Shmee.Me

December 31, 2015December 31, 2015

Shmee’s Top 5 Video Games Of 2015!

2015 was the year that the current console generation finally came in to its own. There were a ton of games to play this year so narrowing the list to five was difficult, but I think I came up with a pretty good group. Here they are in reverses order!

5: Rise of the Tomb Raider

There were a lot of games bucking for this spot, and it almost went to any number of titles, but after the enthusiastic words of BlackRaven and playing ‘Rise of the Tomb Raider’ a bit for myself after getting it for Christmas, I can say it comfortably finds itself at number 5. This outing is one of Lara Croft’s best outings!

4: Batman: Arkham Knight

Almost everything about Batman: Arkham Knight was perfect (if you played it on a console). Almost, and that is way it sits and number four. It was few less boring Batmobile fights away from being a number one contender. Still, it was an amazing game and a great way for Rocksteady Studios leave the Batman franchise. I can’t wait to play what they come up with next.

3: Halo 5

343 Industries needed a hit after some fans were disappointed with Halo 4, and they delivered with Halo 5. It was a great effort! While some of the single player levels were a little dicey (mostly due to a dumb reoccurring boss), Halo 5 might be the best pure multiplayer shooter in a long time. I think it will be played on the pro circuit for years to come.

2: Fallout 4

Once Fallout 4 was announced, I thought for sure that it would be my number one game, but it came up just short because of a simplified dialog system. The new dialog tree removed some of the role playing that the series was known for. However, Fallout 4 is still an amazing game filled with a ton of content and it should be played by just about everyone.

1: The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

It turns out that with The Witcher and The Witcher 2 that CD Projekt RED was just toying with us. I was looking forward to The Witcher 3 going in to 2015, but I had no idea just how good it was going to be. The Witcher 3 gave us a gripping and emotional story that truly felt like the player had a hand in crafting. The Wild Hunt may not just be my favorite game of 2015, but it is one of the best games of all time.

Like I said there were a ton of great game this year, so I bet my list is different from just about everyone else’s just due to the sample size alone! I would love to hear what games you thought rose to the top in 2015!

December 30, 2015December 30, 2015

Shmee’s Top 5 Movies Of 2015!

It is that time of year when everyone gives a top (insert number here) list of whatever, so who am I to buck tradition?! No-one that’s who! So here is my top five movies of 2015 in reverse order.

5: Crimson Peak

Gothic Period Romance with a twist of Horror? Yes please! I guess I am one of the few people that thought that way since Crimson Peak bombed in the theaters, but I like what I like, and Crimson Peak was a lot of fun provided you knew what you were getting in too. If you thought you were going to see a thrilling horror flick, I could see being disappointed. If you haven’t seen it, you should give it a try.

4: Inside Out

Inside Out proved that Pixar still has a little something left in the tank. Pixar seems to get rich making us all cry, but Inside Out reminded us that a little sadness is important. This was a wonderful movie, and it will easily sweep all the top Animated Film honors this award season.

3: The Martian

Every time we have to save Matt Damon from something it makes great cinema. He should just be in peril 24/7. This was also the film that showed that Ridley Scott still knows how to make movies that people want to watch, and reminded film makers everywhere that one man we know in danger is much more gripping than ten’s of thousands that we don’t.

2: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

This may surprise a few of you that this came in at #2 and not #1, but that is only because #1 was so blindsidingly good. Star Wars: The Force Awakens lets geeks everywhere be unashamed to love Star Wars again and judging by all the box office records they are not alone. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is my third favorite Star Wars film and that is high praise.

1: Mad Max: Fury Road

Oh man this movie! When I heard they were making a new Mad Max, I could not have cared any less, but then there was this perfect trailer. That got me interested and then everything they showed of Fury Road after only made it look better. There was no way it was going to live up to all the hype it was building. It turns out people weren’t hyped enough! With the positive buzz that Mad Max: Fury Road is still getting it may when some awards that are usually saved for boring addiction dramas. One more thing, it something I thought was impossible: it was progressive without being preachy. No smug here!

I kind of surprised myself by not having a comic book movie on this list this year, but with like eight million coming out next year that will probably change for 2016. What did your list look like? Let me know!

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015

The One Thing Star Wars: The Force Awakens Didn’t Give Me!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was pretty much pure wish fulfilment for me, but there was one thing that it didn’t do for me, and I both hate and love the movie for it. Everything from here on out is a spoiler, so turn back if you haven’t seen the movie yet!

