Shmee.Me

February 9, 2015

Constantine Is Done, Or Is It?

Well NBC announced their renewals and Constantine wasn’t on the list, and I am guessing that is it for the show, but new rumors say that might not be the case. According to Comicbook.com NBC execs were very happy with how the show did on SyFy during a marathon, and they may move the show over there. Not only that, to get the old school comic book fans on board they are thinking of changing the name of the show to the title of the comics: Hellblazer. This move off of a major network and on to cable would allow the show to get a darker, and feature more of what Constantine is known for.

Obviously this is just a rumor, and I fully expect Constantine to be canceled, but the DVR and On Demand numbers were so good for this show that it would make some sense to keep it alive. I kind of wish that it would move to The CW, so Constantine could hang out with the rest of his DC friends. TV Justice League for the win! I am sure we will hear of Constantine’s final fate shortly, and regardless of how this all turns out. It has been fun having him on TV if only for a little while.

February 6, 2015February 6, 2015

Shmee Joins The Inquisition Of The Dragon Age!

I have been playing Dragon Age: Inquisition for quite some time, but I kept telling myself I needed to get in to it more before I gave my review. Well, I have a ton left to play, but I am going to give you my thoughts anyway, why? Because by the time I am done with this game it will be 2016. This a huge game, and one worth spending some time in.

The game is technically the third game in a series, but you can tell the developers wanted this game to stand on its own. Almost a reboot if you will. The first game Dragon Age: Origins tried to be an old school RPG, but then also be friendly to console gamers, and ended up somewhere in between. Making neither crowd very happy. The second game Dragon Age 2 went straight up action RPG, and in the process lost what fans the first game had. With Inquisition Bioware took a step back and looked at the games of theirs people did like, namely Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect, and then made a fantasy RPG that followed in that style. There result has been great. If you don’t want to jump in to this world without knowing what has happened you can go to Dragonkeep.com and customize all the actions that you would have taken in the other games while learning the backstory.

If you have ever played a Mass Effect or Knights of the Old Republic game you will understand how this game works very quickly. You get three party members with you at all times, and you can just control your character and let them act on their own, or you can pause the action and assign their actions. What is new this time around is that you can kind of program their automatic actions in the menu, and if you wish you can just flat out control them as if they were your character, so if you are sick of playing your mage for awhile you can play as one of your brawlers. It is quite fun. Thankfully you can select the armor and weapons for all your sidekicks, not just a couple of things like the later Mass Effect games.

Like Bioware’s other games, Dragon Age: Inquisition doesn’t take place in one spot like say Skyrim, you unlock different zones and areas as you play, or gain “Power” as they say in the game. Much like the planet maps of their Sci-Fi games, you have a world map in this game. Now the zones are plenty large, so there is still stuff to do for you explorer types. Well, there is plenty to do regardless of your play style. There are so many quests and areas that you will have something to do for a long time.

There are a couple of downsides to this game. One, it takes a long time to truly start. Not until you get your castle “Skyhold” do you really gain access to all this game has to offer, and even if you press through to your castle, it will take you at least twelve hours or so to get there. That is the length of some games right there, and in this game you are maybe 15% done. Crazy. The other problem is that some of the quests are kind of boring (namely the Hinterlands). Like they were thrown in for filler, but with so much to do they should have just been left out.

I am enjoying my time with Dragon Age: Inquisition, and I can’t wait to play more. I am nowhere near done with this game, but I have already got my money’s worth. This game seems like it is always on sale now, and it is well worth a purchase at even full price, so it is a steal now. If nothing else this game will give you something to do during those long gameless summer months, or at least until The Witcher 3 comes out in May.

February 5, 2015February 5, 2015

From Gilded To Silvern!

Silvern is the second book in the YA series that started with Gilded, which I liked quite a bit. Christina Farley takes us back to a fanciful version of South Korea where Jae Hwa just can’t seem to get away from the spirit world. This book was not quite as good as Gilded, but it was still a fun read. Plus it turns out “Silvern” is a real word that means to be made out of or look like silver, so a new word to randomly work in to polite conversations.

