Tag Archives: action

Series Reviews

Series Review: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

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I went into this show blind, not knowing anything about the established lore except that Cyberpunk started as a tabletop RPG. I have never played an RPG because I could barely get a dungeons and dragons group together. I haven’t played the video game either because of the debacle that game turned into. After watching Cyberpunk Edgerunners, I will be desperately trying to convince my D&D playgroup to allow me to run some games in this system. I can only hope that this show gains popularity so that there will be interest in the RPG.

The show takes place in a dystopian future. The city is run by corrupt corporations that are constantly at war with each other. If you are lucky, you can land a corporate job and live a normal life. But most citizens aren’t lucky and are forced to live in the slums of the city, fighting for scraps. There is no easy way to get out of the slums. If you aren’t homeless or dying from drug addiction, the only way to survive is to join one of the city’s many gangs. The corporations use these gangs as paws to serve the corporate agenda. 

The story focuses on David. His mother struggles to keep him in a prestigious school with the hopes that he can climb the corporate ladder and have a good life. But destiny has other plans for David, and a car accident robs him of a mother. Now alone in this cruel world, David is left with mounting and crippling debt. In his desperation, he joins the gang that will become his family. Will David find his new meaning with his gang? Will he be able to climb the ranks of the underworld, or will he be another wasted pawn for the corporations?

I loved everything about this series. The art was beautiful, the narrative is great, and the music is fantastic. The voice acting is good for the most part, but the dialect is a bit odd. I believe that the creators were trying to invent a futurist dialect, but it comes out a little awkward. That said, I appreciate the attempt and wouldn’t change it for any other dialect. This is a well-made animated series, but one that is full of nudity, violence, and gore. Viewer discretion is advised. 

Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a hyperactive vision of a dystopian future run by corrupt corporations who only care about money. It makes some very valid commentary about income inequality, skewed opportunities, and the issues with capitalism. It is very well done, and my heart still races from the experience. My only true complaint is that I have already finished the series. 

Do yourself a favor, and watch this series. If it is appropriate of course.

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video game reviews

The Company Man Video Review

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As a deal I made with the publisher, I have made a short review video to show off some gameplay.

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Series Reviews

Series Review: Cobra Kai

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What a terrific end to a series I have thoroughly been enjoying since the first time I sat down and binge-watched the first season on YouTube Red. As a huge fan of The Karate Kid, this was a much-welcomed reboot to a series I was sure died with Jaden Smith. I’ll admit, with the trend of bad reboots we’ve gotten in recent years, I was skeptical of Cobra Kai. I have since dismissed that skepticism and am fully content with its conclusion.

Cobra Kai is the story of where Daniel and Jonny ended up after the events of The Karate Kid. Daniel is a very successful car salesman with his own dealerships, and Jonny is a down-on-his-luck loser trying to get by. Their lives completely change when Jonny decides to reopen Cobra Kai and teach the kids of the valley karate. But the trauma Daniel and Jonny carry from their youth has a way of complicating things. Tensions grow high, new rivalries form, and the battle for the valley erupts into some of the most fun displays of Karate I have seen in a while. This isn’t just a rehashing of an old story, but a proper continuation and conclusion to the beloved IP.

If you are holding off on watching this series, don’t. This is a fantastic narrative with great actors and lots of karate. Sure the fan service, the callbacks, and the high school drama get a little overbearing and slow the show down, but there is enough good within this series that makes it worth your time. This season is in no way the best of the series, but it does close it out in the best way possible. Sure there are some rushed bits and some slow ones, but all the loose ends are tied up relatively nicely.

The action scenes in this show are so fun that I don’t mind that they used a lot of stunt doubles. A huge shoutout goes out to the people responsible for the choreography, editing, and stunt work for making the series so much fun to watch. But while the karate was much appreciated, I stayed with this series for its stories. You have betrayal, redemption, and some of the best character growth I’ve seen recently. It is very cool to see how they incorporate a lot of what happened in the movies to make this series not only a homage but a proper hero’s journey for more than just the main characters.

