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Shmee’s Top 5 Movies Of 2017!

2017 was kind of a down year for the movies industry.  Its box-office totals were way down compared to last year.  It started the summer off with a string of busts that were supposed to be box-office guaranties.  That being said, there were still a lot of good things to watch last year, so here are my top five films of 2017 in reverse order!

5: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Homecoming was the movie Spider-Man fans had been waiting for.  It brought Spider-Man back home to the MCU, and it did not disappoint.  It served up the comedy and action you would expect from an MCU flick while firmly cementing Spidey in the MCU.  Its only major flaw was that it played it too safe.

4: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Rian Johnson had the impossible task of living up to fan expectations with The Last Jedi, and he didn’t quite do it, but he did expand the universe in meaningful ways while trying new things.  Which is no small feat.  I can’t wait to see where all the stuff he set in motion ends up, and that is what a middle movie in a trilogy should do.

3: Thor: Ragnarok

Taika Waititi gazed upon the MCU and found it lacking a true comedy, so he fixed that, and it was amazingly successful.  I am not sure that Thor: Ragnarok lines up 100% of the way with the rest of the MCU, but it was too much fun to care.  It was one of my favorite MCU films to date.

2: Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman finally got her chance to shine, and she didn’t waste it.  It was by far the best movie DC has put out recently, and it made the mess that was Justice League look even worse by comparison.  Heck with Patty Jenkins just being in charge of Wonder Woman, make her in charge of the whole DCEU!

1: Dunkirk

People were wondering if Christopher Nolan had anything left in the tank, but Dunkirk proved that he is still a world class director.  Dunkirk was a stunning achievement, and it showed that there are still interesting war movies left to be made.  Expect Dunkirk to make some noise this award season.

So that is my top five list!  What was your top 5?  I would love to hear about it you liked (or didn’t).

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PUBG Goes 1.0 On PC! So How Is It?

I finally stopped playing PUBG on Xbox One long enough to go back and try out the 1.0 version on PC, so what is different than pre-release?  Obviously vaulting and the new map are in place, but the big difference is the optimization.  The game plays much better on my PC.  Not great, but way better than it did when I first started playing.

I used to get frame-rate swings from 80FPS down to 10FPS while just looking at a wall.  It all had to do with how many enemies were around at any given moment, but now the swings are not quite as bad.  They go from 80FPS to 55FPS, and while things still get worse when other people are around, the swings seem to have more to do with the areas I am in.  For instance, my computer seems to have a harder time in cities, as you would expect.

Vaulting is nice.  Not getting stuck jumping over a low fence is always appreciated, but this feature has been on the Xbox version from the start, so it is nothing new.  The new desert map on the other hand, Miramar, is.  While I am not sure Miramar plays better than Erangel, I can say it looks much better.  Everything about the old map is cookie cutter.  The buildings all look exactly the same.  Meanwhile Miramar feels more organic.  Like it used to be a real place once, and while the same building may crop up from time to time, they have disguised it so it doesn’t stick out as much.  Even better, its rolling hills are perfect for sick motorcycle stunts.  The biggest downer for me is that there is no vegetation, so it is a sniper’s paradise.

All in all, it is a good update that adds a lot to PUBG, and makes it much more stable.  For most games I would say that it seems like it is still in beta, but that it no longer feels like an early release alpha either, so now is probably a pretty good time to give it a try.

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In Defence Of PUBG On Xbox!

PUBG on Xbox One has gotten off to a rocky start, especially on the vanilla Xbox One, but all is not lost.  PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds has never been about graphics or performance, but instead the experience of trying to survive this crazy game.  Constantly choosing whether to stay in the shadows or go on the offensive.  Drive further in to the safe zone or to stay close to the edge of the circle, so that no one can get behind you.

