Twice burnt... Justice League SDCC trailer

Warner Brother know how to cut a trailer... That much we should all agree upon. Both Man of Steel and BvS had trailers that got me hyped, So does Suicide Squad... And now we have the trailer for Justice League(and Wonder Woman). 

And i am... Well... really really hyped. With out a doubt the trailer at least have all that i wanted, sharp humor, great sets and Ezra Miller, sure he is no Grant Gustin but it seems they are taking the Flash character in a good direction and Ezra is the a perfect fit for that direction. 

But

As the title hints at i have twice given the WB/DC producers my vote of confidence and twice they have gone out of their way to stick their dick in a wall-socket. I wish i could just give in to the hype and just completely immerse myself in the world. But i honestly fucking hate BvS, i somewhat dislikes Man of Steel but it did have some promise. Sadly that was not delivered upon in BvS. In fact both movies suffer greatly from sloppy editing, and sloppy here should be read as them having cut away too many small movements that set up the greater arcs. This in turn leave the movies annoying and confusing... Not City of bones confusing but way more confusing than i care for. 

So against better knowledge i am hyped for the Justice league movie... But i am also preparing to be disappointed. 

That is why my next movie going experince is one i know what i will get... A really stupid popcorn action comedy... In short.. Ghostbusters. 

So until next time. Stay safe and play nice. 

Game of thrones is back, but is it worth it?

Just a quick reflection on the first episode of season six. This will be spoiler free and not very in depth for reasons we will get to.

Now the unofficial tag-line for this season is "off the books" as in they no longer have fully formed books to use as a basis for the plot line, This will offer more freedom i guess and give the producers a chance to tell their own story. Time will tell if they are up to the task because like it or not, Martin is a good writer, not outstanding perhaps but good.

Now of course some plot threads will carry over from the books while others, as set up in the previous season have taken a hard left in to fan fic territory. what this means is that for once the book readers do not have a uncut advantage and we can not lean on our snark to end discussions about the ins and outs of the HBO juggernaut. I guess we instead will see rant and ravings on what version is superior.

Now the first episode it self is more or less a update on where all the people are and a quick reminder of in what state we left them last season. Or well.. Most at least. It seems that episode two will do the same with the characters not in this episode. We get some plot development and some minor twists. For a first episode of a season it did feel a bit plodding and the pace is not all that exciting. And that kind of goes for the entire thing, some of the glow has faded and unless episode two and three pick up significantly i fear this will be  a season that will be on fast forward.

Maybe it is a general fatigue that is setting in. But i have high hopes and low expectations for this season. I will check back once we reach the half-way mark.

Stay safe.

They killed it. Hitman chapter 1.

First off… the royal we have given up on regular updates. Too much going on right now with trying to find a new job and some other side projects. Mondays will remain the day for updates. We will keep you updated…. Now on to the topic of the week.

As someone who tend to lean on the side of click bait…. This was perhaps the most click baited title I have done so far.

But I feel it is ok, especially as I more or less predicted doom and gloom for the Hitman series with them going episodic. Seems like I will have to eat crow. The first episode is really solid and a nice nod back to the classic hitman formula of sandbox playground. An open level and you are left to your own devices as to how you like to solve the mission. A fantastic tangle of AI interactions and triggers that if left to their own might seem predictable but once you start poking around your actions causes a ripple effect that in turn change the playing field.

Now this is just the first episode. The one that one can assume have been in development for the longest time but it also set a good bar for the following maps to hit. Should they reach said bar the game will most likely land on many GoTY lists as an example of how to do episodic content the right way outside of a TellTale game. Should they not… At least the starter pack will be worth the 15 bucks it cost and you can keep on replaying that trying to find the most creative ways of breaking the game.

So the game… It is for all intents and purposes a Hitman game, you are bald, people need to be stuffed in to boxes, carrying a gun in the open is bad and so on. New or at least new-ish is the soft version of your super-assassin sense. The game has a mode you can use that track information you see and hear and paint you guideline to follow. This can ofc be turned off if you like to go in old school. This way the game remains open to veterans and newcomers alike.

But that is all there is right now. I will return and make a more in-depth review of the game once all the parts are out and we can see how it meshed together. But for now I can absolutely recommend the starter edition as it stands on its own very well. 

Elementary he said… Sherlock and the abominable bride (spoiler free)

When viewing BBC´s Sherlock one always have to go in with the mindset of enjoying a rare but small bit of bit of confection This modern adaptation of A.C Doyle´s master detective is in many ways one of a kind. Now with that said I do start to wonder if it has not begun to become a tad bit long in the tooth. This episode take place directly after the end of the last season. The season ended with Sherlock putting a permanent end to a particular problem. As a result he was placed on a plane heading for banishment. Only to be recalled about five minutes in as an old foe shows it´s face again. After a quick recap it then sends us off with a nice “what if” scenario set in the 1800´s

The episode is set in the time of the original Sherlock Holmes, as such it takes place in London in the late 1800´s. Holmes and Watson are tasked to solve a very strange murder and we quickly find out that the game is… as it should.. afoot.

