Video Game Review: South Park: The Stick of Truth

South Park: The Stick of Truth

PlayStation 3

It seems like South Park has been around for a really long time. I've never been a huge fan of the show, per se. I haven't seen an episode in years, actually. But I remember how big it was when it first came out. How different it was, in that the sense that the humor was really outrageous and offensive; something that people had never seen the likes of before. My first encounter with the show was an interesting one. It was back in my high school years. I was playing Tomb Raider 2 in my bedroom at my mom's house when I heard this show playing in the other room. It caught my attention, and I turned the volume down on the game and listened in on the show while I played. After the fact, I made it a point to seek out the show and watch it all (I think only one season had been released at this point).

The novelty of the show quickly wore off. I don't think I ever did make it past season 2. But I enjoyed the movie. If I am channel flipping and come across this show I'll usually stop and check it out. Like I said, I am not a HUGE fan, but that doesn't mean I don't like the show. I don't go out of my way to watch it, but if it is on I tend to find myself having a good time with it.

I've played two video game versions of South Park, but they were both pretty old. There was a trivia game featuring Chef and a really weird first person shooter for the Nintendo 64. If I recall correctly, the shooter got terrible reviews. It could have been a lot better, but I didn't mind it. A few years back, when I saw that Stick of Truth was in production, I remember getting a little excited. I thought that South Park's sense of humor would blend well with a turn based RPG system. Forget the first person shooter. Forget the Chef game. This could finally be a South Park game done right.

The graphics looked solid from what I could tell; like they were ripped directly from the television show. I could just imagine the voices and the story line being vintage South Park. I'm a huge turn based RPG fan, so that was another major plus. If this title could combine the play style of something like Paper Mario with the humor and look of South Park, it could be truly winning combination.

It took me a few years to finally get around to playing this title, however. But now that I have I find it was worth the wait. It is basically exactly what I pictured it would be. Take Paper Mario and smash it together with South Park, and you get Stick of Truth.

This game spares no expense. It is a very authentic South Park experience. Don't expect it to hold back one bit whatsoever. It is just as offensive and outrageous as the show its based on. Expect to see things like anal probes, Nazi zombies, big heavy swinging ball sacks, minigames where you perform abortions, and much much more. You probably don't want to play this game around anyone who is easily offended by things. The story line of the game is a pretty basic one. The town has been swept up by this role playing game where all the kids are dressing up as elves and wizards. Both factions are vying for the ultimate weapon of power: the Stick of Truth. You play a newcomer to town, an unnamed character that everyone simply refers to as Douchebag.

As a newcomer, you are swept up in this role playing game. Both sides of the struggle vie for your attention and assistance in acquiring the Stick of Truth. Along the way, you uncover information that a new Taco Bell coming to the town is turning people into Nazi zombies with its contaminated green sauce. So of course you must stop that from happening. I feel as if I am selling the game's story line short though. Expect to find yourselves in all kinds of crazy situations which could very easily have been pulled right from an episode of the show. There are simply too many to name.

The world of the game is living, breathing South Park. It is very, very authentic to the source material. The town is faithfully recreated. You will see lots of familiar sights and locations. It is the characters that really bring the game to life, however. Nearly every character that has ever appeared on the show makes an appearance in this game. Your interactions with them are hilarious. Expect to see lots of jokes and references specific to the South Park universe. Terrance and Philip, Manbear Pig, Mr Hanky, Al Gore, Canada hatred, and Cheesy Poofs all make appearances in the game. I can't give the makers of this title enough credit. They really, truly created an authentic representation of the South Park world. This whole game could be a very, very long episode of the show.

As far as gameplay goes, if you have played Paper Mario you should have no problem quickly understanding the ins and outs of Stick of Truth. The game takes place mainly from a side scrolling perspective. The gameplay is not limited to two dimensions, however. You can go up, down, left right. Wherever you want, basically. Enemies appear on the map, so don't expect random encounters. As is the case with Paper Mario, you can attack your enemies while still on the map before you actually go into battle. This way, when you do go into battle, you gain an upper hand. Depending on your attack they may be stunned or grossed out. Sometimes attacking them first will simply allow you to make the first move rather than your enemy.

The battles are pretty standard turn based fair. You go, they go, you go, they go, and so on and so forth. The difficulty level of the battles range from very hard to very easy. When I first started playing the game, I found myself getting killed left and right. Once you learn the art of attacking first and using all your special powers the game becomes easy quickly. Your hit points and magic points all recharge after each fight, so there is no purpose ever holding back in battle. Also, you are allowed to use one item per turn, as long as it comes before your attack. So really, it is like getting to go twice per turn. Once you figure out the battle system completely, the game becomes very easy. Every once in a while you will encounter some challenging battles, but for the most part the game is not that difficult.

For the majority of the game, you only have two people in your party. You and Butters. The farther along you progress with the story, the more people you add to your party. Eventually the whole South Park main character crew tags along with you. You can still only go into battle with your main character and one other character of your choosing, but at least the game gives you options as to who your partner will be.

The game is filled with side quests, all of which are pretty fun to complete. I found the game quite hard to put down at some points because I kept wanting to finish "just one more task." Things can get repetitive after a while, though, and you get tired of seeing the same scenery all the damn time. But the story moves along at a pretty rapid pace, and there are a few changes in venue along the way that help to keep things fresh. Expect to see the inside of a UFO, the school, an abortion clinic, a secret government facility, and well... you will get shrunk down and travel inside someone's anus. It is South Park. You can't be surprised by this.

Also, in one of my favorite moments in the game, you travel to Canada where all of a sudden the game's graphics and sound effects take on an 8 bit style, like you are playing an old Final Fantasy game or something. It is super cool.

All in all, I found this to be a very enjoyable game. It's fast paced, but there is a lot to see and a lot to explore. The story line isn't anything to get too excited about. It is South Park, after all. Don't expect the Last of Us or Mass Effect or anything like that. But it is funny. I have to give it that. I am not a big laugher, but the game did have me in stitches on more than a few occasions.

I liked being able to explore the town, meet all the characters. I liked the plot twists and the changes in venue along the way. It is just a really fun game. It is fun to look at. The characters all look and sound as they should. My only knocks are that is not terribly deep, nor is it terribly long. It is just a fun, quick RPG experience.

The closest thing I can compare it to is Paper Mario. It is an adult version of Paper Mario with South Park characters. There really is no other way to describe the game. If you liked that game, you'll love this. Especially if you are a South Park fan.

I only kind of like Paper Mario, and I only kind of like South Park. But I did really enjoy the game. So that should tell you that it is worth checking out. The only thing keeping the grade down for me is the length (the game can be beaten in the 15 hour range) plus the fact that the game doesn't really stick with you when you are done beating it. I had no urge to go back and play again, no urge to wander around and collect anything I missed picking up. And I probably won't play this game again. Maybe if I was a big South Park nut my thoughts on the game would be different.

