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Julie Review

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It’s time to look at another film with an annoying main character. This one’s not the worst lead or anything, but she does seem to be incredibly naive and not one of the smartest leads out there. Still, when it was crunch time Julie did her best to stand up to the danger. This is a pretty good thriller that builds up to a nice climax. You will need to suspend a lot of disbelief of course, but that’s to be expected.

The film starts with Julie running to her car after her husband Lyle had another public episode of getting upset over her. He gets violently dangerous whenever a guy even talks to Julie. She gets in the car and warns Lyle that maybe they can’t be together anymore. He responds by forcing her to drive the car at max speed for a while and they nearly fall off a cliff. He then warns her that it was an accident and he’s sorry about it. Another way to think of it is that these accidents will occur more and more unless she stops talking to other men. Julie is surprisingly fine with this so then her friend Cliff shows up and reminds Julie that Lyle is a dangerous murderer. Lyle murdered her first husband and will stop at nothing to claim her. Julie must now escape from Lyle and try to establish a new identity, but Lyle seems to be around every corner. Can she possibly shake such a skilled stalker or is this the end for her?

A situation like this is always pretty tough to escape from and Julie’s first actions don’t help matters. See, you’ve usually got just one shot to get out because after that the guy will suspect something. So Julie tries to leave first thing in the morning, but Lyle is already up so she has to make a ton of excuses to leave. He doesn’t buy any of them but decides to pretend to leave to see what she’ll do. Here’s where Lyle slipped up since he damages her car but goes so far away that she is able to run to town. (Thanks in part to hitch hiking) From there the film is mainly about Julie running from place to place and trying to stay ahead of him.

This is where it’s a little hard to buy that Lyle is following her everywhere. He finds out what state she is in, which hotel, etc. The film does try to give reasons for how he finds these things out like by asking operators for her place or just deducing which state she would likely flee to. At the same time, you still can’t help but feel a little skeptical at times. Julie used a pseudonym for these journeys and there are still a lot of hotels in each state. Just knowing what state Julie is in wouldn’t be enough for Lyle to find her so easily. The whole time I figured that Cliff was a traitor leaking info to Lyle or just a villain who wanted Julie for himself. It’s good that Julie did actually have an ally, but at the same time it did mean that it was harder to buy into the Lyle scenes.

Meanwhile, while Julie may not have been the best character, you could still root for her. As far as villains go Lyle definitely wasn’t anything special. He’s one of those petty villains who just wants Julie at any cost. You really can’t even like him as a villain because his motivations aren’t solid and there’s nothing interesting about him. Also, since Julie was 100% fooled if he had just played the part of the nice guy they could have actually been together. When the villain creates his own problems then that just makes him even worse.

As for Cliff, he is a good guy. His arc really didn’t go as I expected it to, but at the end of the day I can’t hold that against him. He probably could have handled some of the early situations a little better though. He was being pretty obvious with Julie in front of Lyle, but at the same time it was imperative that he convince her of the truth right away so in that sense his plan worked. He also did at least try to escape when he was held hostage although I dare say that going for the gun is always the best move in that situation. I dare say that it’s best to make a final lunge and attack the guy with the gun rather than getting in the car. Once you’re in the car your chances of survival are close to 0 unless you’re in an action film. So, even if you might die during the charge your odds are better. Trust me, getting in the car is never the right move.

Unfortunately the film does end on a bit of a whimper. It probably has one of the worst climaxes that I’ve seen in a very long time. Nothing happens for a long period of time and what should have been a very thrilling plane sequence ends up feeling rather dull. You’re just sort of waiting for the film to get on with it. Whatever the idea was for the ending it simply should have gone with a different option. I did like the tension on the plane before this, but it all doesn’t play out as you’d hope. I also felt bad for the pilot who was doing a good job the whole time, but faltered at the very end.

Overall, the script is pretty solid and the film will definitely keep you engaged all the way through. It’s a pretty classic thriller and definitely one that holds up. It actually grabs a lot of the beats that you might see in a modern film even if the effects don’t allow for it to go all the way with big car chases or anything like that. Of course, how much you enjoy the film will probably depend on how the first half affects you. Julie is just a very tough lead since she isn’t very sharp which can make it a whole lot harder to root for her. Still, I think you’ll be fine and while it’s not a great thriller, it’s a solid one nonetheless.

Overall 6/10

Bendy in Nightmare Run Review

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It’s time to look at the latest Bendy game. It’s been a long while since I played a new mobile title so this was a fun detour. It’s not a game I would keep in the longrun because unlike most of the others it actually isn’t endless. You can actually get through all of the content pretty quickly I got through all of the worlds in under a week and by that point there isn’t a whole lot to do. It’s a fun game though and I do like free runners.

Naturally there isn’t an actual plot here. There are 4 main chapters and each one has 6 levels where you fight the same boss only he gets more health each time. As a result there are really only 4 unique levels so the game actually feels pretty low budget compared to most. The Ladybug game had a similar format, but a whole lot more content and a better reward system. In short, this is a free runner you would play because you like the franchise, but otherwise there isn’t really much of a reason to pick this one.

The gameplay is pretty easy to understand. You can move from side to side and there are 3 different lanes. You can jump and when you touch a weapon you tap the screen to fire it at the villain. The goal is to land enough hits to knock him out while dodging his attacks. When this is done you’ll have won the level. Rinse and repeat as you go through. The only thing that really tends to change in the level is how long the boss will last and naturally his attacks will also get a little quicker. By the time you’re in world 3 or so you’ll likely know the game well enough to beat the levels without taking a hit.

There isn’t much opportunity for the game to show the graphics since it’s all very repetitive, but the game looks fine. You can only expect so much out of a mobile title of course. It’s definitely not as high grade as the big Nintendo ones or something like Dragon Ball Legends, but ultimately I would say that it works out pretty well. You can at least see what is happening at all times. The soundtrack is pretty limited though and while it’s going for a happy feel since this is the more heroic Bendy, it would have been nice for some of the horror tracks to slip through. I think it would have made the game a lot more ominous.

