Tag Archives: Sequel

Donkey Kong Land 2 Review

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The next DK Land game has arrived and it’s a pretty good continuation from the first one. In general I miss DK and his strong way of fighting but Dixie is certainly the most powerful all around character with how she can fly anywhere. The game also doubles up on all the summon animals so on a purely gameplay sense it may beat the original. I would still have liked for DK to have been involved more though since this is supposed to be his series.

There’s still not much of an actual story to be had here though. The game is much more focused on just throwing you into the action so you’d probably have to read the booklet. Somehow or other King K Rool has kidnapped DK though and it is up to Diddy and Dixie to save him. They are ready for this though and prepare to use all of their skills to get past the waves of enemies and help him out. There are a wide variety of worlds to go through here so prepare for a lot of environments.

One thing that is evident from the stat is that the gameplay is quite hard though. A lot of these levels require split second reflexes and you always have to be moving or you will be left in the dust. One big example of this is the level where you play as a spider. You have to shoot out your webs and then keep on rising through the level as some boiling water follows you. The way you do this is by shooting out the web with B and then clicking select to stop it and turn this into a platform. You have to continue with this process at top speed or you will quickly be overwhelmed. It’s really hard because of how far apart the buttons are.

Then you have to consider that a lot of the enemies are impervious to your jumping. So you have to use your rolls which isn’t always easy to time. If you don’t time it well then you will end up taking damage instead. The bosses also attack rather quickly so you want to learn the timings real fast. The game is definitely unrelenting which is impressive. Since the levels aren’t overly long and there are checkpoints, I say bring it on! Of course with the Switch Online and rewinding it’s a non factor but even back in the day it would have been fun.

There are more worlds here than in the first game and of course you also have a bonus world for if you had gotten all of the collectibles. That is some good replay value here and it feels like the modern Nintendo platformers where there is a lot to do. You definitely do get the bang for your buck with this title. Then the graphics are hard to really praise since everything is so faded out but the sprites for the characters look good. It’s the kind of game that would probably look great if we did have full colors but sadly that was not in the cards here.

The soundtrack is good though. Probably not as good as the first one to be honest but it’s close and I would keep it as a positive either way. The game’s technical elements are on point and I also enjoyed the gameplay. It’s not the tightest Nintendo gameplay that I’ve experienced but it definitely does hold its own. The fact that they came up with different gameplay for all of the various animals and Kong members is also impressive. They didn’t just go the lazy route and establish a single mode for gameplay.

My main recommendation is to hold the run button at all times. Some of the jumps are really hard to handle but if you are running then you will be able to make them without any issue. The only weakness is that it can be easy to fall that way and of course if you are in a place with a lot of minions then you might bump into them. So you probably want to be patient but for any gap, immediately start running. One thing about the 2D platformers is they will punish you if you rush through the levels too much. It’s just hard not to since I love going full blast all the time.

The game has a fun cameo for Mario at the very end of the game so make sure you check that out. It’s Nintendo’s way of reminding you that he is always around. If we ever do get a modern plot based DK game, I really want them to include Mario somewhere. Have him show up as a secret boss battle or any ally who helps out at the end. Mario and DK are in the same universe after all so it’s about time that they start crossing over more.

Overall, Donkey Kong Land 2 is a pretty fun game. It ends up being over very quickly but such is always the fate for a platformer. That’s why it is important that you enjoy the gameplay. So it may be a short time, but that way it is a fun one. Additionally with the collectibles it can last a bit longer that way. Hopefully the Switch Online continues to deliver more DK games since there are definitely more that I need to play. We’ll see if any of them beat this one. At the end of the day this one’s a basic platformer so there isn’t a ton to talk about but it handles all of the fundamentals well so it’s a good game.

Overall 7/10

Mario & Luigi: Brothership Review

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Mario is one of those characters who has been around for a very long time. He has had games in many different genres and has two different RPG series. It’s definitely impressive and it was nice to get a new Mario & Luigi title after many years. The story is not particularly strong as this modern era of the plumber tries to steer away from getting too serious but the game itself is still fun. I have some quality of life issues here but all in all it is a fun game for you to have fun with.

The basic plot is that Mario and Luigi are transported to a whole new world all of a sudden. Their assistance is required as all of the islands here have been split apart. This is preventing friendship and harmony from being united across all of the land. It’s a sticky situation to be in but the bros are ready for this. The situation gets more complicated though when Peach and Bowser show up. Now the stakes are higher than ever and they will have to rely on their bonds of Brothership to get through this.

Like I said, the story isn’t going for a very hype kind of vibe so you shouldn’t take this too seriously. It’s not like the whole thing is played for laughs or anything but when things are getting too serious the game will try to throw a gag or two in there. Even the main villain not being able to remember names seems like a way to diffuse every cutscene that he is in. Ultimately I would say that you are playing this game for the gameplay and not for the story. I still like the cutscenes when they show up and every scene with Bowser is a winner but the story does move at a very slow pace.

This is by far the longest game in the series as well. Typically you can expect around 15-18 hours but this one is over 30. There is a lot of content here but the story didn’t really make the most of it. They tend to repeat the info quite a bit or drag out the conversations. Unfortunately the game uses the most annoying vocal sounds that I’ve ever heard. Think of the Banjo & Kazooie games but if two characters were talking at the same time for every cutscene. It ends up being quite brutal as a result and you end up having to hold that L.

