Review: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”

So here we are, well into Marvel’s “Phase Two” of their movie lineup, and the post-Avenger’s road up until now has received somewhat mixed reviews. Iron Man 3 was about as divisive as Iron Man 2, Thor: The Dark World fanfare was a bit more muted than its predecessor (which, to be fair, had more to do with the fact that people thought the first Thor was going to be a train-wreck), and Black Widow, an Avenger’s mainstay at this point, probably won’t have her own film until 2016 AT THE EARLIEST. So where does Captain America: The Winter Soldier stand in all of this? Well, it’s somewhere between “fantastic” and “fan-freaking-tastic”.

Retro/Remix (Week 3): Pokemon Blue/Red – S.S. Anne

There were a lot of childhood-defining moments in the original Pokemon games. From taking the first step outside of Pallet Town to finally beating the Elite Four and reigning Pokemon Champion, the first journey through the world of Pokemon was a journey that nearly an entire generation of kids took part in. You ask someone who grew up when Pokemon first hit the U.S., and they likely have a story on how they picked their first starter, or how it felt to win their first gym badge, or how they dreaded going anywhere near Lavender Town. This week on Retro/Remix, we’ll be looking at the theme for one such shared event: the S.S. Anne.

Retro/Remix (Week 2): Kingdom Hearts II

Recently, I’ve been making my way through Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, a collection that includes HD-remakes of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, and the cinematics of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. The series is one of my favorites, and it’s been pretty neat to be able to finally experience everything that Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (originally only released in Japan) has to offer, and now with a nice HD-finish. However, while I love me some Kingdom Hearts, it’s not my favorite in the series. That title belongs to the subject of this week’s edition Retro/Remix: Kingdom Hearts II.

Review: “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”

“Pleasing things: finding a large number of tales that one has not read before. Or acquiring the second volume of a tale whose first volume one has enjoyed. But often it is a disappointment.” — Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book

Picking up where An Unexpected Journey left off, Peter Jackson’s The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventures of the hobbit, Bilbo, and his twelve dwarven companions as they trek across the countryside. Their quest: to retake the dwarven mountain home from the evil, gold-loving dragon, Smaug. Accompanying this troupe is the powerful wizard, Gandalf, who is also trying to uncover the reason behind a new and advancing darkness that threatens the entirety of Middle-Earth. While all of this is going on, our heroes are also on the run from some very unfriendly orcs who want nothing more than to prematurely end their quest. To say that Bilbo and company have it rough is a bit of an understatement.

Retro/Remix (Week 1): Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

Welcome to the first installment of Retro/Remix — a weekly column where I pick a specific song from a specific video game and discuss why I enjoy it so much! Reasons for me choosing a track can range from personal to technical, but all of the tracks I choose have one thing in common: I enjoy them. That, however, is only half of the fun. Every week, after discussing the song in its original glory, I’ll look at a remixed or updated version of the song. Thus, you have the “retro” and the “remix”! As a rule of thumb, I will always provide links to tracks that can’t be found on YouTube at the end of the column. So, without further ado, let’s kick it off with a game that is very near and dear to my heart: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991).

Review: Her

 

Imagine a world where artificial intelligence has grown so sophisticated that it can respond to you like it’s an actual human being, with thoughts and emotions and even dreams. Now imagine that, because this A.I. seems so real, you end up falling in love with it. That’s the premise of Spike Jonze’s Her. Undoubtedly, some will be a bit put off by this concept and avoid seeing it, but they’ll be depriving themselves of what is truly one of the best of movies of 2013.

Playing Catch-Up: Review Smorgasbord!

Hello all!

It’s officially been one year since I started this review blog. And while I like what I have done, I can’t say I’m as pleased with my post frequency as I could be. I can’t say it’s for lack of material, as I’ve seen more than enough movies and played more than enough games to have at least double my post count at the moment. But there’s always room to grow, no matter how good you are about content, so I can only strive to be more consistent as I continue along this rocky road*.

So, in the spirit of moving forward, I’d like to get a bunch of the film reviews I’ve had sitting off to the side for some time now out into the open. These reviews will be short and sweet, as I have either forgotten my more critical points since my viewings or I just couldn’t come up with enough to warrant full reviews for the films. So, with that in mind, let’s jump right in!

Review: Insidious: Chapter 2

 

If you frequent my reviews, you might have picked up on the fact that I tend to like how James Wan does horror. Saw was a great jumping off point, Insidious was tons of fun, and The Conjuring* was and still is one of my favorites from 2013. So how does Insidious: Chapter 2 measure up? Pretty well, actually.

Note: If you don’t want Insidious to be spoiled for you, turn around and promptly walk away. Plot details for Insidious: Chapter 2 are direct consequences to the events of the first film. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. 

Review: Jade Empire

Take an ounce of “hack-and-slasher”, mix it with a tablespoon of “RPG”, and sprinkle it with some Ancient Chinese influenced herbs, and what do you get? Jade Empire, that’s what.

BioWare’s soft-core role-playing sleeper from 2005 is certainly an interesting mix of ideas. It follows the style of its predecessor, Knights of the Old Republic, to an extent, but also drops some of the core mechanics that BioWare is somewhat known for. The results are mixed, as Jade Empire undeniably carves out its own place in BioWare’s catalogue but at a cost.

Review: The Conjuring

Over the past decade or so, the horror genre has seen a shift in priorities. Originally, the concept of a horror movie derived from telling a story that was scary for one reason or another. Nowadays, however, a horror movie is a series of theoretically scary scenarios that are only tangentially related to some overarching story.* That being said, there will, on occasion, be a film or two that rise above the depths of the contemporary horror genre to deliver experiences that remind us of what can be accomplished when someone tries to create something that isn’t just an amalgamation of every popular horror cliche to pop up within the last ten years. Insidious and Sinister are two fine examples, as was the first Paranormal Activity. This year’s inductee into that prestigious group is The Conjuring.