Change Your Image
Aaron1375
10-excellent flick or game, very little to nothing I find wrong with it.
9 -really good flick or game that is almost excellent but may have one or two flaws
8 -good like 9 however the flaws stand out more or it did not generate the excitement I was looking for
7 -pretty good for the most part the movie or game was enjoyable, but along with flaws it may lack plot development or something to that effect
6 -okay chances are it has a boring stretch or something that knocks the film down a peg or two, I might recommend this movie or game, but will say beware
5 -a neither good nor bad flick. Just enough good to keep it from being a bit unwatchable and just enough bad to make it something I probably would not want to see again unless it was a horror movie
4 -for the most part a movie I don't care for, but contains some good scenes or something to that effect, also a rather good score for me to give to a bad horror movie that kept me entertained because it was so bad
3 -usually when they start ranking here or lower they become boring or really low budget or unplayable if a game. it only gets a 3 because it might contain a shining diamond in the rough such as maybe a good performance
2 -usually the only thing making this type of movie from being a one is a good death or perhaps a good nude scene
1 -bad and boring and something I will not watch again unless it is to make fun of it
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
The Child (1977)
It was fairly good until the shed...
I had never heard of this film before, but it sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a watch. It was intriguing for most of the film, had good kills and a nice evil little kid antagonist. Then, the brother and the sitter went to the shed and it became every zombie in that era as they start boarding up wood to stop the zombies and left me wondering, "Where the heck is the evil kid?" and then the ending hits us with an anticlimactic bonk to the head!
So the story has a young woman making her way to a house where she has been hired as a babysitter. Apparently, it is supposed to be the 1930's, but aside from the vehicles, I did not get that vibe at all. Well, babysitter goes to the house of an old woman who tells her that her new employer is a bit strange; especially Rosy. Well, when the sitter gets to the house, both the brother and father seem strange and the little girl seems normal. However, you soon find out that the father and little girl are off and the brother is normal, then the dad tries to be normal and is killed for his troubles. Seems Rosy has special powers and her mother may have also had these telekinetic powers which also give her the ability to raise the dead! Soon Rosy turns her sites on the sitter and her family as she is not going to be told what to do! This all leads up to a not so thrilling conclusion, but it worked there for a while.
The cast is no one I have ever seen before, the music sometimes literally cuts off suddenly and it has low budget written all over it, but the atmosphere is good. If only the ending was better, as I honestly would have rather seen both the sitter and brother die and then the undead ghouls turn on Rosy and kill her leaving us with the realization that her mother went the same way. That would have been more satisfying to me anyhow.
So, it has atmosphere, it has zombies and an evil girl and it works well despite the obviously low budget for a bit. Then act three comes along and I am expecting it to be something interesting and then the brother suggests hiding in the shed instead of running away from the slow, stumbling and easily killed zombies. Hammer, hammer, hammer and girl screaming ensues; meanwhile, you almost forget the film is about The Child...
They Nest (2000)
Okay, but The Nest is by far the better killer cockroach film.
Yes, this film adds one letter to an awesome 80's killer cockroach film and that makes it better! No, not really, this one not as strong as it does not have the awesomeness of the 80's to back it up. This one is television movie with mainly CGI effects rather than practical for the most part and it honestly needed more bug action and less, "You ain't from around here" as I am not a fan of the person getting blamed for the deaths trope used in a lot of horror films, the most grievous film that used this was The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, which had me not enjoy the movie at all despite being a cool zombie film otherwise. This one I enjoyed a bit though.
The story has a doctor having trouble performing surgery, why you may ask, this is never really explained. May have something to do with his drinking, it may not. Well he goes to his house on an island and is immediately disliked by the local electrician mainly because the doctor bought the guy's childhood home and because locals do not understand that banks sell homes and people do not just say, give you a hundred to buy it! Well, the more pressing concern is the opening scene depicting idiots disposing of a body badly which leads to cockroaches on the island that bite and leave tracers in the blood! They then nest in the host and burst out! Scary, and to imagine they are real! Okay, they are not real, pretty sure we would have all been wiped out by something like this. Well as the tensions between the doctor and the dumb brothers and their friends gets worse so do the amount of cockroaches on the island!