If you are a South Park nut, I can imagine that this game would be a must own for you. If you are not, it is a well worth it borrow from a friend/rental.

Overall:

B+

Video Game Review: Resident Evil

Resident Evil

GameCube

I've been a huge fan of the Resident Evil series since it debuted back in 1996. Even though the series has undergone a multitude of changes over the years and is basically no longer recognizable from what it once was, I still hold a special place in my heart for that original game.

Not only was the game groundbreaking and a ton of fun to play, but no other game has EVER scared me more than that first Resident Evil. Back in the early 2000s when I heard that they were remaking the game on the Nintendo GameCube, I was excited. New graphics, new locations, new puzzles, new story paths... I thought it was a great idea.

I'm not one of those people that automatically hate anything rebooted or remastered. The original game was epic, but even just 5 or 6 years after its release, it was already beginning to show its age. So I welcomed the remake with open arms. In fact, the remake was one of my deciding factors in buying a Nintendo GameCube to begin with.

I am not at all disappointed with the remake. It was everything I ever hoped for, and more.

The story hasn't changed much. Well, it hasn't changed at all to tell you the truth. There has been a series of bizarre killings on the outskirts of Raccoon City, and the previous team sent in to investigate has vanished. Now, your team has been sent in to get to the bottom of things once and for all. After an ambush attack by a wild pack of dogs, your characters retreat to a mysterious mansion where zombies and other freak creatures run wild.

If you have never played Resident Evil before, or have only played its most recent entries in the series, don't expect the focus of the game to be on action. The gameplay mainly revolves around solving puzzles and advancing the story line, with a little bit of gunplay thrown in here and there for good measure. The main draw of the game for me in its scare factor, however. Never knowing what is around each corner, what the game is going to throw at you next. And this game does a solid job of following in its predecessor's footsteps. I don't believe it is as scary as the original Resident Evil, but that could simply be because I have played the heck out of that game, and this series in general, too many times to count.

You get your choice of two characters: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. I find the game's difficulty pretty similar for each character, but there are a few differences. Jill starts out with a handgun and two extra inventory spots. She also, being the master of unlocking, can pick locks and gain access to areas that Chris can't without a key. So I guess that makes the game a little easier for her. Chris does have a lighter which is a natural part of his inventory, whereas with Jill you have to find a lighter and carry it around with you as needed. If you're a grizzled RE vet like me, though, you won't be able to tell much of a difference. The game also gives you a choice of two difficulty levels. I found this particular version of the game to be a little too easy on the easier setting, and a little too difficult on the harder setting. The balance between the two versions seems a bit off. I guess that is one of the few things I can complain about here.

When you first fire this game up, you can't help but notice its beautiful graphics. Even though this game is 14 years old (way to make feel ancient!) it still holds up when put side by side with today's graphics. The game is not set in a "true" 3D world. The environment is pre-rendered. Each area you explore, you explore from a fixed camera angle. Objects and enemies in the game are three dimensional, but as far as the environement itself, it is not. You can't change the camera angle, zoom in on things, try to walk around rooms and get a better angle on things. None of that. What you see is what you get.

But I am not complaining. The environments are masterfully rendered, and in many cases photo realistic. Lighting effects and animations such as water dripping or bugs flying around really add to the sense of realism in the game. The musical score is great as well, and the voice acting is much improved. This all adds up to an incredibly immersive atmosphere that you can totally lose yourself in.

A lot of people complain about the way you control your character in this game, but it never bothered me. I've heard the control scheme designed as "tank controls." Meaning you turn your character left and right, and use the up and down button to make them move forward and back, like you are controlling a tank. As opposed to just pushing the joystick in the direction you want them to go. As I said, the controls have never bothered me. I actually like the tank controls. But there are quite a few people who simply can't play this game because they hate the control scheme so much. So be warned about that.

Resident Evil is a game that makes you think. Don't expect that you can just go through it with guns blazing and not have to worry about a thing. There is a limited supply of ammunition in the game, and it requires rationing. If you use it all up right away on the first few zombies you see, you will be in a world of hurt the farther into the game you get. Part of the strategy to playing this game succesfully is knowing when to run and when to fight.

The puzzles can be pretty difficult as well. There were a few spots where I was stumped, and that is even with me having already played this game and the original version mutiple times in the past. Nothing is really TOO hard to figure out, but the game is definitely a lot harder than most current games out there that hold your hand the whole way through.

For those who have played the original PlayStation version of Resident Evil, the remake for the GameCube is still worth purchasing. It is the same basic game, but there is so much added content, so many areas changed around that it totally makes it worth your while. You will find some puzzles and some areas that are completely different and original to this version of the game.

For example, the outside area of the game is much bigger. There are several new outside locations such as a graveyard and a shack in the woods. The shark area in the guardhouse is completely revamped and unrecognizable from the original game. There are added puzzles, added boss fights. Your battle against the giant snake is much different this time around. And what you find locked up in the coffin that's chained to the ceiling in the cemetery is one of my favorite additions to the game. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't already played the game. And there is a certain creeping, moaning new character wrapped in chains that you encounter when you are least expecting it. I found his addition to be the scariest thing about this game.

There are also a few small tweaks to the gameplay. You can now carry defensive weapons, which means if you are grabbed by a zombie you can hit them with these weapons before they bite you and cause you any damage. Basic controls are the same, although you do have auto aim and the quick whirl feature which weren't present in the original version of the game. Often in the game you must zoom in on items in your inventory that you pick up. Certain items are puzzles in and of themselves that you must solve before you can move on to the next stage in the game. One welcome addition, and something that scared the crap out of me the first time I played this, is the fact that unless you destroy a zombie's head, he can come back to life and attack you at any given moment - even if you leave the room and come back again. The game gives you cans of gasoline that you can lug around with you to burn left over zombie caracasses. But this fuel supply is limited, and takes up precious inventory space. But I like the little added dimension it adds to the game.

Overall however, not a whole lot has changed as far as game play from the original version of the game. Don't expect heavier weapons, either, as your arsenal is pretty much exactly the same this time around.

This is definitely worth the buy, even if you own the original PlayStation version of the game. There is so much different here, so much added content. The graphics alone are almost worth the price of admission. I mean, the game looks really good. Really good. Even stacked up against the heavyweights of today, this game still holds its own. I know there there is a recently released HD version of this game for the newer generation systems, but I haven't played it yet. I may someday, but this copy of the game is good enough for me.

It's not only one of the best installments in the Resident Evil series out there, it is also one of the best GameCube titles of all time. Unless you don't really care for the RE series, or the survival horror genre in general, this game is a must have for any serious gamer's collections. It was an instant classic upon its release, and it is still incredibly fun and playable today. It may not be as scary as the original version for the PS1, but it is still well worth your time.

