Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Star Wars: Battlefront Where art Thou?

Ah, stupid unforseen consequences. They have indefinitely delayed my Hook video and the post that I was going to make that accompanied it. They also delayed me from getting Star Wars: Battlefront and I assure you, if I had the game right now I would be making a follow up video right away. That game series deserves it, it deserves it!

However, I do not have the game and am not making any videos. This was just a post to let everyone know that I'm not dead. I'll try to post more, but only in mid December will I get the real chance. When mid-December comes, I'll be uploading a ton of gameplay of Star Wars: Battlefront. I'll also get a review up. Maybe I'll make a video review? Who knows.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Dakotaraptor steini

Yes, it is true that Mesozoica is not the king on the front of being scientifically accurate. However, we must be doing something right. After all, our wonderful and talented creature modeler Robert Fabiani would not have been contacted by Robert DePalma on the behalf of the University of Kansas to help model the new dinosaur, the Dakotaraptor steini. It is a brand new dinosaur and Mesozoica has the honour of being able to make the first model of it for a game.
Isn't it beautiful?


This will be a slightly shorter post. However, I am having another second thought on putting in a beat I have made for the Hook video. The reason is because I don't want to just put my own material out there, because well, then I don't really own it anymore aside from having had made it before the next guy. It's kind of why I make remixes, because I've bought the music or downloaded it and am putting it up there for fun, within creative commons. Until I can profit off of my own beats, I don't feel like putting them up. So, the Hook video may take longer.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Star Wars: Battlefront - Hopes

So, I'm actually editing the video right now. It's going to be a longer video because I'm adding stuff in it that was not in the beta. What video you may ask? A video of me playing Star Wars: Battlefront. It is fairly funny, but keep in mind, I'm not a gamer on YouTube. I'm a producer and a screenwriter. So, I'm doing what I do best, editing some funny clips and stitching them into my gameplay. It's coming out by the end of the week, if I'm lucky I'll get some of it done today.

One more thing. Hook. I want to write up the post and I want to make the tribute video. However, I have determined that none of my recent remixes are good enough for a video on Hook. I need to come up with something that fits. To that end, I think I may end up mixing my own beat. Will I sample or go for something urban, who knows. However, the post goes up with the video and the video only goes up with proper music.

Back to Star Wars: Battlefront. I was not too disappointed when I heard there would be no maps from the Clone Wars. In fact, I liked that all the maps in the game would be from the Galactic Empire Era and that there would only be ten maps. I believe that DICE, given focus can make ten amazing maps and from the three that I have seen, it does appear that way. I love the online mode, as you will see. I love the fact that there is two player, couch co-op, splitscreen - whatever you call it - I have lamented about this in the past. One of my favorite two player games is Uncharted 3, the co-op is simple, just like Call of Duty but a lot more fun. I love that Star Wars: Battlefront at least has splitscreen but am disappointed that it may not extend to the online aspects of the game. Disappointing, but hopefully untrue but likely true. I hope that just like they are adding two maps from Jakku, in the future they my add co-op in an expansion. I still hope Destiny adds splitscreen in an expansion.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Small Future Update; More Remixes Out

 I have multiple projects incoming for all of you. I'm currently not working on Mesozoica, but news on that front will be coming soon. In news more related here, I do have a bunch of stuff to talk about.

  • So, like I've said, I have recorded some footage of me playing the Star Wars: Battlefront Beta. I've just been quite swamped right now and have yet to extract the footage from my PlayStation to my computer for editing. Once I do that, though, I will put the video up on YouTube for all of you to watch. Unsurprisingly, I'm badass at the game. Surprisingly, it barely ever shows when I'm recording.
  • I have a sequel to my post about Hook scheduled to come out. Now, I'd have put this post up already, except I have, as said, been swamped. The reason is, I want to make another tribute video, my first in months, about this film. I've created a remix to go with this tribute video, I've just yet to actually do it.
So those are three projects from me you can look out for in the upcoming future, a gameplay video, a special post and a brand new tribute video. Now, I have continued to make remixes. The thing about remixes, though, is that unless I have a video to go along with it, it does not go on YouTube. That is why the remix to the upcoming tribute video of Hook is not already on YouTube. As aforementioned, it goes to Vimeo. I already have a remix up on Vimeo, which you can view at this link.

However, I currently have several remixes converting on Vimeo. This includes my latest one, called Toppa, right here. I also have the one I made before that, called Complexxation converting here. Now, the third and final remix that I have converting there is called Run This Town, Version 3.0 and yes, it is an updated version of the Run This Town remix I already had on YouTube. I've included some vocals by Rihanna and Jay-Z to link it back to the original song. Some new vocals by Trey Songz. It also does not annoyingly cut out at the ending. Oh, and more verses from T.I., Kendrick Lamar and Mos Def. Version 3.0, where is 2.0? It's on my computer and you will likely never see it, even though it is better than 1.0, but not as good as 3.0. That final video is being converted at this link.

Now, as you may have noticed, I deleted the team page. Why? It's Yafisz and I on this blog, we don't need a page just to explain who we are. Our posts do that anyways. It's why, I have created to new Page Tabs, one which links to my YouTube account and one which links to my Vimeo account. This is so that if you're ever on the blog, you just easy access either. It just makes everything easier.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

New Prime Minister and Syriana

So Justin Trudeau is our new Prime Minister. Good job. I wanted a Liberal Party Victory, just so somebody who is younger, not too young mind you, becomes our country's leader. Stephen Harper wasn't much older than Trudeau when he became Prime Minister. Pierre Trudeau was older than Harper when he became Prime Minister. Yet the point that stands is that unlike Harper, both Trudeau politicians have accomplished one thing: they resonated with the crowd. From what I hear, Justin's approach is very different than his father's approach. Now, I wasn't alive when Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister, but I am alive because of what he did. I find it hilarious, though, that what people internationally are taking of our election is that Justin Trudeau is the "hottest" or "sexiest" world leader. It's probably true given that David Cameron look's like what you'd expect Margaret Thatcher's ass to look like. Yet, I'm glad, because Trudeau I am sure will do a lot of things that I feel will be best for this country.

Now, a lot of news came on the side as well. The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer came out and it looks amazing. However, I can already piece together the story. Finn crashlands on Earth and meets up with Rey. They join the rebellion and Finn becomes best friends with Poe Dameron. In their fight against the Empire and General Hux, Poe Dameron is captured by Kylo Ren and tortured on information on where to find the Rebels or Luke Skywalker. Finn accepts his duty as a Jedi and fights Ren while Rey rescues Poe. Since Finn isn't even a fully trained Jedi and Ren isn't a Sith, they both suck shit but Finn is winning until the rest of the Knights of Ren come. Finn retreats, they kill General Hux and stop the Empire to save the day. Just my theory. There won't be any post-credits stinger or anything, maybe a few leads to follow up or a The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers style ending rather than a typical Star Wars ending.

Oh, and I haven't written about Syria in a while. What I have to say, though, is that this fight was once between the FSA and the Syrian Government and at the core, it is still that. Eventually, the FSA led to what is now the Army of Conquest joining the conflict. This led the way for ISIL to make waves in the country. The US Government has long since supported the FSA and on the Syrian Government's side, maybe Hezbollah wasn't enough? Now, though, they have the power of Iran and yes, Russia, behind them. Russia is much larger and yes, let us admit, much more ruthless than the USA in their airstrikes. They will probably destroy a lot of ISIL advances just off of that. Now, people may bring up the Soviet-Afghan War as a reason why Russia may lose. Yet, who really lost that war? Yes, the Soviets retreated, but was Afghanistan the peaceful country it once was before the war after they left? Soviets could have stayed. They could have, but after what they had done, what was left to fight for? Russia can definitely do the same thing now, except this time, they have more supporters in the Syrian Government, Hezbollah and Iran. I know one thing, it doesn't seem like Assad will be going down.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Star Wars: Battlefront Beta Impressions

So remember when I had all those Destiny videos up before I realized they were shit and took them down? Yeah, I've recorded another gaming video, this time on the Star Wars: Battlefront Beta. However, I figured before I edit and upload them I'll talk about it. Way back when, Rogers Communications used to have stores out in town where you could rent movies and video games. I know, kind of like Blockbuster except they wanted a lot more than that. So, I rented out and played the shit out of a game called Star Wars: Battlefront with my cousin. We loved it and gave it back. Then we saw it in the store: Star Wars: Battlefront II. At EB Games, I bought it and it was so much better, just incredible really. Along this time I got the two Lego Star Wars games as well and they were fantastic, never mind I was never able to finish the third one due to a game breaking glitch. What I'm trying to say is, I love Star Wars video games.

Now, the thing I loved about the original two Battlefront games is that it provided amazing third person shooter action. I love TPS games, they are so great. Down to Uncharted from Crash Bandicoot, I've always loved playing in the third person. So I was disappointed when this game started off in the first-person perspective. Yet, then I made third person mode my primary and dang did I get good. Right away, I led the team in kills like three matches in a row. Yeah, there's some stuff I don't really get like that booster jump but honestly, I love this game so far. So yeah, in my recordings I don't do so hot all the time but when I edit and put it up you'll see, you'll all see...