Every minute you are playing PUBG you are making decisions, and from my experience, most of those decisions will get you killed.  PUBG makes its players think in a way competitive multiplayer shooters haven’t forced their players to think in a long time.  Lately it has been all about how fast your reflexes are, and while that is still important in PUBG, safely maneuvering around other players to get the drop on them is much more important.

So while the Xbox One port of the game is in a rougher state than we hoped, with tons of rubber band lag and texture pop-in galore, it is still worth playing.  Though I will understand if you hold off for a few more patches.  In fact that is probably wise, but just don’t stay away forever.  PUBG is too good to miss, and so far the other Battle Royal games aren’t even close to as good.  Though they aren’t a bad way to tide you over.

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Shmee Tries On The Crown A Second Time!

Americans have always had a strange attitude towards the British Monarchy.  On one hand we believe them to be irrelevant.  The Monarchy has no real power anymore.  They are a distraction from the real politics going on in the House of Commons.  On the other hand they are rich and glamorous and have a mysterious sway over their people.  Netflix’s The Crown gives an interesting look in to life and family of the current Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

The first season was about the trials and tribulations of becoming The Queen after her father’s sudden death.  Meanwhile, season two of The Crown is about marital and family strife.  Is The Duke cheating?  Are the kids doing well?  Won’t that sister for once just fall in line?!  And can’t at least one Prime Minister do his job!

The Crown gives a fascinating look in to all of this.  Of course I have my phone out the whole time fact checking everything, and Netflix does a commendable job about telling a story close to the truth.  The stories have been altered for the sake of better story telling, but the show does seem to get the feel of what was going on at the time correct.  Even if the facts and events are a little skewed.  Rounded off for convenience.

It is clear no expense was spared for The Crown.  It is loving shot and brilliantly acted.  The sets and cars make everything look like very much like the late 50’s and early 60’s.  It is easy to see how The Crown is Netflix’s most expensive show to produce.  Most movies don’t look this good.

If the reign of Queen Elizabeth II is at all interesting to you, The Crown is well worth watching.  Sure you will have to do a little extra research to get all the details right, but the show will transport you to Buckingham’s front door, and let you feel like you are taking in all the scandal and intrigue first hand.  Which is exactly what we wanted from The Crown.

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The Last Jedi Continues Disney’s Streak!

There was so much hype surrounding Star Wars: The Last Jedi that it would have been impossible to fulfil everyone’s expectations, but it gets very, very close.  Some slight pacing issues keep The Last Jedi from overtaking A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, but it comfortably vaults the rest of the films in the franchise.

The Last Jedi picks up directly after The Force Awakens.  The Resistance needs to flee their base, and Rey (Daisy Ridley) needs to convince Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to join The Resistance to help combat the evil Snoke (Andy Serkis) and his apprentice Kylo Ren(Adam Driver).

It may sound like The Last Jedi uses a lot of the same story beats as The Empire Strikes Back, and it does, but it turns those beats on their heads in some fascinating ways.  Sadly, I can’t talk about any of them without giving away massive spoilers, but for all those afraid that The Last Jedi just copies Empire the same way The Force Awakens copied A New Hope, fear not.  The Last Jedi is its own movie.  I so much want to give examples of how The Last Jedi subverts some of Star War’s tropes, but for your sake, I will just say that it does.

It is no wonder that after Disney executives saw this film they gave Rian Johnson the keys to the franchise’s future.  Signing him up for three more films.  The Last Jedi is gorgeous and lovingly shot.  I only wish that I hadn’t had to sit in the front row, so I could have taken it all in better.  If he finds a better editor, I am sure his new Star Wars movies will be fabulous.

Which brings about The Last Jedi’s biggest flaw.  It is long, and it feels long.  It is showing us some amazing stuff, so I understand the desire to linger a bit, but it could have been tightened up and been a much better film.  However,  that is my only complaint.  Other than that, The Last Jedi is everything I hoped it would be, so if you don’t have plans to see The Last Jedi like the rest of the world, you may want to go get your tickets.  Just show up a littler earlier to the theater than I did.