Overall:

A

Video Game Review: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

PlayStation 2

People take improvements in the Grand Theft Auto series for granted nowadays. Each edition of the game that comes out always seems to improve on its previous installment. But never has this case been more extreme than with the jump from GTA: Vice City to GTA: San Andreas.

Prior to San Andreas, action was limited to one city in each game. You had Liberty City, which was a knockoff of New York. And then there was Vice City, which was based off of Miami. San Andreas completely blew the cover off of this whole "one city per game" thing. And it did it in a major way.

When the game starts off, you find yourself in Los Santos, which is the GTA world's representation of Los Angeles. But unlike past games in the series, you quickly discover that action is not limited to this one location. In fact, San Andreas represents most of the state of California with a little bit of Nevada thrown in for good measure. Not only can you explore Los Santos as a whole, but you can travel to two other cities, which are just as big and just as detailed. San Fierro, which is modeled after San Francisco and Las Venturas - modeled after Las Vegas.

As if these three cities weren't big enough, there is also an enormous amount of area in between these cities that you can explore to your heart's content. It isn't just barren landscape either. There are highways, tunnels, little towns, rest stops, parks, mountains, trails, wooded areas, quarries, rivers.... the list goes on and on. Compared to the previous entries in the GTA series that simply take place in one city, the detail level of the game is just staggering. I am sure there are numbers on just how big the game is, but off the top of my head I'd have to say that the sheer amount of area to cover in this game is at least ten times bigger than Vice City and Liberty City combined. At least. That's probably still not doing the size of the game justice. It is really massive.

With a game this big you expect there to be excessive loading times, or perhaps a reduction in quality in other areas. But this is not the case with GTA: San Andreas. The graphics are the sharpest in the series (at the point it was released). The series' standard cutscenes in between missions are still present. There is a boatload of diverse missions. And whether it is working out at the gym, going on dates, or hitting up the game's various racetracks - there is always a ton of stuff to do here. That's not even mentioning the game's collectibles. Each area seems to have its own unique collectible. You spray over rival gangs graffiti tags in Los Santos, collect horseshoes in Las Venturas, collect underwater pearls anywhere there is water in the game, and snap photographs of iconic locations in San Fierro.

As if that wasn't enough, you aren't just limited to cars, motorcycles, and boats in this game. There's bicycles (you know, the ones that you actually pedal) helicopters, airplanes, ATVs, tractors, semi trucks, and a countless number of other things you can use to ride around town. Hell, there is even a jetpack you can use if you make it that far in the game.

Character customization is at an all time high. You can change clothes to virtually any combination possible. You work out, you get buff. You eat too much, you get fat. You run, your stamina goes up. The more you use certain weapons, the more your skill with them improves. Comparing this game to GTA 3 or Vice City is like comparing apples to oranges. There is SO much to do here, so much is improved and expanded upon that it almost feels like a different series. But at the same time - the same. It's quite simply the single largest jump in improvement from one game in a series to the next. And I thought Vice City was superb, too. So that should speak volumes to how I feel about this game.

GTA soundtracks are known for being amazing and versatile, and this game is no exception. There are a ton of diverse radio stations. There are multiple rap stations, and I'm not a big rap fan. But I must say that they really hand picked some of the best rap songs from the 90's for this game. I have to stop every time I am channel surfing and come across Snoop Dogg or Dr Dre on the radio. There is a classic rock station, filled with some great tunes. Freebird is a personal favorite. And a 90's rock station. I don't care for the talk stations, nor the techno or the country, but all in all it is a very satisfying soundtrack for this game. It is a rare situation when you are changing stations on the radio and can't find something to listen to.

The voice acting is on par with the music, with people like Samuel L Jackson, Chris Penn, David Kross, and many more lending their talent to the game.

As far as the story goes, I didn't particularly care for it too much. This is where GTA games usually fall short for me. They all follow the same formula. You've got your main character guy, and he takes missions for kooky sons of a bitches who are trying to use him, one after the other. Eventually your guys works from the bottom of the scrap heap to the top of a criminal empire. And then the game ends. You don't really care too much for the characters. Perhaps the game is too silly to be taken seriously? Because it is definitely a very goofy and over the top game. If some day they can make GTA's story line more serious and intense, like an interactive Breaking Bad, we could have the ultimate video game. But it hasn't happened yet.

But I do like the diversity in the series. This game follows CJ, the main protagonist. He comes home to the hood in Los Santos after his mom was killed, and he sets out looking for answers while trying to make things better for his remaining friends and family at the same time. Each GTA game changes it up with its main characters, and I appreciate what they did here.

The time setting for each GTA game is almost a character in its own way. Vice City was clearly recognizable as being set in the 80's, and this game is just as recognizable as being set in the 90's. From the songs on the radio to the pop culture references, to the giant, sneaker sized cell phones, it is like you are transported back in time 20 years go. It is super cool.

Missions are big and varied. Most of the missions are things you have seen and done before. Storm enemy strongholds, shoot people, win races, steal cars. But this game really goes the extra mile in making each job you undertake seem slightly different. Before the game is over you'll find yourself driving a motorcycle onto the ramp of a moving airplane, hijacking a train, loading boxes onto a truck with a forklift, stealing a jetpack from Area 51, and burning down a field of marijuana before the cops arrive. The game makes even seemingly mundane missions like driving a semi truck from point to point seem fun.  Stealth is introduced to the GTA series as well. This game isn't always all about going in guns blazing. Sometimes sneaking into places is the way to go.

A lot of people hate the Zero missions in the game, but I thought they were unique and fun. Zero is a character who is a whiz with mechanical flying toys. Of course, this is GTA. The toys have been modified to deal lethal damage to your enemies. One particular mission involves flying a tiny little biplane that has been equipped with a machine gun over the city and picking off your rivals. This was very difficult because not only is the thing hard to handle, but you have a limited amount of fuel to use in which to complete the mission. It must have taken me at least 15 tries to complete this mission. Sure there is a steep learning curve, but it actually never got frustrating to me. I was constantly challenging myself to do better, and eventually I did.

As amazing as the game is, it does have its faults. The most noticeable thing to me during my most recent play through was definitely the draw distance. This is especially irritating when you are attempting to fly a plane and random trees and poles suddenly appear in front of you. They have a tendency to do that. And planes are fragile too. It just takes one tree to completely wreck your mission.

As much as I praised the game for its size, there are points when backtracking is required. Then, the game seems TOO big for its own good. It can be a good 10 minute drive across San Andreas to get to your next mission. And if you wreck your car or somehow get stuck on foot out in the desert, this can easily stretch to 20. As far as I could tell, the game doesn't have a fast travel system. Nor can you skip long portions of travel by taking a taxi. It is all on you to get from point A to point B.

