Tag Archives: Adaption

House of the Dead Review

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This review is of the 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

House of the Dead is one of those films that’s very infamous. It doesn’t have a whole lot of big defenders to be honest. Mostly it just gets a lot of mocking and you can see why. The film is definitely not taking things very seriously and some aspects like the music are definitely not general audience friendly. Ultimately it is a bad film but I dare say it does manage to defeat the average horror flick.

The movie starts with someone reminiscing about how things were before all of his friends were murdered. We then flash back to the actual movie which is always a very annoying way to start a movie. Why even let us know that one of the characters is going to live through this? Well, there’s a big rave taking place on the island of the dead but a few teenagers were running late so they missed the boat. They’re forced to pay an extremely high price to hitch a ride with the only boat left in town. The captain’s first mate isn’t particularly nice and the captain is certainly not making things easy but this party is a once in a lifetime event. The problem is when they get there, all of the people are gone. Instead there are only hordes of zombies. Can the heroes manage to take them down??

You may be wondering what happened to the house. Well, that appears near the end of the film but really this should have been called the Island of the Dead. Most of the film is really about them trying to survive on that island while they are attacked by endless rounds of zombies. The heroes fortunately are able to get their hands on guns and other weapons with which to defend themselves. It’s really the only way to fight back and they manage to get pretty good at using them.

Where the film is probably going to lose some people is when it becomes a full on action. Once the heroes get their weapons, this very quickly stops being a horror film and quickly leans into the action all the way. We get a ton of slow mo scenes and a very extended fight where the heroes are shredding all of the zombies. I didn’t have a problem with the length but the slow motion effect does get old rather quickly. The long fight is still the best part of the film though. I’ll take an action over a horror any day after all. There is a little plot armor in how the humans are faring so well here though.

The film is very inconsistent about how physically strong the zombies are as well as their speed. It all appears to just be at the level that it needs to be for the scene. The scene transitions are also a bit too random with all of the video game clips randomly showing up. It could have been fun once or twice but it happens very frequently with no real rhyme or reason to it. Definitely not the way to go here.

Meanwhile the soundtrack is actually very good for most of the film. There is a lot of good rock themes as well as just generally fast tunes which really fit in well with all of the fighting. That’s something that has actually aged really well so I appreciated that. The visuals can be rather hit or miss but I did enjoy the choreography for the battles. One character actually knows martial arts and gets to pummel several characters that way.

While most of the characters are annoying teenagers, I did really enjoy the boat captain. He was at least trying to make sense of what was going on here and also didn’t show any fear. He was particularly impressive in his very first encounter with a zombie because he just casually shot it while still smoking his cigarette. That takes a lot of guts right there. He was also the reason the others even had weapons with which to fight the zombies so without him they would have all been dead very quickly.

I also enjoyed the policewoman because she was smart enough to put aside her beef with the captain to fight against the zombies. I know some lesser characters who wouldn’t have adapted like that. She did really well in her fights as well and ultimately only got held back by the others and the ammo starting to run low. It does make sense that with all of the shooting they were doing, they would eventually run out of bullets.

This film didn’t really need a main villain though. An endless horde of zombies is already scary enough right? Well, we do get a mastermind at the end and he even gets an origin story. The scenes just make everyone else look bad because there is one moment where he goads a guard into getting close enough to destroy him. Whenever someone loses to a guy who is fully chained up, I’m going to have some problems there.

There also isn’t much to this villain. He just craves violence and got immortality. It’s not like he has any kind of a master plan or anything. He just does whatever he wants and that’s not exactly a recipe for success. He does put up a good fight in the end but it’s barely even a consolation because he should have won that fight. Losing just makes him look even less impressive.

Naturally it goes without saying as a zombie film that this one can be pretty violent. You have a ton of characters getting slashed and destroyed during the mayhem. So if you’re not big on all of that then this would be a reason to stay away. It might have slightly more restraint than other zombie films as it doesn’t usually dwell on the deaths but yeah the violence is still at a high level here.

Overall, This film had some good ideas but could not land the execution. While I enjoyed some of the adult characters like the captain and the policewoman, there was nothing good to be said about the teens. The fact that some of them didn’t even care when the rave was empty just shows that they aren’t the smartest characters in the bunch. Any semblance of romance here just feels obligatory as none of the characters seem mature enough for it and they take too long to get serious about this. Of course if you’re planning to go to a Rave on an island in the middle of nowhere, I’d argue that your moral compass may already be in a rather dicey spot. You should only check this film out if you reallllly like zombie fighting and even then you will have to sit through a bit of a slow first half before the zombies even appear.

Overall 3/10

DOA: Dead or Alive Review

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Dead or Alive is one of those titles that is always super tragic. The series has amazing characters who got a lot of hype thanks to the fan-animated Dead Fantasy series. Additionally there is a lot of rich lore and world building to be found but instead it is often thrown away in place of fanservice. The same thing happens here. The movie has a fantastic soundtrack, great fights and visuals, not to mention a great cast. Unfortunately the fanservice continues to come in strong and hard which ultimately prevents the film from succeeding the way that it should have. You have to squint your way through to the end which is not the way to go.

The film starts by introducing us to our three leads. You have Princess Kasumi who wants to find her brother Hayate who supposedly died during the Dead or Alive tournament but she doesn’t believe this. When she gets an invite to the tournament, Kasumi gets her chance to find out what’s going on. Tina’s reason for entering the tournament is a bit more mild, she wants to prove to people that she is a true fighter and not a fake wrestler. Finally Christie just wants to make more money and there are millions to be stolen from this island. Who will take the crown?