The acting is alright, and the roaches are pretty gross, but there is a lot wrong with the film. The doctor buying the lousiest looking house ever, why? The island is not exactly a nice getaway spot and how come he is just learning about the locals? He literally came to the island before, one look at their angry stares and I would not be buying a dump. Then there is the barn that has a basement? It has windows in this bottom portion and a car, yet Nell, the lead girl drives her truck on the floor above? What? Still, a nice attack of bugs at the end makes the film more tolerable.
So, I would have definitely preferred them wrap up the hostility angle of the movie sooner, maybe have some of the locals tell the doctor, "Maybe you aren't such a bad guy..." while the doctor responds, "you guys are alright too" instead of death for the locals, maybe more cockroach attacks rather than, "Let's lock up that out of town guy in a obvious time extender scene; however, the movie has some moments and it entertained for what it was.
The Slayer (1982)
There's a logical explanation!
This film was rather good, could have used a kill or two more, perhaps more shots of the monster. If this was touted as a monster film, then perhaps tout it as a slasher and let the monster be a surprise. I saw this knowing it was some sort of creature and so I knew who was going to get shot by the flare pistol which if you see one in a film, someone is usually taking one to the gut!
The story has two couples going on a vacation to a very secluded island. This vacation is meant as a means for Kay to unwind as she has been super stressed as she keeps having dreams of being pursued by some "thing". Her husband David and Eric her brother think a week on an island during the off season will be best. Eric's wife thinks the trip will be a bummer. In hindsight, she probably would have rather it have been a bummer as one by one they are picked off. Well David gets killed first and by golly, despite there being literally nothing to do on the island, no real place to go and after a thorough search Eric is sure David will turn up. When he turns up decapitated, Eric just knows there is a logical explanation and that his sister's dreams of impending doom or just nonsense, until he is dead! Is the killings being done by the creepy pilot or some otherworldly entity...thanks to the plot description here you already know...
The cast does a pretty good job. Kay looks like someone who is afraid and stressed and lacking sleep as she does what the teens do in a Nightmare on Elm Street before there even was a Freddy Krueger. Granted, Kay really is not too good at staying awake considering she slept the previous night and she is already about passing out the next night...
So, it has some good kills, a very nice pitchfork kill and some good atmosphere. Maybe some more shots of something in the distance to indicate being watched would have livened up the festivities a bit. There is also an ending after what I thought was the ending with Kay as a kid I did not quite understand. I thought the final shot before that of Kay coming face to face with the Slayer was the perfect way to end this. Not sure what the final scene was indicating.
Cementerio del terror (1985)
Entertaining Mexican slasher/zombie horror film.
If you were to combine John Carpenter's Halloween, any of Lucio Fulci's gates of hell trilogy and add a dash of a kids' Halloween special then you would begin to have the makings of this film! Is it a really good film, not really, but it was super entertaining and it has Hugo Stiglitz in it to give it that gates of hell vibe! I have not watched many Mexican horror films; however, I have seen some recommended and if this one is an indication on how fun these films can be, then count me in! I also really liked the fact that the disc I have, has the original Spanish speaking track with subtitles, maybe help me learn another language and at the very least I will know what to properly say in case I end up in a horror situation somewhere where Spanish is the primary language.
The story, a super killer is gunned down by police after he claws a woman to death. Hugo's character is like the Dr. Loomis of the piece as he knows this foul creature cannot be stopped merely by death! He urges for the body to be cremated, he even forges documents to get it done! Before he can do that, some idiots steal his body so they can scare their girls into having sex with them and sadly this was working, only the killer rises from the dead making sure none of the naughty guys gets to second base. Meanwhile, kids are going to the cemetery nearby to prove their courage and unfortunately are about to get caught up in the doomed sex scheme!
The only actor I recognize is Hugo who spends most of the middle of the film looking around while driving a car. I thought it was kind of a dumb move, but by golly he found the kids before the cops! The child actors did pretty good and I was hoping they would make it as it was not there fault some idiots raised the evil dead killer's body because they wanted to get some!
So, I enjoyed the film, moved quite briskly and featured a nice cemetery chase scene at the end. One of my main complaints is that the killer really did not get to show off his talons much once the horny guys and their girls were killed. Granted, I did not want to see the kids killed, but another random adult showing up and being offed would have been nice. Overall though, a fun horror flick from Mexico.