There are missions later in the game where a giant gang war erupts, and you must take over enemy territory to advance the game's story line. This part of the game seemed especially glitchy to me. Vehicles are nearly impossible to find when all this is going on. Most cars you encounter are either on fire, which means they are about to blow up. Or they are cop cars, which if you try to steal will bring massive amounts of police attention down on you. Without a car, you'll find yourself having to run across the city to your next location. And it takes FOREVER to get anywhere without a vehicle.

It happened to me a few times during these missions where I would take over a few territories, and then die on my way back to a save point. Or my property would fall under attack, and I'd die trying to defend it. This was beyond frustrating. Especially with the limited amount of vehicles at your disposal.

The only other times I would feel frustration in the game were mainly due to stupid bad luck. Halfway through a race - my car flips and I lose. Almost finished with a tough mission - get run over by an ambulance and die. Fly a plane to bomb an enemy location - hit a tree on the way back or fly over a restricted area and die. This game is filled with cheap deaths. Filled, I say. And I am not even counting all the times I would make sure the coast is clear, steal a car, and then instantly have cops all over me. At least they are easier to shake in this game, as opposed to GTA 4 or 5.

But all of this should be expected by anyone who has ever played a GTA game before.

I love the Grand Theft Auto series. I have been a fan since the overhead, top down view versions of the game back on the original PlayStation. I had a girlfriend who loved Vice City, and we would spend countless hours playing the game over and over again all night long. That game holds a lot of great memories for me. I love me some GTA 4. I pumped more hours into that game's multiplayer mode than any other games multiplayer modes combined. GTA 5 is giant, fun, and may even rival this game in the sheer amount of shit you can do. And the game's graphics completely blow San Andreas away.

But if you asked me to name my favorite game in the series, it would definitely be GTA: San Andreas. This game broke the mold in so many ways, and completely elevated Grand Theft Auto to another stratosphere of video gaming. It is fun, it is iconic. There is so much to do, so much to collect. It is big, it is beautiful, and it is funny as all hell. The music is great, the voice acting is great. The missions are fun. Even if you are not really doing anything, there is still a good time to be had. It is truly a remarkable game.

If I had given this game a grade when it first came out, it would have received an A+ for sure. But since time has passed, some of the game's more obvious flaws stick out like sore thumbs. And there were some very frustrating moments in the game for me, particularly when something completely out of your control happens and completely messes up your mission. And the story. I really wish I cared about the story.

GTA: San Andreas isn't a perfect game, but it is pretty damned good. If you have never played it before, you may think it is a major step backward, especially if you have played some of the newer iterations of the GTA series. But those of us who grew up playing this game, who were sitting at the store waiting to buy it when it was first released - you know what I'm talking about.

Excellent game, easily my favorite in the series.

Overall:

A

2016 Movie Ranking Countdown: June

Well June was pretty much a wash as far as movie watching goes. I've been wrapped up in several shows on Netflix and Hulu, in addition to playing a lot of video games. I've also been a bit more social, getting out of the house and doing things. That doesn't leave a whole lot of room for movie watching.

I watched a grand total of four movies in June. Since each month five movies advance to my year end ranking, this puts me in a somewhat bizarre situation. I've decided that just for consistencies sake, ALL four of these movies will advance, even if I didn't necessarily like them that much. Then I'll go back and pick a movie that missed the cut from earlier in the year, and add it to the list, making five that will move on to the year end ranking. A little bit of an unorthodox approach, but in the end - who really cares? I know you probably don't.

Without further adieu, here are the four movies I watched in June.

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I've heard about this movie for several years now, but for some reason or another, never got around to watching it. When I saw it on my Netflix queue, I decided to give it a go. But I probably shouldn't have.

I had a lot on my mind. I was tired. I was playing with my phone. I wasn't in a really good movie watching mood. The movie didn't immediately grab me right away, and as a result my mind started to wander. I missed half of what was going on.

But from what I was able to see, I did like the premise. It is the future (or an alternate present?) and people can have memories of other people removed from their mind completely - as if the person never existed in their life. Because of my not paying 100% attention, I missed a lot of what was going on. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet meet and fall in love, not knowing that they already had met and fell in love, and had each others memories wiped from their minds. Something like that. I think.

Anyway, I liked the premise. I really should have paid more attention because I think I actually would have enjoyed the movie if I did. This definitely warrants a rewatch at some point this year. Since it will automatically move on to my year end ranking, I have plenty of time to watch it again. And who knows, maybe the next time I see it - it will blow me away.

Here is another movie I have wanted to see for a long time now. I thought the previews were interesting, and although I never got the chance to see it in the theater, I did put it on hold at the library and was able to watch it as soon as it came in.

Coming in, I didn't have much of an idea of what the movie was about. I thought it was going to be kind of dark and scary. But it really isn't. It is more darkly funny and outrageous than anything else. I look at it as a weird kind of Gremlins/Sharknado/National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation mash up.

Its an interesting mix of genres, and I had my doubts as if this film was going to work. But it slowly won me over, and by the end of the movie I was a fan. On a normal month, this movie might struggle to make my top 5. But due to lack of other options, it gets a free pass. I feel as if this movie could have been a lot better, but for what it was it was at least an enjoyable time.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is good for a rewatch every couple years or so. I had been hearing a lot of people talk about the movies, plus seen some Facebook posts about them - so I decided it was time to bust out the collection and watch the trilogy again.

I only got around to watching the Fellowship of the Ring in June, but expect to see me finish up the trilogy by the end of July. August at the latest. I am a very slow watcher, plus I am watching the extended editions - which are 3+ hours long each.

The extended edition of this film is a fun watch, especially if you've only seen the normal version before. There is a lot of added content here and there which makes you look at the film in a different way. The characters and the story are given a little bit more depth. There are certain parts in the beginning of the film where it almost feels like a different movie.

But after a while, the added stuff starts to get old. There is nothing added that really changes much of what happens in the film. And it really starts to seem long after a while. It takes quite some time before the action starts to happen. In fact, I fell asleep before Frodo even departed the Shire with the Ring, and had to watch the rest of the movie the next day.

This is still a great film, but I think the next time I watch it (a few years from now) I can forego the extended edition and just watch the original cut.

This has always been one of my favorite horror movies, and my June watching of the film did nothing to change my opinion. It definitely wins as my favorite movie watched this month.

The story line for the film is very basic, but far ahead of its time. There's a zombie outbreak. A bunch of people trapped in an old house. There are two conflicts going on - the living versus the dead. And the living versus each other. If you think about, this movie really paved the way for the zombie genre. The Walking Dead wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the Night of the Living Dead.

I think everything about this film is well done. The acting, the location, the suspense. I like the feeling of horror in the beginning of the film when the blonde woman sees her brother killed by a zombie, and has to run into that old house. Her exploring, finding the dead body at the top of the stairs, really sets the tone for the whole film.

There is also a certain sense of realism about the film that I admire. The TV station with the emergency broadcast seems very authentic. Everyone's individual stories about how they arrived at the house. The interpersonal conflict that arises when people have a difference of opinion about what the proper course of action should be.