There are a lot more characters in the tournament but technically speaking most of them do not last very long. It was fun to see a bunch of characters from the games either way though. Tina’s father Bass gets a fight to himself and it’s clear that he is holding back a great deal so when he goes down it’s not like he suddenly had to get nerfed by the plot or anything. Who wants to defeat their kid in a serious fight right? If anything you could say he was mostly used for the comedy which worked really well.

This is the kind of film where you do have to overlook the characters really taking it to each other even when it’s a friendly match though. Christie for example dishes out a ton of pain to her boyfriend Max like hitting him where it hurt and crushing his hands. It was intense enough where I thought he was being set up to be a total villain but in the end it just ended up being their dynamic. Max has one scene where he defeats a fighter accidentally which was taken a bit far as a gag though. In the end I’m surprised he still ended up with Christie but I guess his confident attitude actually worked.

His romance plot is still better than Weatherby’s though. That guy didn’t stand up to help Helena when it counted and so that was a real bad look for him. I give him some points for actually talking to Helena instead of creeping by the computer all day but he still wasn’t really my kind of character.

Another character who looks bad here is Ayane. She is so determined to murder Kasumi that she takes this to a crazy obsessive level. Ayane could have been putting that time towards helping to find Hayate as well. Even if he was dead, just let Kasumi do what she wants for now. There is no reason to be going this aggressive and then by the end she is acting like nothing happened. I tend to like Ayane but she did not look good in this one.

Hayate sadly doesn’t get to do a lot here but he is given a lot of hype as being the strongest warrior on the planet. That was appreciated and he does his best even when he’s outgunned. I have a hard time believing that he would lose but I guess I can ignore that. The point of Victor’s new tech is that he can copy and predict people’s moves but I don’t think the body would be quick enough to counter and also properly execute the move. We can just chalk it up to sci-fi shenanigans.

Victor actually made for a pretty good villain. He’s nice and over the top the whole time with al the laughing and bragging about how strong he is. He’s a villain who is clearly having a good time throughout the movie and seems to actually enjoy being rich. Sometimes you just want a big villain like this who is completely unrepentant and does whatever he feels like. No need for some kind of a fancy character arc here.

Hayabusa does well in taking out a lot of minions here. I also appreciated that he was really protective of Kasumi rather than trying to murder her. The guy was even able to push his feelings aside throughout the movie so that he could properly protect her. He gets big props for not getting distracted. This guy is just a really good hero through and through who is as noble as they come.

Speaking of distractions, I was also pleasantly surprised that the film didn’t have any of the characters try and use their looks to distract the villains. That’s one of the worst tropes and fortunately the movie didn’t have any of them sacrifice their dignity. Now the extreme levels of fanservice in the film do negate this to an extent but at least that’s one thing it avoided. The various romance plots tend to be really weak. The only decent one is with Hayabusa and even then it could probably stand to slow down a bit. The others are definitely more on the annoying side and move too quickly.

Back to the characters, I would say Kasumi is the best one. She goes out of her way to try and save Hayate and puts herself in great risk. She understands what it means to look out for someone even if it puts your whole future at stake. She’s definitely the kind of friend you want to have on your side and her skills are quite impressive. Definitely a really fun character without a doubt. Then we have Christie who is fun as an antagonist. She doesn’t have the moral compass of the others.

Sure she’s not going around murdering everybody but she is a thief and takes whatever she wants. In terms of fighting abilities she may be the strongest heroine out of Kasumi even if it doesn’t seem like her training was as formal. You get the feeling that she just had to learn in a hurry after being a thief for so long which makes a lot of sense. She’s charismatic and a lot of fun to have around the whole time.

Now I have to admit that the final two heroines Tina and Helena look so similar that I was mixing them up the whole time. I generally know them from their storylines as Helena had the Weatherby one while Tina was proving herself but this is where video game costumes would help out to really differentiate them. They’re both fun enough, I probably prefer Helena because she has more of a troll side to her. She was definitely messing with Weatherby intentionally a few times. As far as flirting goes, that’s probably one of the better ways to do it. Tina had to start off with a fake victory to move on forward in the tournament so it didn’t make her look quite as hype.

Still you’ve got a lot of fun characters throughout. I also really liked the tournament style as matches could happen anywhere at any time. That’s just a really cool concept and there were a few homages to the games like how the cameras and UI worked. The soundtrack is awesome like I mentioned before with a ton of rock music. The pacing is really fast and so this film was really firing on all cylinders. The writing is really good with a fairly light tone but still keeping the story serious. You’re super invested in what’s going on the whole time and the fighting choreography is really solid. The film even played the volleyball match very seriously without any fanservice attempts in there.

Alas, like I mentioned before the fanservice still keeps this from being a good movie. I can’t really recommend a title that will have you shaking your head and wincing so often. That just wouldn’t make sense. It’s better than something like Charlie’s Angels which was all flash with no substance since this one has a good film buried beneath that but it has to succeed in spite of those scenes which was too hard of a mission. I would like to see a modern version pull this off while not falling into the usual traps.

Overall, Dead or Alive has a very distinct reputation which is pretty well earned by this point. It’s a shame that it always goes for the easy views when this has the makings of a great franchise. This film is just another example of this tactic. If you can get past all the fanservice then I would recommend checking this film out and seeing what you think. If that sounds like it’ll be a little too difficult then you should just check out the original Moral Kombat instead which is the ultimate tournament film.