So anyways, yeah, screw First-Person Shooter mode. TPS all the way. I never played FPS mode in the original two and I'm not going to play it in this one. I love Third Person Shooters, there is just something about them.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Dinosaur Battlegrounds - A Fellow Project

I know I've sort of neglected this blog a little bit as of recent and Yafisz has disappeared somewhere, but I'm here to talk more about news. First of which is that I have a very special post coming out soon, one that is again about the movie Hook. I've talked about this topic before in a post I made called Remembering Hook, which was a passionate response to an article by Travis Vogt and not the most professional thing that I've written. However, I've been known to go off and say some pretty crazy stuff on this blog, Yafisz more so. As a consequence, Remembering Hook Part Two will be an actual endeavor in this topic which will be coherent.

However, what I really want to talk about today is sort of a tangent to what I've been talking about recently, Mesozoica. Now, I am a video editor, producer, coder and screenwriter. I could have adopted any one of those roles in the project, but I chose screenwriter. Why? I have been given the chance to work with YouTubers like The Gaming Beaver or BestinSlot and am able to craft an entire world. I actually announced my involvement as screenwriter in my review of The Order: 1886, but only elaborated the day after in a post that talked about other upcoming games as well. The next post kind of elaborates my troubled history in the game development business. While after that I promoted the Megalodon, talked about delaying Kickstarter and that was the first post of a series of events which radically changed the course of the game. I had to elaborate on what this meant and later confirm the game would no longer look like it did in the UI Tech Demo. Before long, we were back on track with the Originals, and a temporary website. Well, then we went to Kickstarter and I did my damndest to try and promote the campaign while also putting up the Pre-Alpha, Version 1.6.2. That brings us to today, we have officially reached our goal and I can happily confirm that the game will indeed be made. As such, I wanted to talk a little bit about other indie games. One of these I talked abut in one of those very first posts I've linked to.

This project is undoubtedly Dinosaur Battlegrounds, now given that we are on our last legs of Kickstarter they gave us a shout out on their Facebook page. So I feel the appropriate thing to do is let all of you guys know about their project. They have a much larger team than the one we do over at Mesozoica, but their team is equally talented. We share one member in fact, Adrian Brown. He is the animator for both of our projects. Out of all the other games, Prehistoric Kingdom and Saurian included, I am most excited for Dinosaur Battlegrounds. It promises a game that takes elements from MMORPGs, survival games, action adventure games and a dynamic sandbox. They are working with real paleontologists to ensure that there is a degree of accuracy that no other game promises. Essentially they are carving out an entirely new genre in video gaming and I am so glad they are doing it. You get to play as a dinosaur and survive in an open world, best part, you can do it with your friends as well. For more information, check it out here.

Now, Adrian Brown is also working on his own project, called T-rex World and it also looks really fun. It is a battle game set in Hell Creek where you play as the Tyrannosaurus Rex and fight your enemies to completion. The game looks incredibly detailed and great and I recommend you look forward to it as well. Check it out here.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Mesozoica Pre-Alpha Released

Okay guys, so after years of trying, and on my blog's history you can probably see my history of this, I tried to make an indie game. It never really did work until now. Mesozoica that is. We're on Kickstarter and are now 86% funded with 6 days left. We are in the final stretch now and it really is now or never to see our dreams come true. Of course I have many dreams, this is just the one that has been profiled the most on this blog. So even a $5 pledge will help, so here is the link to Kickstarter.

Other news on the game, though, is that we have officially released our Pre-Alpha. Now keep in mind, this Pre-Alpha must be downloaded from MediaFire because I did not want to change WordPress' code too much to fit it on the game website. Get it while you can because at this point, who knows how this Kickstarter will turn out. Download it from here.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Mesozoica Pre-Alpha Release September 24th

So, I have not updated this blog since I posted about the Mesozoica project approaching $30,000. At that time we were not extremely close to that goal, but at this point, I am proud to say that we are at $40,010 and are officially 80% finished our goal. With 10% of the goal left and twelve days to accomplish it, I am myself nearly 100% confident that we will make it. Of course I have to account for shit happens, but if we continue on this pace I will say that we are in a lock to make it.\

Anyways, the reason I am posting this is because the tentative release date of Pre-Alpha Version 1.6 is approaching, in fact it is coming this Thursday the 24th. Initially it was scheduled for this Monday, as in yesterday, but we could not because, shit happens. I'm saying tentative because shit could still happen. However, the reason I have been preoccupied is because I was working with the code of the Mesozoica website in order to make sure that when this download link is put up, the website does not crash like I believe it did for Prehistoric Kingdom. There is still a chance, a slight chance, but, let's face it, this is me we're talking about.

On Thursday, download and play pre-alpha from here and pledge your allegiance at Kickstarter here.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Help Us Get To 30K by Sunday - Get Mesozoica Closed Alpha

Okay, so the Kickstarter for Mesozoica is really gearing up now. We have 18 days left, which is a little under three weeks. In our first week, we made 40% of our goal. Now, by the end of our second week, we want to make 60%. That would be $30,000 by Sunday. If we do, on our website, link here, I will put up the ZIP file containing the Mesozoica Closed Alpha.

Now if everyone who views this post backs us by only $5 and becomes a part of the development process, we would get so much closer to our goal and to making this game a reality. Currently we are at $23,360 as I type and will likely hit between $24k-$25k by the end of the night. I would really greatly appreciate it if all you guys backed the project so that many of us on the project can live our dreams. Besides, who knows what we can work on next if this is a success.

To guarantee you guys that this will likely be a success. Most projects that are successes hit 30% of their goal within the first 48 hours, we did that. As long as a project hits at least 60% of the goal before the final two days of the campaign, it will likely receive a 40% surge in backing. We want to get to that 60% as soon as possible and are only 13% away.

Link to Kickstarter is here.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Mad Max Reviews Impressions

Yes, I got the new Mad Max game. It is the second series to come out in the gameplay style of Batman: Arkham Asylum, the first being Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. What are my impressions of it? Well I really, really, really like the game. It is very different from those two, but from a gameplay perspective, feels very familiar. Chances are, it will get a sequel. It was released on the same day as Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Both are very good games, except Kojima's last game in that series makes it the end of an era, so obviously it is being hailed as the better game.

Yet, what that resulted in was an initial criticism of Mad Max, many people citing bugs to be the reason it wasn't as good, or the storyline or gameplay. Most of the reviews that lamented these criticisms did not say that it was ever really bad, just that it was not up to par. Since then, some reviews have come to light, one in particular stating "soothing dullness" and only one other calling critics out on their shit by saying "MGSV Completely Overshadowed How Good Mad Max Is". In fact, that is the article that inspired mine right now.

The thing is, that both of these games demand a lot of time from you and releasing them on the same day is a big mistake. You can argue one game as more superior than the other one or enjoy both. However, here is the thing, say you have both games, which do you play first? Which do you spend more time on? They are both lengthy and addictive experiences. I have a friend who told me a person he knows has already logged in 24 hours to Mad Max. So why not have released both weeks apart from each other? Well, maybe Mad Max will have lagging sales in comparison to Kojima's game, but they certainly will be respectable numbers. There is also another positive to this, now people actually know about this property as a video game. Once they finish Kojima's game, they will no doubt be heading over to play this one.

I have not played Kojima's latest game. I've never really been into the Metal Gear series. I've thought that Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance looked cool and thought about picking it up, but I have way too many unfinished games on the PS3 to do that. I have Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but never bothered finishing it. Maybe I'll go back and do that before I try this one. What I do recommend, though, if you have Kojima's latest production is finish it before you get Mad Max, but get the latter nonetheless because you will not regret it.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Mesozoica New Website and Kickstarter Up

I probably should have posted about this when it actually started. However, I did not so I am doing it now. Mesozoica has a new website up, to which I will actually divide some of my time. I am in charge of that website and have posted there frequently as well. That website has a very cool design and you should be able to check it out here. The website has a forum which you can join and become a part of the Mesozoica community.

On a more serious note, which I am going to need your guys' help for, the Mesozoica Kickstarter has launched. Personally, I have had my doubts about Kickstarter primarily because the only ones I have really ever seen succeed have aimed for a relatively low amount or have been made by big companies, like InXile Entertainment for Wasteland 2 or Torment: Tides of Numenara. For Underdog Interactive to launch a Kickstarter for Mesozoica at $30,000 made me have my doubts, for $50,000 I was in awe. Most Kickstarters fail if they do not reach 30 % of their goal within the first forty eight hours. Mesozoica has completed that goal.