I’ll admit, I have some bias because I loved The Karate Kid. This was an incredibly influential film for me growing up, and I have seen everyone since, even the bad ones. This series honors the beloved IP and adapts it for a modern audience. Sure it may not be perfect, but as I fan, I couldn’t ask for more. Check it out on Netflix. It is well worth your time!

Movie Reviews

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

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Thor Love and Thunder just released on Disney + and while I wouldn’t go out of my way to go watch it, you won’t hate it if you have to sit through it. This isn’t the worst movie on the platform, but it is a mediocre superhero film. It certainly has some solid moments, but there are too many issues with it that make it hard to recommend. If you have nothing better to do, want a family movie night option, or just need some background noise, this can certainly fill a hole.

The movie deals with a Thor who has lost much of his purpose. With his homeland destroyed and his relationship over, Thor roams the universe with the Guardians of the Galaxy in search of a new purpose. This all changes when an entity begins to hunt down and kill the gods of the universe. With the aid of some new and old allies, Thor must put a stop to this new evil before the universe is robbed of all of its gods. Will he be able to save the universe once again? Probably.

This movie was fine, but it is hard to ignore its issues. The acting is good, the music is fantastic, and the villain is great. My issues with this movie are with some of its stylistic and narrative choices. This movie is desperate for a laugh, but not all of the jokes land. It’s hard to sit through a comedy that’s not funny, but at least it is not a Kevin Hart movie.

Another issue I have with this movie is how much it tries to be meta. This isn’t Deadpool, but I did enjoy Matt Damon putting on a play recapping the events of the last movie. That said, it gets old, and it feels out of place. There is an overbearing narrator that only comes in to completely destroy all the tension or change the tone of the movie. There is way too much comic relief in this movie when all I want is cool epic Norse mythology. As a result, the movie will feel slow because nothing happens or the jokes just aren’t funny. They made a mistake trying too hard to make this movie kid-friendly, and the narrative suffers for it. There is a kid-friendly way to tell this story without it being for toddlers. I don’t even want to touch the nauseating moral of the movie that someone believed would be a clever tie-in at the end. It is not.

This movie isn’t all bad though. I loved the villain of this movie, but they didn’t do enough with him. I wish this movie were darker and serious because it plays around with a lot of seriously dark mythology. Instead of leaning into a lot of what makes these gods and mythology cool, they traded it for a goofy overtone that never really works. I wouldn’t mind this movie being a comedy if it was actually funny.

If you have nothing else to watch, sure, why not? But your time is better spent elsewhere. But if you don’t believe me, you can watch it on Disney+.

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Series Reviews

Series Review: Slow Horses (2022)

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Slow Horses is a spy thriller that you can stream on Apple TV that is based on the book of the same name. While I cannot speak on how good of an adaptation it is, I had a lot of fun with this show. Slow Horses has everything you want from a spy thriller. It is a show full of deception, double-crosses, gun fights, and a race against the clock. If you like the genre, this is a solid entry  

Slow Horses focuses on the disgraced agents of MI5 who are sent to Slow House. Most have come to terms with their punishment and wait out their sentence till they can retire. Some still hold on to the hope that they earn their redemption. Opportunity strikes when a young Asian British man is kidnapped by an extremist and racist group that plans to execute him publicly. The members of the slow house jump to the task as the race is on to find the young man alive. Will they save the day and earn their redemption, or will they remain a disgrace to the organization?  

This was a fun and enjoyable spy thriller. The acting is great, the story is interesting, and the pacing is perfect. While it does have some of the familiar spy thriller tropes, it is a unique enough story to keep things interesting. This is a team of imperfect misfits who are trying to prove themselves. They will make mistakes, but they will learn from them. As the series progresses, they slowly regain the spark they lost when they were sent to Slow House. This makes for an excellent redemption story, but also one with sufficient tension. 

Sometimes with spy thrillers, you get characters who cannot fail because they are too perfect. This makes the story boring because any adversity they face is easily overcome. It is nice to see a group of people fail and then scramble to overcome their failure as they race against the clock. It is what makes a good thriller, and I can only hope that future entries to the genre continue with this trend. 

Anyways, Slow Horses is a different but same kind of spy story, and you should watch it on Apple TV if you have a subscription.  

video game reviews

Game Review: The Company Man

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All images are screenshots from the game

I do want to mention that I got sent this game as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let this influence my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.

