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All of Unboxing
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Unboxing (Parts 1-3)
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All of Unboxing
Friday, December 13, 2013
Total Recall (2012)
Title: Total Recall
Remake of: Total Recall (released in 1990)
Based on the Short Story by Philip K. Dick: We Can Remember It For You Wholesale
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, and Bryan Cranston
Rated: PG-13
Released: 2012
Personal Rating: 4/6
Oscars: N/A
Plot: A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led - goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
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The Nostalgia Factor
I am one of the few who have seen this movie, but haven't seen the original in full. Now before you fanboys and fangirls attack me, just know I didn't watch a lot of films in my youth. I was a much bigger bookworm. However, I am familiar with the original and all the marks it has left through the years. So I know how much fans of the old film must view this remake. But this movie is good on its own merits.
No Mars
Yes, there is no Mars in this film. And that really doesn't make it bad. From what I've seen and heard of the original movie, the whole movie had a rebellion plot. Guess what? This movie keeps up with the secret agent part and him going to the rebel's base. Plus the big bad of the movie is Walter White! Er...Bryan Cranston.
Special Effects
This movie just looked beautiful to me. The ships as well as every little thing. I am aware of the fact that looking good isn't the mark of a good movie. But it's wonderful nonetheless. It doesn't look like the original and that's not a bad thing. Having better special effects is a plus. However, I remember the original doing a better job at making the worlds looking worn down (or that could be the poorer film quality).
Final Thoughts
I realize that remakes are always judged more harshly than most movies. The fanbase from the original is extremely picky about what it wants. It is the rare remake that exceeds the original. I don't think it's always because the remake is bad, but the fanbase of the original is against people messing with their baby. The remake of Total Recall is good on its own merits. One change is that there, from what I've heard from people more familiar with the original than me, is less ambiguity in this film than the original. However, there are still moments where you are made to question if our leading man is dreaming everything or not.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (Kamino)
Now I am going to try and replace an actual Let's Play with me recounting how I experienced a game. This may or may not become a thing. If it does become a thing I will never do one of these 'recaps' of a game I am currently doing a Let's Play of.
Now let's get to the meat of the post...
Earlier this year I bought the second game in the series and put it away to play another day. I finally got to starting the game today. Now whenever I play a game on the Wii I have to time things correctly so Dad doesn't suddenly pop in and give unwanted commentary or start getting annoyed that I'm taking away from his tv time (plus, as those who've watched my previous Let's Plays know I like to use 'colorful' language).
The main menu screen just looks awesome to me. The background of it is a city on Kamino. Kamino is the planet in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones where the Clone Troopers were created. So this immediately brings to the player's mind that the plot of this game involves a clone (or clones).
Having a clone plot in the sequel makes sense as the first game ended with Starkiller sort of dead. I'll state now that a few years back I read the novel version of this game. However, I don't clearly remember the events of the book and the game version could be different.
The actual game starts off with Darth Vader coming to visit Kamino. I don't admire Vader like the majority of the fandom, but he does look cool in this game.
A training level is quickly set up for you to grasp the basic controls. In the original game there was a way for you to, no matter your progress in the game, go to a training section.
Now one reason I bought the first game was that I got to swing my Wii Controller around so I was sad to see that the sequel has you just press the A button to swing your lightsabers. This takes away from the fun of the game for me.
Of course there is still Force Lightning which I am extremely happy about. If there is once Force power I'd want to have it'd be Force Lightning. I know it's highly connected to the Dark Side but it is fucking awesome.
Shortly after Vader kills Juno it is revealed that it was just a robot with a hologram pretending to be her. SC decides that he doesn't want to be controlled/killed by Vader and so attempts to escape. With the character development from last game I am glad to not see the redemption plotline done the same way as before (even if SC is a clone).
I admit the waves of Stormtroopers were fun to kill. There were even special enemies that are pretty easy to take down if you use Force Lightning.
There are also little puzzles such as pulling a switch while people try and kill you. My favorite one involves the use of Force Lightning. It's not difficult or challenging, but it's fun!
Throughout the level Darth Vader appears. He is there as a slight challenge and isn't part of a big boss battle. Vader is really there just to add a little tension since the short skirmishes with him don't last long.
One of the problems with the first game were the quick time events. Now I don't hate them as much as some, but a lot of cool battles weren't as exciting because of them in the first game.
In this game the same basic problem remains.
The skirmishes with Vader don't amount to much because of quick time events. And at the very end of the level there are two AT-STs which could've been an exciting battle but there were quick time events to fight them.
Now the scenes looked awesome, but if there's some action to be done in a game I want to be doing it. Not watching the scene onscreen.
So that's the first level of the game. It is a nice start and a good level to make sure you have the controls figured out.
All of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Doctor Sleep (Stephen King)
Title: Doctor Sleep
Series: The Shining
Author: Stephen King
Released: 2013
Rating: 5/6
Basic Plot: On highways across America, a tribe of people called the True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, the True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the steam that children with the shining produce when they are slowly tortured to death.
Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel, where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant shining power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.
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Dan is An Alcoholic, Of Course
I am a big fan of King and have read his collection of shorts called Hearts in Atlantis (the movie version was based off the first in the collection, the title story is about something totally different and linked by one character I believe). In the final (or close to) the hero from the first story has turned into something completely different. No longer is the hero a hero, but appears to be a washed up version of himself. So it didn't surprise me too much that Dan is an alcoholic in the sequel.
King and Kubrick
It is no secret that Stephen King doesn't like Stanley Kubrick's take on The Shining. Kubrick is all for atmosphere while King humanizes his characters. Both work, but King didn't like Kubrick's take so much that he made a tv mini-series correcting anything he saw as problems. I have not yet seen King's mini-series so I can't comment on it. With this back story in mind it's no wonder that King decided to have this be a sequel to his novel instead of Kubrick's movie adaptation.
The Enemies Are Unseen
The thing about the True Knot is that they are a group of people that aren't usually paid much mind. That if you said were 'empty devils', vampire like creatures, you would be laughed at for even considering. I think this makes them scary villains, even before looking at what they actually are, since you can easily imagine people that look like them have walked by you. I think a good horror villain is one you can't reason with and that you can imagine being killers. The True Knot fulfills both of these qualifications.
Final Thoughts
I can't really remember the original novel, but this book makes what I do remember enough. I would, of course, tell fans of the movie to check out the original book before reading this novel. One of the biggest things is that the Overlook burned down and the black guy survived in the original novel. This is a good continuation of Dan's story as you get to see how he battles his own inner demons to help the young girl Abra. Would recommend you read the novel first or, at least, have a good understanding of the original book.
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