The audio direction was really quite bad. We do have a few limited sound clips but as a result they have to be thrown in randomly a lot of the time instead of really making sense in the moment. The graphics are good at least. The game isn’t trying to be too bold with them so you’re not going to see anything on the level of Sonic Frontiers but the art style is fun. As for the soundtrack, there are some decent tunes but it’s not the strongest Mario soundtrack. It could have used one or two more really good tunes.

As for the gameplay, it’s your classic turn based system. You have your standard attacks as well as your Bros attacks. Along the way you also get equipment that amps up your abilities as well as badges that you equip which then expire after a few turns. This adds a lot to the strategy as you have to be careful when you turn these on. For example if you use your best ones against some minions then you will be in a really bad spot for the boss battle. There is no quick way to recharge then either as you just have to fight for a certain amount of turns before they are back to normal.

This is one of those games that prefers to go with a long approach to level ups. It takes a long time to get a level up because every combat animation is on the long side. Normal battles are much longer than they need to be. I know a lot of effort was put into the animations but they really should have an option to turn these off after a while. In particular the Bros attacks take a while since you have to do some command prompts. I suppose it wouldn’t be possible to turn those off but it’s definitely unfortunate.

I also think they should let you skip encounters when you are vastly over leveled compared to the enemy. For example when you go back to the first world to grab some collectibles, those level 1 enemies will still force an encounter. You can run away of course but now you’re already in the battle. These are fairly basic quality of life updates that would make the game a lot more fun. It’s why I would say the game is fun but it’s not going to touch almost any of the other big RPGs. They are in a completely different league.

One thing that was implemented rather well were the collectibles. Each world has some extra sparks which is how you unlock the new plugs (badges) and gives you a reason to explore every world twice. Most of the sparks don’t appear until after you have beaten the world after all. There is just enough where it doesn’t feel like a chore and additionally this is completely optional which I was glad about. So this is the right way to add a collectathon element.

Aside from the campaign itself being super long, there are also a number of side quests and optional items to grab. A lot of the side quests are time sensitive as well so you will want to take care of them quickly. There are also a lot of landmarks to find outside of the islands but the most disappointing thing was I bothered to find them all and there was no reward. Felt like a let down, I was expecting something. Ah well, it was still a fun thing to do on the side.

As for the new Luigi mechanic, it’s not bad but doesn’t really change much. This game tries to really show how Luigi is the smart one of the group and it’s one of those really unassuming twists. Like he’s scared of everything but when he focuses then he can do great things. The concept is sound, but the execution just feels a bit tacked on. I would have liked it to have effected gameplay a lot more or been presented in a way where it enhances the experience. Instead it’s just something that’s around.

Overall, Mario & Luigi Brothership may be a little underwhelming but to be honest I wasn’t expecting a ton out of it in the first place. That probably sounds bad, but at this point I play Mario for the fun gameplay experience as opposed to the story. The story does have its fun moments to be sure but just don’t expect anything too grand. The gameplay has a lot of strategy to it and I would even say that the game can be reasonably difficult at times. That’s something that I was impressed by. You really need to learn the enemy’s attack patterns or you will be buried in short order. Hopefully the next game brings in the Mushroom Kingdom more but either way I can recommend this game.

Overall 7/10

Challenge to Lassie Review

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It’s time for another Lassie film and this one is definitely ready to give you that emotional punch. Fortunately it focuses on the humans taking their Ls again instead of Lassie which is definitely the right way to approach it. It certainly works for me at least although Lassie still does get injured a bit here and there with all of the big jumps. I would say that it doesn’t end up beating the last film but still beats the average Lassie experience.

The movie starts by showing us how a guy named Jack raised Lassie for a long while. She was a small pup at first and then gradually grew into full size. She had a really good upbringing and it all turned out well but Jack was an old man. He was already breaking down and it only got worse when he was beat up by a bunch of thugs. That really accelerated things and he ends up dying. This forces his friend John to look after Lassie but it won’t be easy. She wants to always be with his grave but the grave is located among church grounds where dogs are not allowed. Now the cops have been alerted and since John has no formal license to Lassie, she is in a lot of trouble and may get the death penalty. Can’t anything be done?

I would say the weakest part of the film is how a lot of the characters are super unreasonable. This is a dog after all and a rather harmless one at that. The whole putting him to sleep business makes no real sense. They try to explain how it is necessary because that’s just how the law is, but it feels rather forced the whole time. There is no real reason to be this stringent about it. When the kids ask the judge about why he has to pass the law, the guy can barely even answer. Deep down he also knows that this is all a bunch of nonsense.

The basis of the law is that because John doesn’t have the license, he isn’t able to get one after the fact. Instead of waiting the usual 3 days for someone to pick up the dog, they can skip right to the execution. It’s a case of the process being put ahead of the logic which is where the whole thing breaks down. If a rule doesn’t make sense then you have to find a way to agree with it or just ignore it entirely. Now you do have to put some real effort into understanding the law first as you shouldn’t just break laws that you disagree with but this was a very clear example.