Overall 4/10

The Jet Black Hedgehog: Shadow the Hedgehog Review

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The year of Shadow was really a hype moment in the world of multi media franchises. We got to get a Shadow game, movie, and a whole lot of appearances everywhere. It was a great time to be a Shadow fan and now it’s time to finally look at the manga that went on briefly. It roughly adapts the Shadow Generations story albeit with a few changes and even a new original character. Not sure why they changed it at all since the changes feel so minor but I suppose you don’t really need a reason to change things up and have fun right? It’s a quick and easy read with only 6 chapters.

The manga starts with showing us the good ole days of Shadow stopping the BioLizard and even getting to hang out with Maria. Those were back when he could show off a lot of emotion and had a really good time. Ultimately it wouldn’t last as Maria died tragically and Shadow lands in a weird void world. A little bat shows up saying that he can save Maria but Shadow needs to get all of the dark orbs to achieve his true power. Shadow is willing to go through all of the hardships in order to make this happen but if the bat is lying to him….there will be a whole lot of trouble coming soon.

The art is a little on the basic side but it’s not bad. I would have liked a more intense style which fits in with the serious story they are going for here but this one is easy to read which makes sense since the magazine is still for a younger audience. In a way that’s part of what makes it all very easy to read through because the panels are very big and the pacing is fast. Shadow basically takes down a boss in each chapter and keeps it moving. The final boss with Black Doom gets a good amount of screentime although in this version it’s pretty clear from the start that Shadow is a lot more powerful. As soon as he is able to fight seriously it is all over.

There is no big Sonic guest star appearance here so I suppose they couldn’t squeeze that in. It would have definitely been really good to have though. I suppose this way it is really 100% Shadow’s story with no real distractions or separations. The decision to basically have Shadow go from losing Maria to the Shadow Gens story without any of the Sonic games from the middle was an interesting choice. At least in terms of memories that was Shadow’s trajectory here. I would say I ultimately prefer the main story’s version of events but this way wasn’t bad. Having an alternate path is nice to experience the story from different angles.

There did have to be some big cuts though and sadly Metal Sonic is one of them as he basically just gets one page. Ah well at least he gets one page which is good. Him not appearing at all would have definitely been rough. Throughout the story Shadow does know that this whole thing is a longshot but he continues to try anyway because saving Maria is really important to him. Their bond of friendship is always one of the strongest ones in the Sonicverse. Ultimately Maria had to go through a lot in every timeline but she always stands strong and never gives in to the darkness. She does well in helping Shadow resist as well.

Shadow is in a tough spot throughout because he knows that every orb he absorbs brings him closer to losing control and yet he has to keep on absorbing them in order to even have a chance at saving Maria. So he gets closer and closer to the abyss the whole time all while knowing it’s a dangerous plan. At the end of the day that’s why he’s the Ultimate Life Form though. He can handle a whole lot more than the other characters could even dream of.

This has always been true throughout the Sonic mythos. Sonic and friends have their share of hardships and strife but at the end of the day still tend to have a lot of fun. Shadow is constantly dealing with the biggest threats around and also the eternal grief of losing Maria. It’s why there were a whole lot of memes around this period about how the Sonic Generations story was so happy and colorful the whole time while Shadow Generations was ultra serious business.

This manga did allow Shadow to express himself more though which I really appreciated. Starting off the manga with the Shadow from the past was a good idea for that reason. He really used to have a whole lot of fun until tragedy struck and he simply couldn’t anymore. If not for that then I’m sure that even now he would be having more fun. It could make for a nice AU story someday although the current Shadow is the character who rose to being the greatest in the franchise so it’s not like you’re topping that anytime soon.

There’s not a whole lot more to say about this one because in large part it is a very direct story. There aren’t a lot of twists and turns here and it’s pretty clear where the story is going to go from the start. Black Doom probably could have looked a bit stronger though, maybe one more chapter would have been ideal. Still, the series had to balance a whole lot of fights and action into 6 chapters so I can definitely cut it a ton of slack here. It’s all pretty reasonable but of course that also shows why we need a full Shadow ongoing manga.


Overall, Shadow makes for a good character so it’s not surprising that his manga would be really good. It’s very short but still makes for a compelling read. By the end of it you will definitely want to go ahead and buy the video game to get the full experience here since they couldn’t quite fit everything into this one. It is a great side product though and also works as a substitution if you don’t own the game consoles to play it on or something like that. In a way that’s the biggest part of being a multi media franchise after all. This way you have different ways to experience the story for everyone.

Overall 7/10

A Christmas Carol (1984) Review

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The Christmas Carol is one of those classic stories that has been told many times over the years. It’s a story that will continue to be retold for generations because the whole thing is easy to understand and has a good moral at the end. You can’t ask for much more than that right? This one is a pretty solid adaption, I won’t say it’s the best or anything like that but I didn’t have any issues with it.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Scrooge who runs a really tight ship. He has earned a lot of money over the years and has decided that he won’t see any of it be squandered! No, he will work in a cold office if needed but the money will remain his. Everyone around him tells Scrooge to lighten up but he refuses. He heads home one night only to be visited by the ghost of his old partner. This ghost named Marley is trapped in chains and laments how his fate is already doomed but perhaps Scrooge can still be saved. He threatens Scrooge with visits from 3 supernatural creatures and then fades away. Scrooge aims to stay strong but these ghosts will use every trick in the book in order to get at him. Can Scrooge properly resist such an onslaught??