As it’s a mobile game there is naturally the pay to play aspect of it. Rather than limit your game playtime through an energy meter the various level are locked behind soup limits. You need 15000 soup cans to unlock the final world after all. You can pay a few bucks to do it or just keep playing the old levels until you have enough cans. You can get around 1000 cans during a first play through of a level or you can just drag out the levels for as long as possible to get more cans. It will take a while to get everything though. Then you’ve also got special abilities which cost a lot of cans and you also need to buy extra slots to use them.

Unlike Ladybug it does feel like it takes a very long time to get all of these power ups so you can expect that you won’t have most of them by the end. At the same time once you have beaten the game it’ll be pretty easy in comparison to buy the power ups. They definitely aren’t as expensive as the main story chapters. Of course, with no more levels to play what would be the point in buying the rest of the items? I think where the game suffers a bit is in how there is no real post game. There isn’t a multiplayer or anything to test your skills and the actual amount of content is surprisingly small. It’s odd since for mobile games usually the whole point is to have endless content but I guess this one didn’t want to bother with that.

So it’s really going to depend on how much you enjoy the game. One thing you can also do to avoid the grind is simply download the game around 1-2 weeks in advance and simply log in. That will give you all of the daily bonuses and then when you play the game you’ll already have enough gems to blast through the story. I’ve thought about that for some titles, but once I have the game downloaded it’s real tempting to just start playing it right away. Still, if you really don’t like having to wait then it’s ultimately your best bet.

Overall, This is a good mobile game. It is really carried by the fact that it’s part of a franchise though. Ultimately there is no other real reason to play it when there are simply better versions of the game available. I always think you shouldn’t score a game relatively like that though. Just because there exists a game that is better in every way it doesn’t make the other title any worse. So, if you look at this game independently then it’s still pretty fun. Also, it’s a free title so at the end of the day the fact that it is good and will last you a few days is pretty satisfactory I’d say. Now that the game is completed I’ll be deleting it, but it had a good run. My next mobile game likely won’t be until the new Dr. Mario came comes out, but that one definitely looks like it’s going to have a whole lot of content so it may last a bit longer.

Overall 7/10

Men In Black: International Review

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All right gang, it’s time to look at the Men in Black’s latest outing. It’s definitely a franchise that pretty much everyone is familiar with although it hasn’t been the most consistent of titles. The first film was really good and the second was still solid. The third one was a pretty big dip in quality though and this one is more in line with that. It’s a decent movie, but one that you probably won’t bother to see twice.

The film starts out with a tease with Agent H and T heading off to fight the Hive. The scene ends real quick though so you never get to see the fight, thereby making it a bit of a waste of an intro. The scene wasn’t bad, but the sudden ending just invalidates the whole thing. We then cut to a flashback taking place before the intro which was also a flashback. We’re introduced to Molly who managed to escape having her memory wiped since everyone thought she was asleep. She then makes it her life’s mission to find the MIB. After tracking them down and being recruited she is given her first assignment. Agent M is to work with H and what should have been a routine escort mission quickly becomes a planetary crisis. Is M ready for this?

First off, the script is pretty solid. I do like the fast paced banter with the leads here. This style of humor’s been working pretty well for Chris’ various cinema characters lately and Agent H is no exception. He’s always got a comeback for everything and the rest of the characters follow suit. One good example of this is Pawny who takes every opportunity to take shots at H. While not all of the insults will land there are quite a few solid ones in there. One involves referencing how H was choked which was the ultimate comeback. There’s no counter to that. There is a whole lot of comedy in the film, but it rarely gets annoying. At most you’ve got some laugh scenes that last too long or too many jokes in a small time frame, but with the writing it didn’t really feel like an issue.

I think where the writing breaks down is how MIB just feels more about spectacle than realism here. I’m sure there are issues with them you could nitpick in the earlier films too, but here they’re just very apparent. One is how the heroes constantly show off the alien tech everywhere. There’s one scene where H and M quickly blast a few humans with the memory wiper, but ignore the hundreds of other people in the area. I guess there’s no time to blast them all, but then it’s almost pointless to blast the few. Molly’s whole origin story is pretty telling on how easy it is to avoid the MIB. I feel like more people should know about them at this point. As for a total nitpick, the train scene is a little odd. This is a secret MIB train that only the agents know about so why does it keep changing from an MTA train to a sci-fi one? Once it’s already underground with aliens boarding I don’t see the purpose in keeping it transformed except for the shock value scene of spooking M.

The film is also very predictable. To an extent most films are, but some just feel more telegraphed than others. This one is like Captain Marvel in that respect (Maybe it’s just a sci-fi thing) but you’ll be able to predict all of the twists before they occur. I won’t even hint at the main twist, but the instant one character brings up the possibility you just know that it’s a certainty. Then there’s one character who appears for an instant near the beginning so you know it’ll tie in later on. They say that the destination doesn’t matter and it’s all about the journey so if we take that as true then this wouldn’t really hurt the film. Honestly I don’t hold predictability against a movie since I do think it’s all in the execution. It wouldn’t hurt to mask what’s going to happen a little better though.

Now for the characters. I think Chris Hemsworth is quickly becoming like Tom Cruise or Dwayne Johnson in that he’s quickly becoming an actor who is playing himself rather than a character. There’s a debate to be had on whether that’s a good thing or not (Hint, it’s usually a good thing) but regardless it makes for H being a pretty entertaining character. He definitely has his share of iffy moments and he goes a little too far in being the irresponsible lead. You can see what the film is going for with the character, but I think he plays the trope a little too far. Now, the film does open the door to an explanation for this, but the film only halfheartedly entertains the idea and never goes through with it. Unless we actually get a sequel this will just be something for fan theories and headcanons so I can’t give him a pass. He’s an entertaining character, but definitely not a heroic one.