So I can’t say that I really liked any of the policemen or judges here. Then you have the church personnel who aren’t the best here. At least the big preacher at the end seemed reasonable and wouldn’t rat him out but the main guy wasn’t the nicest. You can understand why Lassie wouldn’t be allowed on the church grounds since there could be a lot of cleanliness issues but in this case you should just move the body then. Put it somewhere where Lassie could visit it and you would solve all of the problems at once.

I’ll give John credit for fighting pretty hard to save Lassie the whole time. He went to court and risked his reputation the whole time as well. It’s definitely not something that just anyone can do. His son the young lawyer was also pretty solid here. There were a lot of limitations on what he could really do before he was fully certified but he was always ready to help as well. Even the kids weren’t bad here as they were all on Lassie’s side. It was nice to see the whole community supporting him like that.

As I noted earlier, an issue is that Lassie still goes through a certain amount of grief. It’s nothing as crazy as in the earlier films but she is pushed to her physical limit the whole time as she has to scale mountains and constantly be on the run. You can’t forget the emotional burdens as she wants to be with the old owner the whole time and keeps on being prevented from doing so. Her dedication was definitely second to none but of course those scenes aren’t very fun.

That is a common theme with a lot of the Lassie films which is that they generally aren’t very fun to watch. This one has some fun dialogue and reasonable characters but it is mainly lacking a big hook. One framing device that could have really helped it would have been to have the film start in the court-room and have that continue as the present throughout the movie. We then see the scenes spread across as several flashbacks. Have more and more of the characters enter the court room as witnesses and then we see the scenes from their perspective. It would have turned this into more of a courtroom thriller film which always tends to work pretty well. It would have given the movie a bit of a boost.

Overall, Challenge to Lassie is a decent film for the most part but I wouldn’t say there is much reason to watch it. In some ways the last one is still a more satisfying overall picture with Lassie mainly getting the sweet end of things. In this one, Lassie may avoid a lot of the physical trauma of the original films but still has to deal with the emotional trauma of the fallout that occurs from the owner dying. It’s not like he returns at the end or anything like that so in the end it’s still a net loss for her. The fact that she still goes to the grave every evening to mourn also shows that she isn’t really over the loss and perhaps never will be. I like to think that eventually she would change and not have to visit the grave but it’s hard to say. Either way if you’ve seen all of the Lassie films then you may as well check this one out. Otherwise you can give it a skip.

Overall 5/10

Sonic The Hedgehog Volume 8: Out of the Blue Review

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With this volume we really finish the metal virus arc and I can definitely say that it had a really good run. It was definitely an arc with a whole lot of action and excitement so it sets the bar rather high for the next storyline. Even though this is more of an epilogue we do get some good action here as well. There is one plot that is rather rushed but ultimately it worked out since I was ready to see the character return sooner than later.

After the events of the metal virus arc, Sonic has disappeared and the heroes have to try and regroup. It will be difficult though since Eggman has decided that this is the perfect time for him to rule the world. He’s not wrong, most of the heroes are on their last legs and are still exhausted from the fights. Additionally, The Deadly Six are on a rampage. The world needs Sonic the Hedgehog and may just end up falling without him.

The first story is an anthology though as we see what different characters were doing during the big invasion. For example Big was chasing Froggy around and beating up on the metal zombies. We see two radio broadcasters and how they handled the invasion. One panicked while the other stayed on the line but eventually they both banded together here. We get more details on what was going on with Team Chaotix as well as the jewel fighter. It’s a pretty nice anthology although by default it is the weakest point of the volume. These are side characters for a reason after all and it’s why these story beats could not make it to the main title. They are fun to see but aren’t exactly at the top billing.

When we get back to the main story is when we really have the hype. For example we get to see Shadow vs Metal Sonic which is always a great matchup. I admit that I would usually expect Shadow to do a little better but I can definitely buy into his being weakened and exhausted which made this tougher. Additionally it’s not like Metal Sonic is a slouch, the guy is a credible threat at all times so I am definitely fine with him getting a win every now and then. He’s earned that much. I’d say it was the highlight fight of the volume.

It was also nice seeing Silver and friends take down Zavok. That guy may be the power hitter of the Deadly Six but at the end of the day I wouldn’t really expect him to last all that long. Then of course we have Sonic vs Eggman but it’s so short that it’s barely a fight. Just enough to remind you why Sonic is the crucial piece for the heroes. As long as he is around you can bet that the villains will be put on notice. They won’t be able to keep up with him. Sonic looks great as always too with all of the confidence that he has.

The subplot I referenced earlier was after sonic gets amnesia so he hangs out with Blaze for a little while. It’s a fun enough moment but ultimately ends real fast so it doesn’t really add much. It’ll be fun to have her join the crew for some adventures soon though. Her fire powers were always a lot of fun to see after all and she is definitely powerful. The heroes can always use more help with how much destruction has occurred. It feels like damage from the Sonic Forces storyline is still in effect with the world constantly in rebuild mode. Throw in the whole metal saga and it could only have gotten worse.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a last hurrah for some of the big characters like Metal Sonic, Shadow, Silver so they can show off some of the other characters a bit. The Sonic verse has a ton of characters after all and while this one had a whole lot, there are still others who will probably want their screentime. Not to mention that we have all of the new IDW original characters to think about as well. So long as Sonic is there, it’ll always be a good balance.