Now this version of Marley was a bit confusing. In the film they act as though he was a fairly nice guy and even in his speech it sounds as though he did use his money to help people out. So why is he trapped in chains and about to be doomed for all eternity? That part just didn’t seem particularly clear here. In a way they should have mentioned more about him being just as bad as Scrooge and not paying heed to the lessons which is why he’s in chains now.

Well after that the ball is in Scrooge’s court. Of course we all know the story by this point so the fun is in seeing how strong this Scrooge can be. Some of them break down almost immediately and side with the light while others make it to the end. I would say this was one of the tougher Scrooges. He made it midway through the second ghost before really breaking down. This version of the second ghost was also one of the most aggressive ones as he actively threatened Scrooge so you have to keep that in mind as well. Often times the ghosts try to be a little more subtle than that.

Scrooge was basically someone who took things a little too far. Nothing wrong with deciding to live a quiet life of not spending any money if that’s what you want to do. It really just starts to get dicey with how he treats his partner. The reason why Scrooge is a character that still works though is because he’s not too exaggerated. You could argue that the way he treats his partner is the only thing that is objectively bad. He does other things that may not be socially popular but he’s not breaking any rules or actively murdering people. And as he points out during the movie, he was ultimately able to achieve these riches in part due to his lifestyle.

He sacrificed a lot to get to the top such as his relationships and family. He basically became a loner and at the end of the day he doesn’t really have anything important in his life other than money. He’ll end up having a lonely existence and that’ll be that. It is still a little surprising to see how Scrooge is surprised by this outcome though. Surely that was just part of the choices he made right? I’d have expected him to realize that he would be all alone in death since he actively did his best to make sure he had no friends in life.

Meanwhile the families may have all been upset at Scrooge even to the end but it makes sense. From their point of view this change of heart is incredibly sudden. His nephew was really glad at Scrooge’s presence the whole time since he had always held out hope for this but the others will take some time. Ultimately Scrooge is in a good place in the present and now it’ll just be a question of where he draws the line. He has a fortune large enough to completely change many lives but of course he won’t be able to do that for everyone. Then he would run out of money and things would get dicey. For now we can at least be reassured of the fact that he will have a support network and friends to talk to.

As for the ghosts, they were all fun enough. Like I said the second ghost was a lot tougher this time around. He seemed to be the most sinister out of the 3 because he tries to have a nice facade the whole time until it breaks. That makes him incredibly suspicious. Then you’ve got the first ghost who could be a bit sarcastic at times but was trying to get through to Scrooge. Finally the third one is just hear to put some fear into him as normal. This may be a ghost of few words but he gets the job done. Considering how many people in the town are now saved, maybe Marley did deserve to break the chain and get a happy ending too.

Overall, A Christmas Carol is one of those films where you know all of the story beats so the critical factor is really in how well they are executed. I would say the film was handled pretty well overall. I didn’t really have any issues with it here. The whole story plays out well and it’s a classic uplifting kind of tale. I think the next really influential adaption will be another one to have a little fun with the format like Scrooged though. You gotta throw a wild card in there and yes it will be risky but sometimes you really have to take a risk in order to pull something like this off. Without that, the film is limited a bit by just how predictable it is. Still, check this one out and see where you stack it up among all the versions.

Overall 6/10

Dragon Ball Super Divers Review

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I’m going to miss Dragon Ball Heroes but it’s time to look at the next generation of Dragon Ball content! Divers is definitely starting off on a classic note with the first arc of DBZ. It’s a fun read but I am hoping for something a little more intense in the arcade game’s story once it really gets going. I may just be hoping for a bit too much right out of the gate but I can really feel the potential here!

The story starts with the Z fighters faced off against Nappa and Vegeta along with their Saibamen. There is a new addition to the team though, a kid who looks like a Saiyan. For some reason he is commanding the heroes and tells them who to send into battle. Unfortunately he follows the same order as in the actual manga so Yamcha and Chiaotzu get destroyed once again. Goku and the kid team up to beat Vegeta and then we get the big reveal that this was all a super realistic VR game. The kid is proud of himself and gets ready to keep on playing. So it may be going the other Heroes route with the events initially being a game within a game but eventually the stakes got high anyway. So I could see this happening here as well.

I suppose my one issue here is how the changes didn’t really seem to matter. Why have the kid go inside the game and make his moves when he’s just going to preserve the status quo? It made no sense not to warn Yamcha about the explosion ahead of time and for some reason the kid looks super shocked. There are two possible explanations here and they both make him look really bad. The first is that he forgot what happened because he is a super casual DBZ fan and hasn’t read the books in a while. That one would just be pretty terrible since that’s such an iconic moment. The other explanation is that he wanted to keep the story as close to the original version as possible, in which case I would say that’s just a boring way to go about it. The point of VR adventures like this is that you can actively change things and create a better tomorrow. So why wouldn’t you just do that?

The fun appeal of what if storylines to me are that they can really go all out. There is so much you can do when you are outside the confines of the main story and it feels to me like this arcade game is playing it too safe for now. I’m hoping they change that sooner than later because reliving the old arcs sounds fun enough but this is their chance to really have the new character make a difference. Also there is only so much time in just a single chapter so that’s another valid reason for making this one a bit more small scale. I can accept that as the reasoning if that’s what it was.

The artist did a really good job of emulating the classic Dragon Ball Z look. The character models are on point and the action scenes really flow naturally. I definitely didn’t have any real complaints on that. A clean artstyle like this one definitely goes a really long way because not only is it pleasant to read but it actively enhances the story as well. The writing was good too and of course the whole arcade game backdrop has potential. We just gotta see where it goes from here.