It's just a really great movie. And it has aged surprisingly well.

----

That was a quick and easy month for me. Guess these write ups are easy to do when you only watch four movies all month! Obviously all of the movies are going to advance. So there is no drama there. The only drama lies in what movie I am going to go back and pick from earlier in the year to make this an even five.

I have decided that this movie shall be....

*drumroll*


Mad Max Fury Road!

I felt bad about not including this movie in April. It was a pretty loaded month as far as quality of movies was concerned. Now I have a chance to rectify this situation by adding it to my list after all.

So after 6 months, here are my top 30 movies watched in 2016! Which movie will win my ultimate ranking at the end of the year? Stay tuned to find out.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Cake
American Sniper
Predator
Friday the 13th Part 2

Locke

Evil Dead

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Elysium

Snowpiercer
Room
Manson Family Vacation
Deadpool
Goodnight, Mommy
Unforgiven

Big Driver

The Martian

Pixels

JFK: The Smoking Gun

Crimson Peak
It
Creed
The Revenant
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
No Good Deed
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Krampus
The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition
The Night of the Living Dead
Mad Max: Fury Road

Video Game Review: Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park

Sega Genesis

Jurassic Park was a big deal when I was a kid. I saw it over summer break when I was 10 or 11 years old. The movie completely blew me away as no other movie had ever done before. After seeing it I constantly had Jurassic Park on the brain. I got the toys, the clothes. I even managed to convince my parents to get me the book. When school resumed, this was the first question everyone would ask each other: "Did you see Jurassic Park?"

It was a no-brainer that there would be a video game adaptation of the movie, and is it turns out, there have been several. Some good, some not so good. But as a proud Genesis owner back in the early 90's, there was no question in my mind. I was getting the game. Even if I had heard it was terrible, I was going to get it. I loved Jurassic Park that much.

I had been following the game's production very closely. I subscribed to several video game magazines back then, and I basically wore out the pages reading the articles on this game over and over again. I was so excited. Not only did it look amazing, but you got to play the game in two separate ways. As Dr Grant, and as a velociraptor. I was totally sold.

When I finally did get the game, I played it religiously. I explored every nook and cranny of the game with both Dr Grant and as the raptor. No stone was left unturned. I could probably beat the game in my sleep. I was an unquestioned Jurassic Park expert. Even though the game is pretty short and relatively easy - I still managed to find a way to maximize my time with the game and to stretch out the experience for as long as humanly possible.

Eventually, of course, I ended up getting new games. Jurassic Park was pushed to the background. I think I either traded my copy in or gave it away. It didn't matter to me back then - I'd played the game so much I didn't think I would ever have the desire to play it again.

Twenty some years later, the desire returned. But I had traded away my copy and had no way to play it. I always looked for it when I would go to used game stores, but could never find a copy. Enter my cousin Ryan. He is an avid reader of this blog, and offered to loan me his old Genesis games to play and review. Jurassic Park was one of those games. I was ecstatic. All my years of searching, and I finally had my hands on the game.

Would the game withstand the test of time, however?

Of course, the game looks primitive when compared with games released in today's day and age. But that is to be expected. I think the game still looks pretty good, especially when you consider it is well over twenty years old. The environments all look good. The dinosaurs look like... dinosaurs. Dr Grant is recognizable as Dr Grant. Some of the animations are a bit choppy, and there is a significant amount of lag/slowdown from time to time, but it never really bothered me that much.

Music and sound effects are top notch. The raptors sound like they do in the movie, all the little sound effects sound as they should. My only complaint is the T-Rex didn't sound like it did in the film, but that is a minor complaint. The musical score works with each level. It's not an outstanding score by any means, but it does the job.

Gameplay is typical side scrolling shooter fair.

If you play as Dr Grant, you must traverse the island, making your way from the crash site of your Jeep to the Visitor's Center. You face off against a wide variety of dinosaurs along the way, most of which want to eat your face. Weapons are mainly of the non-lethal variety. Tranquilizer guns, stun grenades, knock out gas. I guess it is good that you aren't just running around slaughtering every animal on the island. If you linger, though, the dinosaurs will wake up and start coming after you again. Some of the weapons are lethal, however. Rocket launchers, hand grenades. Those dinosaurs aren't surviving an encounter with one of these. Occasionally you will tangle with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, but take not that he can't be killed. You can only stun him and run by before he recaptures his wits.

The levels are nice, and give a pretty wide representation of environments in the park. You've got your typical jungle levels, a power station, a rafting level, a pumping station, mountainous terrain, volcanic tunnels, and the Visitor Center itself. Each level looks and feels different, so there is no sense of repetition or deja vu as you play the game. My personal favorite level is the rafting one. As Grant, you must ride the rapids as you make your way back to the Visitor Center. You don't just ride the raft however, you must jump out of it from time to time on to dry land, collecting gasoline for the raft's motor and picking up other essential supplies. There are a lot of paths you can take on this level, and also a ton of hidden secrets to find. It's just a really fun level to explore for me.

The only part of the game I really struggled with was the controls. Grant moves in a really herky-jerky fashion. For the most part, it didn't bother me in the game. But there were times (the pump station, cough cough) when this became a very glaring flaw. I died many times due to the shoddy controls. I'm not gonna lie, I did become pretty frustrated with the game at this point.

Make it to the Visitor Center, and complete one final level to escape the island and complete the game.

Escape is not the number one thing on your mind when you play as the velociraptor. After escaping from your pen, you pick up the scent of Dr Grant. Your whole quest involves stalking him through the game in an attempt to eat his flesh. Unfortunately you must contend with a horde of dinosaurs trying to block you from your prize, in addition to to enemy soldiers looking to keep the dinosaurs at bay. Where are all these soldiers during Grant's campaign? Hmmmm....

The velociraptor mode feels more like a side quest than anything. It can be beaten in a fraction of the time it takes to complete Grant's campaign. Mainly you just run from left to right, leaping over or killing anything in your path. There is one level (once again, the pump station) where precision jumping is needed to advance. And again, it is very frustrating. The raptor moves in a very jerky fashion, and it can be hard to get her to do exactly what you want her to do. I died many, many times on this level. It turned out okay in the end, though. It added a little longevity to the raptor portion of the game. Without the having to play the pump station over and over again I would have likely beaten the game in fifteen minutes, if that.

Even though killing Grant is your main objective, you still escape the island when you beat the game. I remember being so excited for the sequel when I was a kid. Hoping that in the second game you'd wreak havoc on the mainland as a velociraptor. But alas, that was not to be.

While I did have fun with the game, and it brought back a lot of great memories, I do have to admit that it is very short. And there is not much replay value here. I beat the game twice - once with Grant and once with the raptor. And I'm good. I have no desire to play any further.