M is pretty solid. She’s definitely his polar opposite as she has lived her whole life just to join the MIB and as a result has no real life. This is almost a bit tragic to be honest, but I always like when a character has a one track mind like this. She’s a quick learner and while she isn’t as quick to think on her feet, she does have a lot of general knowledge on aliens and such. M has done her research so she adds some brains to the operation. She fills in her role pretty well.

Agent C is also a solid character. He’s thrown into one of those roles where he’s made out to be the annoying figure in the film, but that’s all if you look at it through the main characters’ lens. If you think about it objectively he is just doing his job and doing it well I might add. Every action he takes makes sense and it’s also perfectly understandable why he is a little jealous about how H gets to break all of the rules. I liked him quite a bit. Then you’ve got Agent T who is the classic boss type character. He’s pretty stern and down to business. A solid character all around, but naturally I liked him best during the flashback opening where he was a field agent.

As mentioned earlier Pawny is mainly here to crack a lot of jokes. He does come in handy on many occasions though and I think a good comic relief character needs to know when to step up. Pawny did just that and as a result he is a very complete character. He easily could have been a very annoying one so I think we got to give him some credit for avoiding that fate. Then you have one of the villains named Riza who is around for a quick fight scene. I do like the idea of a 3 armed fighting style and thought the fight was pretty well handled. Her actual plot wasn’t though. I won’t say much here, but keep in mind that her island is known as a lair of certain death and is the toughest place in the cosmos. So…why doesn’t she have more guards or security so people can’t literally strut around the place? Everything’s connected to one lever??? You’re gonna be suspending a lot of disbelief here.

There are also the two villains from the trailer who can turn into a space like vortex. They have cool designs and I like the moveset, but the film doesn’t give them a whole lot to do. In a way they just feel like they’re filling in space which is never what you want to happen. I think so much more could have been done with them, they don’t even really get named by the end of their appearances.

The special effects are definitely on point. There are a lot of scenes where the movie gets to show off the energy effects and such. There aren’t too many fights, but I did like the first action scene which took place in the city. The city’s always the best backdrop and as I mentioned the villains’ powers have good visuals attached to them. There were even some Terminator influences here with how they could manipulate metal. Then the soundtrack is superb as always. The main Men in Black theme is just really good and tends to fit in with everything. It makes any scene feel a lot more intriguing automatically.

Overall, Men in Black International was pretty reasonable. It’s a good film, I just wouldn’t call it very good. I think it’s a nice example of a film that didn’t necessarily do anything wrong (No animal violence, no excessive violence, the script was reasonable, etc) but it doesn’t really stick out. There are films that tackle the same subjects and plots that just handle them a lot better. This movie is the kind of title that makes for a fun experience at the theaters or watching at home the first go around, but there’s not a whole lot to say about it afterwards. You’ll enjoy it, but then move on to the next thing. There’s nothing great about it or super good in general. Still, I would recommend checking it out. Honestly, just being an enjoyable film isn’t such a bad thing. It wouldn’t be the first title I’d check out, but if you just want to watch a nice movie with some action scenes then this will be up your alley.

Overall 6/10

Young Man with a Horn

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It’s time to look at an old movie based on an old novel which is based on a true story from a while ago. Naturally that means this review won’t have a score, but I will still dig into the movie. It’s one of those stories where it’s very hard to sympathize with the main character, at least with how he was depicted in the movie. They really make him an unbearable jerk the whole time and he makes so many wrong choices in a row that you figure he might as well be the villain. All right, lets jump in!

The movie starts off with Rick as a kid. He manages to get into a bar and watches Art play the Trumpet. Rick quickly realizes that this is the best instrument out there and decides to dedicate his life to it. He has a lot of ups and downs as the years go by since he likes to do his own thing. He’d rather play the wrong notes on purpose and get fired rather than do his job. Rick’s a free spirit who loves sabotaging himself. That’s when he finds the ultimate opportunity to do so. He currently has a great job with nice friends Smoke and Jo, as well as a good nightlife where he hangs out with his old friends. This all changes when Amy shows up and convinces Rick to throw it all away for her. She also forewarns him that she will destroy him much like she has destroyed everyone else who decided to have a fling with her. Rick accepts this challenge with a grin…and his life is quickly destroyed.

Whoops, that’s basically the whole film, but it’s hard to summarize that. See, Rick is one of those guys who has a lot of advantages in life. He’s a musical prodigy and he was in the right place at the right time often enough where he got a bunch of gigs. The problem is that he’s incredibly unlikable. He is quick to betray his friends for a girl that he literally just met. He then decides to marry her almost immediately because he has fallen for her so hard. After that he indirectly murders one of his old friends and it’s at this point that he finally realizes how Amy has changed him…and then gets into alcohol and falls further into despair.

Look, the film is trying to give Rick a big character redemption arc, but it’s way too late. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to turn back after murdering someone because such a redemption can happen, but the circumstances leading up to it and Rick’s actions afterwards just don’t work. He doesn’t show me any real signs that he will change. Even before Rick met Amy he had a lot of issues. There’s no reason why he needed to constantly rebel when on the job just so he could play what he wanted to. That’s simply being spoiled and entitled. If Rick had stuck to his job then none of this would have happened.

He also backstabs Art quite a lot in their final meeting. There’s absolutely no gratitude to the guy who saved his life and career many times. By the end when Rick goes to his funeral and picks up the Trumpet you want someone to slap it out of his hands. Imagine how disrespectful it would be for someone to walk up to a funeral and do that. Sure, nobody knows how he was involved in the accident, but it’s still annoying. That’s enough ranting on Rick, but I don’t have any sympathy for him because the guy knew what he was getting into and did it anyway. If you betray everyone for a stranger who loves twisting people, then that’s a choice you made.

Rick’s friends were good at least. As mentioned, Art was definitely solid. He was always around to help Rick whenever possible and really let him get a good start to his musical career. Smoke was a solid sidekick and someone that you could always count on. He’s definitely a solid guy and stuck by Rick the whole time. Jo was a good heroine as well. She’s not the most upfront person out there, but she meant well. One edge Amy has over Jo is that she’s a lot more direct. While it’s customary for the guy to approach the girl, if you really want someone you better make your feelings known or someone else will. Amy made her call while Jo held her tongue and ultimately it cost her. Still, at least Jo didn’t take it all that personally.