The story picks up quickly after the first book, and Jae thinks she is done with her supernatural past, but sadly that is not the case. She is now being sought after by the Lord of the Dead and Spirit Leader of North Korea, Kud. It turns out her last adventure was minor compared to what is ahead of her.

This book has some issues. For one it has a twist that you see coming for a mile away, and secondly it doesn’t have a real ending. It is all pretty much setup for Brazen the third book in the series. That being the case Farley has an entertaining style and Jae is an interesting character. Plus with ever other YA book taking place in the USA or England, South Korea remains a nice change of pace.

It is also nice that this book doesn’t outlast its welcome. It seems like all books these days have to be like 10,000 pages long and include 800 characters, and still not tell a complete narrative. I am looking at you David Webber! This book stays very focused. Something I wish more writers would do. Not everything has to be an epic.

While I do feel this book was a step down from Gilded, I still enjoyed reading it, and I look forward to Brazen coming out soon. Maybe after that book we will get a little closure with this story. Christina Farley has talent, and I look forward to her future work.

February 4, 2015July 7, 2015

The Untitled Star Wars Film Has Its Lead!

Disney is very serious about getting one Star Wars movie a year made, so they are doing their best to get the casting done on the Gareth Edwards’ Star Wars spin-off by all but signing the Theory of Everything star Felicity Jones. Jones had a great year in ’14, and to be able to cash in on it by landing a lead in a Star Wars film would a great way to start ’15 off. If this movie is successful she would become a very big name indeed.

I am curious to see what the director of the latest Godzilla film will bring to the table, and to see how much freedom Disney will let him have to come up with something new inside the Star Wars Universe. I hope they make something amazing! But, before I get too excited, (it is already to late) we will have to see how Disney does this Christmas with Episode VII.

February 3, 2015

The Paladin remembers an American Sniper

American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood, is now the top grossing war movie of all time. This is both extremely fascinating and surprising. American Sniper is a modern tale about a modern war, where most successful war movies are those about the second World War where the enemy is clear, the Americans are the heroes, and a victory is certain. American Sniper doesn’t give us a clear enemy, the Americans are heroic but not infallible, and victory is just surviving to the next day. What makes this movie so powerful is not wrapping the film in a flag and singing “God Bless America”, it’s that it is wrapped in humanity.

Chris Kyle was the most deadly sniper in US Military history with 160 confirmed kills, edging out Marine Sniper Chuck Mahwinney from the Vietnam War who was credited with 103. Bradley Cooper turns in an excellent performance as the bold, yet caring Chris Kyle. We are able to see and feel the weight of Chris’ war with every scene – how it eats at his own soul and on the relationship with his wife. The focus is what’s really the fascinating part about this film; it juxtaposes Chris’s life at war with his life at home where we can see the effects of his four tours and the PTSD he is obviously suffering from. This is highlighted in a fantastic scene at a mechanic’s shop where Chris is confronted by a man he saved and considers him a hero. The scene is long and awkward and you as a viewer share in Chris’ suffering through this hero worship. You feel for the guy because he doesn’t consider himself a hero and yet he very much is.

American Sniper, I think works where other modern war films do not is that it is an honest look at the Iraq war with a protagonist you connect with and can root for. He’s not going back tour after tour because he’s a war junkie like Jeremey Renner’s character in the Hurt Locker and its not preachy like other “war” films. Chris is portrayed as a guy who goes back because he cares about people and returns again and again because he want to make sure others can go home. The final part of the film gives a glimpse to how he uses that heart of service to help himself and others rebuild their shattered lives from PTSD. A heart that sadly costs him his life.

American Sniper is not perfect. The actors are great, the pacing is superb, and the heart of the film is never lost. However the visual effects are not so great. I’m assuming the studio didn’t have much faith in this film because the effects look like a ScyFy channel movie-of-the-week or something from the 90’s. It was just off and in some places distracting. You may have also heard about the fake babies. It is true, the babies are fake and I can’t explain why. Maybe Bradley Cooper doesn’t work with babies? Or maybe it’s Clint? Either way it’s weird.

Still, you should see this movie if you haven’t already. It is a haunting and honest look at war, but also a touching tribute to love and life.