We are nearly at $16,000 and nearly 32 % funded. This is a big deal. If everybody who liked Mesozoica on Facebook just gave $10 then the project would be funded. It doesn't work like that. However, I'm asking you guys for help. Minimum donation is $5, and the link to back the project is right here. Just five bucks is all I'm asking of you guys, and I know there's a lot of you so.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Micro-Reviews

So, just because I feel I owe this blog a post, I am starting something called Micro-Reviews. Recently I saw two films, No Escape and The Transporter Refueled. Both of the films have not receieved glamorous reviews, but both of the movies do deserve better. They are no Fant4astic for sure, so stop treating them like they are.

No Escape:

So, what people may not remember about Owen Wilson is that even though he started off in comedies like Bottle Rocket and The Cable Guy, he got famous from action movies like Anaconda, Armageddon, The Huanting and Behind Enemy Lines. In between those films, his projects proved his true talent lied in comedies, but he was never a bad action star. With this film, he returns to the genre, trying to launch maybe a Liam Neeson like return. Or is that Pierce Brosnan that is trying it? Either way, Owen Wilson and Lake Bell display amazing acting all throughout the film. As one dimensional as Pierce Brosnan is, his acting suits his role and gives off the subtlety that is required to make his character work. Thing about this movie is that people are saying that the Asian characters are "one dimensional" and are calling racism. Most of the people saying that are white old men who can only argue from behind a keyboard. The emphasis of this film is on the white characters and quite frankly, this is a perfectly reasonable situation. I'm not white and I completely understand where the Asian characters are coming from. These are angry and hurt people who feel betrayed by their own government. They are looking for somebody responsible and see only one solution. It makes sense. Throughout the film we see helpful Asians, not everybody is a douche. Oh but what about that one guy who wanted the shoes? That man is risking his life to save an entire family. The least he can get are J's. The movie is not racist or retrograde or whatever critics are calling it.

7/10

The Transporter Refueled:

I don't think people expected much from this movie and did not want to be blown away. The film features great acting from Loan Chabanol, who is pretty much the main character of this movie through her role as Anna. She plays the tragic and fractured dame with a plan and a gun. Yes, we can pull off Ray Stevensen as being a sexist Casanova, but this film is not aiming to break new grounds in sexism like Mad Max: Fury Road did. No, it is rather instead trying to give a good time. It gives its great acting through Chabanol and through Ed Skrein gives a great time. There is exposition where is expected and action where needed. The person in the theatre should not ever feel bored and the film is a great romp. No, it isn't that new Nick Nolte movie or whatever that is, but if you want to have a fun time and not a fucking epiphany, watch this.

6/10

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Fan4tastic Review

So, before I get into the review of the new Fantastic Four, I'm going to talk about a couple of things. First, the theater is empty, so this is going to be a new kind of review, one where I type my thoughts out while the film is playing. Dude at the counter told me I was the only one who had bought a ticket. I went back home and got my laptop.

Okay, so the movie starts out talking about Eli Manning. I can only assume that it is Ben Grimm. Not a bad tactic to get all of the football fans to love your movie, which we know they didn't, nobody did. So as the opening credits are playing, we see a young Reed Richards walking toward the front of the class which is hosted by... holy fuck it's Dan Castellaneta, the guy who voices Homer Simpson. Wait, don't you have to bring your parents with you to Career Day? Shit, I ain't writing this shit fast enough... Fantasticar! Also, that squinty eyed kid in the back is probably the Eli Manning kid, which means he's probably Ben. Yeah, he's Ben, but he's not the Eli Manning kid? Fuck Eli Manning. So Ben's brother does say "It's clobbering time"... lol. Ah shit, Reed's a thief, which means he and Ben will fall in love until Sue drives them apart and Ben falls for Johnny! The Fagtastic Four! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyways, at this point, the film is completely fine, nothing really wrong with it. Okay, so they're going to teleport, something, missed what it was because I was typing for you! Ah, it was a car! Now, just saying, if that kid at the beginning was talking about Eli Manning, why does Reed have a Super Nintendo? Why not a PS3/4 or hell, even a 2? Is his dad that cheap? And the dad's a dick too. When Reed says "NOW!" and Ben goes "HOOOOOH!". Wait, seven years later? Is Miles Teller playing a 14 year old? No way that kid was 13, maybe 10/11? So, Reed is 17/18 as played by Miles Teller? I'm feeling like Ben with this continuity: "HOOOOH!".

Okay, so they're still in high school... 5th grade... I can work this out... 17? 17! Maybe 16? But 17! Wait, wait, wait? Reed you launched the beta before the fucking alpha? Wait, Ben didn't bring the fucking car? What the fuck Ben? Also, Reed got disqualified for magic? Well, Criss Angel's on your side Reed! That kid calls him a dick? You got to watch some free Criss Angel! Fuck you kid! Also, black guy inbound. Reg E. Cathey and The Wire isn't on? Should I care? Also, hey Kate Mara! Woah Reg, way to just lay your life story on Reed. Okay, he was just talking about his own job (why should anyone care, in film, not the audience) and why is Ben still chewing and staring at Reg? Okay, how about those two introduce themselves to Reed and Ben before handing them random rocks? So, he tells where he's from, his daughter's name and hands Reed a fucking scholarship and doesn't give a fuck about Ben. Wait, though. He DOESN'T GIVE HIS FUCKING NAME! Hey New York, I guess Ben's all pissed now that Reed got the scholarship and he got jack shit, BECAUSE SINCE WHEN IS MECHANICS A PART OF ENGINEERING? Baxter Building looks cool. Did Reed make a forever gum for Ben or does he just take different strips all the time? Okay, no fucking scholarship for Ben confirmed! Why did he hold all of Reed's bags? To give him a swiss knife? Reed's an asshole. Did Kate Mara just get more blonde? Is she playing a 17 year old too? Isn't she like 35? Wow, Reed is awkward. Also, Sue and I have similar thoughts on music, except I analyze it through mathematics because fuck that stupid music language. Solresol. Yeah, fuck solresol. New resources? Planet in danger? Does... does... does... this movie take place during an energy crisis? Because as much as the media wants you to believe, we're not in an energy crisis, yet. So if von Doom isn't a hacker, why is he dressed like one? So this von Doom loves Sue as well? Aside from the intro, this movie seems to be just like the last first one. Oh hey Reed, someone supersized your machine! Reed almost created a black hole? It wouldn't have swallowed like some pornstar Sue, it would've crushed. Wait, so we've just explained Victor's entire situation, why do we go through it again? Didn't Victor have longer hair? So Victor's an asshole... hey that's actually great! Reed noooo! Your little accident leads to the Super Mario Bros movie! Don't go there! That was a good speech. Hey another black guy! It's Adonis Creed, I mean Johnny Storm! Johnny's dusting asses? Does he work as a maid? If so, why the car from SuperFast? Oh look, it starts late, he'll probably still win. Oh hey, Johnny Storm pulls a Paul Walker from The Fast & The Furious! Hey, Johnny is related to the first black guy! Perhaps I'd have known that if they gave the first black guy a fucking name! Well, did that one white guy call him Dr. Storm? Yeah, yeah, he did! But still! If I had just gone under that assumption I could've believed he was Johnny and - oh Johnny be in shit from pops! "I'm not wearing a lab coat." Way to stick it to the man Johnny. Shit, Johnny be looking like Drake and be making Hitler jokes. New paragraph, wait, I can make Hitler jokes too:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a9/3e/de/a93ede6fbbef495163fd95d3848f5b83.jpg
See, I can use memes too!