It’s a pretty small cast, but at the end of the day it’s not like you need a whole lot more characters than that. The film is able to tell a pretty complete story with just those guys. The writing is pretty solid with a lot of quick dialogue. It’s not quite as eloquent as some other titles, but it has that same atmosphere which is definitely important. The film’s pacing is also pretty good.

Overall, This is a pretty decent film, but one that is held back by Rick quite a lot. He’s just not a good character. He consistently makes the wrong calls and you almost wish all his friends had befriended someone else. They all would have been positive influences on each other. The ending’s a bit sudden so brace yourself for it, but I suppose the ending could have been a lot worse. If you want to see a film with a lot of Jazz music then this is your best bet. Jazz is always a fun style of music. You don’t hear it a whole lot in movies nowadays, but when it shows up it’s always pretty solid.

Our Mother’s House Review

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It’s time to look at a relatively old film that you probably haven’t heard of. Be warned though, the main characters are a group of kids so…..that already puts the film in a bit of a sticky situation. I don’t want to say that kids can’t hold their own films…but they can’t hold their own films. It’s definitely a movie that I recommend staying far away from unless you love having a ton of drama thrown at you.

The film starts off with a lot of kids running around a house. The 3 oldest ones are the only ones who seem to be fairly calm, but this changes once the mother finally dies from her illness. Now they have to decide what to do. The main character Elsa decides that they won’t tell anyone and the kids can survive on their own. It’s probably not her best idea, but the kids decide to roll with it. At first things are going well enough, but then some of the kids start letting the power get to their heads and become cruel. Will Elsa simply watch as this all happens?

Part of why this is a really bad film is because there are no likable characters. All of the kids are pretty shady and even the ones who are supposed to be heroic just don’t have the courage to stand up and fight for what’s right. A good example of this is Hubert. He’s one of the oldest kids and usually comes up with the more reasonable ideas, but backs down when it counts. One example of this is when Gerty talks to a stranger and the kids decide to punish her. He just watches as they force her down and cut her hair. Gerty probably could have tried defending herself more, but at that point it becomes more victim blaming then anything else. Keep in mind that she’s one of the younger kids so there really isn’t much she could do. It was up to Hubert or Elsa to protect her and since nobody did anything, they’re all guilty.

You won’t be able to take any of the characters seriously as protagonists by this point, although for most the time had already come and gone anyway. One of the kids is always yelling about how everyone’s going straight to hell and another one hears voices in her head. Elsa is determined to be the best kid out there so she doesn’t have time for the others and Hubert gets pushed around by everyone. Gerty is nice enough, but she should have ditched the other kids and gone straight to the police. It’s at the point where you’re just waiting for the cops to run in and stop them.

Then of course we have the Dad who comes in later on. Naturally he’s not a nice fellow either so don’t expect him to come riding in on a white horse to save the day. He’s just here to add in more drama and the characters are pretty gullible so this works out well for him. The plot twist about the mother also adds in the extra drama. At the end of the day the main problem with the film is that it’s just very mean spirited. There are no real winners here. Everyone is basically corrupt and of course you’ll have a hard time buying the ending where a kid takes on a grown up. Sure, it’s not a full fight as that would be crazy, but even as far as sneak attacks go it just makes the grownup look pretty bad.

There may have been some decent ideas in here, but they were all buried by the film. At the end of the day, you can’t really do a long drama film about a pack of kids. There is only so much that they can do and they’re also just too young. Most of their big appearances are just the kids trying to shout over each other so there isn’t much actual dialogue. It’s really just a contest of who can be the loudest with the most dominating personality. Then you’v also got the really random plot where a kid decides to join the main cast as he ran away from home. I don’t see the point of this plot and it ultimately didn’t add anything to the film. What that tells me is by this point the writers had basically finished the script for the whole movie, but needed something to extend the run time. That works about as well as you would expect.

Overall, Even though this is a pretty old film I can’t say that the writing was all that good. The film never gets particularly engaging and the drama is pretty forced. The characters definitely cry a lot and get pretty emotional, but the dynamic doesn’t work nearly as well as it would if they were full fledged adults. To do a proper remake of this you would need the kids to be around 16-17. That way they’re still minors so the overall plot makes sense (If they’re of legal age then they could just take custody of the house) but this way they’re old enough to actually reason and make some plans. There’s a lot you could do with this plot if you actually try. This one did not though so I recommend changing gears and watching the 90’s Sonic The Hedgehog movie instead.

Overall 1/10

NBA 2K10 Review

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It’s time to look at another NBA 2K title. This one is a lot older than the others so was it as good? Honestly, this is the best NBA 2K game yet and I’m not just saying that because it’s the first one where I was finally able to take it to the computer. Not only did I win, but I won by 20 points. It felt pretty good to actually be in the lead for a change. Don’t get me wrong, losing is good sometimes and it definitely does build character, but I was definitely ready to be in the driver’s seat for a change. It’s a lot of fun and while the gameplay isn’t quite as deep as some of the newer games, it is deep enough for me.

I jumped right into the play now mode and I knew things would go my way when I was able to stop them from scoring 3 times in a row. I was quickly up to a 5-2 lead and from there the gap kept widening. It felt like everything was working this time. I would go for the 2 point shots or I would quickly pass it to my guy on the outside and he would hit the 3 point shot. It may just be some placebo on my end, but it seems like you have a better chance of making the shot if you take it right away. If you walk around for a bit before trying the 3 pointer it just won’t work. Of course I still did miss a lot of the 3 point shots, but I got the ones that counter. My strategy was to just run in and score and it worked pretty well. I was scoring at will and while they would stop me from time to time I was able to stop them more.

