Kingdom Hearts 3!June 13, 2013 by

I know this is late but between work and classes I haven't had a ton of time to comment on this development so here are my thoughts:

1. The announcement was very surprising to me and very clearly hasn't been worked on too much yet

2. I'm happy that the Osaka team gets a shot at it since they have done great work with the portable spinoffs (for those unaware they are the team behind Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance which are arguably better games than KH2) and I believe they will bring some fun gameplay elements from there (I personally wouldn't mind an evolved version of DDD's combat system but more likely a fusion of the base gameplay of KH2 and the speed of DDD)

3. The story synopsis gives away a bit more than I was expecting but it should be an expansive game

4. As for the worlds to be included I wouldn't hold my breath for Marvel or Star Wars properties

5.  New Worlds that I think will be included: Toy Story, Jungle Book (this is by far the most obvious considering Nomura has brought it up), The Black Cauldron, Brave, and Monsters Inc to name a few

6. Returning Disney Worlds (not even gonna bother with the series original worlds): I expect the trio of Agrabah, Olympus Coliseum, and Neverland (which has proven surprisingly crucial to the plot of two games); Port Royal would be a logical returning world since it has multiple sequels for source material

7.  Finally it's coming to Xbox One which isn't surprising anymore since the 3rd Party exclusive is dead

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Two Movie Reviews: Star Trek Into Darkness and Fast and Furious 6June 2, 2013 by

Spoilers abound in these reviews, so here we go:

Star Trek Into Darkness:

Things I liked:

1. Benedict Cumberbatch's performance in the movie was great and made his constant flipping of sides believable

2. Had a great story theme about the consequences of being reckless and the meaning of family

3. The action sequences were well designed and shot

4. The musical theme for Abrams Star Trek is so catchy and one of the more memorable ones in recent memory

5. I liked the overall fun nature of the movie despite very serious moments

Things I didn't like:

1. The final act had problems and is part of the reason the sequel fell short of it's predecessor, things happened too quick, the Jim Kirk death had no meaning since the audience knew about the healing blood, the chase sequence between Khan and Spock wasn't even the best action set piece

2. The Khan twist was painfully obvious and I didn't even read a single thing about the plot of the movie before I saw it

3. The cure all blood reveal so early on proved detrimental to dramatic tension

Overall Star Trek into Darkness was not as good as the first Abrams Star Trek but was a solid entry, I give it a B


Fast and Furious 6

What I liked:

1. The action sequences were outstanding

2. It's admirable that they have gone all in with the insanity that this franchise has pushed the last two entries

3. The Rock seemed like he was having fun with the role and it shows

4. The overall fun element of the movie

5. Serviceable plot and a pretty intense ending

What I didn't

1. Most of the characters are paper thin and represent archetypes

2. The plot was pretty cliched and not a big strength

3. Most of the cast's performances are up and down

Overall, I had a lot of fun watching it but thinking about the plotholes and unfinished plot threads derailed it a bit, despite that I give it a B+

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The Iron Man Rises: an Iron Man 3 reviewMay 11, 2013 by

I know this is late to the party, but I wanted to watch this movie again before writing anything so here we go SPOILERS AHEAD:

Things I liked:

1. The acting in this movie should not be understated, great performances from everyone involved with RDJ, Sir Ben Kingsley (the Mandarin/Trevor), Ty Simpkins (the sidekick kid), and Guy Pierce (Killian) standing out.  Watch out for Happy Endings Adam Pally's humorous cameo

2. This movie had the best standalone plot of the MCU, it didn't feel shackled to the Avengers 2 and didn't just rely on a basic plot (looking at you Iron Man 2 and Avengers) that's carried by RDJ's one-liners.