Some characters can probably use a power up as well. This comic showed once again that when Sonic is not around, Eggman actually has a reasonable chance of taking over. The rest of the characters may be strong and skilled in their own ways, but for some reason they need Sonic as the leader to take charge. I wouldn’t want to ever have them write Sonic out to put that to the test but it is a great excuse for a training arc at some point. Realistically Shadow and Silver should have the world really well protected but Eggman’s only weakness continues to be Sonic himself.

As always the art is really good here. The colors are super vibrant and the characters are all really well written. Part of what makes the comics so fun is how they really flow together. It feels like an ongoing story where everything has been carefully planned out. This would make for a very good video game. The characters are still some of the best characters in all of gaming after all and that translates really well into the comic realm. Now I just need Infinite to show up.

Overall, There are definitely no negatives to be had with this Sonic comic. There is a little less to talk about than usual since it is in epilogue mode but it’s an excellent wrap up to the arc. If you’ve read the previous volumes then you really need to check this one out as well. There’s a ton of great content to be digested after all. I also doubt they are going to try and have another end of the world plot with the whole cast teaming up again for a long while so you really need to savor the experience. This kind of grand event is always worth the wait but that wait can feel awful long. Regardless, I have yet to read a bad Sonic arc and I doubt the next one will change that.

Overall 8/10

The Sun Comes Up Review

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It’s time for another Lassie title! This may be the best out of all the Lassie films which may not be saying much…but we take those. I was a little unsure of how to score the film at first because it can be a little dull but does avoid most of the negatives. I had a good enough time with it. It’s not really the kind of film that you would go back and rewatch to be honest but you don’t have to re watch everything right?

The movie starts with some singing as Helen reminds the world why she is a premiere singer. Her skills continue to amaze the world and things are going well until her son is destroyed by an incoming truck. Helen retreats to the country-side and takes a break from singing. Initially she is going to ditch her dog Lassie but is forced o take her in. Helen doesn’t want to be around kids anymore since they all bring back her ptsd but she is shamed and pressured into letting the kids hang around. Will this town break her spirits until she is back to normal or will she go back to singing in order to leave this place behind?

Most of the film is really about Helen desperately trying to fit in no matter what she has to do. Whether it is driving the kids around or memorizing lines that the shop owner gives her in order to fit in, Helen is ready. At the same time, it can also be a little annoying because she is constantly doing everything to please them and it feels a little overdone. It would have been better if she could have been herself and they would gradually get used to her instead. I would also say it’s a bit rough that even to the very end she was planning on leaving the town never to return and didn’t even tell anybody. That’s a pretty big knock against her.

Also, the town is one of those old fashioned places where they figure even the quickest show of friendship means that a romance has to happen. A neighbor puts a lot of pressure on Helen because she didn’t immediately start dating the landlord when he showed up. I suppose normal friendships between adults just can’t be a thing right? The adults were definitely annoying here and the fact that the neighbors initially gave Helen the silent treatment instead of talking to her also comes off as rather petty.

Even the shop owner, who was the most entertaining character wasn’t the nicest one. Quickly letting the cat out of the bag to intentionally force a problem wasn’t a great move. I cut him a lot of slack though since Helen’s decision to keep everyone in the dark was even worse. We do have a dramatic fire at the end to allow the situation to work out for the characters but otherwise I’m sure there would have still been a lot of sore feelings around.

Naturally I didn’t like Jerry either. Definitely an annoying character who was always running off and making things even worse. He constantly panicked and he was also quick to forget his chores and cause problems for Lassie. Jerry needed to be better at clock management and making sure he took care of his responsibilities. It may be a hard thing to hear but at the end of the day, that is what is to be expected. So Jerry just kept sinking the more that the film went on.

Meanwhile the songs aren’t particularly good but that is to be expected when you see that the tag is part musical. It’s well known that musicals tend to have songs that aren’t as good as standard or concert type titles. Musicals are the weakest link after all and these songs will have you shaking your head. Okay most of this sounds really negative so what are the positives? Well, for one thing the movie plays it pretty safe like I said. There aren’t any real bad scenes or moments where Lassie is put through the wringer. This time the humans are given all of the trauma which is absolutely the right way to go about it. I’d prefer the humans have to take the Ls over the animals any day. That’s the right way to do it.

While I didn’t love any of the characters, the writing is good enough so they don’t get too far onto your nerves. The film is short so the pacing is reasonable. In some ways the film has aged a bit too hard in the wrong directions like Helen being such a passive main character but it is also nice to see a small town where everybody just helps each other. So there are some positives about the case like that. Lassie may not be the biggest character here but it’s the first time we see her having fun the whole time which is really nice.

Perhaps the final important thing to note is that it’s just an easy film to watch. You can plug it in any time as a pleasant watch to have in the background. It can be a little boring at times but sometimes you need an uneventful film to unwind with. The film could have probably added some kind of a rude townsperson to add some drama though and that could have helped to elevate things a bit. A lot of what ifs to think about but at the end of the day, this film destroys the average Lassie film and that’s something to be proud of.

Overall, The Sun Comes Up has its share of weaknesses but in the end it is still a good film. The main moral I would give here is that when you’re trying to move on from something, a new environment may actually be a bad thing since you won’t have much time to yourself. Ultimately things worked out for Helen but the town didn’t always make this easy. She had to deal with quite a lot of people the whole time.

