Movies of the Year

So everyone needs a movies of the year post.    So here's mine in no particular order, other than just as they came into my head (so best/most memorable first?). Includes not just the films but movie going experiences, where being in the theater really enhance the movie (or perhaps ruined it).

And yes I'm doing this before seeing the big marketing event of the year, Star Wars The Force Awakens. That one may poison the well and end up on nearly everyone's top list.   Will most likely do another one on that later.   May also look at the Hateful Eight in the New Year once the crazy holidays are done as well.

____________________________

Mr X.   Randomly went to this and we had no idea what we were getting into.  This is a Bollywood movie about a cop who somehow gets the ability to become invisible (but only in the dark and in shadows), his clothes fuse to his body (but somehow he can still make love and they never stay dirty for long) and his ex (a cop who is trying to capture him because he turn vigilante) at one point surrounds a house with mirrors to reflect the sun through clearly open windows to counter his invisibility.  Plus its surprisingly sexy and sweet despite being aware of just how silly it is.  Oh, and best made for movie title track in decades.... Puff puff puff.   Sorry out of breath and still missed tons of stuff.   We laughed sooo hard after we got out, I thought we might break something.  Perhaps we were just in the right mood at the right time, but have very found memories of seeing this.  Video link to Mr X song (hope it stays there); be aware sexy enough to be NSFW?  No nudity, but wow!

Mad Max: Fury Road  So why  didn't this enter my mind first?  Because it was so big and being first is pretty much expected.   However, this was honestly the movie which all others where measured against for the year.  Who would have thought that the apocalypse could be so pretty,  a few sparse pages of spoken dialog (if that), and not going with the direct remake route would work so well.  Oh and don't forget center frame steady cam throughout the movie.  Please, please all directors quit using shaky closeup cam and copy this movie.  Add in some subtle feminism, shout outs to previous movies, Charlize Theron being beyond awesome, flaming guitars on cars...well you get this.   The Theater was packed and had an electric vibe to it. All the OSCARS NOW. 

Back to the Future (anniversary viewing)  Do you really need a link for this?   Due to some scheduling conflicts we didn't get a chance to see all three in theaters, but we did catch the original trope maker.  I was just slightly, slightly to young to see it in theaters when it first came out all those years ago...though I might go back in time and tell my parents to take me causing a temporal flux...  Anyhow this was great to see on the big screen.   The theater was filled to the brim with generations of fans, a few with the Marty vest on.  The random person sitting beside me may have been celebrating their birthday on that day, I think, as I overheard them say "been waiting our entire lives for this."  If not B-day, its still a perfect quote.  We laughed a lot and quit a few people mimicked lines as they came up, as if we were singing along at concert or something.   

Turbo Kid  We had to go to a small art house movie theater (one of the last in the city), look for

Apple on her Unicorn BMX

parking in one worse places in the city, if we had missed it would have disappeared, and we stayed for a somewhat terrible unrelated animated short afterwards.  But it was more than worth it.   Turbo Kid is a must see for all 80's fans out there, especially if you like over the top gore and silliness.  Unlike Mad Max where we pretend everyone drives super cars in the post-oil world, in Turbo Kid they drive BMXs!   One of the many twists and homages in the movie.  Laurence Leboeuf as Apple straddles on the edge of falling into annoyance but stays cute and likable.  It also has Michael Ironside (yes that one), playing our main villain and chews scenery with the best of them.   Oh oh..and 80's synth rock and tunes from what seems to be from 8 track converted in midi files....YES!

Ex Machina  In in era where my DVD collection is getting so big that I'm waiting for Netflix releases to rewatch my favorites, Ex Machina found its way into my collection day of release.   It has a few flaws, including some wooden acting from D. Gleeson on occasion.  But  I can love things for their flaws.    I know that the IMDB list the actors in order of appearance, but Alicia Vikander needs first billing and is captivating..    Only issue for movie going experience is that there was only five of us in the theater (boo, it was pretty enough for the big screen) and one guy fell asleep and started to snore....sigh.    So better at home for sure.  

