Review Post

As requested I have created a Review page. Since I haven't written any lately, Have some of my old ones!

Iron man 3 review: EXPLOSIONS!

Intro

This movie takes off right after the events in the Avengers ended, so watching that movie is much recommended before watching this one. This means that the protagonist, Tony Stark (Who invented and wears the Iron Man armor) is confused by the mysteries left behind by the last movie and doesn’t know how to go forward. This makes him very stressed out, and he begins having anxiety attacks when he is reminded of those events. A large part of the challenge he faces is inside him, and it really makes the movie more engrossing.

I can’t even tell you about the enemies he fights without spoiling the movie, and this leads to my next note, plot twists. Though a few were predictable, this movie really changes around, and it is really surprising how the movie unfolds.

This movie more than almost any I’ve seen focuses on action. There is so much action in the movie it’s a good thing and a bad thing. This is my one real complaint with the movie, it’s possible to have too much action. Some viewers may be disappointed to see so much of the movie dedicated to explosions. Most, however, will completely love every minute of it. This movie is a thrilling roller coaster ride from beginning to end, and it demands to be watched.

The verdict here is just this: Watch it. Some might think it layers the action on a bit too thick, but there is great chance anyone who watches will enjoy it a lot. So grab a bowl of popcorn and sit down for the ride.

SimCity Review: a flawed, but unique experience.

SimCity may be more famous for its launch than for the game itself, or really, infamous. SimCity is a game for PC that launched with severe server issues, magnified by the fact that the single player mode requires a connection to a server. That said, while the game is getting bad press, it isn’t a bad game.

SimCity is a city management simulator, which sounds boring. However, those that have played a game like this before can attest to the remarkable sense of reward given by succeeding at this genre. The game starts in a region, with multiple cities inside them. Click on an empty city, and you can claim it. You are now mayor, and this is where the management takes place.  You have many things to manage, and different buildings to create in your city. The main goal is to create a successful city without going bankrupt.

Compared to other games in the series, this game makes changes to the formula. Now the electrical wiring and plumbing are contained in roads, no longer needing the player to put them on separately. Resource trading is added, and the user interface is great.

However with these changes come negatives. To not overload servers, the map size is small. In a frustrating move, you can’t upgrade streets to avenues, regardless of density. This leaves huge traffic problems later on. Also, the game is very flawed with its AI (artificial intelligence). Drivers go on smaller roads, seemingly at random, even though there are better alternatives. Also, when I was trading power from one city to another, it didn’t pick up I was getting power, and kept warning me that I had no power. There are a lot of issues in region play. Trading power doesn’t work as every town basically has to have a power plant at later stages, even if another town has excess power to sell.

However, after all the issues it is not bad. though it‘s a bit harder to recommend. The creators have said they are fixing parts of the game, and perhaps after that I can recommend it, but until then, wait.  The game can be great at times, but it’s really the constant flaws that hold it down. Playing is a chore sometimes, but honestly, it’s hard stopping. I give it a 3.5/5.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”-into Mediocrity Review

By Daniel Hampton

At the very beginning of the film, Frodo appears for a brief appearance to tie in the old films and to show that Bilbo had just finished writing The Hobbit. While this scene doesn’t really mean much, it works as an omen for the rest of the film.

-Peter Jackson didn’t make a The Hobbit movie; he’s made a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. While this may seem like the same thing, one has to realize that The Hobbit was originally a stand-alone work.

The Hobbit is a slim children’s book, one that doesn’t take a whole long time to read and is rather easy to understand. Contrast this with The Lord of the Rings, which is a long and deep story. The Hobbit is one book, and the lord of the rings is three, and when transferred to movies, it made sense to have them be trilogy.  The Hobbit is also being transferred into trilogy, one that adds very much content and makes it much more similar to the lord of the rings, much to the malign of those that liked the original.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is not based on the book. It is even easy to say if not for the setting being the same as the hobbit book; it could easily be a “lost” lord of the rings book. The movie, the first of the trilogy is a bit less than three hours long; since the book is small they added a lot to fill the movie.

A pale orc is added for an antagonist, one of the dwarves is given a heroic and tragic back-story. Entire scenes, including the climax of the movie are not anywhere in the book. I don’t want to give away spoilers, but be prepared for a strange wizard with literal bird droppings all over his face. You have been warned.

The gist of the story in the movie is that Bilbo Baggins is visited by a wizard named Gandalf and 12 dwarves. Why 12? No one knows, apparently and now they need another member because it’s bad to adventure with only 13 people. Why they couldn’t kick out one of the dwarves is very odd, but it was probably just a ploy to make Bilbo go. I mean really, they couldn’t recruit anyone else but some random hobbit? Anyway Bilbo is guilt-tripped into joining and now they are set to go and take back the dwarves home.

As far as presentation goes, the film is pretty good. The announcement that they were making the movie at 40 frames-per-second made some doubt its quality, but it looks fine. This movie, unlike the lord of the rings, uses cgi (computer generated images) for the monsters and enemies, and it’s pretty obvious. The enemies are not frightening and look pretty fake, aside from Gollum, which actually has his best scene in the movie, which is also probably the movie’s best scene as well. Actually the film’s choice of cgi may have been due to its violence, the movie’s action scenes come off rather grotesque. The music, however, is great as ever and really helps pull the movie along at times.

As far as plot is concerned, it’s very slow. Not a whole lot happens in the few pages of the book this covers, and what your left with is a very lacking movie overall. That being said, the movie sets the precedent rather well, so there is potential for the sequels to be some deal better.

In conclusion, the Hobbit: An unexpected Journey is hardly a journey at all, more a drawn out introduction. The movie has serious problems in the plot and presentation, and nothing really makes up for it. That being said, it’s worth a watch for any Lord of the Rings fan, at the least for the setting it sets for the future.