Overall 6/10

Hills of Home Review

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You ever start watching a film and almost immediately start thinking to yourself, “Get this stuff off of my screen!!?” Well that is what happens with this film as it is definitely a thumbs down almost immediately. It makes every kind of mistake in the book as it puts Lassie through way too much. There aren’t really any redeeming values to be had with this film and so it ends up being a heavy thumbs down. Definitely a title that you will want to skip at all costs.

The movie starts by showing us that Lassie is on tough times as she is owned by a rather cruel owner. He traumatizes her into being deathly afraid of the water and fortunately her next owner ends up being a doctor named William. He is kinder but also in a rush and initially tries to sell Lassie off. Fortunately his conscience wins out and he keeps her. William is pretty busy as the only doctor around with a never ending stream of patients. He is getting older too but the guy doesn’t complain about it and just keeps on working as hard as he can. Will he be able to cure Lassie of her fears or is this one mission that will be too difficult even for him?

I won’t say that he’s a perfect character though because he does betray Lassie a few times here. Aside from selling her the first time, he also yells at her at different occasions and isn’t very patient with her fears. You would think as a doctor that he would know how difficult these things can be to get over but instead he doesn’t act all that sympathetic. He’s a fun enough character when it comes to interacting with the other humans, he just doesn’t seem like he’s the biggest dog person.

He’s also not that smart as he lets one of his “friends” get away with not paying him back on a lot of loans and then being tricked with Lassie. For starters that isn’t a good friendship and he probably should have asked for some serious money in the end. He let the guy get off easy despite being a major thorn throughout the whole movie. The guy’s son is an aspiring doctor to be but the path forward is made a lot more difficult because of this guy’s objections. Basically the way I would explain it is that the father is very old fashioned in an annoying way.

The aspiring doctor Tammas is okay but way too soft spoken and doesn’t really stand his ground. He gets pushed around so easily and so I never really grew to like the guy all that much. He’s okay at best but that’s a main problem for the film as a whole. The characters don’t really stick out and can come across as boring. You certainly aren’t all that invested in any of the characters, I can tell you that much. They come and go without a ton of impact.

As for Lassie, well like I said the film is rather brutal to her the whole time. It’s just so mean spirited and you get the feeling that none of the characters really knew how to handle a dog both in and out of the movie. Whether it’s Lassie being forced to lay down and clearly not wanting to or the whole water trauma moments, it’s all rather distasteful and holds the film back in a massive way. Even throwing in the big time skip at the end as if this was an anime could not save the film. That’s because there was no saving it by that point.

The writing itself isn’t terrible I suppose. We have some nice dialogue at times but there just isn’t much of a point to it all. Even for a complete slice of life film, you are expecting some dynamics to keep you interested and things like that. Instead you have nothing to hold your interest until the storms start setting in. Even when characters get sick you find it hard to care because of how unlikable they are.

Put it this way, even if we remove all of the animal violence, this film would have been probably stuck around a 5-6. It’s just not interesting enough and I tend to enjoy old time films like this one. Well, this time it wasn’t enough to carry the film which is a really big blow. In my opinion it’s not very hard to make very compelling characters in a setting like this. You just have to make them likable so they shouldn’t be doing anything crazy.

The movie is also fairly short even if it can feel long at times. So there isn’t a ton to talk about here beyond what we’ve already gone over. I suppose the final thing is that if you live by a road that is submerged during all big storms, you should probably have a better backup route rather than trying to swim through with your horse. That just seems like a terribly dangerous way to do this and there has to be a better way. There just has to be, because with this way people are going to die sometimes. I didn’t blame the big city doctor for panicking because the whole thing seemed absolutely crazy.

Overall, Hills of Home is definitely a film to stay far away from. It’s incredibly mean spirited and doesn’t really have anything to it. All of the characters have moments where they are acting like big jerks and you get the feeling that they all probably hate each other. After all you don’t just forget the comments so quickly. Whether it was one wife blaming the doctor for not doing well enough, another guy saying his new method for knocking out someone was terrible, everyone laughing at him at the bar, etc.; they were all taking some major shots here. Lassie doesn’t really get the respect that she deserves at any point which is a shame.

Overall 2/10

The Rescuers Down Under Review

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It’s time for the big sequel to the original Rescuers. It’s pretty impressive that they managed to really capture the feel and atmosphere of the first film after such a long break. It’s a film that has definitely aged well and made for a good watch. It’s what I would call a fairly basic animated film. Nothing too fancy but you generally enjoy i either way with no big negatives to stop it.

The movie starts with Cody adventuring through the wilderness and helping animals along the way. Unfortunately he is captured by Percival, a big animal hunter who wants to take down one of the legendary birds in the area. Cody is presumed dead by the authorities so it is up to the Rescue agents to save him this time. They send their best operatives Bernard and Bianca for one last mission. It’s not good timing for Bernard since he was getting ready to propose to Bianca but hey villains don’t wait for a good spot after all. They are greeted by Jake, a guy who is a little too comfortable flirting with Bianca while Bernard is right there. Will Bernard still be able to bring his A game and save Cody or will he be too distracted to be of much help?