Rocktober Blood (1984)
Not what I was expecting...
This film is one of those horror films like Black Roses and Trick r Treat that incorporates hard rock or metal into the equation. This one is by far one of the weaker ones I have seen simply because it is very slow paced and literally the best portion of the film is the ending rock concert where I am still unclear as to whether or not the girls on stage were killed or if it was just part of the show, but the final guitar bash and the dude continuing to sing was kind of cool.
So, the story has a rock star doing some recording as this girl he wrote a song for sings backup vocals. He goes out to have some fun, but comes back quite suddenly and begins to kill and be all crazy! Almost like a totally different person! That is because he is, and the girl fingers Billy as apparently no one during the investigation bothered to check Billy's story about having a crazy twin and the execute him. Meanwhile, backup singer takes over his band and gets stalked by the twin and she thinks its Billy to the point of digging up the guy's grave. Suffice to say, this movie teaches us that you should never let some random chick do backup vocals on your album or she will finger you for murder and take over everything you built with your twin who apparently liked backup singer too....
The actors in this film do okay considering I am not too familiar with them. I may have seen the girl before and the guy playing Billy and his brother is actually pretty good. The lack of good kills really just detracts from the whole thing and I would have preferred Billy coming back from the dead like in Trick r Treat. Well, we do get to see the lead actress naked a lot as she really likes to soak in the tub...
So, no, not a very good rock and roll horror film as it really does not feel scary as the guy is just a stalker and there is not anything supernatural going on. The plot is a bit dumb, as the police would have checked Billy's alibi, checked his twin story and maybe the dense backup vocalist would have been, "I guess he was acting totally different than he was mere minutes ago". Still, it was almost worth the watch to watch as the killer got bashed over the head with a guitar while doing his high note!
Terrifier (2016)
Finally checking this series out.
I did not watch Art's first appearance and at first when I started this one I thought I would have to find it and see what brought us to the opening scene; however, no worries, it seems that I do not have to check out his first appearance which was in a anthology film. I had heard these films were brutal, but I figured I could endure and I did...this one anyway. It will definitely delight those who are really into practical effects and I thought the film was quite intense as there were some good misdirection here and there, the clown creepy as much as a clown can be (never really have been that scared of them myself) and so many characters to murder!
The story, well, we are introduced to a young woman whose face is quite disfigured giving an interview and subsequently going insane. Then we get Art getting ready to do his thing, which is stalk two girls and kill anyone who tries to help them out. One girl ends up entrapped within a building and that is where most of the action takes place which is one of my complaints as I was expecting more of an outdoor film, but it plays out pretty good for a direct to video type film.
The person playing Art is very good, doesn't say a word, but is quite expressive. The two girls are so cute, especially the one in the skeleton costume, but their fate was sealed the moment they caught Art's eye I suppose. Does not seem he has any rhyme or reason, at first I thought he liked the brunette, but he wanted her dead too.
So, a bit gruesome, and I can totally understand why a person would not enjoy this. I have just seen so many horror films that I have seen a lot of deaths like the ones depicted in this film. Just not all in the same movie! It works best though when you do realize that Art is not human as I would not want to meet the human capable of doing what he does to another living being. Unfortunately, they probably do exist.
Madman (1981)
Watch a madman kill!
Actually, the killer is very rarely seen, mainly his outline. I am guessing it was Itchy, Chewbacca's father from the Star Wars Holiday special and he did not want his appearance in this overshadow the film itself. Seriously though, what we have here is a has its moments horror film in the same vein as Friday the 13th; however, Mad Man Marz was kind of the hulking big slasher first as Jason was not quite as impressive looking in the second Friday as he would later become. The film has atmosphere, typical campers, a horrid hot tub sex scene I could have done with out and kills that are pretty typical of the genre.
The story has a group around the campfire as the story of Mad Man Marz is told by Max, the most likable cast member and I am glad he escapes unscathed. The others do no fare so well as a kid stays in the woods to look in on the house said to house the mad man. Not sure if mad man was summoned or what, or if he was just there and the stupid kid set him in motion, but he goes on a kill spree. One of those sprees that has sudden kill, lots of walking around, sudden kill and the pacing in this thing could have been better. There was some misdirection as I thought one counselor was going to play a more significant role in this, but alas, he was among the first to die after the cook who looked like he was set to be the comedy relief. Still, the guy got lucky before he succumbed to his fate.