One gameplay mechanic that I still don’t understand is why my guy will randomly fire a shot at times. I’m just trying to hold R2 and accelerate, but my guy will throw the ball and naturally since I’m nowhere near the hoop then it basically gives the other team a free turnover. It just seems to happen randomly. I doubt it’s a glitch so it’s just something that I’m not doing right. Then you’ve also got players running out of bounds sometimes. That happened to me at least 3 times and it never occurred in the other games. I guess parts of the gameplay are a little unrefined, but all in all it still feels natural.

The biggest change which helped me win here was that my defense was finally going good. A good chunk of this is due to the fact that the A.I. seemed to be really good. Players would stick their hands up and stop balls from getting past them. I think my team got well over 10 turnovers in the game. I also got my share of steals (and fouls) which definitely helped out a lot. I’d then transition into my fast break offense and from there the sky was the limits. Nobody was going to stop me from making the basket and I don’t think any of them wanted to. Whenever they would jump in front I would still make the basket only now they had a foul so I was able to go for the third point. All in all, it was a pretty good deal.

There are the usual assortment of modes here so even if you get bored you can quickly try to spice up the gameplay. You can go through the franchise option or make your own player. Naturally there is also the option to just practice for a while or turn up the difficulty. After the win I did get a bit greedy so I tried another match only this time I intentionally chose a team with a very low rating to see how different it would be. I was losing this match by a few points so it was definitely different. It felt more like the other 2K games as I wasn’t getting any backup and the other team was stopping me more. I think the overall score seems to have a pretty big impact across the board with the various players. I didn’t actually get to finish the second game as I exited in the 4th quarter, but I wasn’t going to make it back at that point. Of course you also have the local multiplayer option at your disposal which is sure to add even more replay value to the mix.

The graphics are definitely as sharp as ever. They may not be as flashy as some of the newer games, but they do get the job done. You’ll be able to easily see the field and understand the situation at all times. Surprisingly the main menu didn’t really have a flashy theme this time, but I assume that the usual assortment of musical themes can be found somewhere in the game. At least the loading screens are also faster than the other 2K games I played so if you don’t like the presentation then you can skip to the game. Otherwise I do think the presentation was handled really well so you’ll probably enjoy it for the first few times at least.

Overall, NBA 2K10 holds up as well as the others. If anything it is currently my favorite NBA 2K game although I admit that it had the advantage of letting me win this time. It does feel pretty good to be holding the W instead of the L this time. On the other hand, the fundamentals are all on point as they are in the newer ones so it is basically like you’re playing the same game. If you liked the newer ones then I don’t really see any reason why you wouldn’t like this one. At the end of the day it’s all Basketball and the gameplay can only change so much. Considering that this game is only about a dollar I would definitely recommend snagging it.

Overall 8/10

Bendy and The Ink Machine Review

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It’s time to take a look at my first ever horror game. I may have played some other games that could be considered to be part horror like Scooby Doo, but none that go all the way like this one. Bendy is definitely an impressive game. It throws in a lot of intense visuals and a dark story without having to resort to over the top levels of violence. It really is quite impressive and this is definitely a game that I would recommend checking out. It has certainly done a good job of really making a name for itself and now I’m ready for the next game. (Even if it isn’t a direct sequel)

The plot of the game follows a guy named Henry as he heads back to his old workplace after having left a long time ago. The whole place seems pretty far gone but he wants to figure out what his old pal Joey wanted to show him. Unfortunately he is then knocked out and may not be able to get out as easily as he thought. The workplace is now filled with beings of darkness and they all want to destroy him. If he gets out of this alive he’ll definitely have some words for Joey, but in the meantime he’s going to make sure to clock in and keep a calm head at all times.

Henry is definitely one of the bravest characters you’ll ever see. It’s almost to the point where it’ll actually take you out of the experience for a few seconds because this guy just isn’t afraid of anything. He keeps a monotone voice throughout the game even when he is being directly threatened. The guy just doesn’t get phased. While it is just gameplay mechanics for him to talk about getting paid for this and clocking in, it does make the save feature pretty memorable and certainly a lot of fun. Henry is the kind of character that you want to lead the team because he is charismatic.

The gameplay is that of a 1st person shooter without the shooting. Effectively most of the game is about investigating various rooms and areas to meet objectives. These objectives range from pulling levers to beating enemies. When you are holding a weapon you can swing away at the villains which is always pretty fun. The gameplay isn’t focused on the combat mechanics though so there aren’t many of them. It’s really just one swing so make sure you get used to it. There are also puzzles here, but none of them are all that annoying. Once you’ve played some of the puzzles you’ll start knowing what to expect as the game goes on.

It took me around 4 and a half hours to beat the game. Online I see that the average was 3 so this is actually one time where it took me a lot longer to beat it than the average player. That’s fine, it’s definitely not a game that you want to be rushing through anyway. There are a lot of little easter eggs all around the place and collectibles to nab. Listening to the audio recordings will help you get a better picture of the plot and story inside of the game as well. The Platinum trophy for this game doesn’t seem all that hard but you will need to play the game at least twice. I feel like the toughest trophy is definitely going to be trying to get all of the bacon soup cans though. There are just so many of them throughout the game and there is no way to see how many there are. Be prepared to play for quite a bit if you want to truly 100% the game.

As mentioned, this is a horror game so the atmosphere is clear. Fortunately this is an area that the game has on point right from the start. The factory that the lead is in is very dark and mysterious. You’re going to see a whole lot of creepy visuals throughout as Bendy and the other villains utterly wreck anyone who comes inside. It’s the kind of game where the Youtube theory videos will definitely have a field day. There’s a whole lot to unpack here and you could write essays on almost any part of the plot. I definitely enjoyed the story a lot and I’m sure you will as well. The ending of the game is perfect and there are definitely a lot of ways you can follow up on this title.