I enjoyed myself, I had a nice stroll down memory lane. There is no denying that for its time, this was a really, really good game. Playing it now, I still like it. But not as much. There's just not a whole lot of substance here, no real reason to keep playing after you've beaten the game. And the game itself was over and done with, both modes of play, in under two hours. I can't imagine paying top dollar for a game such as this in this day and age - and then being done with it in under two hours. And the controls, man. The controls really could have used a little fine tuning before this game's release.

This is a good game, no doubt. And it pulls enough sentimental value with me to get a solid grade. But I question whether it is a true classic. It's no Mario Bros, it is no Contra. Heck it isn't even Judge Dredd or Taz-Mania. It's a solid game, but without the Jurassic Park license, no doubt it would have been forgotten by me a long time ago.

Overall:

B

Video Game Review: Flower

Flower 

PlayStation 3

Flower is a lovely game.

It feels weird using that word to describe a video game. Lovely. But it is appropriate. I can't think of a better word to describe the game, actually.

When I first gave Flower a try, I didn't know what to expect. It had been out for several years and I was familiar with hearing the name, but as far as what the game was about or how it played, I had no clue. I was told it was a "relaxing" game, but that seemed odd to me. How could a game be relaxing?

It is true, though. The game is very relaxing. There is no combat, no death, no conflict. As far as story line goes, I don't think this game even really has one. You may ask: a game with no combat and no story line - how does this work?

The concept of the game is hard to explain. I tried to look at it while playing it as a unique kind of flight simulator. There are 6 stages in the game, and at the beginning of each stage you start out as a lone flower petal hovering in the air.

The game only uses one button. Basically, any button on the controller that you want to use (for the record, I used the R1 shoulder button). This button moves your flower petal forward. How you control the flower petal - whether it be moving it up, down, left, or right - depends on how you tilt the controller.

There really is no better way to describe it than as a flight simulator. Tilt the controller left, the petal goes left. Point it down, it goes down. Pull up, and you lift into the sky. There is a little bit of a learning curve with how to control your flower petal, especially since so many PS3 games don't utilize the motion sensors in the controller too often, but it really isn't that difficult.

The purpose of the game is to collect stuff. As I mentioned, you start out each stage controlling a lone flower petal. You must fly around and touch other plants and flowers, and they add petals to your uh... character? Can you call it that? Think of it as a snowball effect. The more stuff you touch and the more stuff you collect, the bigger your whirling collection of petals becomes.

Each stage has certain goals you must collect to complete said stage. A very simple example - say you enter a stage with an open field. In this field are 3 glowing yellow plants located at opposite ends of the field. Touch one yellow plant, and a dozen red flowers bloom up out of the grass nearby. You must collect these. Then go to the next yellow plant, touch it, and another collection of red flowers blooms nearby. You must touch all the yellow plants and collect all the red flowers to move on to the next area. This is a very generic example, but an effective one. Basically all you do in this game is fly around and collect stuff.

It sounds boring, but it really isn't. As the game progresses, the levels get bigger and you have to start searching harder to find what you are supposed to do in order to advance. Again, there are no enemies or no fight scenes in this game. Anyone could pick up and play this game and excel at it, depending on if they can handle the controls while flying or not.

While the game is fun, where it really shines is in its audio and visual effects. They are clearly the stars of the game. This game is simply gorgeous to look at, and I don't throw around that term lightly. Each stage is bright and vibrant, with colors popping all over the place. Even if a stage at first seems dark and gloomy, it is your goal to bring light and color to the area

For example, in one stage that takes place at night, there is a flower you collect that makes the whirligig of assorted flower petals you control shine like a beacon. You can use this light to brighten the area, touching light posts to turn them on and bringing illumination to the area. Another area in the game turns your petal collection a bright color, and you become a paintbrush of sort. If you swoop down and fly through the grass, you paint the grass with whatever color you decided to become.

If an area seems dead or colorless, the more you collect, the brighter you make it. If there is a large area of dead grass, chances are that you can make it green by collecting everything in the area. If there is a story line to this game, I guess it is that your character flies around bringing light and life to everything it touches. It's on a mission to make the world a more lively and beautiful place.

The colors in the game are amazing. It really feels like you are picked up and transported to another world at times. You know the movie Avatar - how the world of the Na'vi is so brightly colored and glowing and beautiful and amazing looking? This game manages to replicate that feeling of awe and beauty, but on a much bigger and more immersive scale.

You haven't really played Flower unless you've truly immersed yourself in the game. When you play this - turn off the lights, put on some headphones, and dive in. The feeling of flying through the air, light as a feather, is amazing. Up in the air, riding the breeze, ducking down to the ground and skimming through the grass. It is truly awesome. The worlds you explore are well designed, the goals you must complete are simple but clever. It is one of the most immersive games I have ever played.

The game is short, however, and easy to boot. Expect to easily finish this in one night. If I had shelled out 50 or 60 bucks for this, I probably would have been very upset and it would have affected my final score greatly. But hey, I got it for free so I can't complain.

As a game, Flower isn't the best thing known to mankind. It's short, there is almost no challenge to it. No story line to speak of. As an experience, however, it is epic. Great graphics, fun controls, a giant, beautiful world to explore. You definitely feel like you are a part of something bigger when you play this game. Whether or not you like the game depends on if you think a game with no action or story line is worth playing. I don't see how you couldn't like this game, but I am sure there are some who don't.

It has my stamp of approval, however. If some day a game manages to combine the graphics, atmosphere, and immersion effect of Flower with a powerful story line and cutting edge combat and controls, it would be the perfect game. Instead, we just half to settle for a glimpse of what the future of gaming has in store for us.

Overall:

B+

Video Game Review: Sword of the Berserk: Gut's Rage

Sword of the Berserk: Guts Rage

Sega Saturn

This is a game that I bought over 15 years ago, despite not knowing anything of what it was about. I just so happened to see this game in a bargain bin at a used video game store. It was dirt cheap, like in the 3 or 4 dollar range. My Dreamcast collection was looking sad at the time, so I bought the game for shits and giggles.

I played it and had a decent time with the game. But it was short and I was through with it in one night. It didn't leave a big impression on me. Looking back, all I can remember about it is that there were lengthy cutscenes and a lot of sword slashing battles. The game got shelved, and little did I know it would be 15 years before I ever picked the game up to play it again.

A lot has changed in my life since I last played this game. Back in 2000 or 2001 I was living with my parents. Now in 2016 I am married and on my own. Older and wiser.

My standards apparently have raised because while I recall liking this title back in the day, I didn't enjoy it playing it again 15 years later. The game really hasn't aged well. Graphically, it looks fine. Yeah this is an early Dreamcast title, but things don't look too awful. There are nice environments, detailed characters.

The voice acting is decent. I recognized several famous voices from other video games. For example - both Colonel Campbell and Liquid Snake are voices in the game. The music is fine. The sound effects are fine. Everything is fine yet unspectacular. Where the game stumbles in my estimation is in its gameplay.