3. The Mandarin twist may get fanboys mad, but it was the best thing for this movie by creating that misdirection

4. The musical score was the best for the MCU, which outside of Avengers has been surprisingly mediocre

5. Kept the fun of the Iron Man franchise while taking it down a darker road

Things I didn't like:

1. The rush job ending to give a soft finale for RDJ's Tony Stark by destroying the suits and removing the core in the span of 3-5 minutes

2. The final act was not that great and featured such a Deus Ex Machina with the 30 suits

3. Maya was such a wasted character

4. Worked better as a Tom Clancy tech-thriller than a superhero movie


Overall Iron Man 3 was the first MCU movie that actually had a relatively complex plot (when compared to the rest of the MCU) and mostly worked.  So I give it a..............B+

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Reevaluating some 2012 movies April 29, 2013 by

For those unaware I used to do movie reviews on  my 1up blog every summer, my most in-depth reviews came in 2012 since I had a lot more free time than I had for the better part of several years.  I'm now going to reevaluate a handful of popular movies that I did then now that the excitement has worn off:


Original Grade: A

Reevaluation: I'll start by saying that I still view Avengers as a fun movie, but it has notable problems that get overlooked: it has a rather bland and predictable plot, Loki plays things fast and loose to a point where he loses credibility as a villain at times, and there is a long stretch where the pacing slows down too much.  Overall it is still a good movie and arguably Marvel Studios best but it isn't perfect

New Grade: B

The Amazing Spider-Man

Original Grade: A-

Reevaluation: TASM was a solid movie that, like Avengers, suffers from pacing problems.  The simple fact is the origin takes far too long to cover and I actually had to turn the movie off after Uncle Ben got shot because I honestly just got bored watching it.  The back half of the movie is fine, but has a repetitive story.  The one big redeeming thing about this movie is the sense of mysteries that need to be answered in sequels.  Overall, it was decent, but I drastically overrated it initially

New Grade: C+

The Dark Knight Rises

Original Grade: A+

Reevaluation: Let me begin by saying the movie was good, and arguably the best movie of summer 2012, but it wasn't a great Batman movie.  The continuity errors in this movie was extremely glaring upon subsequent viewings and plays more like a disaster movie guest starring Batman to save the day.  Despite the complaints it was still a satisfying ending to a great trilogy

New Grade: B-


Original Grade: A-

Reevaluation: Holds up well, great pace, it manages to hold onto it's original grade

New Grade: see above

The Hobbit:

Original Grade: B-

Reevaluation: This also got the same grade, my complaints are the same as everyone else who reviewed it didn't get better or worse

New Grade: See above



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Californication Season 6 reviewApril 2, 2013 by

Want to note before I begin Spoilers for the whole series up till this Sunday's finale are going to be on this so if you don't want to know about the finale till then leave


Californication is a show that used to be reviewed semi-regularly here but appears to not be the case (will do a Shameless season 3 review after I watch it on Sunday) these days.  Lets begin with the overview of the season: Hank after being drugged by his ex girlfriend wakes up in the hospital to find that she overdosed and died.  As a result of guilt, he spirals from the functional alcoholic and recreational drug user to a destructive alcoholic drug user and gets an intervention from his family and friends.  This results in his stay at rehab where hijinks ensue and he meets two people who prove central to the season's plot, Atticus Fetch a rock star and heavy drug user; and Faith, a groupie or professional muse as she puts it who is at rehab because the rock star she was following dies in bed with her.  As per usual chaos occurs for Hank, these two characters, and all the rest of the regulars throughout the season as they work towards getting Atticus back on track, Hank to write a rock opera, and Hank's complex relationship with Faith.

What the season did right:

1. Great casting with Maggie Grace as Faith and Tim Minchin as Atticus, both had distinct roles to play and interesting arcs to follow

2. David Duchovny and the rest of the main cast were pretty great

3. The Ophelia storyline proved to be a hilarious secondary story arc

4. The show on an episodic level is still very entertaining

5. The music used this season was outstanding

6. Charlie and Marcy being put back together in the end was at least some semblance of progress on this show

What the season does wrong:

1. Madeline Martin is criminally underused this season and is potentially written off for next season too

2. I'm kind of tired of the Hank vs formula (Hank versus teaching in S3, Hank vs the law in S4, Hank vs the rapper/entrepreneur in S5, and Hank vs the Rock Opera in S6) it tends to have the same results at the end of every arc

3. Hank and Karen's will they or won't they story, which reached the end point last year in my opinion, went into filler mode where they gave Hank his woman of the season (Faith) to only find wait I want Karen in the finale which was fairly obvious

Overall this season was more focused than season 5, but I still consider the 3rd and 4th seasons to be stronger so I rate this.......




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