I wonder if they'll say flame retardant or opt out for the more used resistant? Personally I prefer retardant and given that this movie is critic retardant I feel like they should use it. Also, Johnny said shit, they must say retardant! Very well done soundtrack during this scene where they're all working though. Very well done. Fuck you solresol or whatever the fuck it is. Hey Reed is bonding with Victor and they're eating takeout! Oh, and the power of montages brings Johnny into the mix as well! Michael B. Jordan is a great actor, though. Oh, and look, they cut from the montage to explain him coming into the mix to cut to another montage! FUCK YOU KINBERG! Also, fuck montages no matter how good the music. Kind of funny because I only make montages. Never mind. I love montages, I just don't love when they're split like that. It's okay for you to take a nap, Reed, we won't judge you. Hey look, Victor's jealous? Remember in the first film when Sue and Victor were actually pretty much engaged but then they just leaked, like ink, or Kid Ink. Quite being unprofessional Reed you asshole! So where's Ben in the middle of this? Applying for fucking Stony Brook? Reed you asshole! So is Harvey supposed to be a villain or something? Hey look a CGI monkey, that's where the budget went! Normal count? What happened to t-minus? So the monkey is on the Negative Zone, right? Does it become a supervillain too? Oh my God, that monkey lands on an alternate Earth and we get Tim Burton's The Planet of the Apes! "HOOOOH!" Origin of our species? Okay, so is this universe also going through an identity crisis? Aside from religion, Darwin already answered that question Dr. Storm. Hell, aside from being a shitty parent, you're also a shitty scientist. Awkward fist bump-pat-shake. Doom is an asshole, but that's supposed to be expected. So far, Kebbell's Dr. Doom isn't bad. It's not the crown prince of whatever country he's from, but he's still not bad. Better than Julian McMahon (FIIIIRED!) so far. Doom claims that the man behind the Apollo missions probably died penniless. Abe Silverstein did not die penniless. Could this be a dig at the way Marvel treated Jack Kriby, you know, the guy who created all of this? They're drunk, can they even comprehend Doom's speech? Now Reed is a stupid drunk, also an asshole. Oh hey Ben, how's Stony Brook, you know, the university you had to go into because you got no credit for helping build the machine that you helped build. Okay, so now Reed gives Ben credit when he wants him to come along... so why didn't Ben, a mechanic, get the fucking scholarship? I'd reckon he knows the machine better than anyone, so why wasn't he there before? I like this idea, though, of them sneaking and taking the mission. What I don't like, is Ben getting no credit at all and Sue not going on the mission. Them being drunk isn't really that big of a deal. The movie has been solid so far. Oh hey Ben, it's a mega version of the machine you helped build with your design just without you this time. Another montage? It's fine, though. As much as I said I didn't like montages I actually do, but just without annoying cuts in the middle of them. In fact, that was a problem of the original movie... that and the fact that the nurse wore a Halloween costume! I think Toby Kebbell would have made a better Thing. Did Kate Mara just get less blonde? It'd be funny if they went to Los Angeles and woke up to find themselves at Bryan Singer's pool parties. Nope, they're on another planet. CGI isn't as bad as people say. Did Doom just joygasm?  "Hey Victor come see this" "Energy is coming from there", not even a "no". Vic you just ignored him completely! Why didn't Jamie Bell change his accent for the role? Victor, energy cannot be alive. Energy is merely power, and thus measured in watts or joules/seconds. Way to piss the planet of Victor. Wow, what happened to Victor does make you feel bad, especially because at this point the movie has been done well. Consensus at this point: Although it has a few mistakes, mostly regarding Ben Grimm and Dr. ? Storm, Fant4astic is a decently done film up until the point Victor falls in green energy. Wait, so the exploding computer gives Sue her powers? So Ben gets pummeled by rocks and Johnny by fire, how does the computer change Sue? ex Machina that's why. This scene has very bad lighting. So Ben is now just a big cocoon? Area 57? Location Classified? It's a movie, just tell us where it is? And why 57? Did somebody accidentally hit the 7 instead of the 1? That's gross. Their survival in the last movie always confounded me. Those last two weren't bad movies, it's just they had the pleasure of being adapted from a comic book. After stuff like X2: X-Men United that Marvel bar was set very high, Tim Story had no chance. That voice isn't bad, but it's not what I expected. Reed leaving is pretty sad. Good movie so far, I'll say it again. Reed leaving Ben like that really hammers it in that he is an asshole. 1 year later? What the fuck? I knew this would happen, just not that abruptly... that feels very, very, very... awkward. I'll just assume this is where it all goes to hell and next paragraph.

Now, narration over a montage in a computer screen? No, I'd rather actually see time pass while these guys learn their powers. One year later was very bad. Johnny Storm flying seems oddly placed and that there could be better ways to show off his powers. See, we didn't need to see their powers in a video if we were just going to see it here again. We should've just seen their powers being used in, I guess a The Lion King-esque, sequence to show time pass. That would have been more appropriate. Either that or they all escape together and show a time lapse of their powers in eluding the military. Still not a bad film, but it's definitely not a good one either now. From a B film it has gone to C+. Now see, did the colour of the Human Torch's skin really matter if he was going to be orange regardless? Why show Ben if your just going to show us how many he has killed? Holy fuck they just told us his first name? It's Franklin! HEEYYY IT'S FRAAANKLIN! Did Kate Mara just get way more blonde again? Like total blonde. The problem with a film based off of Fantastic Four is you have to start at the origin, but if you do that, then you have to develop four leads, not just one. You can't choose one like Singer did Wolverine for X-Men, all need to be equals. Kate Mara just got less blonde. Also, once you've done that, sure you've built up a good story and all, but it has taken time and you've made something boring so far. So you can insert bits of action here and there but it will not all make sense. So you insert a villain. The thing is, not all Fantastic Four villains are good and those that are usually have intrinsic history with the team so you need to develop that as well. There is too much material for a film. Maybe an HBO show could work. Okay, so Reed can change his face like that? That's actually a good idea. Reed's homemade suit looks better than the professional ones. I get the cure for Ben, but I never actually get why these guys wanted cures. Superpowers are awesome! So Reed is going back, I feel like this is going to be a dropped subplot. Captain Nemo? Is there some symbolism behind that? I don't feel it and I've read The Mysterious Island and being Indian myself, I feel I would know. Anyways, misdirected symbolism. This is a pretty cool action sequence now. Started to feel reminiscent of the very first comic. That headbutt. What the fuck? No seriously, what the fuck was that? Holy fuck, no, the time lapse made this a 70% movie from an 80% one. That single headbutt makes this 55 % now. Ben's voice isn't that bad now, it sounded worse before, but, it's not too bad. Is it even Jaime Bell now, though? I mean aside from the mo-cap. Ben is completely justified in his actions. Is that single pod abandoned? Why even show it? You could have explained it later. Honestly, I have no doubt that if this movie had at least thirty more minutes after one year later to better flesh out the characters, this movie would have been much better. Oh, and no headbutt. That shit shouldn't even hurt a man made of rubber. "This is your chance" - fuck off Sue. Hey, as if we didn't see this thing before. "Made it ugly?" - really dude, that's an asshole thing to say. Source code? Did you write in C#, that's what I write in. Hey, it's a white Franklin Storm! So Johnny only just found out Reed is back. I feel like Trank could have made an amazing movie from the footage he shot, but just from pressure failed. I know what that feels like, but he is the director. He should own up and admit that this is his fault. Another launch and what are they doing? Okay, so different scientists are out there now. You can simply say that the landscape is now orange instead of green. Now, here is the thing. The director makes the movie. The studio can interfere but that is their right, this is their movie, it is simply the director who is making it. A man can commission a bridge, but only the engineer can make it work. The commissioner can change - hey Victor looks like a classic Dr. Doom! - what he wants in the bridge and the engineer should accommodate. The commissioner shouldn't make these changes halfway through, though, but if he does, the engineer accommodates. Yet they should make their plan beforehand and stick to that, as a show of faith so that the engineer does not get frustrated and make the bridge so everyone dies. Okay, if Ben thought he was ugly he should look at Doom and think: "Yeah, I got off lucky". I feel that the spacesuit should have just fused with his face, because I don't think he had body scarring. Why don't his lips move? Cool voice, though, Kebbell does great voices. Okay, this entire sequence is - he has telekinesis - shoddy. He just goes insane after they strap him up? Why not have him kill the astronauts who went to Planet Zero and come in guns ablaze instead of coming in, lying down and then doing this. The film feel incredibly rushed at this point. Doom's massacre moves this film up to 57 % though because this is fairly cool right now. I think Kebbell will do a great job in Kong: Skull Island. Oh hey Reed, running away again? Holy fuck Ben just said what I typed! 58 % for that boys! Oh hey Johnny, how about you look before you strike. Oh Dr. Storm's going to die. You're not a God Franklin, but Victor is. Earth is dying? But Franklin's dead. See, this is the thing, is this Earth slightly dystopian? Is there a resources problem. This has been hinted at several times, but never elaborated on. There is a severe lack of information. And Johnny bounced off the portal. This lack of information puts this down to 52 % because DC You. Portal ex machina. Yeah, no shit Reed, pulled your asshole ass in too. This is some fairly good CGI right now, but these guys aren't a team. They literally just reunited like three hours ago. There has only been interaction between Reed and Ben, Reed and Sue & Johnny and Sue. There should be hefty interaction between all four to make this work. Doom ripping trees right now and not having a fleshed out character can be easily summed up to villain ex machina, Marvel has gotten away with it several times. Just by focusing on the four, they could have had a sequel where they properly explored Doom even though they leave him mostly stock in this one. Hey Sue, cause that blast didn't work before, try it again, right? This action sequence isn't bad, but doesn't work right with the pacing of this film. "Why do we fall, Master Reed? So we can pick ourselves up again.". Okay, so Reed just beat him? Four great actors, one incredibly rushed movie. Hey, Victor knows how to pick himself up too! How does any of this hurt Reed? He's made out of rubber now! Way to channel that childhood anger Ben, you just killed another man, this time by disintegration. Wait? It's done? That's all it took? Johnny's contribution was meaningless and they just created a crater. Why not give these guys the Baxter Building? What is this cabin the woods? Who's this old guy? Central City, that's from the old comics I read from the library. Say that again? Go fuck yourself.