This is a hack n slash title like God of War or Heavenly Sword. Normally I like these types of games, but Sword of the Berserk feels broken. There are no lock on attacks, so unless you are facing in the exact direction of your enemy, you will miss with your attack. This happens a LOT over the course of the game, and it is very annoying because it takes your character a second or two to recover from swinging his sword, and this leaves you vulnerable to attack.

Combat isn't terrible deep either. It is mainly just dodging enemy attacks and mashing the attack button over and over again. The game does give you items to use in combat. There are potions that restore your health, guns that do massive damage, and smoke bombs that cause moderate damage and help you break away from enemy attacks. One of the few bright spots in the game for me is the fact that you have a meter that fills up as you dole out damage. When the meter hits the top, you go into a rage where your attacks are extra powerful, and nothing the enemies can do will hurt you. When you think about games like God of War and Dante's Inferno that have this feature, it doesn't seem like anything too original. But when you realize that this game came out long before any of those titles, you realize that Sword of the Berserk is a little bit of a trend setter.

I mentioned that swordplay feels broken at times, and one area where it feels especially broken is in close quarters combat. Your character uses a big ass sword as his main weapon, however this sword hits the wall when you are fighting in close quarters. While your character recovers from the brief after shock of hitting the wall, again the game leaves you vulnerable to attack from your enemies. There are areas in the game where you must fight hordes of enemies in tight quarters, so this can be very, very annoying.

There isn't much variety in the gameplay. Most levels consist of big fights where you must destroy giant respawning swarms of enemies to move on. As I played the game, I learned that in some places you don't even have to kill all your enemies. You can just run to the end of the stage and move on to the next area without swinging your sword even once. Seeing as how there is no incentive to staying around and fighting the enemies (no experience points, weapon upgrades, etc) I ended up doing this quite often to save time.

At least boss battles are interesting. Each boss requires you to use different strategies and techniques to beat them. Some of these require a little trial and error, which I didn't mind. There is one boss in particular - this giant black dragon cat thing that is really, really difficult to beat. I wanted to chuck my controller at the wall several times while fighting this son of a bitch. Eventually I found the winning combination needed to beat him and move on, but it took quite some time.

Those are your three basic stages. Running from enemies, fighting swarms of them, and battling bosses. There are some quick time events thrown in to keep things interesting, but these are few and far between, and none of them are difficult. Towards the end of the game, there is a stage where you must run through a corridor while it collapses behind you, avoiding obstacles along the way. This is very frustrating to pass and feels poorly designed. If you run out of lives, you must fight the game's previous boss over again. This happened quite often to me. Once again, this game made me want to chuck my controller at the wall.

Speaking of poor design, the save system here is abysmal. The game saves automatically, but you really have to pay attention or you won't even notice it happening. And if you happen to turn off your game when it hasn't saved in a long time, you will find yourself having to play through old stages to make it back to where you left off. The game is about three hours long give or take, and it only saves about 3 or 4 times throughout the entire duration of the game. The worst thing in the world is dying during a boss battle and then having to replay long chunks of game to get you back to the boss fight.

The game is very story driven, and I find that I enjoyed the story more than I did the actual game. It's about a swordsman named Guts who is traveling with a magical fairy and a seemingly autistic woman. On their travels, they encounter a kingdom infested with a sickness that turns people into violent zombie like creatures. Guts is enlisted by a seriously evil dude who is in charge of the area to go retrieve an item which supposedly will eradicate the Mandragoran scourge. But in a twist surprising to no one, the evil dude wants the item for himself to turn himself into some kind of all powerful super being. At least, that's the basics I got out of the story. Some of the cutscenes are quite lengthy, and I found my attention drifting on more than one occasion.

As I said, the best part of the game is the story - and even the story isn't that great. I read after the fact that the game is based on a Japanese manga series, so it looks like this is just a small chapter out of the adventures of Guts and his traveling companions. Even though I wasn't that crazy about the story, I am sort of interested in checking out this manga now. Just out of curiosity.

I think it is a fair assessment to say that I got what I paid for with this game. It was a bargain bin title. I only paid 3 or 4 bucks for it. I don't think I expected it to be great when I bought it. And its not. Was it worth the money? Sure. I played through it twice. Put about 6 or 7 total hours into it.

I don't think I'll ever play this title again. In fact, I feel as if I am probably going to trade this game in now that I am done with it. Usually I like to hang on to my games when I finish them because I never know if I am going to feel the urge to play them again. But I just can't see myself ever wanting to play this again. I'm good with letting it go.

This is an occasionally fun, mostly sloppy and annoying game. I was able to derive a little bit of entertainment from the title, so it is not a complete failure. And I think back in 2000 or 2001 when I played this I enjoyed it and had a good time. So there's always that. But yeah, this game is not for me. At least not anymore.

Overall:

D

2016 Movie Ranking Countdown: May

The month of May has come to an end, and it is time to pick the top 5 favorite movies that I watched during this 5th month of the year. These top 5 will move on to my end of the year ranking list where, after a brutal 10 movie cut, I shall rank in order my 50 favorite movies watched in 2016.

There is not much to choose from in May, as I've only watched 7 films this month. 2 will be eliminated, and 5 will move on.

I've seen this miniseries (which I shall from here on out refer to as a movie) a handful of times over the years, and I generally find that I've always enjoyed it. I had just finished reading the book version of It when I decided to give the movie another watch. It had been about 5 years or so since I'd last seen It, and I wanted to know if my reading of the book would change my thoughts on if I liked it or not.

Understandably, they had to change a lot of things to fit the 1000 page book into a 3 hour made for TV movie, so a lot of content was dropped from the novel. I didn't mind this though, and accepted the changes and alterations to the plot that they made. It is a well cast movie, especially in the area of Pennywise and the kid versions of the Losers Club. The adult versions of the kids I was meh about, with the exception of a few.

The way they adapted the story of the book was decent - with the first part of the miniseries mainly focusing on Mike Hanlon's phone calls, and each person's flashbacks to their initial memories of It. Then the second part was about everyone coming to Derry and tracking down It and killing it once and for all.

There are some scary moments, some moments that have not aged well at all. But I enjoyed myself a lot here. As far as book to TV adaptations go there have been a lot worse than this. A LOT worse. I thought this was pretty good.

I visited California earlier in the month, and during my vacation I happened to pass through the Big Sur area on a trip down the coast. Fascinated by what I had seen, I searched for Big Sur on Netflix after I returned home to see if there were any documentaries or travel shows about the area. The only thing to come up was this movie.

I decided to give it a go, despite its one star rating. I should have known better. The movie was terrible. Like, excruciatingly bad. It's about a beatnik author named Jack Kerouac (apparently he is very famous, although I had never heard of him) who spends time at Big Sur to unwind and get away from the "real world". The movie cuts back and forth between his time at Big Sur and his life in the city, where he is a big drinker and womanizer. Often there are voice overs of Jack reading from his novel while collage scenes play out on the screen.

