from the start. Of course two wrongs don’t make a right and Richard is far more sinister than either of those two.

Harry played the situation terribly though. Even if someone’s got you at gunpoint you can’t just bury yourself in what will be a slow death. I’ve said it many times but your best bet is to make a run for the gun. If you fail then you’ll likely be shot dead but that’s far better than continuing to live in whatever torment the villain has prepared for you right? Death by drowning for example is a pretty terrible way to go. Once you’ve buried yourself there aren’t any escape options yet. You’re just doomed at that point. The story of course has a twist including more zombies. As with the first one they use some audio effects so it’s a little trickier to hear what they’re saying but the movie’s going for a watery sound as if they still are in a drowned state. It’s a pretty intense climax with an ending that has a bit of a humor feel to it.

After that we have a story about a mysterious crate that shows up. A janitor discovers this and calls the local professor Dexter to check into this. Unfortunately while Dexter suspected something normal like rocks or something would be in the crate it turns out that a monster is and it starts slaying people in the school. Dexter runs back to Henry’s to try and explain this but Henry figures he can use this to trick his wife into being murdered. He heads back into the school and prepares this trap. Will he be able to stay one step ahead of the monster or will he ultimately be ensnared as well?

This is probably the most violent story. The monster definitely doesn’t take prisoners and chomps all who oppose him. Some of the characters at least try to play it safe but others are just crazy. There’s a college student for example who shows up and handles the situation rather terribly. What did he think was going to happen here? The monster itself certainly gives the main characters a lot of space though. The whole time Henry is cleaning up around the lab the monster doesn’t make a move. Perhaps he was already full by that time and didn’t see a need to really do anything. It’s certainly convenient for Henry that this was the case. His wife Wilma was definitely something as she constantly complained about everything. Even to the end she nearly made a comeback.

Finally we had a rich guy named Mr. Pratt who takes delight in getting richer and richer. He doesn’t care how many people he has to take down so long as he can continue to rise up the ranks of society. He makes it a point to make fun of the others beneath him even if they just died. Naturally that means something’s about to happen and sure enough it does as some roaches start to appear. Their numbers begin to quickly escalate and Pratt doesn’t seem to have a way to stop them. Will the exterminators make it in time or he is doomed to be overwhelmed? You hopefully won’t mind roaches here or you’re going to be in for a very tough time. If not for the roaches basically being supernatural I have to say that Pratt was definitely well prepared. He had every anti roach item that you could think of at his disposal. He even had a lot of people on speed dial but at the end of the day they couldn’t save him. There was also the custodian who was acting pretty shady at times. I suppose the film was hinting he had something to do with this or just through Pratt’s paranoid vision that’s how it appeared to be. The ending shot was surprisingly violent with the roaches going straight for the win.

The movie has some pretty interesting scenes where it turns things into a comic book. I’d say that this was handled pretty well. The visuals were on point and the soundtrack was solid as well. Ultimately what holds this film back is what you would expect. The film can be pretty violent and also fairly mean spirited. Most of the stories are really about revenge here as the victim fulfills his fantasy of getting revenge on those who oppressed him. Most of the stories fall into that revenge fantasy category. None of the stories have happy endings although you could make the case that while they’re sad endings for the main characters most of them will have a lot of people who benefited from it.

Overall, Creepshow is about what you’d expect from an anthology. I’ll give the movie props for keeping all of the stories pretty different. You’ve definitely got horror in a lot of different ways here from zombies to supernatural insects. That said, it definitely still doesn’t work for me. It’s hard to root for some of these main characters because they become as evil as the villains they’re trying to fight. The kid from the intro/ending as well as Henry from the monster story both ultimately become villains in their quest to get revenge. At the end of the day they traded their moral high ground for a quick win. If you want to watch a classic horror title then this isn’t the one you’ll want to check out.

Overall 2/10