The Martian  We immediately called it MacGyver in space as soon as we walked out.  And that was just fine with us.  Infinitely better than Interstellar which kind of went off the rails trying way to hard to be the next 2001.  A yes the Martian had some sci-fi short cuts, but it didn't break my suspension of disbelief as much as Interstellar's lets solve anti-gravity with math through morse code through dropping books through reality strings driven by love.....I'll take growing a potentially irradiated potato growing in poo on mars tyvm.   Theater experience was terrible because of some awful pre-teens behind us...totally know what its like now. Sorry to all people when we're too noisy in the past and future.   Sadly never got a chance to review it on the big screen again.  

Ant-Man  This is guilty pleasure movie for sure, and I loved it so much more than Age of Ultron.   Perhaps because I thought Ant-Man was going to suck and was surprised by it.   What I got was fun almost early 80's, late 70's tongue in cheek heist movie.  It didn't challenge any tropes or do anything new for an origin story, but it was light hearted and fun ride.  Totally love it and quite a nice lift after the darker trend many superhero movies have been taking.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.   Okay I blame Ant-Man for this...or its that vice versa?   After one heist movie, wanting to see another one really found its way into my blood.  And UNCLE certainly filled that gap.   A little goofy, high energy, a period piece (as we imagine the early Red Scare era), and once again a movie with Vikander.  Yeah totally sold.   Oh did I say compact car chase...  

Felicity Smoak in a fridge?

First lets say this

LIKE EVERYWHERE

I haven't done much  blogging or comments on the shows I watch, since in reality there's tons of conjecture from many other sites.  One of the shows I have been watching is Arrow.  You can find a full spoiler filled review for Arrow's season finale on IGN HERE.    The IGN assessment is fine and accurate, but Arrow has been bugging me something crazy for a while despite my enjoyment of it.   Now before I start, I like the cast of arrow and love the fact that they have gotten away from strictly adhering to the lone wolf or Five Man Band model.  Having a number of female characters is great, though a little more diversity would be okay.  

Orcale's Smoak Yes Agree

I accept the silly suspension of disbelief for super science in our comic books and shows, and Felicity as Arrow's Oracle was good idea.   And I certainly have no problem with their choice or Emily Rickards for the role, she has been a trooper with it thus far.  However,  I think since about season 2, I been feeling sorry for Felicity Smoak.     Her character has had a lot of strange rebounds and mixes of awful tropes:  

She's been the occasional Damsel in Distress, though they have tried to balance this out by showing her skills, really limiting it, and saving Ollie's butt numerous time, even if its just remotely.  So we'll give it a pass on this.  

The terrible "will they or won't" writing has demonstrated fear of Moonlighting Syndrome (aka Shipping Bed Death) that the creator's clearly have.  While relationships do have their ups and downs, the clear use of sudden emotional swings and distrust scenarios throughout the series to prevent them truly getting together was getting a little much.   When Ollie and Felicity finally got together and drove off into the sunset, I almost wanted the series to end.  

Now when the 2015 season restarted with the two returning to Star City to fight crime once again, they were the cute couple in love.  And though I hoped they would find some new writing tropes to avoid yhe aforementioned Moonlighting Syndrome, honestly you could sense they wouldn't.   

GROWL
Stop Rubberbanding the Relationship
We need a new trope for this!

Issue one was actually from the Flash crossover, when Flash warps time again.  Flash's time jump resets a big fight between Ollie and Felicity after she finds out he tried to keep the existence of his son from a fling a decade ago from her.   The continual trust issues between the two characters borders on purposeful derailment.  I understand Felicity being angry with Ollie for not telling her, but to walk away and end the relationship  right there after all the lies she's seen him do is ridiculous.  As was his reaction of her being so surprised.  After seeing them as a couple finally, this sudden stop was jarring and under developed.  The reveal of Wally West in Flash was much more natural, heart felt, and resolved in a manner that made sense for the characters.   Worse, if they have gone with the time line, the writer's would have solved in an episode or two anyhow to get them back into the "will they/won't they" stage once again.   And even worse in our new established time line Ollie won't tell Felicity about it...again...knowing full well what happen's if she finds out on her own.   Seriously, if he tells the woman who he loves, who is use to keeping secrets, how exactly is the mother of child going to find out, unless he walk's up and tells her.