The episode plays freely with the classic Holmes tropes and I have to say that I got a tiny thrill form seeing Cumberbatch don the classic outfit. Freeman also fit very well in with the look of the time, complete with mustache and bowler. In fact I think that Watson is the character they have the most fun with out of the main cast. Giving him a bit more attitude and letting him spar much more with Sherlock. Especially as things take the predictable but enjoyable turns, as in you know there will be some twists and turns not that it was a predictable episode. In fact it hits you from left field more than once. The episode does also visit the somewhat darker sides of Sherlock in a very clever way.

The cast and crew as usual is top notch and this time we also add a layer of set and costumes that also feel spot on, even if I have t admit that I am but a novice when it comes to fashion and architecture from the 1800´s. Now a very real problem is that both of the main cast is getting and more big roles and it is kind of unclear as for how long this will be a thing. Now thanks to how compact the show is I guess it would be easier to fit shooting in between other work and it is not like thay have had a regular schedule to begin with. But this would in my mind work very well as a last episode. A nice way to round off a very good series. And that is in a way what ties in to my earlier comment about it getting abit long in the tooth. Some of the luster is in fact gone. And I am in way curious to see where they will take this as they are moving beyond the classic stories and seeking new lands. Now they have not used all the stories but most of the big ones have in one way or another been referenced.

But either way it is still a very enjoyable watch and I highly recommend it to anyone that is a fan of the series or just well produced television in general. 

So… Tell me how you really feel….

I am back.. from outer space....

<Spoiler free>

I just came out from the new TMNT movie, that is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for you not in to super-heroes from late 80´s and early 90´s.

I liked it… And before these words resonates over the web and pull in grognards form all over…

This movie is not based on the E n L comic… it is not based on the mid-90´s toy/cartoon series nor the many comic adaptations… It is not based on any of the previous live action movies. If you go in to see with hoping for that… You will be let down… massively.

The first hint for the source material should be the Nickelodeon logo that get splashed in your face right at the start. Yes this movie draws inspiration from the current and still running Nickelodeon Turtles series while mixing in elements from the original source material and doing away with some other.

Now with that out of the way, what do we get?

Well story wise it is a very typical heroes journey where everyone learns a valuable lesson and in the end become better people… Apart from the villains. But that is not uncommon these days and I find it hard to fault it for that seeing how I praised GotG who follow pretty much the exact same structure. But you usually do not sit down and watch a summer blockbuster, especially one from the house of Bay expecting a deep and multi-layered story.

The action scenes are good if a bit to hectic at times, a common problem with action movies in this day and age. The fights have some good weight to them even if the main characters are all CGI and while I love the practical effects of the original movie as much as the next guy and I give the Henson workshop all respect. Heck the fact that the actors could even walk in those suits was insane. To be able to do fight scenes, mind blowing. But it had its limitations and that is not something that the CG counterparts on this movie have to worry about at all. Most of the action is visceral and have a good flow. Sorry fans of the old… But that is the way I see it.

Also the noses did not really bother me, in fact I like the new head design. It does not only give each of the turtles more of a character but it fits better in with the world around them then the more cartoony style of the old.

Now that is not to say the movie is not without its faults. First and foremost is the constant and rather tiresome sexism… Yes it can be explained away but it is still unnecessary as H pointed out to me. I personally put it up against Transformers 2 and was glad it was not worse, that in itself not a very good sign.

Then we have the pacing, it is a bit uneven and wobbly, even if it follow a typical on/off way where there is either action or dialogue/exposition. But due to a not very gripping story and bland villains and sad to say... heroes it notice it a lot more than in other movies.

I also wish that they had put the origin of the movie at the start rather than smear it out over the first half for no real reason as it adds nothing to the plot or the tension. Especially as it is based on a currently running cartoon. They could have built a lot more tension by setting up the origin of the Turtles and April as the launching point of the movie.

So to sum it up it is a good braindead action flick with some really nice action, good 3D (it even had a moment when I tried to catch an object that was flung towards the camera) and a passable story. It is not as good as the Avengers or the Guardians but it is not as bad as some people on the good ol web make it out to be. Sure if you are a big fan of the previous live action movies you will perhaps not like this one as it takes a pretty big step away from that movie, but if you are a fan of the Nickelodeon TMNT series you will get more than a few knowing nods and no matter who you are it will give you a chuckle or two.

But if I should recommend one action blockbuster this summer… It would be Guardians of the Galaxy. TMNT does not reach all the way, see it if you feel like some quick and dirty entertainment, just don´t forget to disengage your brain first.