The Company Man is a 2D action platformer. It is available on the Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox, and PC. I played this game on the switch and enjoyed it both handheld and docked mode.

Take control of Jim as he climbs the corporate ladder to become the CEO. The path to the top isn’t easy as it is full of jealous coworkers, insane managers, and a lot of platforming. Will you have the stamina to make it to the top, or will you be another corporate slave?

I love the art of this game. The office theming is brilliant; you can tell that the creators got very creative with the enemy design. Each floor is themed after a different department and filled with monsters that play well off the theme. There is a story, but it acts more as a comedy than something you need to get invested with. This game pokes a lot of fun at the office work culture, and I was there for every second of it. 

The gameplay is simple. You have a keyboard that acts as a melee weapon, and you get a ranged attack that gets upgraded after each promotion. Jim has a set life and ammo that you can replenish and upgrade as you play. You move through each floor, avoiding traps, fighting monsters, and platforming until you fight the floor’s manager. Enemies drop coins that you can use to upgrade your stats and gain abilities. If you die, you restart at your last checkpoint, but you get to keep any coins you’ve collected. Upgrades are well-balanced; I never felt like the game got too easy with them.

 I’ll admit, I hate this genre the most. I am too impatient and am easily frustrated by these kinds of games. This is the only platformer I have ever finished. I’ll admit, I play all the games I review to completion, but I would have finished this game regardless. I played it in normal mode. Normal mode was very manageable for my skillset while still offering enough difficulty to keep me engaged. This was not a cakewalk. I did struggle, and I did get frustrated, but it was very satisfying when I earned my promotion. Veterans of the genre might find normal mode too easy, but there is a hard mode available at the start that might help with your enjoyment.

One tip I have for those who are looking to buy this game is to pay attention to everything. Monsters, traps, and boss fights all have 

a set pattern that they follow. If you can memorize these patterns, you can beat everything.

I highly recommend this game, especially if you enjoy platformers. You can get it on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam.

Movie Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – First Impressions

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Amazon has just released its Lord of the Rings show, and I have to say, I am addicted. I am not the biggest fan of the series, I haven’t read the book and have only watched the Hobbit, but this show definitely sparked my curiosity. I am living proof that you don’t need extensive knowledge of the lore to enjoy this show, but having the wiki open might help you get a deeper understanding of what is going on. If you are intimidated to get into Lord of the Rings, don’t be. It is a very in-depth fantasy, but it is well done.

This is a prequel to the series as it details the events that led up to how they crafted the rings. So far there are only two episodes out for the series with new episodes coming out weekly. The acting is fantastic, the story is interesting, and the setting is beautiful. The first two episodes do a great job at introducing the different factions, setting up the world, and getting you hooked for more. They spent a lot of money producing this show, and it shows. My only complaint is that I have to wait another week to see what happens next.

If you are patient, hop on this show immediately. If you aren’t, wait till it is all out. I am definitely excited to see where this series will go.

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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022)

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Paws of Fury is just as average as animated movies go. While there are a few jokes in this movie that made me laugh, this isn’t something I would watch unless I was putting it on for a younger kid. Paws of Fury is the unmistakable remake of the movie Blazing Saddles, but the characters have been reskinned to samurai cats, and the jokes are designed for kids. It isn’t bad, but if you have seen Blazing Saddles, you would much rather. This is a beat-for-beat remake with an added underdog narrative that honestly hurts the overall experience.

I don’t like the underdog story that this turns into because it is generic and bland. It reminds me of Kung Fu Panda, and I would rather be watching that. I wish they would have taken out the underdog story and kept it as a remake but with better voice acting. The voice acting is fine for the most part, but there are some bad line reads that are hard to overlook. I would have preferred real voice actors instead of name-brand actors, but the better voice acting isn’t saving this movie. This movie is very bland, and I am having trouble with this review. It didn’t leave much of an impression, and I don’t want to spend my time unfairly comparing this movie to its much better predecessor. 