 This takes us into the 2015 season finale, where after Ollie and Felicity finally agreeing to get married in a very sweet moment...can you guess what happens.   Felicity gets shot.  WOW surprise...not.   Called it right from the escape from the gas chamber scene.   So what now, is she dead?  Don't know.  Honestly seeing that Rickards is going to go shoot some real movies, maybe its a temporary or  permanent contract thing.  Its comics, so we have established at least a half dozen ways to make her live again, so its an easy out they could take...making her death/near death pointless.   The question is:  Fridge Moment or not.   Women in Fridges is now a pretty classic trope identified by smarter folks than me, and maybe as guy I'm ill equipped to really pass judgement.   Felicity has had character development (despite the rubberbanding) so kind of ruins the trope in its purest sense.  But is her death just to give Olly motivation to act....which honestly he doesn't need?    If the character is truly being written out, would it be better for her to die as hero on her own terms? (And not mess it up like Doctor Who's 2015 season finale...totally different rant).    The new season will tell.  I'm not making any predictions other than that there is most likely some contract talks going on behind the scenes.  Here's hoping they bring her back, and give her a chance for some of her own pay back.

If there is no chance of her being written out, more shocking would to have Olly getting shot and dying in her hands (after her dramatic rescue of him perhaps, or too OCC?).  That would be a huge curve ball.  We know he'd be back of course, but would have been kind of nice change of pace.  

  Frankly with poor Simmons getting tortured in Agents of SHIELD (which was shocking in the Whedonverse), and the extremely telegraphed  possible death/endangerment of Patty in Flash after the holidays (thanks trailers..oay), I'm starting to wonder if things are going a bit wrong in my beloved comic TV universe.  Perhaps its just dark reflection of the comic industry (and much of TV) still suffering from old tropes they or we as consumers can't seem to disconnect from.    

Scrivener

Well I forgot I had a separate blog whoops.  This isn't gaming related, so doing it here.  May migrate Reviews for Noob back to wrestling with rpgs if people don't seem to care to come here or I forget about it again.


So in my adventure with NaNoWrMo, got some coupons for a few things, one being Scrivener.   You can find it on numerous aggregates;  my "coupon" provided me with a copy that wasn't all that discounted compared to many sites, but I will be getting a physical copy so there's that.    My purchase was frankly a spontaneous one.   So honestly it was probably a stupid purchase for me.  

Hey I can make flashcards and drag them around right?
WRONG

So I thought it was going to be some sort publishing program with easier layout for column/pic/table shuffling.  Maybe a mind-mapping function and the like.   Even some of the online pics for it look really cool.   

Sadly  the interface is something from 10 years ago, and not overly intuitive.  Had to alter my computer's Resolution just to barely see some of the icons at all.  On normal hi res on my full size monitor some buttons are virtually invisible.   Hi Res font sizes is a different rant for different day...maybe... NOT: I hate tiny type like this, stupid hi-res; why is this a thing.  Not everyone is going to have 50+ inches or feet of screen.  if I need a magnifier and put my face on the screen to see something, its too small.  Command tools and text for game and programs is NOT legal text for drug, car or banking  commercials.  

I kind of wanted this if I'm doing organization for a story

My first instinct was to just play with it, which is more or less the way I learned to use PowerPoint.   That was a mistake.  The learning curve on this program is high in my opinion.  It has a lot of little parts you can spend hours customizing, which could be great, but much too busy for my liking.   This is definitely designed for fine tuning masters of control, and not a "write by the seat of your pants" guy like me.   When I was writing my novel, the most planning I did was to do a mind map on sheet of paper that took me a few minutes to talk out with my pal and long time collaborator (psst he's from HERE of course).    

No actually, this is what I wanted!
Oh to be old and missing things that
would no longer measure up.

Looking at  Scrivener and going through its pretty terrible tutorial, that few minutes writing out a mind map on paper would become hours of fin tuning.  Wasted time that could be used to write.  so for a novel I don't think its a good choice.  Though I could seeing it side by side word tracking a super complex plot I guess.   I could see Scrivener could be used by folks with a mind for micro minutia, or even for a game system.  Keeping track of rules would actually work pretty good with it.    I plan to watch some training vids from my YOUTUBE search  in hopes of softening the impact of it.    

Value $$
>_<    Not liking it all that much.