As for the characters, we’ve got a few of them running around. Naturally one of the big ones is Bendy and he is definitely a highlight. Due to the nature of the game he doesn’t appear a lot until near the end, but his scenes are definitely memorable. He’s got a great character design and makes for a solid antagonist. Then you’ve got Boris who is pretty much a Goofy homage. That guy’s probably the worst of the ink supporting characters because he’s always acting nervous and ultimately gets wrecked. He never really put up a good fight. Then you’ve got the Angel(s) who are definitely very solid. Don’t want to spoil anything with these characters, but the duality of the Angel definitely makes for a powerful role. Then you’ve got Tom who definitely doesn’t like Henry at all. The guy’s got a real axe to grind in more ways than one. Ultimately you’ll have to wonder if this guy is really trust worthy anyway.

Sammy is another big villain and he’s intense because the guy is the first big villain to show up. He commands respect and makes for a good boss fight. I like his design and the guy’s just an interesting villain. There’s also a camera enemy how is pretty tough although not Bendy level. I was actually able to defeat him the first time I ran into the guy which was pretty cool. I exploited an area that was too small for him and just kept whacking away at the guy until he went down. Trust me, that felt pretty satisfying since for the most part these guys are always kicking you around. The boss fights were definitely handled very well.

Then you’ve got the soundtrack which is very impressive. There are a lot of really solid tunes here. They definitely help to amplify the setting through and through. You need good music to really complete the world and Bendy had that on point. The graphics are also important and definitely work very well. I played about half of the game during the daytime and half at night. It’s definitely best to play at night, but works either way. This game really knows how to properly handle the jump scares and it left big shoes for the follow-up entry. We’ll see if it can match up to this one.

Overall, Bendy and the Ink Machine is one of those games that you might not have heard of before, but it’s worth taking the plunge. It’s an excellent game that is also quite original. You won’t think even for a second that this one is trying to copy another title. It’s going for a fresh take and that’s always what you want to see. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for the sequel even if i do wish it would come out as a full game right away and not using the chapter system that everyone seems to love nowadays. Be prepared for the array of jump scares!

Overall 8/10

NBA 2K12 Review

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The NBA2K series continues! I’ve actually been pretty fortunate so far as the games have been working. While I’d say that 9/10 of the games I buy tend to work there are always some that do not and the chance of this happening increases when it’s a sport game. 2K12 is the first casualty as it does freeze quite a bit. Fortunately I was still able to get a game in and so this couldn’t deter me from getting in this next experience.

As always I jumped into the quick play option and I have to admit that I felt pretty goo about my chances. This was my 3rd to 4th 2K in a row so by now I was a bit more used to the controls and knowing how to go in and claim the win. The game didn’t start out quite as I had planned though. The computer jumped to a quick 14-4 lead so I knew that I had to do something and fast. I started playing tighter defense and actually got some good blocks and steals which was pretty cool. On the offensive side of the ball I went for more 3s and they were connecting enough. It was fun seeing the score gap shrink as each quarter ended. By the third I had gotten it down to 2 points, but unfortunately after that they widened it back up to 6 and that was basically game over. Still, it was a nice back and forth game.

Even though the normal NBA games are my favorite Basketball titles I do see more of the appeal on why people like 2K so much. I am starting to get into the controls and it does feel pretty realistic. I saw my first two NBA games last week (Had to watch the end of the Finals) and 2K does mirror what a real game is like pretty well. I think once you start playing it more like a simulation and less like an arcade title then you will just have more success. For example, I played defense a little less aggressively and let my opponents try to get their shots in. It’s better than constantly fouling them and then letting them make the free throws. I still did go for steals of course and did actually force some turnovers. It’s part of how I started my comeback. On defense by the end of the game I felt like I was actually getting some work done. It still does depend on how many shots the opponent was missing, but I was scooping up those rebounds. That in itself is an improvement from the last game.

As for my offense, I’d say that it is still a work in progress. I can hit a decent amount of 3 point shots and I think my timing there is better. Likewise, my free throws are on point, I don’t miss those anymore. The problem is when I get into the paint and want to score what should be an easy 2 point shot. They just aren’t that easy here. If someone’s in your face then odds are that you’re gonna miss the shot. I still don’t really know how to consistently score the point anyway. It seems to me like no matter what I do the player ends up making the ball hit the rim and missing anyway. There’s gotta be a way around that, but I’m running out of 2K games to try it with.

As always the graphics are definitely on point here. The team uniforms look good and the character models are nice. The 2K games never really seem to age and I think that does speak to the quality of the game overall. I definitely don’t think it is easy to do this by any means. It’s always clear what is happening on the court and a lot of effort went into the presentation. There’s a pretty expansive soundtrack here although you probably won’t really notice it while you’re playing. That makes sense though and really mirrors the actual court experience.

There is also the usual amount of replay value and extra content that you would expect. You can start a new franchise or pick a player and go through all of the games as one person. You can play a lot of multiplayer battles or just hone your skills in general through practice. No matter what option you choose you will definitely have quite a lot to do here. As the going price for the game is only a dollar, it’s really not a bad investment. Another reason to get this game would be to see if you actually like the 2K series a lot. It’s way better to try one out for a dollar and know for sure compared to spending 60 on the new one and then discovering that you don’t like it right?

Overall, there isn’t a whole lot to say about 2K that I haven’t already. It’s a very fun Basketball series that has stayed very consistent over the years. If you like 1 2K then you’ll probably like them all. As long as you enjoy the sport of Basketball then I think you’ll definitely like this game quite a lot. You just can’t go wrong here. 2K12 still seems pretty recent though so we’ll see if this is still the case when I get to the even older ones. Usually those do tend to be good though. After all, NBA Live 03 is still my absolute favorite Basketball game and that one is extremely old by this point.

Overall 8/10

NBA 2K13 Review

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It’s time for yet another NBA2K game down for the count. It’s definitely quite solid although I wouldn’t say it is quite as polished as 2K15. I mean that in the most low key way possible though because you really could mistake the two games for each other quite easily. In a way that’s cool as you’ll be able to jump right in if you’re a longtime 2K player but the flip side is that if you’re looking for a new experience this isn’t the way to go? Don’t fix what ain’t broke? Definitely a debate to be had there.