It’ll take a while to really surpass Dragon Ball Heroes in terms of how much of a spectacle that was by the end but so long as this one is very good then we’ll be satisfied. It’s also nice for fans of the original characters like Yamcha to see their guys get in on the fighting even if it’s super brief and ultimately doomed for defeat like in the original. You just can’t escape your destiny here!

Overall, Dragon Ball Super Divers was a pretty good oneshot. It really goes by very quickly so there’s not a whole lot to talk about here. It does its job of being a preview for the upcoming game though which is the important part. The art is on point and the action scenes are good. For all of my complaints on the lack of ambition, it is a fundamentally sound story. There is a good amount of action here and it’s always fun to see Goku and friends getting some fights. Hopefully at some point they come up with an ongoing manga for this one because you can never have too much Dragon Ball content. In the meantime this is a story you should check out.

Overall 7/10

Something Wicked This Way Comes Review

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It’s time for another story about resisting temptation because the short term fun will quickly be taken over by something grim. It’s a pretty interesting concept but one that is slightly wasted by this film. I like the idea of someone sinister showing up in a small town and granting everyone’s wishes at a great cost. It’s just hard to really get the full scope of this when the main characters are kids so they can’t really do much about this. It would be a lot more effective otherwise. Still, it’s not a bad film.

The movie starts by introducing us to Will and Jim who have gotten in trouble at school again. It’s not easy for these two kids to live in such a boring town. There’s really just nothing to do except cause trouble at this point. Everyone in town has some issues that they deal with, one one guy missing an arm, one lady being really old, etc. Still, people do the best that they can. One day a strange old guy shows up and gives one of the kids a lightning rod. Seems like a dangerous thing to have at home, but eh the price was pretty good. Everything changes when a mysterious circus/carnival comes into town led by Mr. Dark. His shady name is already an indicator of things to come. He seems to have the ability to make your wish come true. The price? Well, he’ll come to collect that in short order.

Naturally you’d think it would be easy to just say no to the guy and run off but honestly Dark is rather smart about how he handles this. He’s not just cackling on a throne telling people to give up their immortal souls. He just strolls around and creates miracles in a rather low key way. It’s one of the few times I don’t totally blame the random locals for falling into his traps. On the surface the guy doesn’t seem all that crazy although the miracles are a red flag but it’s almost all like one big dream.

The character I do blame for this? Jim. Jim knows what is going on to a much larger degree than the others and yet he really wants Mr. Dark to grant his wish to become older. He is jealous of being a few hours or days younger than Will. That has to be one of the most petty things I’ve heard in quite some time now. He’s also quite ready to beat up Will over this despite the two of them being close friends. I thought that was really crazy! You don’t just betray your best friend on a whim like that. I couldn’t look at him the same after that.

In comparison, Tom had it rough because the guy was actually tortured by Dark for information. This guy never cracked no matter what he was put through. This is where the more interesting plot is at play with what’s going on here. The battle happening in the shadows so to speak so it is annoying when we have to continue following the kids who are out of their depth. There’s probably a TV trope for this but it’s when you are following the B plot while the A plot happens in the background. I feel like there’s a whole other movie in here that we are completely missing out on because the kids can’t handle what is going on.

They’re also way too passive like when one of the guys is de-aged to a kid and is pretending to be the teacher’s nephew. Maybe you don’t tell the teacher because she has no reason to believe you but you definitely handle the kid. Instead they ran off like chickens which was not a good move at all. Charles at least does good since he’s the only grown up to really be in the mix the whole time but the problem is that he’s really old. He can’t hold his own in a fight and at best is able to talk tough verbally to Mr. Dark. I still give him credit for that at least.

I don’t really have many issues with the film but the problem is that the one issue I do have is a pretty big one. The film can just be a little bit on the boring side. We see the process of everyone in town getting their wishes granted and all but after that we are missing out on most of the action because the kids can’t handle it. It feels like a strong opening without much of a payoff. The climax is decent but with adult or even teenage main characters you could have squeezed in a whole lot more action. I’d like to see a reimagining of this film some day because I definitely see the potential.

I’ll throw you out an idea right here, make Tom the main character next time. Lets explore more of what he knows about this and his ultimate plan about it. You could even choose to make a prequel instead. Usually I’m against that but in this case it could really work and I think it would instantly be more exciting than this film. Just something to think about but it would solve the protagonists issue right out of the gate.

Overall, Something Wicked This Way Comes is a very interesting film where the payoff doesn’t quite match up. The title is certainly a descriptive one and makes sense for the movie. The setting and backdrop is all there as well as a solid atmosphere. The decision to have the two main characters be kids is ultimately what buried this one though. You need leads who can fight, not kids who will just stay in the back the whole time getting dominated. I suppose kids need some stories where they can see protagonists their own age running around but it doesn’t really do anything for me. If you are really in the mood for a fantasy title and have seen most of the others already then you should check this one out. Otherwise, there are far better ones out there that you should watch instead.

Overall 5/10

Sonic X Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings Review

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It’s time to talk about one of the best animated features that Sega has ever put out. Shadow has been getting a lot of hype recently between the new live action movie and his upcoming video game. Mix in a whole miniseries and we’re talking about peak content right from start to finish. At the end of the day this is less than 15 minutes so you can’t squeeze everything in, but it still works really well as a stand alone story. You feel the emotion packed into each saga and now the whole thing has been compiled into a single video so that makes it even easier to watch.

