Author: Shmee

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Shmee Does A Full Dive With Sword Art Online!

I have been watching a lot of Sword Art Online on Netflix.  Like a lot, a lot.  Is it is not great.  It is okay, but it is anime, and I find anime oddly comforting.  For me it is like curling up with hot chocolate or something, so a show that has two full 25 episode seasons is hard to ignore.

The first season is by far the best.  With much better writing, and you feel for the characters that are trapped in the titular MMO.  The second season there is a lot of stretching going on.  Five minute conversations have become full blown episodes.  You can probably skip it, but of course I didn’t.  I let it is mediocrity wash over me like a warm bath.

Do you like anime.  Does high school kids trapped in a full body MMO sound interesting to you?  You may like it too.  I would forgive you if you didn’t.  Netflix’s other show Magi is better.  Maybe I should review that since I watched it too?  Maybe I will, we will see.

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Lego Batman Is THE Batman!

Lego Batman proves that the people that can make fun of you the best, are the ones that love you the most.  While the Dark Knight gets made fun of plenty in this film, you can tell it is by a cast and crew that know and love the character.  This movie brings up all of his filmic past, while telling an engaging and well done Batman movie.

Lego Batman takes place at some point after The Lego Movie, but they have gone back to their normal Lego lives, and for Batman that means saving the day and being awesome.  Of course while being Batman is great, Bruce Wayne is lonely and scared of commitment and family, so things get awkward when he has to work with the new commissioner Barbra Gordon, and he accidentally adopts fellow orphan Dick Grayson.

This of course plays to the main gag for Batman:  He has always been thought of as a loner, but he has had sidekick, Robin, since 1940.  Meaning he was a lone wolf for a year, but not being able to trust people and have relationships has always been a central plot point for him.  Even though he has always had them.  Of course in this movie they play it up for laughs (and surprisingly tears).  His fear of being in a relationship even keeps him from being able to say he hates the Joker.  Which of course drives the Joker crazy (crazier).

Much like The Lego Movie, this film is chock-full of pop culture references and movie crossovers, but they make sure to keep the focus on Batman’s universe.  I mean they got all the bad guys in this flick.  Polka-Dot Man and Crazy Quilt both make an appearance, as do many, many more.  Even some of the best side gags are references to other Batman movies that I didn’t even know were references until looking them all up later online.

It is not very often there are two people playing one character at the same time in cinema, but so far Will Arnett is better than Ben Affleck, but I hope they both keep playing the Caped Crusader for years to come, and Zach Galifianakis’ needy take on the Joker was hilarious.

There aren’t really too many family superhero movies out there, but The Lego Batman Movie is a pretty darn good one.  It might not be quite as good as The Lego Movie, but it is pretty close, and if you love DC Comics, it is a must watch.  I know that after The Lego Ninjago Movie they are doing The Lego Movie 2, but I will be patiently waiting for The Lego Batman Movie 2.

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Warner Bro. Delivers Two Massive Trailers For San Diego Comic Con!

While Disney still delivers a few things at San Diego Comic Con, most of their news comes out of D23, but that lets DC/Warner Bros. kind of run amok.  Which is fun for the fans to see.  This year they had tons of news about their comics and TV shows, but the biggest bombs were these two trailers.  First up is Justice League:

This trailer gives us more of what we saw in the first trailer, with five of the original Justice League members (and a sixth teased) strutting their stuff.  Not surprisingly they upped the Wonder Woman content since she officially became the highest grossing movie of the summer domestically over the weekend.  We finally get to see some of Cyborg’s moves in action.  Though Aquaman continues to steal every shot he is in, and The Flash is still good for the laughs.

Next up Ready Player One:

As Stefon would say, “This trailer has everything!”  And he would be right.  Players play Joust, Harley Quinn and Deathstroke are out on a date night, the Iron Freaking Giant is just out and about, and just about every important geek-mobile is in a crazy race!  The book was just non-stop pop culture references, and the trailer seems to indicate that movie will be the same way.  I can’t wait.

What was your favorite trailer from SDCC, or any news that you found interesting?

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Shmee Hangs Out With Pete’s Dragon!

Like with all things Disney, Pete’s Dragon got a remake.  The question is, is it any good?  Sure, it is okay.  It is a fine family film, but I don’t think it will be many people’s favorite movie.  It will be something to watch before you put the kids to bed, and you will not need to pay a lot of attention to it.  If you were a major fan of the 1977 original, this movie is nothing like that one, other than the titular Pete and his Dragon.

The original movie was a musical that took place around the turn of the 20th Century.  The new movie starts in 1977 (clever) then fast forwards to 1983.  In the original Pete’s Dragon, Elliott the Dragon got in to all sorts of mischief while he was invisible.  The new Elliott stays in the forest until an orphaned Pete (Oakes Fegley), who he has been taking care of, gets taken from him, and he has to find him.  Then Elliott gets hunted by some loggers.

At least unlike the other Disney remake’s, this movie is not a shot for shot update.  It is a new movie with a similar premise, so if you like movies with invisible dragons and Petes, the two Pete’s Dragons are just what you are looking for.  If you wanted an update to the previous film, you could be disappointed.

The acting is all what you would expect for a movie like this.  It is all a little too sappy and sweet.  Even Karl Urban as the ‘bad guy’ isn’t really that bad.  He is just trying to make ends meet, and he thinks a dragon is a great way to do that.  Which it probably would be.  If there was some way to keep a massive dragon contained.

If you need a movie to watch with your kids, and you have seen everything else, the 2016 Pete’s Dragon is a fine choice.  As is the 1977 movie.  Though neither of them, while well thought of, are going to be held up as true Disney classics any time soon.  I liked it, my kid liked it, and my wife liked it.  I just don’t think any of us loved it, but hey it is on Netflix, so that is good.

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Shmee Takes On PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds!

Considering how popular PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is, it was only a matter of time before I picked it up, and I am disappointed that it took me this long to get it.  It is a ton of fun, and for only $30 (or less), it is more than worth your money.  If you have a computer that can run it that is.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Battlegrounds, let me tell you how it works.  At the start of each match you and 99 other people jump from a plane to a large island and then start to look for weapons and equipment in houses and shacks.  As the game progresses, a blue wall of static starts to close in around you.  If you get hit by the wall it will kill you pretty quickly (more quickly as the game progresses), so you need to keep moving towards safe areas.  You can find cars, buggies and motorcycles to help you move faster, but those attract attention, so you will be running a lot.  You of course are shooting/punching everyone you see as you do all this.  If you are the last person or team to survive, you win.  I have never won.

Due to the random nature of A: How the plane travels across the island, B: Weapon and gear spawns, and C: Where the safe zones will be.  The game is never quite the same twice.  Sometimes you get the perfect spot, and you just get to wait for all the other players to come running towards your well fortified house.  Other times it is like that movie Run Lola Run.  You are trying to get from one side of the map to other, and you are blasting through and looting houses as fast as you can, and you are always just a couple of steps in front of the wall until some sniper ends your journey.

Some people complain that it is too random, but so far, even when I am the first person out, I am having fun.  You just never know what to expect.  I imagine that the randomness will make it hard for the pro circuit, since some teems will just get better starting points than others, but I am no pro, so it doesn’t matter to me.

If you have a decent PC, you should get this game.  It is fun, and you can play a round in 30 to 40 minutes.  It is in early access now, but they are working hard to create a full release build soon.  If you don’t have a PC, you just need to be patient, they are working on getting an Xbox One version out late this year or early next year, and then a PS4 version will follow that.