The cast is typical, as this camp apparently has literally more counselors than kids! Not a sound business model by Max, who is the head counselor, but heads off to play cards so he leaves the "young" counselors in charge. Seriously, I am betting a couple of them were close to 40! The mad man looks alright, but he does remind me of Itchy and he sounds like a Wookie too!
So, it was not horrible, but I can only take so much stupid and these people are stupid. Someone's missing, send party member to find, they die, let's do it again! I thought the blond girl would make it, she could have easily gotten away, but instead she just had to see if any of her dead friends were alive. I mean, you saw they killer, did he look like someone that was going to leave anyone alive! Still, kind of a nice find as I enjoy seeing early movies that I somehow missed back in the day.
Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984)
Best comedy I've seen in years...
I saw this one when I was young, some of the jokes I remembered, but it was largely forgotten to me. However, I remembered one joke and it made me remember so I sought it out and found it and laughed quite a bit actually at this horror spoof which back in the 80's was not an uncommon type of film and did not stand out. These days though, this thing about killed me! There has not been a comedy this funny that I have seen in years! Kind of sad that something that supposedly only garners a five score here is so much better than anything released in probably over 15 years for me!
The story sees a house come under siege of monks and 18 people are brutally murdered. Flash years later and a group of absurd researchers come to investigate the house while being warned not to intrude by the local pub, see someone seemingly murdered and find themselves the target of the evil cult led by the sinister man (Vincent Price). Soon the researchers begin to get killed off one by one in very strange ways! Will anyone survive the bloodbath at the house of death?
The cast is good with Kenny Everett, Vincent Price and Pamela Stephens stealing the show. Pamela looked so cute in this film and I enjoyed every scene she was in. Vincent was great too, love how his character gets taken out. Some of the jokes are a bit dated, but if you lived through the 80's and 90's you can take it and laugh it off.
So this thing is a parody which is a thing that is pretty dead now thanks to the fact numerous films doing parodies completely wrong killed. You have your lame jokes using word play, absurd situations and over the top stuff in a true parody. Newer ones simply recreate exact scenes from a popular movie with no real story or its own thing to make it funny. Like that Meet the Spartans or the other films that were made on the cheap. Leslie Nielson actually was in films that started the trend with Spy Hard, where it is just a mishmash of film scenes that barely ends up making a cohesive film. This one has its own thing going, though there are definitely certain movie scenes targeted. So, I thought this thing was very funny, and it is a shame the comedy genre is pretty much dead now.
Lancelot: Guardian of Time (1997)
Bland fantasy, fish out of water film.
Saw this, and immediately I think, "Didn't Marc Singer already do this premise?" Yes, he is in another film where a person from the past who wields the sword (and an epic mullet) comes to the 90's and does not know what is going on. That being said he adapts kind of quickly to the situation and spends a good deal of the last half of the film back in the past. The film is bland, made as a family friendly fantasy film where there is pretty much no blood, no boobs, but hey at least John Saxon is here!
The story has Lancelot and another knight, Sir Gwain or maybe another...doesn't matter as he is not important other than to establish sword fighting as they are having a duel in which Lancelot wins the title of best mullet of the time of King Arthur. Well, The Merlin (this is what he is called) summons the Lancelot and soon Lancelot must save a squire from John Saxon who is an evil sorcerer. They get pushed into present day L. A., because it is either going to be that or New York, no other places exist you see, and Lancelot soon learns the squire is King Arthur himself, and boy does he like hotdogs. There is also a present day adult siblings who really go along with the whole thing a bit too quickly who help Lancelot and the sister provides a shoe horned in romance to pad this film out!
The cast does their thing as Marc has literally been in this type of role before, John does his typical bad guy, the brother channels Andrew McCarthy and the sister wishes she could live in a time of less bathing and more plagues so she can be with a chivalrous knight. The whole film uses a very overused trope of the 80's and 90's of taking someone from the past and placing them in the present or another world (Masters of the Universe). Just a way to keep the budget down and provide comedy, which this film does not do all that well...