Spoilers in:

The one thing I didn’t get to see was the original three main characters back together again. I thought for sure I would see Luke, Leia and Han hanging out, but it didn’t happen. What we got instead was the sendoff of one of the most beloved Star Wars characters of all time played perfectly by Harrison Ford. Han trying to turn his son back to the Light at the end of the film was brilliant and heartbreaking. It took a few days after watching the film to realize that I wouldn’t be able to see Han and Luke on the Falcon one last time.

I am very happy with the way the movie turned out, so I don’t wish to change anything, but not getting to see Solo rib on Skywalker again is a sobering thought. I can only hope that Luke will at least get to see Leia, but it doesn’t look like we have any guaranties of that.

December 28, 2015

I Am Confused By Exodus: Gods And Kings!

I am going to be upfront, I am reviewing Exodus: Gods and Kings from the point of view of a Christian that believes in the Bible’s version of the Exodus, but I am pretty sure that if I was a skeptic, I still wouldn’t have liked or understood it. Leaving me to wonder who this movie was for. People that kind of believe in the events of Exodus? Maybe ones that want a Moses that isn’t sure of what God is up to? I don’t know, and I don’t think this movie does either.

If you have ever heard the Bible story of Moses (Christian Bale) and the plagues of Egypt, you will kind of know what is going on in this movie. I say kind of because they change up the events quite a bit, and mostly for pointless reasons. Well, I should say that I didn’t see the point. I would love to hear Ridley Scott’s reasoning.

Here is the deal, if they were going to change up the story so that the plagues or the Exodus were less miraculous, I could understand it. I wouldn’t like it, but I could understand the story the writing team was trying to tell. With Exodus: Gods and Kings, they kind of do that, but then made it so that it would still be impossible without God’s help and intervention. If you are going to make a movie about miracles, you should just tell the Biblical version. If not, leave God out of it.

The odd story changes aside, had the movie been interesting or gripping, I probably would have let it all slide for the sake of entertainment. Sadly Exodus: Gods and Kings is a pretty boring flick. They go through all the plagues pretty matter-of-fact-ly (even if incorrectly), and they never build any tension. Plus, they turned Moses and God in to jerks, so they are hard to empathize with. Meanwhile, the Pharaoh is a spoiled brat, so it is not like they were trying to turn the story on its head either. They just made everyone unlikable.

I am not a huge social justice crusader, but it does stick out that none of the main characters of Gods and Kings are Jewish or Egyptian. It feels like in the twenty-teens we could find some actors of the proper ethnicity to fill at least some of these roles. I like Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton (Pharaoh) quite a bit, but they are odd choices for the leads in this film.

Had Exodus: Gods and Kings been good, I probably wouldn’t have been so hard on it for its crazy story and curious casting choices, but it wasn’t, so all I could think about while watching this movie is why Moses was a self-centered jerk and what all theses British people were doing in Egypt. A big screen Exodus could have been a lot of fun, but someone forgot to tell Ridley Scott that.

December 24, 2015December 24, 2015

Celebrate Christmas With He-Man And She-Ra!

It seems like every show has a Christmas special, but some are more special than others, and none are more special than ‘He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special’. I don’t mean special as in good. No, I mean special as in that dog that keeps running in to walls or tripping over its own tail. The He-Man & She-Ra Christmas special is a wonderful kind of nonsense.

To be fair, as a He-Man fan I can tell you that the classic show was never actually any good. It was a collection of crazy looking characters punching each other to sell kids toys, so the Christmas special has to viewed through that lens, and even then it doesn’t make any sense. The whole plot is that Orko accidentally kidnaps some kids from Earth, and that Horde Prime wants them dealt with before they spread Christmas cheer throughout the land, so He-Man and She-Ra do a bunch of random stuff to save the kids, which they fail at. Leaving Skeletor to save the day.

Sorry to spoil it for you, but hey it came out in 1985, so you had 30 years to watch it. I am sure that to a bunch of executives a ~~toy line~~ cartoon show airing a Christmas episode makes perfect financial sense, but for She-Ra and He-Man it ended up being even more bonkers than usual. I am sure had I watched it as a child, I would not have questioned it one bit, but watching it for the first time as an ‘adult’, I can tell you I had a hard time keeping up with what was going one. It wasn’t until I gave up on the story that I could enjoy it for what it was, capitalism. Pure child centered capitalism, and it made me feel young again.

I really shouldn’t recommend ‘He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special’, but I am. It brought me back to a time when cartoons where pure advertising and plots were optional, and I loved every minutes of them. I had a lot of fun with this inane mini-movie, and if you grew up when I did, you may too. Merry Christmas from Eternia everyone!