Okay, it's over. Honestly, the main problem with this movie, is that it tries to follow a strange three act narrative that doesn't work. Like I said, because of this, the lack of information is severe. There is no real theme present. It is constantly shifting. There should be more information. Why is Earth dying? There needed to be at least thirty minutes more in this film to see the characters develop. The only team interaction we really see beyond a fight scene is that last minute when they are deciding the name. That last scene is what the thirty minutes in this film should have been like. It goes from point A to C while missing B. This could have been a good film, not great, but good and entitled to a sequel. Now, though... no. Like I said, 52 % is what this gets from me.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Review

I want to watch Fant4stic, I had high hopes for it and expected that it would probably be good. Yet it seems like every MCU fanboy's dream of the movie bombing spectacularly everywhere but the box office, where I still expect it will do well, has come true. I wanted the film to do good just so those guys would be disappointed. Yet I still want to watch it. After the first batch of reviews, which sucked, came out I began to feel fearful for other movies. Of course, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation quickly restored my faith in cinema, but more on that later. Every supposed report from an insider that the film was in trouble seems to have been true to a degree. Yet the worst part, the reviews indicate great acting and amazing first act as well. Apparently, though, the short runtime makes it so that the second act is so mangled that the third act cannot breathe and ruins what we thought of the first act. Yeah, but I still want to see it. Yet it scared me about backstage reports. Remember when people were saying that Tobey Maguire might win an Oscar for Pawn Sacrifice, I was excited. Except a new backstage report from an insider is saying that apparently he was too method in his acting and that the rough cut was horrible. It cites Star Magazine for this but doesn't include the link. Also, remember, this film was finished for a while, it's just that the price they were selling it to distributors was too high or something. It has several good reviews already out and only one negative. Could mean something, could be nothing. Hopefully it is nothing, because that movie seems fantastic, but we all know what that means. Oh, and it says Maguire was an asshole on set, but I thought we all knew that.

Now, on to the review. It has been a long time since I saw a film in the Mission: Impossible series. I remember a little bit of the third one, the beginning, you know, where that chick dies, her funeral and Ethan Hunt dumping ice or something. The rest is a blur. I remember a diner scene in the first one. I don't remember the second one and for some reason, all I remember of the last one is the prison escape scene in the beginning. I remember them all being fairly good, though and reading that Tom Cruise nearly killed himself filming this. So I was expecting this to be good as well.

Yeah, it was good. We get great acting from Tom Cruise, but do we really expect any less? We get great acting from everyone but the villain. Sean Harris has a horrible whiney weasley voice in this that just throws his character off. It would be best if he spoke much less than he did, because he does have a presence, which he eradicates every time he talks. Now, director Chirstopher McQuarrie has not directed much, but check out his films he has worked with Tom Cruise a lot. This film, Jack Reacher, Valkyrie and the Edge of Tomorrow. So understandably we know that the direction is going to be great because of the clear chemistry between the director and the lead actor. Here is the thing, though. This movie is great because it hits every beat we expect it to hit. The good guy is disavowed, but his former employers cannot catch him. His former friend calls in another friend to help him and they have an "if you're lying" moment. Heroine offers to run away with the hero. Good guy's friend seemingly leaves him and betrays him to try and help him only for it to be a ruse. There are a lot of cliches in this film, but they all work. Why? We expect them to happen, which is why they usually don't happen, or the producers try to circumvent them with some stupid plan. No, having this cliches happen actually ties into the film's theme and that is great. This movie is great, watch it.

8/10 - watch this film over Fant4astic, but I still want to watch that movie even though I have now seen what it should have been.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Ride It - Yasiin Bey & Pharrell Ft. Jay Sean

Yes, I know "Ride It" is a song by Jay Sean but I use him so minimally in this remix that it did not really matter. Oh, and yes, I know I said I was done with remixes for a while, and I am, this is the start of something new. Consider my first six remixes to be just that: my first season. This new season is going to start of similar, but it will soon diverge in a big way. Anyways, I did not make an accompanying video for this remix, which is why I did not upload it to YouTube. Rather it is up on Vimeo.

Check it out and enjoy it if you will. Listen to it here.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

New Mesozoica Website Up

So, the last Mesozoica wesbite was a forum. After everything that happened, Max put it under maintenance and later it shut down. However, we have accomplished enough work on the project that we feel confident relaunching the website. There is no forum, anymore, however. That kind of discussion will have to wait. While I loved interacting with fans on the forum, Facebook will have to do. You can check it out here.

Yes, yes, the home page is just selling it and the features page I've told you all about before. Look at the Dino-Pedia, it is a comprehensive display of all dinosaurs that we've unveiled to the public thus far. There will also be other additional dinosaurs that we've not revealed yet. Check it out, it'll be cool to see I suppose.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Have We Become Too Negative?

Now, I hated X-Men: The Last Stand because Cyclops died and many casual movie fans were disappointed with it. It was not a bad film, not at all, but it was disappointing. Spider-Man 3 is not a bad movie at all. Hell, the negativity that surrounds the movie seems to have convinced Sam Raimi that he made a bad film. No, it was disappointing because Venom, who is popular to fans and casual viewers, was not done right. Why do I open with that? There was no negativity surrounding the release of both of those films, there really wasn't any negativity afterwards if you look it up, just disappointment. No, the negativity is more recent.

Man of Steel came out and there was no disappointment, there were either people who loved it, or hated it. I have covered that extensively on this blog. In not one of those posts is the word 'disappointment' mentioned. Sure I may have alluded to feelings of disappointment or dismay, but whenever I did that I used it as a device to show you something? What you may ask? To show you not that people were disappointed how Man of Steel turned out, but how it did not resemble a Christopher Reeve film. How it was not humorous like a Marvel Entertainment film. They were not disappointed with the quality of the film like you could say for Spider-Man 3, no, they were disappointed with a quality that they hated did not work in the film. They hated it for not being what they wanted. If not done perfectly, tailor made to the minds of every fanboy, your product will receive a huge amount of negativity.

Look at the new Fantastic Four, people are angry that Johnny Storm is black. They hate it. They have not seen the film and are finding reasons to bash it and destroy it. You may say they have seen tv spots and trailers and that their reasons are justified. No, they made these reasons when Josh Trank was announced as director. Just like Yafisz postulates Alex Leadbeater does with the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer, these fanboys just used promotional material to find further reason to hate the film. What am I trying to say here? Well, let me give you another example. Recently the Undertaker returned to the WWE, interrupting a championship match and attacking Brock Lesnar. Now WWE is a television show much like Arrow or Hannibal and it is scripted. People loved his return, but as Yafisz pointed out on a forum somewhere, a vocal minority destroyed the return, claiming it was out of character, done badly, he is too old, should retire. You can look for Yafisz's post somewhere, but the point is, as Matt Fowler of IGN said in response to that reaction: "We've become way too comfortable crapping all over everything". That speaks volumes about our attitude and as Yafisz has been trying to promote a more positive environment, honestly, I'm going to tell you that yes. This blog has shat on movies before they've come out, but our criticism had been well deserved and towards movies that YOU KNEW were going to be bad (like Annie), not towards something like X-Men: Apocalypse or Penny Dreadful that has potential.

So there you have it, try and be positive guys. Don't be that guy who tries to ruin the Transformers movies for you because there's only explosions. If you like that, enjoy it and ignore that guy. Be hopeful about everything, be positive.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Remebering X-Men: The Last Stand

I wasn't very old when X-Men: The Last Stand came out. I loved Cyclops, he was my favorite X-Man. I loved his movie costume, I loved the fact that it was some black military strike team outfit with the visor. While I didn't hate the comic book costume, I liked it in fact, I hated the one that covered his hair. It seemed so impractical to me. It made him look like a standing blue Xavier to me. I didn't really care much for Wolverine, but I always thought that he was cool.

What I liked about each movie was the structure. We had the threat, first Magneto, then Stryker. We had the X-Men under Cyclops. Wolverine as the lead. Then there was the mutant of the movie. In the first one it was Rogue and then it was Nightcrawler. In the third one it was supposed to be Angel. There is one episode from the old X-Men: Evolution show I watched as a child that I'll single out as great, that is the episode where Angel debuts. That was a great episode. Then when this movie's tv spots started to come out, I was confused. There was barely any Cyclops. I was scared that he wouldn't be in the movie. I saw a poster and he was in it, but way in the back and grew even more scared that he might die. Then it came out to theatres, and then finally to DVD when I watched it. Around that time, TV Spots had come out again reminding me of my fears.

I didn't like the movie because it killed Cyclops. Not that it killed him early, but that he died at all. I loved it when Wolverine killed Jean Grey, if I had my younger feelings now, rewatching that scene I would say: "FUCK THAT BITCH!". Magneto was always cool. I liked the Iceman/Pyro dynamic. Everything felt fine, if not too much, but they killed Cyclops. That is perhaps another reason why X-Men: Days of Future Past is so great, it wipes this movie's stupidity away from our minds.