So, no, I did not care for this one. Too boring, bad effects and predictable finish. Still wondering why John Saxon's character had a museum and was telegraphing what he was doing. Seems if he did everything in secret his plan would have succeeded with no hitches, I mean L. A. is rather large, no way Lancelot could have found Arthur even with the siblings help if Saxon was not on television giving interviews. Just a bland bit of fluff from the 90's when low budget films started to become less entertaining as bad computer effects came into play more.
The Last Wave (1977)
Slow burn film that suffers at the end.
I saw this film featured on a Youtube video of films with elements of cosmic horror and as I have never heard of it, I would give it a shot as it sounded interesting. Well, it did have elements of cosmic horror as there is a sense of dread being built up during this film and you keep going forward anticipating something horrific rushing towards the characters, and then the end hits and I was left wondering, what the heck was that? It is a slow burn horror film/thriller with no real payoff to hammer home the hopelessness and such. I was also left wondering what was the point of the perceived cataclysmic event in relation to, well, anything? Why is Richard Chamberlain's character so obsessed with Charlie, because in the end Charlie just knew what was coming, I do not believe he was the cause, then again, I guess Charlie could have said, "world is going to end" and just ended all of Chamberlain's queries. I do not know, I just feel if you were unable to show something more concrete at the end that something horrible was going to happen to the whole world, maybe scale things back as we get a good acted, good atmosphere and a nice slow burn, but with absolutely nothing to cement the terror in the viewer's mind.
The story, there are unexplained weather events going on as a thunderstorm with some intense hail hits on a clear day in Australia, kind of a backwoods region. A boy gets cut as the hail breaks the window of the schoolhouse. Suffice to say, this opening sequence is one of the best parts of the film as it makes you wonder what is going on. Cut to Chamberlain enjoying time with his family and then an aboriginal man being killed in a strange way. Four men present are accused of the murder, but there is something not quite right. Chamberlain is called to defend them, despite being a tax specialist lawyer and soon he becomes obsessed by the strange things occurring and that the men he is defending may have tribal connections. He starts having premonitions of something terrible all involving the rain that keeps falling.
So, the acting is good, as Chamberlain puts in a good performance as does the woman playing his wife. Chris and Charlie are also very memorable. The film is finely acted, shot great and Peter Weir creates a very good sense of foreboding, there just isn't anything to really seal the deal except a shot of some waves and those were just another premonition by Chamberlain. It pretty much makes a lot of the story seem pointless as the courtroom scene and the whole trying to figure out why the guy died in the grand scheme of things meant nothing except Chamberlain learning that there will be a last wave so it is all going to be over.
So, I did not hate the movie, or even dislike it. It had me hooked with the opening scene, really had a nice sequence where Chamberlain sees everything underwater, but in the end it seemed like a journey where there was no destination or point. It was interesting seeing the aboriginal people who are a bit intimidating looking, with Chris being the only one who looked a bit friendly, the rest looked like they were mean and ready to kill! I just wish we had gotten something at the end to hammer the point home and finish the story, just seems like the film did not have the crucial event that would have made this film a good slow burn horror rather than a slow burn with no finish.
Freedom Planet (2014)
Pretty good game, faster than Sonic. Needed more as far as story.
I enjoyed this game from some independent game designers who obviously really enjoyed Sonic. It was fast and fun and very enjoyable. I just wish the story was a bit more together as it just seems there are missing plot points, unexplained things and the like within. Still, it was nice to have a story that was much better than Sonic fighting Dr. Robotnic or Eggman with only the slightest story being presented. I just wish they could have made the game without the character select so you can just play the entire game at once.
The story has this alien called Brevon taking over a kingdom as he has apparently crashed on this planet that seems to have a bit of history and it almost seems as if it is a sequel. Well he brainwashes the prince and his plans are in motion as another alien is shot down prompting Lilac the dragon and Carol the cat girl to investigate. It is at this point you choose your character and I went with the dragon girl. I will play it again and choose Carol and see how different the game is from her perspective or what changes there are so while I prefer one adventure with alternating levels, this does add a bit of replayability to the game.
The game is a faster version of Sonic the Hedgehog. You know that most of the levels in Sonic if you blazed forward at full speed in most levels you were going to be in for a bad time. This game seems to want you to be able to blaze ahead and not have to worry about sudden death. It is made by people who enjoyed Sonic as you have sections where you have springs and such, but I feel it is enough of its own thing as to stand out.
