Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Reaction to Creed Trailer (Rocky 7) 2015 *spoilers*

The Rocky franchise has always been near and dear to my heart. I love all the movies (even Rocky V shockingly). It's interesting that instead of making Rocky Balboa rub on some Bengay and hobble back into the ring; they focus on an old but knew character. Creed will have the protagonist be Adonis Johnson Creed, the son of Apollo Creed.

That's my boy
What makes this movie an awesome addition to the series is the character of Adonis himself. He wants to be the best and while he knows of his father's demise; it doesn't affect his attitude. His mother obviously won't be happy or willing to go along with this since her husband died in front of her. I also am excited to see Rocky give it another try as a boxing coach and hopefully helping Adonis gain the recognition he deserves.

The trailer seems straight forward showing Adonis work out and train to become the boxer he knows he can be. He gets reprimanded by a trainer at the gym saying he isn't built for the sport and shouldn't follow in his father's foot steps. Training montages ensue and it shows him in Rocky's restaurant talking about Apollo and introducing himself as his son. We then get more fight scenes, training montages, and Rocky taking the role as his trainer. We also see a Adonis' love interest and his mother being very concerned for her son (as she should be).  It ends with Adonis running and saying "It ain't about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward", which is a quote from the previous movie; Rocky Balboa. The final scene is Rocky standing with Adonis looking into a mirror saying that the scariest person you're ever gonna face is you.

#dreamofalifetime

This movie will be directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler. Coogler's previous film was Fruitvale Station which was a powerful movie starring Michael B. Jordan (The star of this movie). I thought Fruitvale Station was a well written movie, so I'm excited to see how Creed turns out. Stallone will not only be starring in the movie, but producing it as well. Obviously, if Stallone is shelling out money for this he must have confidence in it. Michael B. Jordan also happens to be a rising star in Hollywood who has been getting high profile roles and portraying them well, so that doesn't hurt this movie. With a strong actor like Jordan at the helm, this movie looks like it will have what it needs to be a success.

It's good to see the movie is keeping up with the Rocky story and throwing in small details. In the trailer, the gym Adonis was at was "Mighty Mick's Gym" and he is also seen wearing Apollo's American flag boxing trunks. The movie takes place in Philly and obviously Rocky places an active role. I think I'm just excited that the Rocky franchise is still going strong and that even though this will be the seventh movie in the series. It's good to see that even though it is in quantity, there is still quality. Creed is set to be released fall of 2015, and when the time comes you get I'm going to see it.

I'm excited too Adonis

Here is the link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCBzWLVQgk8


Saturday, June 27, 2015

Marvel Puzzlequest Review

I'm not one for mobile games. I thought they were wastes of time and not much effort should be put into them. That is until I started playing Marvel Puzzle Quest. My girlfriend laughs because she thinks I'm playing Candy Crush with a Marvel filter over it. Yes, the game has the fundamentals of Candy Crush by matching at least 3 colors in a row. However, you choose 3 characters to be part of your team and matching certain colors yields you certain abilities. I would equate it to Puzzle Fighter more than I would Candy Crush. Regardless, I find this game super enjoyable and worth at least a try.

Questing has really gone down hill

The game has several different modes of play. One is the main story mode which hasn't changed in many years. The story is based off of the Dark Reign story line (that's how long ago this game was made). This means instead of fighting random thugs, players will have to fight  Daken, Venom, Moonstone, etc. The only character from Dark Reign you can't fight or be is Norman Osborn as Iron Patriot. This mode will allow players to get a feel for the game and understand tactics. Player can also get more experience points and characters by playing and replaying the modes. Once you beat the story line however, that's it for those missions.

Luckily, There are other story mode missions that last for a limited time. These modes put you into a ranking system based on how many points you score in the allotted time. These missions are usually best for when players have a better feel for the game and have higher leveled and more powerful characters. These modes are fun but if you really want a good character you have to put a lot of time into the game. However, you're efforts will be rewarded.

The last mode is a "pvp" in which you have a limited time to fight other players teams. you'll start off playing teams that are very low in level except for the one character each team is required to play with (this character is usually given one of their abilities and a higher level). Over time and depending how strong your team is you'll be given much stronger foes to face. You have the option of skipping over them but you'll lose some bonus experience. Again this mode is best left for stronger players and the more effort put into it the better your reward. Luckily, for the story modes and pvp some characters are boosted in strength when others are not making even weaker characters an advantage.

only the prettiest colors

Now, with any free to play game there is always an option to use real life money to benefit yourself. Now personally, I only spend $25 a month on the game which helps me open up more slots for characters. However, I can see where spending so much money can help you get better characters and boost your abilities for a high price. Luckily a good majority are people who just want to pass the time and have fun. Even if you pay to play, characters are always at random so you and other players can't just buy the best characters. This usually means effort has to be put into other game modes to build stronger teams.

Buy gold not iso

You can also be part of an alliance in the game which can gain you prizes in events if your team does well. Some teams are very low key and meant for casual gamers like the team of three I'm on that consists of my friend, his girlfriend, and me. Other teams are very cut throat and require a lot of effort to be put to get the best prizes. Sometimes there are events where you and your team fight an opponent and the group effort will help to defeat the enemy. So far the only time this happens is when you fight Ultron.