Monday, July 20, 2015

The Death of Two Player

Now this post is going to be slightly more intimate, and I'm back, I'm not Yafisz. So, it was recently announced that Halo 5: Guardians would not have couch co-op. Now, I have a few problems with that statement and I am taking issue with them right here and right now. I never had an Xbox or an Xbox 360, but my friends did and one time, when they rented (yes, renting games used to be a thing) Halo 3: ODST we played it all night. Whether we couch co-op'd the story mode or couch co-op'd the multiplayer maps of Halo 3, we were couch co-op-ing. Now, all of a sudden, the next Halo game doesn't even have couch co-op. I once built up my entire gaming part on this blog simply to show off the couch co-op capabilities of Halo: Reach, I called it Halo Hunter back then.

Here is the thing, though, back then, there was no such thing as "couch co-op". You know what there was? Two player. Back then, simply playing in the same room as your friends was two player or three player or four player. Now there is online and there is couch co-op. There is no more two player, but you know what, I'm going to refer to it as two player anyways. As soon as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released and the sales of that game rocketed, there was a sudden shift of focus from the story to the multiplayer. Honestly, nobody plays Call of Duty for the story, the just want zombies or online. That is the entire truth. As soon as that happened, a focus came on how to get people to play online rather than together with two player. Yes, it had already happened on the Xbox 360 with the Halo series, but that was more niche and people still obsess about the story of that game as much as they do online.

When I got my PlayStation 4 I got the Destiny bundle. Silly me thinking I'd be able to play Destiny with my friends who are in the same room. The only PS4 game of mine that does let me do that? WWE 2K15. Yes, Diablo 3 exists out there and has an epic two player mode and I might get it. Other two player games for the PS4? LittleBigPlanet and Rayman. There are definitely more, but none that really have a valuable mode for two player. Sword Coast Legends looks like it might, but I would only get that if it is like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and not too confusing with the D&D stuff they always thrust into those games. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End will probably have two player modes to supplement online like they did for the last game. One thing to note, though, it will be supplementing online and not really have emphasis as a feature of its own. Honestly, I guess this is just a small message saying that I miss the days of two player and wish that they come back, properly and without the requirement of a Wii U.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Ant-Man Review

So the MCU's Phase 2 has finished off now, with Ant-Man being the final film there. Out of all of Phase 2, though, I will say that Ant-Man is the best. It seems the most dissociated from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and unlike Thor: The Dark World or Guardians of the Galaxy, it is a film that could stand on its own without being connected to the MCU. Let us face it, had Guardians of the Galaxy not been a Marvel film it would not have gotten the critical or commercial reception it had. Ant-Man, however, is reminiscent of Iron Man and has the ability to be its own thing. This is ironic because Sam "The Falcon" Wilson is a part of this film and connects to the Avengers, yet still, it serves to further the film and not to remind the audience that this is in the same universe as The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Even the references to that film are to further this film. That is one of the greatest parts of this.
When you on FaceTime with bae
This is a stupid meme.

Then there is the humor. If any Marvel film could be called a comedy, it would be this one. Yet where the comedy in Terminator Genisys failed, it succeeds in Ant-Man. Now, let me clarify, this film jokes that are between characters, you know, the jokes that made the last Terminator flick fail? It also has jokes that are meant for the audience and that is the plethora of them, and it succeeds, because that kind of humor always succeeds. Yet why does the first kind succeed when it usually fails? The movie does not forget to be serious when it needs to be. Had Ant-Man been smiling stupidly or pulled of a dumb one liner after saving the day, it would not have worked. Rather, when TI and Michael Pena make their funny jokes, it works because the tone of that scene is funny. What I am trying to say is, that the movie has perfect tonal shifts and that is what makes the comedy succeed.
When your mom tells a terrible joke but you need $20
Another terrible meme.

As for the story, it is very typical. It does not try to be a game changer or anything, but rather just a nice upbeat plot that makes the audience feel happy. For once I am happy that a film is not trying to be something revolutionary, but rather something nice. Where Ant-Man truly succeeds is in the effects department. No, it is not anything revolutionary like we saw in Avatar or too excessive like one may (rightfully) claim about Green Lantern, or the main appeal to the film like in Guardians of the Galaxy. No, in Ant-Man, we have nice polished effects that truly look fantastic. The ants that we see are all CGI, but their movement and quite simply, just everything about them feels real. Then there are the shrinking effects, not everything there is CGI, but a lot of it is. Now had this movie been made 20 years ago, we would have seen an extreme version of what Peter Jackson did for the hobbits and dwarves in The Lord of the Rings. We see a little bit of that in this film, but in truth, the way the shrinking is handled is just amazing.
I think my Facebook feed hit a new low
Even worse.

Honestly, yes, I do recommend you go out and watch this movie. If you look at it from a critic's eye, you will be entertained and will see that while it is nothing special, it is not a terrible movie. If you go from the standpoint of somebody who just wants to be entertained one evening, I assure you that you will be entertained.
He has more money than you
Hey Tia, it is real great to know that there are some real golddiggers out there! Or this is a Kevin James situation.... wait.

-
MYK

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Terminator Genisys Review

So I haven't talked to Knight in a while, but he saw Terminator Genisys yesterday. So why am I making the review? Because I also saw it and I'm going to be online instead of him for this week. First thing is, I am finally getting things settled with Leadbeater. I do want to apologize for those who I've offended and to Leadbeater for the language that I have used. I do respect Leadbeater as a writer because he is good, as I've said, but when it comes to Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice he is biased and not even a little bit objective. That said, if continues to post his articles on the topic at WhatCulture in this biased fashion, I will respond, but with none of the name calling and all of the memes.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_GjuDhtX_6U/hqdefault.jpg
I don't always have a meme, but when I do, I caption it.

As for Terminator Genisys, you've probably all heard the buzz that the new Terminator movie is horrible, terrible and you should not watch it. It is not horrible or terrible but I cannot recommend that you watch it. So let me start off with the positives, the effects are very good and well handled. From a director like Alan Taylor, you can expect nothing less. They look expensive, though, which is a shock given that the film actually cost under $200 million. The best effects, however, are those of the T-3000 and the digital way in which it moves and interacts is practically horrifying. Not too shabby is that of the T-800, in which Brett Azar is CGI'd into looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Unlike in Terminator Salvation which had better effects, but was inconsistent in CGI-ing Roland Kickinger and thus had to cut the Arnold short, this film maintains it. The T-800 moves dangerously and incapacitates Guardian in what could easily be one of the best fight scenes in the film. When it comes back and fights Kyle Reese, you're actually rooting for the T-800. Then the acting, there are two actors whose acting I will single out: Jason Clarke and J.K. Simmons. Let us start with the latter, who is barely in the film. Yet right when he comes in, you can tell that he is playing a slightly childish, yet worn out and exasperated old detective who fumbles to even comprehend an iPad. Nonetheless, he continues to tread on. There is not much substance to his character and barely much for Simmons to work with, but he still pulls it off and proves to be the best comedic part of the film. As for Jason Clarke? He pulls it off convincingly and had this movie been any better, gives an Oscar-nomination worthy performance. "I'm not man, I'm not machine. I'm more." - there is no emotion given in Clarke's T-3000 when he says that, yet you cannot help but feel he is being cocky. He wants his mother and father with him, but really does not care if he wipes himself out of the timeline if the engender the possibility of Skynet's death. Yes, if you want to watch good acting, watch a supercut of this film featuring only Jason Clarke's performance. Oh yeah, and Arnold is pretty badass.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b8/63/38/b86338995dee891aa9587ea9fb6321c8.jpg
The rest of this movie now.

Now the negative and there is a lot. First let me start off with the comedy. There is simply too much. Go back and watch The Terminator and T2: Judgment Day and you will find comedy, where it is needed. Like "I'll be back" in the first film ended up being funny to the audience, but wasn't funny in the context of the film. Kyle Reese's interrogation in that film was funny to the audience, but not in the context of the film. In this movie, however, when Kyle Reese says stuff like "I'll find the switch" and all, it isn't funny because, is he trying to make the characters in the movie laugh or the audience? Same problem I had with Jurassic World, people do not say that stuff outside of comedy movies starring Chris Rock (which are good) while in a serious situation. You aren't going to pop a funny line while a cyborg is hunting you down, it doesn't work like that. This is why the serious moments, even though far and few, are to be cherished in this film. This is why J.K. Simmons works, he is funny to the audience and while he doesn't come off as funny to the characters, he does to us. Then comes the romance, which is about as forced and hamfisted with unnecessary humor as possible. It doesn't work, there is no real chemistry between Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke. As for acting. I discussed the positives but now the negatives. Emilia Clarke gives about the most cliched performance I have ever seen in a big budget film. She rejects destiny, but has to go along with it, doesn't want to fall in love but does it anyways, oh and everyone she loves dies. That skeleton can have great things made from it, but is mangled and mishandled into Sarah Conner's character arc. Also, she cannot maintain the accent. Jai Courtney on the other hand is good, he is fine, but his voice sounds off and he just cannot hold a candle to Michael Biehn. As for Matt Smith, sorry if you watched this film for him because he's just a cameo. As for the plot, it should work because it is a good concept, but with everything listed above, it doesn't.
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Two series that started off great but descended into madness? Oh my god.