The saga takes place across the past to the present. Shadow remembers his days with Maria in the Ark and then we see in the present that he has to make it back up there to stop a super menace. Along the way he gets to see his old allies Rouge and Omega. The 3 of them are still a powerful team, but then again any team with the Ultimate Life Form would be quite formidable. This saga all leads right into the video game so you will definitely want to get that as soon as possible. Still, even if you don’t buy the game, this is one of the best characterizations of Shadow.

He’s a very complete character. Someone who is now a hero of the world but goes by a different set of rules compared to Sonic. We see Shadow busting into an army installation to steal a rocket after all. Sonic would do that if needed, but he would first try to talk things out. Shadow is all about making things happen and that doesn’t change here either. Sonic also doesn’t appear at all so this is really Shadow’s show all the way around and that’s pretty nice to see. As the one true rival to Sonic, he deserves to be getting his own stuff. It’s been a long time since he was relevant in the games so this is cool to see.

The animation is also really solid. I’ve heard it was made using Blender technology which is really cool since I remember that being used in part for a lot of other cool projects back in the day. I think even Super Mario Bros Z used it for some movement. The colors are sharp and everything is very dynamic. The attacks all pack a punch like the incredible Shadow vs Emerl battle which I’ve seen quite a few times at this point. That was great stuff and it’s also cool how this finally adapts some lore that we first learned about in Sonic Battle. The fact that Emerl was this powerful in base is also quite impressive. It makes you appreciate Sonic even more for being able to stop him.

Then we have the soundtrack which is really good. A lot of great tracks everywhere but in particular hearing Casey Lee Williams from RWBY show up to sing the final song was great. That was the perfect way to end it with one of the most tearful scenes you’ll ever see in animation. You’re crying right there with Shadow as things go sideways. He may be the ultimate life form but he still has the dark past and you never really get over that. I imagine it will continue to be a factor as his career goes on.

It would be nice to get everything else in the Sonic verse animated that we only know the lore of. Seeing the Shadow flashbacks in real time without any cuts, seeing Chaos emerge in the past with the Tikal origin, etc. You could absolutely do a whole lot of this and really expand the lore. It would have the ripple effect of also fleshing the games out and making replays even more fun. I’d be getting my hopes too high if I wish for all of that though so I’m just saying it would be neat.

Overall, I could go on about how awesome this was but at the end of the day it is only 15 minutes so I would start repeating myself after a while. You should definitely check it out, there is really nothing bad to say about it at all. It’s just pure greatness in its raw form. Every scene is critical and the pacing is on point at all times. If they ever made a full length TV show out of this I would definitely be ready. There is a whole lot of untapped potential for Sonic media so hopefully this is really just the beginning. I like the Chaos but their upcoming miniseries isn’t exactly what I’m talking about.

Overall 9/10

1408 Review

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Okay now we’ve got a psychological horror that handles itself pretty well all the way through unlike the Shining. I thought 1408 was pretty solid and had a lot going on for it. It’s a pretty well balanced movie with a good story and some pretty spooky moments. It handled the idea of how can you trap someone in a hotel room pretty well and is worth the watch. The cast is very small but fortunately Mike really nails it as the main character. He’s someone who is very easy to follow the whole time.

The movie starts by introducing us to Mike who isn’t the nicest guy. He doesn’t even humor the owners of a hotel as they try to tell him how haunted it is. Instead he just dives in and makes a mockery of the whole thing. See, Mike is a writer who visits all kinds of spooky hotels and motels in order to debunk all of the horror stories surrounding them. He doesn’t believe in the supernatural one bit and takes pleasure in knocking them down. The next spot on his list is room 1408 at the Dolphin hotel. The manager Gerald begs Mike not to go into the room but Mike doesn’t care. He’s going to debunk yet another spot. Unfortunately this place seems a little more serious than the others, in fact…he’s having a hard time getting out. Has Mike finally picked a fight with an opponent that he just cannot defeat?

Mike is a jerk but that works really well for a film like this. I like when the main character is so confident in the fact that spooks don’t exist. He absolutely relishes in proving his point and the guy is mean to everybody. He’s always got a sarcastic remark at the ready and it takes a while for his confidence to fade. I think part of why this is fun is because in most cases like in real life you’d be on his side. (Not with the rudeness but at least the confidence that the hotel room isn’t haunted) The good thing about people being superstitious is that you can probably get the room at a discount usually.

So when he starts to be overpowered by the specters, well that would have happened regardless of how confident he was. So at least this way he got to have some laughs in first. The hotel room is definitely very powerful as we see it command many abilities. Full on ability to submit hallucinations, moving matter through the cosmos, impersonation, etc. How much of this is pure telepathy is hard to say but either way it isn’t going down easily. In a lot of ways you could say it’s like Mike is trapped in purgatory. He is forced to relive his most painful moments over and over and over again. That’s probably the scariest part of the whole ordeal. Not the physical pain but the fact that it may not have an end and will keep on looping forever and ever. That’s where the true despair begins to set in.

The film can get a little violent when we see images of the previous tenants but for the most part this is definitely more about the atmosphere. Like Mike being powerless to watch the hotel tell his wife to come over so that she can be trapped as well or reliving his daughter’s death. The room slowly works to just tear apart his mind bit by bit and it’s a really intense tactic. The room just physically beating him up wouldn’t be nearly as effective. It does a little bit of that too though like the window slamming on his hands or getting blasted with hot water. It’s just more of a side effect as opposed to that really being the focus here.