I jumped right into the play now mode of course as I was ready for some good basketball action. I do think that I’m getting a little better at the gameplay though because I’m keeping the games a lot more competitive than I was earlier. I’m not as good as I am at the NBA games but I’m not getting destroyed like in some of the other 2K titles. I’ll definitely take his and one of these days I’ll be grabbing championships! The gameplay is pretty much the same as always. The goal is to score more goals than the other team of course. You need to have good defense and be able to score at will. If you are able to do both then you’ve really got the game in the bag. I’m definitely better at offense than defense but I will keep working at it until I can excel at both.

It seems like the shot meter is back again since when you take a shot you’ll notice a few yellow bars under your character as well as a flash. It seemed to me that when I shot during the flash the ball would go in. The tricky part though is the fact that the flash’s timing didn’t seem consistent and I feel like it is too fast to react to. The yellow bars may also be unrelated so possibly it is just the flash that you want to look out for. For the free throws it is still all about holding the stick down and releasing when the player is at the height of his aim. I think I’ve pretty much got this down but the computers rarely draw a flag so I didn’t have too many chances to practice.

One area where I think the game could improve a bit is the passing. There is an option to pass to whoever you want to by holding down a button and then passing but that takes too long in the heat of the moment. During a full court press I want to be able to quickly pass it to the guy in position and score from there. A lot of times you’ll end up passing to the wrong guy and it’ll cost you points. While it is risky because of this, that is still my go to strategy for getting on the board and increasing the lead. (When I actually have a lead) I was able to get a lot more turnovers than usual so that was definitely pretty cool.

For shooting from up close I think I had the timing down a bit better. I was able to get within a good range a lot more often this time around but sometimes my guy would still flub the shot. Maybe I’m holding on to the ball a little too long or something like that. Fortunately my team was pretty tall so a lot of times my guy would get the rebound. The team you get does seem to be very important to be honest.

The graphics are definitely very sharp. Now as they are basically the same as 2015 then you may wonder how they can be good. Well, they’re just pretty timeless. I think I would still consider these graphics to look good 6 years from now and maybe even 6 years from then. It may not be the PS4 level but it gets the job done and you won’t be distracted. The soundtrack did get a little more fancy as they got some pretty big singers here. I’m sure there will be some kind of song that you’ll like here if you can find them. I think there is a soundtrack option where you can choose which songs play and how often so it’s probably worth finding that.

As always the replay value here is basically endless. You can keep playing basketball games for days without getting old. No two games are be same and you’ve got a bunch of extra modes as well like the custom player mode and your traditional franchise option. You can practice as well or face off against a friend. Basically as long as you like the basketball gameplay the you’re set. While you can always get a newer version instead you really can’t go wrong for 1-2 dollars. How many other games will give you this much content?

Overall, NBA2K13 is definitely another winner to add to your collection. I’m now getting close to the end of the NBA games. There are 6 left but only 3 2K titles left so then I’ll need to get used to the other styles for Basketball again. Should be nostalgic to go back to the big NBA titles. They may not be the most realistic ones but I have to admit that between the fast paced nature of the games and the nostalgia goggles I’m always wearing, I don’t think NBA will ever be beat.

Overall 8/10

X-Men Dark Phoenix Review

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It’s time to look at the newest X-Men film. The trailers for this one were looking pretty sharp from the start so it had the potential to be the best X film. Of course, the films haven’t had the best track record. X-Men The Last Stand was really solid, First Class and X2 were also pretty good, but the original X-Men and Apocalypse were not so good. Still, the Fox universe has basically been buried so they’d want to go out on a good note and I’d say that they did. Not only is this the best X-Men film of them all, but it can hold its head up high against the other big comic book movies out there.

The film starts off with a flashback as Jean gets into an accident with her parents and we see Xavier bring her to his school. We then cut to the present where the X-Men head into space to save some astronauts and Jean Grey absorbs part of the Phoenix Force. Her abilities start to go out of control and once she starts causing a lot of damage the team is forced to decide if they can still save her or if she’s still too far gone. At this point, is she really still Jean Grey or just the malicious Phoenix?

Dark Phoenix doesn’t waste any time in ramping up the tension. (It is called Dark Phoenix for a reason after all) The film’s pacing is quick from the start and builds a very good atmosphere. The soundtrack is stellar here (Jean Grey’s main theme is definitely the best one) and that’s always important. It’s easily a contender for one of the best soundtracks in a CBM. Certainly top 5. Dark Phoenix is a very serious comic film, it’s got the same vibe as the amazing DC titles Batman V Superman, Man of Steel or even the older ones like The Dark Knight. There are a lot of traumatic events for all the characters so there is rarely a time for them to catch their breath.

My favorite scene in the film is the fight between the “Save Jean” and “Destroy Jean” factions. It’s a pretty local level fight as it’s a 4 v 4, but team battles like that are always the best. I also am glad that the fights weren’t ties and there were no cop outs here. One side was clearly beating the other and it was the correct team. One side was simply way more stacked than the other. That was the main fight of the film, but in the climax we also get to see the heroes take on the villain zombies. Those guys can’t really fight back quite as much so it’s more one sided, but I do think the film did a good job of making them more of a threat than the average expendables.

The villains don’t get to appear much in the trailers so I’ll stay vague on who they are and what the goals are. I do think that they were nerfed a bit by the end though. They seem to be able to move your organs and crush your body with a light grasp or even with mental abilities. They seem to forget about this ability by the end of the film, but it would have been a handy way to destroy at least some of the X-Men. Most of the members could be defeated by the villains if you ask me.

Most of the characters look really solid here. Mystique has really grown into her role as the X-Men leader. While I was on Xavier’s side with the rocket decision over hers, I am glad that Mystique is always looking after the team. She sees the big picture more than the others do. Cyclops is definitely really good here as well. He’s still a teenager as opposed to being the X-Men leader like in the old films, but he never doubts Jean for a second. He’s on her side from start to finish and that kind of devotion is definitely accurate to his character. His optical blasts are also given a lot of respect here and he doesn’t hold back at all when attacking.