Honestly, this is a movie that should work, but is bogged down by a horrible screenplay and unnecessary comedy. What should have been great like Jurassic World instead suffers from that film's flaws by an exponential level.
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Basically this movie.

-
MYK

Monday, July 13, 2015

San Diego Comic-Con 2015 (also, more Leadbeater bashing)

So Comic-Con has come and gone and I, MYK, am back once more. Expectedly, dumbass Leadbeater has made another article on WhatCulture bashing Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, Josh Wilding made an article beforehand which praised the film on the same site, a first for every website I suppose. Does that mean I wills pare Leadbeater? Nope, on with it! Here's his stupid article if you will.
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The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
 Now, let me start off with his introductory page. He claims it reignited the hot debate. There was no hot debate, ever. Just people who didn't like Man of Steel bitching about a sequel to film that they had decided they would not like before watching the movie and people who were genuinely excited. Then he cites several criticisms, that he does not talk about. Remember that concept that each work should stand on its own and not be dependent on what came before it? That applies for journalism as well Alex. Then he links back to his own previous articles to show these criticisms. Nobody wants to see your articles! I didn't even want to write these articles bashing your articles, you forced my hand because your complaints were so stupid! Why would you link back to your shit? That isn't standing by your shit, standing by your shit would be defending it if necessary, not picking it up and throwing it across the internet!
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I just like this meme.
 His first point: Retconning Bruce Wayne Into Man of Steel's Ending. I know of a magical tool on the Internet called dictionary.com or even Google Define that can tell us what a retcon is. However, as an actual journalist, I will tell you. It is a new concept inserted into a previously known work that changes a fundamental concept of said work. No, Alex, it is not a retcon that having Bruce Wayne save a little girl from a collapsing tower during the events of Man of Steel occured because it did not change our understanding of what happened in that film. Now maybe if Wayne secretly shoved a kryptonite batarang up Zod's ass, that would be a retcon. That would be the typical approach that I'd expect him to take, but no Leadbeater does not criticize that. Rather, he criticizes the fact that the Batman Easter eggs were Tim Burton-esque and that Man of Steel dissociated itself from a larger universe? How does this retcon that? By making Gotham City a sister city to Metrpolis? Okay, you can criticize that, but I always thought they were opposite the Delaware Bay as DC Comics themselves said... no wait, you cannot criticize that! You are criticizing the trailer, so why are you instead pointing your anger at something that was said during a Comic-Con panel?
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Groddamn.

Next point: Heck, Retconning Man of Steel's Ending in General. Yes, he used heck during a title. Not going to lie, the first two paragraphs in this page are good journalism. I applaud you for that Leadbeater, but just like Michael Bay you cannot hold up. Third paragraph he acts like this was Snyder's plan all along! Anybody can tell that it wasn't! Snyder even admit that the destruction is something that Superman would have to deal with in an interview shortly after Comic-Con 2013 when this was announced! Then, why is General Zod's body still around? Wait, what? How is that related to the title? Are you going to explain yourself? How does dealing with the repercussions of Man of Steel retcon the ending to that film? At least explain your point before going all bipolar on us and shifting your argument.
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Pointing at WhatCulture offices.

Point 3: The Death of the Waynes: Once More With Feeling. Before talking about his writing, I will agree with the sentiment I believe he will use. I do not feel we need to see why Batman is Batman again, but please note, the why is not how, the how is the first half of Batman Begins. I will admit, most of this page is good writing by Leadbeater. Then he compares it to Captain America: Civil War and claims Marvel is sidestepping the origin of Spider-Man? No, Sony is sidestepping the origin of Spider-Man because of how well it worked out for them the second time. Marvel is just writing them in. Last paragraph... Leadbeater, learn how to analyze... Perry is talking about Clark Kent going after Batman in a journalistic fashion, as in doing something that most reporters tend not to do. He is not claiming the Batman is new, in fact, the way he casually says 'Batman' suggests otherwise.
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No caption necessary.

Point 4: Alfred Undermines The Whole Film. Well damn, I didn't know Leadbeater had already seen the whole film already. I mean, why else would he make such crazy accusations after having had only seen a trailer? He has to have already seen the film, in its entirety. I'm saying this off of the title of the point. So apparently, nearly 67 year old Jeremy Irons is too old for Alfred because Bruce Wayne is older even though Ben Affleck is 42 and there is still a 25 year age gap between the two? That is a quarter century Leadbeater! So apparently Alfred's line "He's not our enemy" just destroys the entire purpose of the movie? Goddamn. Goddamn. Goddamn. Groddamn. Then he says that Alfred may be talking about Lex? No, dumbass, he's talking about Superman. It is a line to try and get Batman not to fight Superman but Batman does anyways because he's a jackass. Are you that stupid, really? I don't even want to waste time on this point, so stupid.
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My response to him hating on Alfred.

Point 5: The Red Capes Are Coming. I am not going to lie, the line by Lex Luthor that Leadbeater is referring to. I have seen some people love it, but others? No feelings at all, really? Some, like Leadbeater, have found it stupid. But I just don't care. The "Do You Bleed" line was awesome, though. Fuck you Leadbeater. Let us just get it over with dude. You don't like the film because you don't want to like it. Your acting like fucking Devin Faraci before X-Men: Days of Future Past and even he admit that the movie was good. Then he quotes a stupid ass line from The Social Network that wasn't even that good and here is the best part, he has a spelling error! Plus, I don't even like Eisenberg as Luthor yet I cannot help but defend him from Leadbeater!
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Just do it Leadbeater, we can help you!

Enough of Leadbeater, let me actually post what I wanted to post now, about SDCC 2015. We cannot have SDCC without DC. Yet we did without Marvel Entertainment's Film Division. Guess what, though, the X-Men movies are Marvel movies, just not Disney marvel and they did hold up the fort for Marvel. The Marvel TV Division, given that it doesn't have a lot to talk about, could not do much. So let us talk about Marvel first, through 20th Century Fox, people remembered them! The X-Men panel, which highlighted Deadpool, Wolverine and X-Men: Apocalypse was enjoyable. This was due to surprise appearances by Channing Tatum and Hugh Jackman. We do not know if Jackman is in the next two flicks, but it is confirmed that it is over for him (unless he pulls a Sean Connery). I'm sure you've all seen the leaked footage, but that movie looks amazing and yet that is only after five weeks of shooting? Groddamn. Then there was Fantastic Four, which was just selling the movie. Nothing new there, it just seems fine. So there was the entire Marvel side to it.
(I'd put more memes in between paragraphs but fuck it)
Now, as for other television. I only cared for Hannibal and Supernatural. Unlike the previous year, this time, Supernatural had no new footage but instead gave us plenty of details. I liked the panel, but it wasn't too exciting. The idea of the brothers going up against the Darkness united is good, but expected. Crowley being confirmed as dead is obviously going to be true until it isn't. Again, this year, the panel did not accomplish anything. Since NBC is like a girl with commitment issues, Hannibal is ending, so they gave us the amazing trailer for the "Red Dragon-half" of the final season.

What about DC? Who stole the show? Even though they've only got two movies coming out? Now, as likely indicated by the entire Leadbeater bashing, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice looks amazing and will probably be amazing. As for Suicide Squad, okay... well, Ayer let the official trailer loose this morning so... yeah, it looks good. I don't know. I really am burned out writing this, but I will say that the Suicide Squad itself looks very well handled and good. Harley Quinn is nothing too special, so don't get worked up over her accent. The star of the movie, as expected, Deadshot looks like he is getting a fairly well deserved treatment by Will Smith. There is not a tonal issue. The film is serious but will give us laughs when it deems appropriate, like the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. As for the Joker. Look, it is no surprise that the two of us on this blog do not like the Damaged tattoo on his forehead, which is why I think Ayer made the good choice of not making it too visible during the trailer, as it is very off putting.

-
MYK

(UPDATE: Just went ham destroying Leadbeater on Twitter, check me out on @YafiszKhan)

Monday, July 6, 2015

Dark Souls 2 Look Back

Yes, I got this game a year and a half ago, but I only passed it this morning. So, had I passed it in the two weeks I originally intended to pass it, I would have posted a review. Instead, this is a look back at the game.