So, I thought this game was rather fun as it is nice to play a game that is relatively short these days. I mean, some games take a guy like me a long time to win since I am working so much. To get done with something after only four hours, kind of a breath of fresh air. There is a second game too, so I will probably give it a go as well, from the looks of it, looks like you have an overworld map so I am interested to see if there are more story elements in that one.
Codename: Silencer (1995)
It had potential.
Was not sure when this thing was made when I was watching, I was thinking late 80's but the fact Jan Michael-Vincent looked like crap and seemed out of it should have told me it was later. Dude had so much potential, watch him in Damnation Alley and he was totally charismatic. This film had some good in it as it was all about the kills; however, it really falls apart at the end and becomes to heavy handed on the one side and too goofy on the other. Not that it was winning any awards before that, but if they had stuck with the tone the set at first I could see this one being a solid six or seven score film.
The story has some sort of criminals getting away with a crime at the beginning of the film before being murdered by the completely unrealistic ice bullet from an assassin. Turns out he is greedy though and he is betrayed by whoever hired him and he is caught and sent to prison. He escapes thanks to his tall blond girlfriend, Bridgette Nielsen who still looks pretty good in this one, though she never could act and he is out to get revenge! Revenge on who you ask? Cops! Yes, turns out someone on the force paid him for the hit and it is up to Robert Davi to figure out what is going on before the assassin kills him too!
Robert Davi is good in this, I kind of like him in the investigator roll and Sonny Chibi is good as the assassin. As usual, by this time Jean Michael is totally playing his role looking as uninterested as possible and I have to wonder if they had him in a larger role before seeing how he was and perhaps cutting it down.
So, the film culminates with horrific reason that the cop paid the assassin to kill the guy at the beginning; in fact, it was a bit too horrific for a movie of this type and then the final showdown takes place on a trolley as the assassin who is super trained and could probably have easily pulled a driver from a car instead commandeers a slow moving trolley going straight. The type of scene one might expect in a Naked Gun film. Still, while not good and it certainly could have been better, it was entertaining for what it was.
Zero Wing (1989)
A rather standard shoot em up.
I played the Mega Drive version of this game and it is the one with the very odd introduction with the famous line, "All your base belong to us". I had seen the meme before, but had no idea where it came from until I saw this game featured on a gaming review Youtube channel. It was bad, but the game itself, well, it was not bad, but it was not very good either.
The story, well a robot cyborg dude named Cats is causing chaos or something. One can barely tell what is happening as there is only one opening scene to try to explain the story. Perhaps the instruction manual told it better? Well, I am guessing the station you are on at the beginning is destroyed and you escape in your tiny spaceship which may or may not be called a "Zig". I mean, that could be the name, but it could also be another glorious blunder in the translation. Well it is up to you to defeat Cats and make all the base belong to the good guys once again!
The game play is typical shooter as you have power ups, options that add fire power and one hit kills. They never provide really good armor for most of the shoot em ups do they? About the only thing new is a tractor beam that you can use to grab power ups and enemy spaceships. Once you have an enemy spaceship you can hold it for a shield or toss it as an attack. Since this game has one hit deaths, I would advise to use it as a shield.
So, I played through this game and it had its moments. I do not know why, but I had the hardest time avoiding the purple bullets. I also do terrible at shoot em ups with one hit deaths, I guess it is too much pressure or something! I did manage to get through the game and see all the stages, just typical for the genre and the music is too. Certainly nowhere near as good as Thunder Force III. The ending was kind of weird, I was treated to watching the California Raisins dance, well it was not them really, but it sure resembled them...
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Great seeing Wolverine and this Deadpool in a film together.
I realize that they have been in a movie before, depicting the same characters, though with Deadpool he was sort of the same character. Now, however, we get to see the highly comedic version with Wolverine who is still a bit grouchy and do we see some blood spatter. So, it all was great for me as the first Deadpool we got to see how easily a Colossus can be done correctly, in the second how easily a correct Juggernaut can be and in this one, we get to see how easily it is to have Wolverine in the correct outfit! In fact, it was probably the easiest to do. So, I had a good time, have not been to the movies since The Batman and my comic book streak is alive, but I really saw this more for Ryan and Hugh. Did not care for the Marvel cinematic universe, they kind of said they did not need me as a fan anyways, but I still came to see this one because of the wacky comedy, glorious violence and the multiple cameos, so I was not disappointed.