One thing that also adds to the film is how normal things appear at first. Like yes the room is haunted but the electrician still shows up to help Mike fix the cooling system and things like that. He’s not completely isolated the whole time but it slowly begins to get to that point more and more. By the time he realizes the danger he is in, it’s just too late. The door is impossible to break down and yeah the window is open but there is nowhere to go to. The room strategically does allow for Mike to destroy himself but that’s about it. The room continues to pressure him into taking his own life which is when he would be truly defeated.

I’ll admit that the backstory parts tend to be the least interesting though. We see the flashbacks of him and his wife and their daughter. It’s going through some emotional beats but the whole time you’re just waiting to get back into the main struggle against the room. That is absolutely where the real action is and since you already know what happened in the past, it’s not like there are any surprises left to be had there. That I would put as a slight weakness here.

The only other weakness for me would be the ending. I don’t think it was nearly as impactful as it could have been. In a lot of ways it’s surprisingly happy and the final stinger just doesn’t counter that much. What I would have personally liked more would have been for Mike to have “escaped” and the final scene is his wife asking him to close the windows. He doesn’t respond so she walks over but he’s gone and she sees the number 1408 above the door. She is now going to be the room’s next opponent. Perhaps too mean spirited but it would have been an intense ending that also works as sequel bait.

Overall, 1408 was a good movie. It succeeded in being really ominous the whole time and making things super difficult without it feeling completely hopeless. I also thought the first act with all of the build up was handled really well. I liked the owner of the Dolphin hotel who definitely did a good job of hyping the place up. He seemed to understand the rules pretty well and did everything in his power to try and dissuade Mike from staying. At the end of the day, there were just no words that could have pulled something like that off. Mike is the kind of guy who was going to attempt this challenge no matter what. With a good amount of fakeouts and creative trials, 1408 is a film that I would definitely recommend.

Overall 6/10

Blue Giant Review

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First up I have to say that the movie poster is incredibly impressive. This looks really sharp all the way through. I just read through the manga recently so it’s pretty fun to be going through the adventure again in an animated format. Naturally the task of taking on such a big manga series in one film is a pretty intense one so there would have to be some cuts. This is inevitable in pretty much any adaption and I can say that the film does a good job. While I tend to prefer the manga version in nearly every change/divergence, I do think the movie had the much stronger ending. It’s an ending I had been expecting to occur in the manga as some kind of twist but then it just never showed up. So the movie gets some serious props there.

The film starts off with introducing us to a boy named Dai who declares that he will be the best Jazz musician in the world. Jazz is something that he takes incredibly serious. Dai considers it to be the most intense kind of music and so he bets his life on this. He leaves home with some pocket money courtesy of his older brother and heads off to Tokyo. He must now find a way to play Jazz and earn some money because he can’t freeload off his friend Tamada forever. Dai meets an expert pianist named Yukinori who has some sweet skills but is not always the friendliest guy around. They still need a drummer though which is where Tamada comes in but of course the guy is a total rookie. Does he have what it takes to help them out?

So the movie is skipping everything before the Tokyo adventure although we get some moments as flashbacks. I think this makes sense since Tokyo is the heart of the journey. As for what the big change at the end of the movie is, I can’t say that so you’ll need to watch it for yourself. What I can say is that you will be listening to a whole lot of Jazz here which is definitely the point. In the manga there are a lot of speed lines but you can’t really picture it in the same way. Now we know the author’s intent. I thought they did a good job but of course I don’t know much about Jazz. To me it sounded really good though and it can definitely be a calming piece.

If I had any slight nitpick it would be that Dai doesn’t sound quite as loud as I was expecting. In the manga there is a big emphasis each time he plays on how loud his style of Jazz is and it absolutely blows everyone away. In the movie it’s just not super loud like that but maybe I would need to hear a normal jazz song with standard volume to really see. As a casual, I was entertained by all of the music which is the point though. Even in universe Dai wants to be able to play for everyone, including people who have no idea what Jazz even is after all so that makes sense.

Dai is a fun main character. I would say in the movie they make it more of a shared lead compared to the manga though. Tamada and Yukinori really go blow for blow with Dai in terms of screen time. Dai can almost seem a bit colder in this version as he is quick to let everyone be by themselves to work out their problems. It’s a far cry from the average main character who always wants to cheer everyone up. Dai has absolute confidence though which is important for the position. For example a tone point he explains how whenever he plays, he plays believing that he is the best in the world and that’s how every athlete has to be. He leads by example in that way.

As for Yukinori, I would say he is toned down to be less of a jerk in this version. So he still has his edge but he isn’t seen nearly as crazy. He’s still the best character I would say. He’s always a lot of fun and his skills are definitely the real deal. It makes sense since he has been playing for over 10 years by this point. His skills should be that much better than everyone else’s. He goes through a lot in the movie but never gives up on his piano.

Then we have Tamada who definitely has the toughest time here during the concerts. He has to try and learn really fast the whole time. Perhaps a bit too fast relative to the other two characters but at least they do show that he is still making a lot of mistakes. He is improving but isn’t going to be an overnight sensation which makes sense. The guy was really nice to let Dai stay over for so long too so he’s easy to root for. He’s a very down to Earth character who really enjoys music and gets really engaged with whatever he is doing.

The supporting characters generally don’t have as much time to do things. The movie is around 2 hours which is definitely impressive but that also just shows you how much ground there is to cover here. The characters have to play through a bunch of shows after all and are always on the move. The lady who let them play at her bar was definitely solid though. I liked the owner of the number one jazz spot in the world because he hasn’t fully succumbed to being old. He decides to give Yukinori a chance which was definitely cool.