When I originally got Dark Souls 2, I had two weeks off and needed a video game to bide my time. I did not know what Dark Souls was, what Demon Souls was or what the King's Field was. I did, however, know of From Software. One of the first games I ever got for the PlayStation 2, Evergrace was by them. It was a fun game when I was little, it is kind of shit now. Yet, I figured that this game would not be like Evergrace because it was a legitimate sequel. I had no idea where the original was, so I just picked this up. When I started, I was glad I got to control a character whom I created. I was expecting maybe something like Mass Effect. In The Things Betwixt, I skipped all of the fog gates because I was unsure of what they meant and got straight into Majula. What a pretty and beautiful but sad town. The first thing I tried to do was kill Sweet Shalquoir, you know, the talking cat? Then I died by falling into that pit. I did not notice that my total life had taken a hit or that my guy was slightly ugly. So I decided to head for that tunnel by Shalquoir's house, after I totally pillaged the entire village. I did not kill any of the villagers throughout the entire game, though. Pretty soon I was in Heide's Tower of Flame and was getting massacred by the giant soldiers there. That was when I noticed that my guy had all of a sudden turned ugly. Dredging forth, I made it to the area's boss, the Dragonrider. He beat me very quickly the first time, the second time, however, I rolled out of his way and he fell into the abyss below. I had no idea what to do with the many souls I just got, all I knew was that I could rest at bonfires and such. So, when I lost all the boss souls gained, not the ones gained after using the Dragonrider's soul (which I did when I learned how to level up), I had no clue I had even lost them. Continuing in to No Man's Wharf, I could kill the enemies here and was finding it easy. I still had no clue about the game's mechanics, however. So I decided to check on YouTube and began to watch the playthrough of GhostRobo. That helped me a lot.

I learned from him how to level up, some weaknesses against opponents and the path I should have been taking. Going to the Forest of Fallen Giants, I began to notice that this game was almost exactly like Evergrace when I faced the Last Giant. I just looked it up on IGN, but the second boss of Evergrace was the Order Knight. The strategy against that boss was simple. Wait for him to attack and hit him in the ass. Looking at some videos of that game, against minor enemies, the tactic was just hit them first or wait for them to attack and hit them in the ass. In Dark Souls 2, I found myself using the same tactics I had used almost thirteen years prior. So I beat the Lost Giant and later, the Pursuer, in this fashion. This pathway took me to the Lost Bastille, and believe it or not, despite my relative inexperience, I had only died around 70 times thus far, but the Ruin Sentinels, oh my god. The Ruin Sentinels had to have killed me at least 400-500 times before I still did not beat them. I decided to go around a different way and returned to No Man's Wharf, I cleared the area and defeated the Flexile Sentry. So I began clearing the Lost Bastille from the other side. Now, the Ruin Sentinels had frustrated me so much that at this point I was willing to give up the game. With the Emerald Herald, I was putting all of my points into strength or dexterity just to get my attack up. I was using the Drangleic Sword, but the Varangian armour set from No Man's Wharf. This game me power and speed, necessary for met to avoid their attacks. I still could not win! It was my nerfed health, I knew it! I was not that good of a player, so I did not use Human Effigies to restore my health and I was scared of invasions, so I always played in offline mode. I did not learn until the very end the values of humanity in this game. There had to be a way to get my health up! I looked online and returned to the Heide's Tower of Flame. It took me a long ass time, but I beat those giant soldiers and opened of the Cathedral of Blue. The Old Dragonslayer was not that difficult of a boss, but he still beat me around thirty times. Yet then I got the Ring of Binding and my health was considerably up to the point that I completely stopped caring about being undead. So I decided to follow what GhostRobo was doing and headed to the Huntsman's Copse. I did not go to the Undead Purgatory because it was an optional area. Instead I marched on to the Skeleton Lords and had to have died less than ten times before I defeated them all. In Harvest Valley, I got the fragrant branch of yore and this area was easy. So I figured the Earthen Peak would be easy too. I was right, I did not even die against the Covetous Demon and did not die many times against Mytha. Now my two weeks break was almost over and I was at the Iron Keep, I decided to press forward until the last bonfire. My character was much stronger now, and I headed back to the Lost Bastille. Those Ruin Sentinels would tremble before me! They did not, I died at least a hundred times more until I finally beat them! My hands were shaking when I trumped them, my victory was at hand! Then, at the end of the two weeks break, I beat the Old Iron King within five deaths. My break was over, and so was my time with this game, or so I thought.

When E3 was about two weeks away, I think? GhostRobo posted a video about Project Beast or Beast Souls. Turned out, this was Bloodborne a PS4 exclusive. Now I was planning on getting a PlayStation 4 at the end of the Summer, so I decided to continue my quest to beat Dark Souls 2 to prove myself worthy. Using the fragrant branch of yore, I was able to get into the Shaded Woods, whose boss, the Scorpioness, was an easy boss yet again. I figured I had the hang of this game. Continuing on, I eventually made it to the Doors of Pharros, but did not continue down that route. Remembering the words of Creighton, I instead went down the Brightstone Cove Tseldora. This was a more difficult area, but more due to length than actual difficulty. The Duke's Dear Freja was not a difficult boss, but it was the spiders that she summoned that always killed me. In the end, though, I got her and the Body of Vengarl to kneel before the Drangleic Sword. Returning to the Lost Bastille, I went down to Sinner's Rise and faced the Lost Sinner. I just could not. She was too hard. Way too hard for me to beat and I could not handle it at all. I quit the game. I did not play at all until the spring that just passed, a year after I got the game. I kept on trying, kept on trying and I beat the Lost Sinner. I headed down to the Gutter and the Black Gulch, beat the Rotten easily and returned to head off to Drangleic Castle. The castle was even easier, as I beat the Twin Dragonriders and the Looking Glass Knight so easily. The Shrine of Amana was no different, although I got stuck on the Demon of Song because the witches would kill me on the way there. Once I beat it, though, I was good. I was practically unstoppable! Then I got to the Undead Crypt and Velstdadt destroyed me, over, and over, and over, and over, and over again! I mean, I would be kicking his ass, then he would use dark magic and with that power boost, just destroy me. I beat him too, though. I aggravated Vendrick, but found I could barely hurt him. Making my way through Aldia's Keep, I found the dragons to be the easiest bosses in the game and ranked up so many levels right there. The Memories were no different and once I got what I needed from them, I headed off to the Throne of Want. The Throne Watcher and Throne Defender were too good! I was at another freaking Lost Sinner. I stopped playing, until three days ago.

So once I started playing again, I kept trying against the Throne Watcher and Defender, but I knew that if I killed one, it would just come back at full health! There was no way I could do it! I needed to get ultra strong again! I started leveling myself up, I infused the Drangleic Sword with a raw stone, ugpraded my pyromancy and found a shit ton of Twinkling Titanite for the Drangleic Sword. I still could not do it! So I headed back to the Doors of Pharros and beat the Royal Rat Authority. Then I went and I killed Vendrick too, took so long to kill that one. With that in mind, I cashed in all of my boss souls and leveled up my health instead of my power. I figured, maybe it was durability, not power that I needed. Nope, it may have taken them longer to kill me, but they still killed me. Turning human for the first time in the game, I went to find Vendrick's Soul at the Shrine of Amana. I found it and used it and leveled up once more. I did not go to the Belfry Luna or the Undead Purgatory, but did clear the Belfry Sol to get the few souls needed for a clean level up. With this newfound power, I returned to the Throne Watcher and Defender, but noticed summon signs! I noticed YouTubers using those sometimes, but  thought I needed to be online for those to work and I had not even updated the game! So I summoned them, realizing after that all I needed to be was human. I had thirty human effigies. First three tries, I used Benhart of Jugo and got close, but still died. Next two tries, I used the Head of Vengarl and did not even come close. Next two tries I used both of them and at the end of the second trie, I killed the Throne Watcher and Defender. Then came the final boss: Nashandra.

I realized that I could beat Nashandra on my own. Yet literally two hours ago, I decided screw it, turned human and summoned those two to fight her. When she was nearly dead, she killed those two, but I was still standing. Six estus flask gulps still available, I slayed her. Took another effigy because her curses turned me undead and took the Throne of Want. I beat the game right there.

I love this game, but I also hate it and will not play it again. I will be getting Bloodborne, now though because this game has, as I said in a previous post, jumpstarted me into that series. With this victory I achieved today, I am glad, and happy. I would have been angry, though, if I had Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin because apparently the updates version of the game adds more bosses and locations, locations that allow no more hollowing. Yet I am not even going to touch that version of the game, it is onward to Bloodborne for me!

Sunday, July 5, 2015

The Originals Are Here

So, we all know that while my presence at Mesozoica is more related to level design and story, I am still very involved. I had an idea, one day, that we include the three original dinosaurs ever discovered. For those of you who do not know, these are the Iguanodon, the Megalosaurus and the Hylaeosaurus. The first is the most popular, the second has middling popularity and the third has never really caught on. DeJon Horton, our great modeler on the project, already made Iguanodon. Why? It is a very popular herbivore whose popularity meant it had to be a part of the game.

I did not recommend it at first, my main priority was making the dinosaur personality documents, quest designs and forging a story. However, after our incident, which you can read up on at this blog, I pushed for Megalosaurus right away. When DeJon made it, I pitched in the skin. I wanted a loon skin, based off of Canada's most famous bird. It came out beautifully, DeJon Horton is a wonderful and skilled modeler. Our team is humbled to have him. Eventually I asked for Hylaeosaurus as well, he was busy with other dinosaurs, but yesterday he completed it. After working out the kinks, he posted my final request, a shot of The Originals all together.


DeJon's work is amazing guys, wait for more models from him on the Mesozoica Facebook page, which is where you can see the Originals all in a striking pose. Click here.