Now while this plot is mainly for laughs at Bernard’s expense, it doesn’t make Bianca look particularly good. To an extent you should always be able to know when someone is flirting with you. The fact that for pretty much the whole film she just thinks he is being polite was a little hard to buy. I appreciate Bianca being a super nice character who is always trying to help but even that has limits. A the end of the day, you gotta keep your guard up.

This is also a really bad look for Bernard for not saying anything. He just needed to be direct. I know the guy is always really nervous and has a hard time doing anything but this would have absolutely been the time to change his reputation. He needed to man up and set the record straight. While he’s not as nervous as in the first film, it’s still a pretty big knock against him.

The only one you don’t really blame for this is Jake who has every reason to be oblivious about Bianca already being taken. So yeah that guy just has natural charisma and confidence. He is even quick to cheer Bernard on in the final scene. That may have been sudden and super forced but hey he’s a good sport. I wouldn’t say he’s a great character or anything but he’s entertaining and definitely gives the cast some real energy.

Then we get to the main villain Percival who is actually really good. This guy makes plans and is highly effective at his job. Yeah perhaps tricking a kid isn’t so hard but he still pulled it off. He’s also rather intimidating like when he pointed his gun straight at Cody. It’s the little things like that which you imagine would be a whole lot tougher to do nowadays. This guy was completely unhinged and an absolute danger to all parties involved. He was constantly threatening his animal assistant but unlike other villains you could actually picture those threats as being credible.

It really helps in any movie to have a villain who is a serious threat like this. Whether it’s an animated film for kids or not, you should be able to pull this off. The short length of the film also helps for things to be moving fast at all times. The only part that felt rather forced and a bit drawn out was the subplot with the bird trying to have his back fixed. Ehhh I just didn’t think it was all that funny and I wanted to go back to the main plot. The character himself is pretty fun without a doubt but this didn’t add anything to the film at all. Give me more scenes of Cody working to break out of the facility or the mice getting closer to their goal instead.

Well, the animation is definitely quite solid as you would expect. The movie has a very fast paced/chaotic vibe to it the whole time. The characters are super expressive and the colors are very sharp. It’s the kind of movie that will continue to look really good even 50 years from now. A true feat if I do say so myself. The music is okay, nothing all that special but it’s not as big a focus as in the original movie anyway.

The writing is good so at the end of the day the film nailed the fundamentals. I even enjoyed the setting and Australia is not always the best backdrop. They just did a really good job of making the backgrounds all look fun. I also enjoyed the accents the whole time, I thought they did a really good job with that.

As with the first film, you may question just how effective the animal army can be at times. A lot has to go right for them to even set up the missions since they have to distract the human at the controls every time. This movie goes a bit more in depth on how the missions are set up so it makes sense to spend a few lines on it. This is just the kind of film that you can’t think about too hard. You have to suspend a little disbelief here but I would say it’s honestly not a ton. The film is still smartly written overall so I have no problems here. I do think there is quite a nice opportunity to eventually have the humans get involved though. No reason why they couldn’t right? Humans can understand the animals after all so a joint partnership could work really well. Maybe the villain could be a disgruntled UN agent who doesn’t like the new competition or something like that.

Overall, The Rescuers have maintained an impressive level of quality and consistency here. I would easily be able to recommend this to anyone. It’s just a fun story that doesn’t overstay its welcome and produces a lot of fun characters. The main villain was especially impressive with just how hype they were allowed to make him. He’s a total villain through and through. They just allowed him to have some actual charisma and bravado within that role. I’d definitely be down for more films in this series.

Overall 7/10

Frankenstein Created Woman Review

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This poster is massive clickbait. The film is definitely not going in the direction of Frankenstein creating another monster. He does dabble in the souls business though and causes a whole lot of trouble. In the end this turns into a super annoying revenge thriller and so much time is spent on the villains. There is not a satisfying conclusion here and so in the end I have to give the whole production a massive thumbs down. It was just not in a good spot and I was not surprised since Frankenstein is rarely any good.

The film starts off with Hans’ father getting executed and he grows up with the reputation of being the son of a convicted criminal. Hans helps Frankenstein out in the lab, another guy who has been ostracized by society as a whole. Hans does a pretty good job of following the doctor’s lead and helping out when possible. He also liked a lady named Christina who helps her father out at the tavern. Unfortunately she is often picked on and harassed by the locals. One day Hans defends her and fights back so they get revenge by framing him so he is executed as well. Christina bumps herself off so Frankenstein revives her and puts Hans’ soul inside of her. What Frankenstein didn’t realize is that the spirit of vengeance demands blood! The ghost of Hans is now telling Christina that she must destroy all of the oppressors who framed him for death. Can she destroy them all before the cops catch up?

The 3 bullies are terrible characters so you’re totally cool with them being bumped off in painful ways each time. They really didn’t do much to convince you that they deserved anything better. That being said, this is still not helping the movie much because the whole thing is focused on a ton of negativity. It’s a shame how nobody was doing anything about this. Even Christina’s father was not really doing anything to defend her. I don’t care how rich these guys are, you can’t let them mess with your daughter like that. That’s just awful and you really can’t stand for that. The father was one of the worst characters as a result. Not the absolute worst since those 3 still have to take that but he was pretty bad.