The movie, I am sorry to say, is garbage. Its a confusing mess with unlikable characters and obnoxious ramblings by some dickwad who thinks he is a lot smarter and insightful than he actually is. I liked the scenery in the movie, but that was it. I'd have to say this ranks as one of, if not THE worst, movies I have seen all year. Suffice it to say, it will not be making my top 5 for this month.

Last year I had decided to watch the first two Star Wars prequels, then the TV show the Clone Wars, then Revenge of the Sith in order. Well, the cartoon is taking longer than I had expected to watch, so I decided to go ahead and watch Revenge of the Sith even though I am only on season 4 of the Clone Wars. I just had a really odd urge to watch this movie which I can't explain.

I've always considered this the best of the prequels, the only one I have ever legitimately enjoyed while watching. And this definitely still holds up. Sure there are silly moments with the special effects and the CGI. The acting still isn't wonderful. But on the whole I find this to be much, much better than its predecessors.

The action is better and less corny, the plot moves along at a faster and at a more cohesive clip (get that taxation of trade routes shit out of here), and I just find that I had a really good time watching it. Yeah, the prequels still as a whole suck, but at least they managed to make one decent movie out of the bunch.

I actually had watched this movie a month or two ago, but had forgotten to add it to my list. My only choices were either to not include it on the list at all (which I never really considered) or throw it into the month of May, although I didn't actually watch it in May. So I have decided to go ahead and add it as a May movie. It's my list, I can make up the rules if I want!

I found this movie to be pretty good. It is a fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing with strong twists and turns and a fast moving plot line. It mainly focuses on an escaped convict who returns home to hook up with his ex, who he is devastated to find has been seeing another man in his absence. He confronts her and things go terribly wrong.

Events lead him to the house of a seemingly random stranger. He tells the woman that his car has broken down, and she invites him in. Then, a deadly game of cat and mouse begins. I won't spoil the twists, but the movie definitely takes a few unexpected turns along the way.

The only thing I didn't enjoy about the movie was the fact that the female lead made a lot of questionable choices throughout the film, mainly in how she handles the man who comes to her door in the middle of the night. It is like everything that a woman on her own should NOT do, she does the opposite. But still on the whole it was a solid movie.

It is a little surprising that I never watched this as a kid, seeing as how obsessed I was with the first two TMNT movies. But I was a big fan of Shredder and some of the story lines from the cartoon. When I saw that this movie was moving away from all that (No Shredder, no Krang, no mutant opponents like Baxter Stockman or Rocksteady and Bebop) and had instead decided to focus on time traveling back to feudal Japan, my 12 year old self became supremely annoyed. Plus I had read reviews that the movie was bad.

I never went to see this in the theater, never even got it when it came out on home video. Somehow I completely managed to avoid watching this until I reached the ripe old age of 33 - 21 years after the release of the film.

Unfortunately, the reviews I had read about the movie being bad were true. This was pretty terrible. I was willing to give it a chance, but I just couldn't get into it. The jokes are bad, the story line is uninspired, and the characters and fight scenes are all just as meh as you can be. They had a good thing going with the first two TMNT movies, I don't know why they strayed from the formula here. Shortly after this movie came out, TMNT's popularity faded immensely. I can't help but think that this movie had something to do with that. Thanks a lot, TMNT 3.

You ruined the Turtles for me.

I wasn't sure what to expect of this coming in. I am not a huge Dicaprio fan, nor am I a big fan of "man vs nature" type movies. There are some that I like, such as Life of Pi and Castaway for example. But on the whole I tend to get bored with this genre of film.

It turns out that there is much, much more than man vs nature to this title. The movie is extremely immersive, great location, great atmosphere, great set pieces. You feel like you have actually transported back in time when watching this movie. The acting is great, in particular Tom Hardy's character, who I thought outshined Dicaprio.

I'm a fan of blood, gore, and violence and this movie definitely delivers the goods. The Indian attack, the assault by the bear, the big fight at the end of the film: all awesome. One scene where Leo has to cut open a dead horse Luke Skywalker style and shove himself into its steaming corpse to survive a cold night was particularly awesome to me.

I expected to be bored by the movie. Didn't expect a lot of dialogue, didn't expect much action. I just thought it would be Leonardo Dicaprio trudging around in the snow for 2 plus hours. But this movie had it all. Great location, great acting, great violence and gore. The revenge plot isn't overly innovative or original, but I enjoyed that as well. This is the first time all year I watched a movie where I thought "hey this could actually win my end of the year ranking."

Will it? Maybe. There's still a lot of 2016 left, though.

I'm a big Rocky fan, plus I have heard that this movie was excellent, so it was a no brainer I'd be watching this movie as soon as I could get my grubby mitts on a copy of it.

The film follows Adonis Creed, the bastard son of famed Rocky rival Apollo Creed. Despite having a troubled youth, he grows up to be an exceptionally bright young man who discovers he has a talent for boxing. He leaves behind a promising business career to follow in his father's footsteps in the boxing ring.

He starts at the bottom of the heap and works his way up with the help of his reluctant mentor Rocky Balboa. Stallone is at the top of his game as an old, broken down Rocky who is going through health problems. Michael P Jordan is amazing as Adonis as well. It is a superbly acted movie with a fun root for the underdog plot line. The final scene of the movie is very intense and keeps you on the edge of your seat. You can't help but root for Adonis the whole way through this film as he is one of the most likable characters you ever meet in a movie.

The film is an up and down emotional roller coaster, and definitely left its impression on me. I'd recommend this to anyone, regardless of whether they are familiar with the Rocky series or not. Just as I thought the Revenant was the only film I watched so far that could possibly win my end of year ranking, along comes Creed. Great movie that I plan to watch again before the year is out.

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What is moving on this month? Well, the pickings are slim with only 7 movies watched in May - and 5 moving on. If you read my write ups at all, you should know this is a no brainer. I hated Big Sur and TMNT 3, and there is no way in hell those movies are moving on.

We shall see Creed, The Revenant, All Good Things, Revenge of the Sith, and It and the end of the year when I rank my top 50 films watched in 2016.



Here's all my combined top fives from each month so far for the year:

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Cake
American Sniper
Predator
Friday the 13th Part 2

Locke

Evil Dead

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Elysium

Snowpiercer
Room
Manson Family Vacation
Deadpool
Goodnight, Mommy
Unforgiven

Big Driver

The Martian

Pixels

JFK: The Smoking Gun

Crimson Peak
It
Creed
The Revenant
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
No Good Deed


Here's to a great June of movie watching! I really want to see Captain America Civil War, and I have had a weird craving to watch Zombieland and the Perfect Getaway lately. But who knows what will randomly catch my interest on Netflix?