So, the story has Deadpool in a bit of a rut as he tries to do something to really shine. He tried to join the Avengers and got shot down and was told by Happy Hogan (who I am sure they wanted Tony Stark for this) to aim lower in life so Wade becomes a very bad car salesman. However, his friends throw him a birthday party that does cheer him up, and then he learns that his universe is about to become extinct. Now he most don the Deadpool costume and find Wolverine, because it was the death of Wolverine in his universe that set its death in motion. Unfortunately, they get sent into The Void, which is like a garbage dump of people run by Charles Xavier's sister who is very eccentric. They must team with other superheroes that were tossed aside and make their way back to Wade's universe before it is destroyed!
Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynold's are great together and make this an enjoyable film. The plot is understandable, if not all that important as it is multiverse stuff, and Deadpool himself craps over the multiverse within this movie! Hugh looks great, the guy knows how to look good for his role and it will be nearly impossible to replace him with another actor, as you just associate him with it. Ryan is, of course, very funny and he just does a very good Deadpool. The villain, Nova was good as well, so crazy and kind of cute at the same time. I will not mention the other characters in this, because I do not want to spoil if for anyone, I knew of one, but more than a couple surprised me.
So, this was a nice time at the movies. I suffer from severe depression so I literally cannot see films that have really depressing moments and such. This one had some serious scenes here and there, but thankfully Wade is known for his mouth so it pulls everything back into the light very quickly. My mother went with me to see this and even she really enjoyed it, she especially liked Dogpool....
Streets of Rage 2 (1992)
Fast paced and really fun!
I thought the first Streets of Rage was okay, nothing too special; however, this one was way more fun! I have played several beat em up games the past few days and this was by far the most fun as it was so much more fast paced. The game play never felt as if it lagged in the least. The other games I played felt slow and they were arcade games! I thought I would play this one for a bit before bed and I ended up playing through the whole game as Blaze because it was so much fun!
The story, Mr. X has returned...this time he wants revenge! He has kidnapped Adam from the first game and it is up to Axel and Blaze to save him! Also joining the team is Max, a wrestler and Skate, Adam's younger brother. You have to fight through several areas of the city so that you can stop Mr. X and his plans for revenge!
The game play is nice and fast. It is amazing the amount of moves Blaze was able to do. I am not sure how the new characters play as I usually like using Blaze as I love it when she flips over a person then gives them a suplex! The stages are interesting as you have your basic city levels, a boat stage and even a haunted house! I also liked the fact the game's easy mode was actually easy as I only had to continue once during a boss rush. I also only had trouble with a couple of bad guys, and no one took too long to kill making the pace seem even faster.
So, I have heard that this is the best of the Streets of Rage games as part III was apparently a step back. Still going to try it at some point. This one was very fun, I like having more moves rather than just having one super attack like the previous game and the pace of the game is just great. Though, there is one thing...one would think Mr. X would learn not to simply sit in a chair as his best warrior fights and would simply start shooting right away...
Ninja Baseball Bat Man (1993)
The visuals are interesting, but the game play is standard...
I have seen many people rave about how fun this game is, and I did enjoy it a bit, but take away the silly visuals and you are left with a typical beat em up game that plays rather slowly. It is also plagued by the typical arcade beat em up things such as hard to kill bosses that are almost impossible to damage, being totally surrounded and beat down by the enemy if you are playing solo and power ups that are helpful, but do not always appear where they should and where they can help.
So, the story has items stolen from the baseball hall of fame so the Ninja Batmen are out to save the day! That is pretty much it as you have skits in-between levels to show your progress and which tells you where you are going next.
The game play is standard, you have your attacks, a jump and when you combine the two buttons a super attack that, of course, drains your life. You have four Ninja Batmen to choose from, each with their own move set, so there is at least that. They also each have a unique attribute such as being stronger, faster and the like.
So, it was okay, but I do not get what all the hype is about. I played a beat em up called Violent Storm a couple of weeks ago and it was so much better, mainly because it played fast! This one just played very slowly and if it did not have the goofy visuals I would say it was a below average beat em up. The game was scarily accurate on how the United States looks though...