I thought Hans could have done a much better job of defending himself to the judge too. You could at least say you weren’t at the scene of the crime if you don’t want to expose the relationship with Christina. Mentioning the relationship probably would have been a good idea though when death is the alternative as she doesn’t want him dead either. Dying definitely ended up breaking down his psyche with how crazy he got later on.

Also, the revenge is slightly less satisfying with Christina allowing the villains to have their way a bit first. Sure, she knows she will have the last laugh but I’d have preferred a much more direct approach where they don’t have a chance to really get any kind of quick victory. They just didn’t deserve to have any kind of positives here. I’m struggling to think of any real likable character in this movie to be honest. Frankenstein’s assistant Hertz knows a lot of dark secrets and never tells anyone. This is portrayed as him being a good friend but instead what it tells me is that he will always look the other way and that is absolutely not a good idea. When people are doing evil things, the right thing to do is to expose them. So yeah Hertz is compromised.

Also while Christina is really the victim of a lot of this, it doesn’t help that she murders herself twice. You feel bad for her and would have hoped that the film could have given her some kind of a happy ending. The whole thing just feels so mean spirited, like there is absolutely no hope out there. That’s really a big downer for the film as a whole. I wouldn’t say it really had any particularly happy segments, at least none that lasted for any real long period of time. Even Hans and Christina finally getting together couldn’t last because the villains were yelling through the window the whole time. That romance was a bit too rushed though and wasn’t needed.

So the movie is bogged down by lots of heavy violence, some fanservice, and generally being more of a depressing picture. Frankenstein makes for a good villain but he doesn’t appear as much as he should. I like that he’s the only character who can talk tough to everyone. Generally he isn’t afraid of anyone and has a really confident demeanor to him. This guy just keeps on going and it’s quite brilliant. You just can’t forget that he’s super evil here. At no point should you think he is sympathetic or heroic because he makes it clear just how many people he is willing to sacrifice for his experiments. He doesn’t even hesitate to let Hans get executed after all.

Overall, This is one of those films that goes all in on the shock value and doesn’t have much else to offer. This town would be absolutely dreadful to live in with pretty much all of the inhabitants being evil. They look forward to executions and look the other way when crimes are happening. None of these guys would be your friends and would backstab you in an instant. It’s also still weird to watch a Frankenstein film that doesn’t even have the monster at all. I suppose you can always do movies with just the scientist but the monster is typically the big draw. It’s why the poster had the girl version but that design never happens either. Instead this is more of a possession slasher movie. Either way it’s not like the movie would have been much better. I’m sure it would still be terrible so my best advice is to stay far away from this film. You really don’t want to get mixed up with this series. When you see Frankenstein in the title and particularly if it’s a Hammer film, run far away!

Overall 2/10

Brahms: The Boy II Review

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You know that feeling when the opening credits start to play and you realize that the film is not going to be very good? It’s a rough feeling because it’s like the film made some massive mistakes in the future but the scenes haven’t happened yet so how do you know this? It’s just a gut feeling after years of watching the cinema and I’m afraid that the film could not surpass this. All of the characters act insanely illogical and it’s not even in an intentionally absurdist way. It’s just in a plain old poor writing way and that’s tough to beat.

The film starts off with Liza’s kid Jude being super annoying and pulling pranks to scare her. She’s already made it clear that she doesn’t appreciate this but he doesn’t care. Well, one day the whole crying wolf thing doesn’t go well because an intruder actually is in the house and Jude does not give Liza any kind of heads up. She is defeated by the attackers and now has some severe PTSD. They move in with her husband to a more remote location in the forest area to hopefully help them move on. Jude has been unable to speak since the incident but unfortunately he finds a doll named Brahms underground. This doll may be more than meets the eye and Jude quickly starts to get corrupted.

So one of the many problems here is of course how weak willed Jude is. He immediately allows the doll to take him over without a fight which is pretty annoying. He just follows the doll’s evil rules without any kind of pushback. So much for freewill eh? Not cool and later on he even says that he tries to keep the doll happy so it won’t hurt the others. Wouldn’t a better idea be to tell the family so they can prepare themselves? I also don’t really buy this excuse since Jude was directly the one being crazy a lot of the time.

Jude also should have been talking to the parents instead of only talking to Brahms. So yeah I didn’t like the kid and he was pretty annoying and getting in the way the whole time. Meanwhile the parents take some of the blame as well. When Jude starts talking about how they can’t have any guests anymore, they should have been more serious about telling him that he doesn’t make the rules. They should have taken away the doll a whole lot sooner as well. One instance is when Jude makes some creepy drawings about his parents being murdered. That should have been game over for Brahms instead of not really doing anything about it.

Liza and Sean just didn’t take things seriously in time. None of it feels realistic in the slightest, how are you going to let this kid be so disrespectful and crazy the whole time? Lets ignore the supernatural angle because for now it doesn’t matter. Even if it was a normal doll, it’s clear that it is having a negative effect on Jude so it should be removed. That’s basically the end of the story there. If the doll returns after being buried and burned then that’s tough but at least they’d have given it a good try so I wouldn’t really have complaints there.