As a kids’ movie, it is fine. I have seen a lot worse. You won’t hate this movie if you have to sit through it. You will at least appreciate all the references. I do like that they address a lot of the important themes from Blazing Saddles, such as racism and government corruption. I also appreciate how they modernized the source material, but this only proves how timeless Blazing Saddles is. You should be watching Blazing Saddles instead. 

The unavoidable truth is that this movie was made for kids that is held back by its genre. If you are looking for something to through on for family movie night, this movie is fine; otherwise, there are better animated movies out there. You can stream it now on Paramount+.

Movie Reviews

Movie Review: Samaritan (2022)

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Samaritan is Silvester Stallone’s attempt at the superhero genre, and I have to say, it is pretty good. Sure the pacing was a little slow, but his unorthodox take on the genre was both refreshing and entertaining. I doubt it will win any awards, but if you have been curious about the movie, go ahead and watch it.

Samaritan follows a young troubled youth Sam who is obsessed with the superhero Samaritan. Samaritan once protected the city from crime and against the supervillain Nemesis, but an epic encounter between the two leads to their disappearance. Most people believe the superhumans to be dead, but Sam holds out hope that Samaritan is alive and will one day make his return. His beliefs seem to hold some truth when he encounters a mysterious man who he believes to be Samaritan. At the same time, an ambitious and delusional crime boss attempts to fill the hole Nemesis left behind. Using the supervillain’s magic hammer, he plans to take over the city and bring forth a new world order. With the city spun into chaos, will Samaritan once again rise and bring the city new hope? You will have to watch the movie to find out.

This movie certainly gave me some Unbreakable vibes because of how it treats superheroes. It certainly challenges their traditional role in society by asking whether or not their existence is necessary. Samaritan makes some interesting points and raises some interesting questions about the genre, but unfortunately, I can’t address them without spoiling the movie. Just know that this isn’t your traditional superhero narrative, and it is going to feel a little slow. It does have a pretty satisfying conclusion if you stick with it.

This is a solid movie with fantastic actors, an entertaining narrative, and some pretty cool action. I always enjoy watching superhero movies that aren’t bound by their source material because they have a certain level of freedom that the mainstream ones don’t. They aren’t bound by the same conventions and aren’t bogged down by repeating a familiar backstory. I am even more impressed at how deeply Stallone understands the action genre and his respect for his ability to consistently make fun action movies. Samaritan is a fantastic combination of both these worlds and one that I can in good conscious recommend.

If you want to watch a decent superhero movie, you should give this movie a chance. You can stream it now on Amazon.

Movie Reviews

Movie Review: So Vam (2022)

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Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

It has been a while since I have seen a movie this rough and unpolished. So Vam is a low-budget vampire movie that you are better off not watching. While well-intentioned as it addresses important issues that affect the LBGQT community, it just isn’t a good movie. The acting is rigid and stiff, the writing is inconsistent, and the story isn’t interesting. At least the camera quality and the sound is good.

The movie focuses on a young gay kid who just wants to live his life and be who he is. The town he lives in doesn’t accept him for being gay. As a result, he experiences a lot of bullying and discrimination. He is an outcast in this town and dreams of going somewhere where he can be who he is without any judgment. His life changes when a strange man turns him into a vampire. With the help of a few trans and gay vampires, he learns to use his powers for good. He now has the confidence to be who he wants to be, but there is a dark force after him. Will he and his new friends be strong enough to defeat this lingering evil from another time, or will evil prevail?

This movie has too many issues, and it isn’t worth your time. I liked that they try to redefine the vampire mythos, but the writing is too inconsistent to do so properly. There is no effective world-building aside from narrative existing in a small town, no consistency in the powers the vampires have, and no clear distinctions between the faction except that one are the bad one. The villain is one-dimensional and flat partly due to the bad writing and largely due to the rigid and emotionless acting that is thematic for this movie. The writing isn’t good, full of some notable holes and continuity errors. For example, there is a character in this movie that uses the they/them pronouns at the beginning of the film, but then is changed to he/him later on. This inconsistency is glaring for a movie that boasts of being an LGBTQ film early on. If you are going to make an LGBTQ movie, at least get the pronouns right. 

I can forgive low-budget movies when they are fun like Velocipastor, but there is nothing fun here. You can stream this on Shudder, but it isn’t worth your time.