The main characters get to meet a whole lot of helpful people and it’s nice to see just how pleasant everyone is. You don’t have a bunch of random bullies running around or anything like that. All of the people here just want Jazz to continue growing and so they are doing their best to support the up and coming musicians. It does feel like succeeding on Jazz will be a tremendously hard job and one that will not work out for most but you hope Dai will be able to pull it off. Being on your own is absolutely a lot tougher than when you’re in a band after all.

The animation style isn’t my favorite though. There is a lot of CG for the musical scenes and while they use a lot of trippy effects to make things more exciting, there is also a lot of recycled footage in those. It’s certainly artistic and I think the approach in general is clever to keep people interested for those who are not super into music. I just think a more standard style would have worked a little better. Either way the soundtrack is certainly good and so is the writing. It’s a fairly low key kind of film but one that keeps your attention all the way through.

Overall, Blue Giant is a pretty good movie. It’s one of those titles that can easily appeal to just about anyone. It’s pretty inoffensive and is just about a group of characters trying to do well and move up in the world. It’s definitely an emotional film as well without trying to overplay that card. Not every film needs to be a smash hit or the next sensation after all. It may sound like a back handed complement but sometimes you just want a fairly simple film that will give you a good time. It never drags on or anything and while there is a plot, it’s really all just a vehicle to be listening to really nice music. So all in all, it’s a quality title and I hope it gets a sequel at some point. I’m definitely up for hearing some more jazz.

Overall 7/10

Scrooge Review

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It’s time for one of the original Christmas Carol adaptions. This was definitely a classic and while you can feel its age, it’s always impressive to still see it handle all of the story elements from the newer versions. Sure, it may have to go through some of them rather quickly but you definitely get the point of it. I would probably not put it ahead of any of the other versions that I’ve seen but any fan of the story should definitely get a kick out of this one.

The story starts with Scrooge being rather stingy as always and not even letting his partner Bob put some wood into the fire in peace. Scrooge wants to save every penny and that is how he has built his wealth over the years. A penny saved is a penny earned and all of that. Sure enough, it is a motto that works but he takes it to the extreme. He even declines to go to his nephew’s Christmas dinner and instead heads home. That proves to be a mistake as a ghost shows up and explains that Scrooge is about to be haunted and guilt tripped by 3 ghosts. Scrooge will either be convinced to walk a lighter path by the end of this, or his future will be looking bleak.

Scrooge honestly doesn’t put up a ton of resistance in this one I’d say. I think it’s the way the movie is approaching this where Scrooge is more of a harmless cynic as opposed to being a downright antagonist. Once the ghosts show him the error of his ways and rub his nose in it, Scrooge very quickly sees the light and works on being a better person. It’s a very quick turnaround time but it makes sense when you consider that he isn’t actively resisting the ghosts as much. It’s not like Scrooged where he is as corrupt as possible after all.

Scrooge definitely lost a whole lot over the years in trying to build his riches. It’s not something that comes without a price after all. In the end he blames himself the hardest for Tiny Tim and that’s definitely valid. When you’re rich, it’s not like you suddenly have a huge obligation to take care of everyone in your family. It’s not like I fault him for their being poor completely but at the same time he could have helped out in little ways over the years. Perhaps in running his business a little more fairly. At least the guy had a consistent approach to everyone and wasn’t just picking on a few people.

Keeping all the money was just what he did. The ghosts aren’t as fantastical as they would start to be in later films. They all have a little charisma but the personalities weren’t yet set in stone. In later adaptions the ghost of the future is always absolute horror fodder as he shows up in a crazy cloak and looks more and more demonic as the years go by. In this case he is marginally scarier than the others but it’s not by a great deal or anything like that. Scrooge is probably more scared of all the random people looting his house after death. No respect for the recently departed around here!

The writing is solid as always. Scrooge may not be a nice guy but he’s a well written character as are the others. The heroes try to keep a cheerful face on even when things are hard and so the whole thing comes together well. At its core the Christmas Carol is always a story of optimism and how anybody can be changed. It’s a fun story to watch around Christmas time in all of its different adaptions.

The film is fairly short and direct so there really isn’t a whole lot more to say about the film though. I thought Bob was a solid character who may be a little timid, but he puts up with everything that he can in order to provide for his family. It takes a lot sometimes to not fire back at the boss when he’s being crazy but you know you need the job. Then Fred was definitely a solid character for trying to keep on inviting Scrooge to things long after he has probably been turned down hundreds and hundreds of times in the past. Nobody would have blamed him if he’d given up long before that.

Scrooge was really lucky to be surrounded by so many good people if you think about it. In another setting things could have been tough for him even after the ghosts had rehabilitated the guy. It’s hard to just start fresh when you’ve completely alienated everyone around you after all. It’s not like anyone ever owes you a second chance inherently. You have to have someone willing to talk to you first and so Fred really came in clutch there.

Overall, Scrooge is a pretty good story. Admittedly there is little reason to watch this version over the newer ones since they have consistently improved more and more as the years have gone by. I really liked an animated one that came out in the late 2000s and for live action it’s hard to go away from Scrooged. Still, as this is one of the original ones, it’s playing the story straight without all of the flourishes and new directions. it can be good to remember what the baseline is here as opposed to all of the modern renditions. So if you are really curious how it played out then this is a good film to watch.

Overall 6/10