Unfortunately Storm doesn’t look very good here. I do think they did her personality justice here as she is a lot more aggressive and eager to fight. The problem is that she is portrayed as being pretty weak to be honest. She loses most of her fights and seems to let her guard down. I’d like her to look stronger in future appearances. Nightcrawler is a reasonable character, I just never liked him much. He doesn’t seem very proactive compared to the others although he does finally get a homage to his knife combo scene from the old films.

Beast has a pretty big role here. He definitely takes the early events hard and makes a controversial move to make things right. I don’t think anyone would claim that he’s making the heroic move here and even he knows that. Still, considering what happened you can definitely see why he’s making the choice. I find him to be pretty weak though and he rarely does a whole lot of damage. Quicksilver only appears for a few minutes tops here as the writers were probably scared that he would end the whole film in a minute. Unfortunately even then there is at least one time where he could have saved the team but didn’t. This is the problem with making a character so overwhelmingly powerful.

Jean Grey is the lead so lets talk about her for a second. Naturally she’s fighting with the Phoenix the whole time so she’s not always in her right state of mind. She tends to be a little oversensitive to everything so everybody triggers her. She can go into murder mode at the drop of a hat. It helps add more nuance to which side you’ll end up choosing. All in all, I thought she looked pretty good though. She may have been a bit gullible during some of the scenes and trusting villain groups is rarely a good choice. Still, I think the film did a good job with handling her as a villain here.

The star of the movie as always is Magneto. He’s been a really great character during the trilogy and he steals all of the scenes here. While he is not as powerful as the Phoenix I dare say that he is the second strongest mutant at this point. He’s the only one who can actually fight back compared to the others. He’s had a very complete character arc by this point and while he is drawn back into the battle, it’s nice that he had finally found peace. The fact that this is the third movie does help quite a bit since by now all of the characters are established so it’s easy for us to understand all of the character motivations.

Xavier is another big character of course. He definitely makes some key mistakes in the film. Xavier is definitely still one of the good guys from start to finish, but his problem is that he just doesn’t see any of his mistakes. He seems to think that he’s always on the right side. It’s a good quality to have as a leader since you have to believe that your cause is just, but part of the blame here can definitely be thrown over to him. Still, at the end of the day he does what he can to remedy the situation. He does feel a lot weaker here though as other telepaths can hold their own against him. He’s definitely not the Omega level mutant you might have thought he was.

I think some characters who may be overlooked, but shouldn’t be are Magneto’s teammates. I actually really liked both of them even though we never even get to know their names. One of them can fight with his hair and from how he was wrecking one of the X-Men members he is a considerable threat. The guy’s super loyal and was always quick to get into battle. The other is a telepath who was holding her own against Xavier and even causing him to back up. Their back and forth battle of wits was really solid and she was one of the best characters in the film. I’d put her second only to Magneto. I don’t have many qualms with the film, but one of them is that these characters get the shaft. I don’t think their endings were deserved and they should have done more. They were loyal followers to Magneto and the fact that he has given mutants a place to live really makes it a powerful moment. These guys are ready to put their lives on the line for Magneto because he has finally helped the mutants out once and for all. I’d argue that he’s made a safer existence for mutants than Xavier ever did.

The ending of the film is incredibly forced though and doesn’t really make any sense. There’s not a whole lot I can say about it since I don’t even want to spoil any part of it, but it really only happens for drama. It’s the kind of ending that you’d expect and so the film delivers on it, but there’s no narrative reason why it had to happen. The character could have chosen any other option and it would have worked rather than this desperate move. The other paths would have also made for a more entertaining ending. An ending is important, but it’s not like it’s horrible either. The final part of the final scene at least salvages what it can.

Part of why the film is good is naturally the writing. A dynamite soundtrack and excellent special effects go a long way, but at the end of the day you need solid writing to keep the film operating at a high level. This film probably has the best script that I’ve seen since Batman V Superman. (Infinity War also deserves a nod although it’s a very different kind of script) You’ll be engaged right away. They do squeeze in the Fox trope of adding one F word of course which is annoying as always. The film mirrors the X-Men comics to the extent that there is a lot going on at all times. There are many plots and characters in the mix and they’re all being affected by the events in the movie. You’ve got some symbolic imagery like Magneto putting his helmet back on to return to the darkness and Xavier taking his off as he decides to go back to acting as a friend to the others rather than as a commander. The characters are all acting on pure emotion by the end so it’s easy to pick any individual character and root for him/her. It’s a very thought provoking film that also includes a lot of action so you don’t have to worry about choosing one or the other.

It’s always hard to do a very serious film without getting super dark and gritty so I’m always impressed when it happens. It’s part of why I’m going to miss Fox, they really did add a nice element to the mix. For a while we had a solid balance with DC giving us supreme movies with the best action scenes and scripts, Marvel with the most comic book accurate movies and a light hearted tone like the days of ole, and then Fox which was a very realistic take on how humans would interact with super powered fighters. DC has gone away from their approach to follow Marvel and Fox is all but over after this one. Now the only company who will still be doing their own thing is Sony which does carry part of that Fox feel within, but I can’t say that I trust them as much as I would the others. Granted, Fox churns out a lot of misses too so you just gotta keep swinging til you connect. At least now we can finally have the Avengers vs X-Men film someday although I don’t imagine something like that would happen til 2025 or later.

All in all, this is the big finale that fans of the X-Men series have been waiting for. It’s the definitive X-Men film and it’s going to be really hard to top this one. The only thing that would have made it feel even more like a finale would have been for Wolverine to have shown up for the final fights. We probably won’t be seeing any X-Men films for a very long time as I doubt anyone would even want to try and follow up on this so soon. All series have to end at some point and the goal is to end on a high note. Dark Phoenix does that and then some. It basically excels in all areas and has a lot of replay value. If you haven’t seen the film yet then I’d recommend heading out to the theaters and checking it out. You probably won’t be seeing another one like this for quite some time.

Overall 8/10