Things that I like…that I shouldn’t? Naruto.

So I’ve been watching Naruto.  

Like many people I first came across it on TV in its English dub, and edited version.  I kind of hated….BELIEVE IT!   God,  I got so sick of that being literally screamed at me, I kind just totally tuned out and went on to watch other things. 

Recently I came across the original series on Netflix, and decided to give another go, making me quite the late comer.   Well in Japanese/English subs it was pretty tolerable, filled with all standard shonen tropes, but tolerable.   Than something really weird began to happen.  I started to get invested.   No, I certainly didn’t really understand why our lead hero Naruto made friends everywhere, nor why Saskue was so cool, lots of repeat animation/flashbacks to save cash and spread it out artificially.    Yet, it started to grow on me.  It’s kind of hard to say why, maybe because there was some actual character growth as I watched it, perhaps the stacks where pretty high, or just the idea of a world dominated by Ninja nations.  But I have to say, it wasn’t as bad or infuriating as some people have said.  Some annoyances yes, but far from terrible.  It’s quite interesting to see the clear divide between fans and haters of this series. 

Then came time to watch Naruto Shippuden on Crunchy Roll.  First a word on Crunchy Roll ad supported version.   It’s pretty great watching Anime for free, and the Ads are pretty short and harmless, so that’s a win win,  Only small issue is a few video error issues and sometimes keeping track of what I’ve been watching, but I can live with it to save some coin.   Immediate Rating of $$$$.

As for the series, it basically starts off as a 3 years later from the original series, with characters a bit older and wiser, and lot more training montages under their belts.  So blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda, things kind of sort of progress, training goes by, than the slow burn suddenly becomes a raging fire.  Without spoiling (its 2007, but I literally just started watching it) too much, by the time I get to the Pain arc (starting at about episode 130) things get real, as long time cast members start to drop.   It’s something I haven’t seen in too many shonen where core characters often have serious story shields.   But with some very inglorious and quick deaths, it caught me a bit off guard and wondering who would buy it next (or if they will find some way to reverse it later).  And unlike Game of Thrones or Walking Dead where someone dies, I just kind of go “well there’s another actors contract up, hurray”  I caught myself at one point yelling at the TV “wait, no don’t kill…..”    So in my world that makes Naruto pretty good.  It actually got me emotionally invested, almost without me realizing it.

Reaching the episodes I’m watching right now, 168-69, there’s a nice little sub-text (not really subtle though, so super-text?) questioning the value of an eye for an eye, with a jab against the whole idea of a punitive justice system.  All brought together with way over the top of fights that are beyond ridiculous and body counts approaching Gotchaman (seriously another topic for another day) levels.   Also throughout the series (and the original) war orphans, generational hate, and of course the standard tropes of loyalty, friendship, working hard, student/teacher relations are examined.   

So yay, good stuff so far.  I'll post once I reach the episode that may all change my outlook, damn Crunchy Roll ribbon giving me spoilers.....grrrr back by episode 175 or so. 

Rating:  V__V  for first series,  ^__^   for Shippuden.      

Future Investment:  Putting off pretty much everything else to watch it, so yep. 

Mortal Kombat (MK X)

Mortal Kombat X

Well I already did my rant on all the extra payments required to play an already $70.00 game, so I won't do it again here...except for one exception below.

I've had for about a month and half now and have put in about 25 hours of play.  However, my unwillingness to purchase a PSN+  account has limited my online player to less than 2 hours when I first got the PS4 and had a short trial sub.  A busy work season meant only getting to play a few times against others online (and also one of the reasons I have held off PSN+ in the first place).   My pal has played locally with me a few times and it has worked without issued.   

Good Points/Bad Points
Graphics are pretty good, grimy in all the best ways.  Yet still sharp enough to be kind awesome, nice that not everything is washed out brown.   However, still same issue as DC Injustice from the same studio, with 2 people playing the same character, even with so called alternative costumes it gets pretty easy to loose one's self on screen.   As for textures, water effects, etc. etc. its not really a big deal to me, but all are pretty decent.  I certainly didn't pay $70.00 to watch rain fall, puddles splash, or sweat on the screen. 