The side characters are also annoying like that random cousin who is cartoonishly mean. He basically shows up just to mess with Jude and start a fight. Things don’t go well for him but the whole thing felt pretty forced. then you have the gardener/neighbor Joseph who is rather shady the whole time. He looks worse as the film goes on but yeah it does seem like a security risk to have someone who can randomly walk onto your property at any time. You really can’t let your kid just be hanging out at that point.

The film also can’t avoid the easy pitfall of having animal violence. The dog gets murdered and you’re shaking your head the whole time. Another red flag that the parents ignore in part because they have no proof it was Jude and in part because they’re just not ready for this. The film brutally attacks your intelligence the whole time. The worst part of this is that by extension it makes Brahms look rather weak. For the most part he’s not pulling off any great feats the way that Chucky would. You feel like the parents could have buried him again and if they did it right away then they would be good. After all, that’s how they found him last time. Instead that’s just not what happens here.

As far as horror stinger endings go, I would also say it was on the weak side. It was more about checking off boxes than actually creating a really interesting cliffhanger which was disappointing. I don’t think there’s a whole lot you can do to make this a great series at this point. Films about evil dolls can work but you need to do something more with it. You can’t just have an evil doll and then call it a day. That’s not going to do anything, so you need a hook in addition to that. Maybe making Brahms able to turn his owner into a doll, transforming reality, etc.

Overall, Brahms: The Boy II is definitely a pretty bad film. It’s annoying the whole way through and the parents put up with way too much the whole time. It’s less scary and more so just tiring to see the characters constantly not knowing what to do. Brahms should be more active in a future film so that he is actually causing a lot of damage and talking. Having him just do things off screen at best isn’t good enough and possession is something you can do with any villain so it’s not much of a doll gimmick. I would definitely say to give this film a skip, there’s nothing that it’s really got to keep your attention.

Overall 2/10

The Legendary Starfy 3 Review

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Starfy returns for some more hype in this last installment from the Switch Online. It continues to operate at a high level and show that even platformers can have a deep plot as needed. Unfortunately none of it is translated so it is left up to your imagination on just what is going on. The cutscenes are clear enough but it would have been really nice to know exactly what was happening. Hopefully Nintendo decides to translate this one day for future gamers although alas it would be too late for me since it’s rare to have enough time to really replay any game. There are always new titles on the horizon to check out instead after all!

The plot basically loops again as the main villain escapes except this time he is working for a powerful cosmic lord. This guy holds all the cards and may be the strongest threat that Starfy has ever encountered. He will need the help of his friends even more than usual. This is also the first time that you have a secondary main character in the pink star. I think that’s his sister but it could be his best friend. It’s hard to say without the translations… but it’s an interesting gameplay mechanic. She is limited to the abilities he had in the first game so it’s almost like a classic mode. A lot of levels will have you shifting between character several times to unlock switches and then they meet up in the end.

The formula for the levels is pretty solid. You basically have 2 acts and then a boss in each world. There are 10 worlds which is definitely a very good amount. As you can immediately tell, the level count is far shossssssssrter than the second game but the fact of the matter is that it still excels far above the average platformer. So that’s pretty impressive all the way. The levels have a lot of variety to them and each world has a fun theme. You can’t really cheese the levels by gliding but the abilities still take you very far. The levels tend to be more straight forward than in previous games. You won’t get lost at all which is great. There will be times when the levels can even be reasonably difficult so it’s not a game that you can beat while keeping your eyes closed.

The graphics are also good as always. The bright and colorful artstyle really works well for the game. It’s the kind of style that will always age well which is why I encourage games to use it. A live action-esque title will get dated much quicker than one that is so fantastical like this. The soundtrack is decent although that’s one area where the game could stand to use a little improvement. You aren’t likely to remember any of the tunes all that well by the time you complete the game. They’re not bad or anything but making them a little more memorable would have absolutely been a good idea.

Meanwhile the different gameplay styles were all good which was a plus since the animal summons would be an easy way for a game to mess up. The horse is plenty fast so it’s a nice change of pace, the pogo stick has well thought out mechanics, etc. It’s clear that the whole game got a lot of polish and not just the main gameplay style which is definitely not something that you can say for just any game. The fact that this one can say that is definitely something worth remembering.

I will also give kudos to the boss fights like with the first two games. Each boss has a different moveset and you have to beat them in original ways. There is a boss in every world so that’s 10 different bosses without any reskins or clones. That is good and a lot of games could learn from its example. In a platformer, one of the best parts are the boss fights after all. They do a good job of shaking things up from the levels after all and in general are just a lot of fun. This game never forgets that and even gets pretty hype for the final boss. Things really go cosmic in scale.

For those of you who are playing this for the first time, my main gameplay advice would be to always hold down the run button. Every platforming challenge is easier when you have a running start and it gives you just a little bit of an extra boost which is extremely handy. Without that then you’ll be falling a lot. The button can be rather sensitive on the Switch though so definitely be prepared for some early deaths that will feel like they would have otherwise been rather preventable but that’s what the rewind button is for.

Overall, Starfy 3 is definitely a very good game. I had a fun time with it and there is a lot of value to this title. Not a lot of replay value as there isn’t really a post game but not every game need a post story. It would be nice to have but as long as the main campaign is long then that’s all that matters. That’s the part that you’d be spending the most time on anyway. If you have the Switch Online then you should definitely check this one out. It’s not a title that you should miss out on.

Overall 7/10