The characters are very fun and unique. Each has three abilities which you can get by getting multiples of that character. Obviously some characters are easier to get than others, but the harder to get characters usually have the stronger abilities.  However, just because someone has a better character doesn't mean the weaker ones don't stand a chance. A maxed out common character is stronger than a weaker rarer character everytime. So even if you don't spend an dime and ever get a rare character, you can still do very well.

unibeam? inibeam? wenibeam?


There isn't a lot I don't like about this game. I think it's very fair and more importantly very fun. I have a few friends that play with me and they can send me gifts and vice versa. The time put into the game is worth it and if you just want to play for fun, you certainly can and it's enjoyable. The characters are cool and there is a weakness and strength for every choice. There are other games out there to play with the Marvel name like Contest of Champions or Mighty Heroes. However, Puzzle Quest is the most interesting and addictive of all the games. If you don't already play it, then please give it a try. It's free to play and worth your time. I give Marvel Puzzle Quest eight superheroes out of ten. A must play for any Marvel fan or game enthusiast.

Everytime I buy a googleplay card


Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Tomorrowland Review

My favorite Disney park happens to be Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom. There was always something inviting about the atmosphere. The park was like I was on another where impossible science happened. It doesn't hurt that Space Mountain also happens to be my favorite ride. So when I saw the trailer for Tomorrowland; an overwhelming joy came over me. I wanted to be immersed in a world where the impossible was reality. I wanted jet pack Rocketeer-esque battles. I wanted incredible aircrafts swooping through the air. I wanted Jetson treadmill walk ways. I wanted all these things, but some how, some way... I was left wanting. Brad Bird has directed awesome movie geared towards younger audiences such as The Incredibles and The Iron Giant. With a movie like, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Bird has shown he can appeal to adult audiences as well. George Clooney is also a big star for this movie and usually he isn't the bad part of any movie he is in. So what happened? Why did this movie fall short?

not that Neverneverland place

The movie is about a girl named Casey (Britt Robertson) who is in love with science. Her father is a physicist for NASA, but is going to lose his job because space launch research is coming to an end. In an effort to prolong his career, Casey tries sabotaging the demolition. This works for a while, until she is arrested and put in prison. Upon her bail out, Casey finds a pin with a "T" on it. When she touches it, she sees a world that is beyond any one's comprehension. Only she can see it when she touches the pin and over a short period; is thrown back into reality with no way of going back. Eager to find out what this place was and how to get back to it, she goes out to find some answers. Along the way she meets an older man named Frank (George Clooney) who knows all the answers to her questions and just maybe can help her.

I told you not to touch anything!
There is much more to the movie, but I don't wish to spoil everything. I will say though that the sprawling and bright metropolis of the future she sees will not be in the movie often. Everything futuristic and awesome the trailer shows is barely in the movie. In fact, the first hour of the movie seems to drag until she meets Frank at his house. Once the slow beginning is over, then the true fun begins with futuristic fire fights and aircraft flight. Being that it is a Disney movie, it's obviously directed towards a younger audience. For kids, this movie will keep them very entertained. The movie has a lot of kid friendly scenes and some very funny moments which are always welcome. George Clooney is where the movie truly has the best moments and Britt Robertson usually adds to the comic relief. Clooney plays a bitter character at the beginning, but over time he becomes much more likable. He is snarky and cynical and probably the best part of the movie. Hugh Laurie is in the movie as well, but he you won't see a lot of him. Laurie will have very dry British wit in most of his scenes and is welcome in this movie's plot.

Not even they could save this movie

The movie has a big message; we, as responsible humans, can not resign ourselves to inevitable doom. As you watch the movie, you'll understand why this is so prevalent. Disney wants the younger viewers to known that, yes science and logic are important in any world but dreamers are what makes life worth living. This is an awesome theme because it makes everyone watching feel like they can do impossible things. No person has to be resigned to their predestined fate, a person can change his or her stars. Disney usually likes to put those Walt Disney-isms in most of their movies and I wish more companies had movies with similar themes.

The story isn't terrible but at times it will be confusing. I felt as though the writers didn't know what movie they were trying to make. One minute, it can be light-hearted and the next is doomsday. For younger viewers, passing does not matter if action is prevalent. Luckily, there is a fair amount of lasers and gadgets to keep anyone entertained. The special effects are actually very well done. This is one of those movies I would not have minded seeing in IMAX. I just wish there was much more futuristic technology. Maybe a whole other movie about Tomorrowland and Earthlings coming to it would have been the better movie. All I know is, I found this movie to be okay and nothing is wrong with "just okay". I maybe would have preferred to wait to see this as a rental (especially because there were people loudly talking for half the movie behind us). George Clooney and Hugh Laurie bring a lot to this movie and because of them it was enjoyable. This movie is not a waste of time, I just don't think it is worth movie theater price. I give Tomorrowland six space cadets out of ten. If you are very interested then please see the movie, but if you are on the fence then I recommend watching something else.

maybe?