The roster and world of MK X is, as always, strange and cool.  New characters like Cassie Cage join old ones like her dad Johnny making for a nice mix.   I'm not really sure if I'm too keen on the three fighting styles/modes for each character though, there does seem to be some in-balance and moves not quit suited for the pace of the game.   For example, I find of many of Kotal Khan's specials are slow and labored, though I have found a 103% combo video for him...with a non-moving opponent.   I'm sure a more practiced player could work it out in game play, personally I'll stick with his swords.

For offline play we have towers everywhere.  A new themed tower comes out daily, hourly, and for special events, which is great.  Set towers for individual story modes and challenges exist as well.  I however, oddly, got tired of them after the first 10 or so hours, though will play a tower or two a week.  The main story mode was surprisingly long, and took me a few sits to do it, which was really nice. 

There are a number of crazy game mods, which for exception of the screen flip (playing upside down) I really quite enjoy.  Personal favorite is less gravity, hello combo time, even for noobs! 
     The only thing I'd pine for (and have been since the early days of home fighting games) is a randomized elimination.  Each player gets a random character, though the system makes sure no mirror matches happen.  Players can set how many elimination rounds occur to see who wins.   This would be fantastic way to push players outside of their comfort zone, and in balanced game should be no issue.   Sadly for the few hours I played online, I faced Goro and Scorpion at least a dozen times each and no one played or wanted to play random.  I totally get it, but with all the strangeness of MKX, it would be kind of nice to add.    Khans 103


The greatest sin in my opinion is the Krypt.  At first, I kind of liked the idea of exploring a dungeon like some old school 1st person adventure  game.  I even had no issue in needing to earn Koins to unlock stuff.  While earning a bit more would be nice, doing towers and even offline player vs. player actually got me quite a few unlocks fairly quickly.  What I did have issues at is that my player 2 did not get any unlocks I have already done.   This is most likely a PS4 issue, where my second player is a guest account and most likely has his stats separate from the game.....but hours of unlocking, and now unless my pal goes and gets a PS4 and MKX to account for his own unlocks, we have to do it again (which btw I don't if would work even, since the game is on my system).   BS.   

And yes I know, if you do a fatality or what not, it comes up on the command list without needing to unlock it, but that's not really not the point.   The point is that, if I go pay an extra $20.00 cnd, I'd probably get all the unlocks for both players I'm guessing.   That's bit awful.

Ratings

V__V

Initial:  $$$    After stewing:  $$  (maybe an extra 1/2 point on each, but that's cheating)
Investment: $85.00  so far.    Per hour of play:  $3.40.    Future Investment:  Nope

Ramblings be here!

OK so I decided to separate my RPG stuff with reviews of other stuff.  Be Warned will be commenting a lot on micropayments and the like!

You can find my first review here.  

Wrestling with RPGs. PS4 (Pocket-money Stealing) 4 Dummies


I'll otherwise being reviewing whatever hits my fancy.   Movies, Shows, Games, Software, and of course my favorite topic, Cost; or more appropriately value for your money.     I'm no expert, just another average consumer with a bit of skeptical an cheap side.

I'll be using the following very unscientific ratings, depending on the item being reviewed.

Price/Value:  The cost of the item and my personal view of what the actual value of the item should of been.
$  Not worth the cash
$$  Lower than average, a very big maybe, wait for major discounts if you can.
$$$  Average,  if you have the spare cash you think about a purchase.
$$$$  Above average, a good purchase worth the cash.
$$$$$  Superb,  well worth the purchase, get it.

Satisfaction:  Was I satisfied.  Reserved for stuff I've played or seen,   This is usually far from aside the price/value of the item.

">__<"   Hated it and perhaps violently reacted to it.
O__o       What did I just see/or play.   Surprised, odd, unsure what to think. 
V__V      Meh.   Ok I guess.  worth doing once, but not missing much if I'd had passed on it.
^__^       Really good.   

Initial/Stewing:  A comparison of what I first felt about the topic, and what I think about it after looking at again.  Includes multiple uses, views, plays, etc.  overall staying power.  This may include initial reactions to things I haven't tried as well.  

Good Point/Bad Point:  I'll try never to give major spoilers about something, unless it is warranted.  But I will try to divvy up some good and bad points about it.