64th Street: A Detective Story (1991)
What is with all the cats?
A beat em up game I have previously never heard of, I got it on an emulator system I have and gave it a whirl. Pretty standard fare for the most part, as you pick from two characters and go through the streets beating up numerous thugs and collecting various things so you can get the high score. One of those items is a white cat that appears when you smash a crate or throw an enemy into the wall. Not sure why there are so darn many of them!
The story, well, you own a private investigator agency and a girl has been kidnapped and Rick, the head of the agency thinks strange classified ads have somehow relevant. So what do you do? Go around town beating down all the thugs! It is a beat em up after all. Granted, you do learn of a conspiracy to turn criminals into robots, but go ahead and let them! Those robots were easier to kill than the somersaulting fat guy bosses!
The game play is pretty typical of this genre with the only real unique aspect being the fact you can throw your enemies into the background and the walls and whatever they hit usually takes damage. Sometimes you can do more damage by hitting the same spot and then you get cats!
So, I had fun with this one, though it got repetitious in spots as some of the bosses take too many hits and are hard to get in on without you taking damage. Thankfully, the final bosses which includes two robots and a dude with a pool stick were not too bad all things considered. Worth a play through or two every now and then I would say.
Meikyuu Hunter G (1987)
Once you have played the first level, you have seen pretty much all of it...
The Ghostbusters property seems like it is perfect for a video game. Even during the time of its release, you would think that an NES or similar system could make a decent Ghostbuster's video game. That is not the case though as the NES version, the Master System version and the Atari versions all were kind of dull. The only good one I ever played was for the Genesis or Mega Drive. This one is better than the business simulator games, but the Genesis is miles better. I liked this one back in the day, as I thought it was cool to play a Ghostbuster game in the arcade so I would play for a bit then go on to another game, perhaps making it to stage two. However, now that I have played it again and completed the game I can say it is not much more exciting than the dull NES, Master and Atari games...
The story? Well, you have to save the city! Forget a cool opening cut scene like the Turtles games or X-men, here you go right into the city which appears to be a strange alien landscape or a city after the apocalypse. That is strange, well forget that, it is time to bust ghosts, who look like aliens or monsters and only when defeated they turn into a basic ghost design...Hm, strange again. In fact, there is nothing that remotely looks like the television cartoon this game is supposedly based on. Why, if I did not know better, I would say they just reskinned a completely unrelated game and slapped the Ghostbusters name on it just to get quarters! Okay, I do know that is what they did here...
The game play has you running around an area shooting ghosts and collecting them to deposit in the containment unit after the stage is over. You do this after stage one and you can stop playing as there is nothing really new or exciting to see in the upcoming stages, just more of the same. There are boss fights, but a lot of times these are just an enemy rush rather than anything you haven't seen before. Even the last boss of the game is just two of a previous boss...
So, my advice is if you play it, just play the first level and go into the second and enjoy nostalgia. Progressing any further will only prompt confusion as you do not even get a sniff of any enemy or setting from the cartoon or the movies. The only thing this one does better than the Genesis one is the fact your proton pack shoots a beam that sort of feels like you are playing Ghostbusters.
Narazumono Sentô Butai: Bloody Wolf (1989)
Pretty fun over head run and gun.
Looking back on the old consoles of yesteryear, I notice the PC Engine gaming system has quite a library of interesting games. There are not very many licensed games at all so LJN games are not on the thing; in fact, most of the games are of a higher quality than games found on the Nintendo and Sega Master System. I do not think they let just anyone develop games for it, thus, it does not have as many games, but it is a bit harder to find bad games on it. This one was pretty fun, shooting your way through several stages in order to rescue the president and for the most part it is pretty easy, with the exception of two final bosses that really took a lot of time figuring out patterns and stuff!
The story, the president has been kidnapped and two special ops team members code named Bloody Wolf are the men for the job. Granted, I think Guy Kuzami from Final Alert would have had an easier go of it...I am guessing he was taking a break. I will say the team here did better than the Bad Dudes would have as they use their fists and are more effective against ninja of the dragon variety. Why am I babbling on, because there really is not all that much story here. Rescue the president with one guy who gets captured and the other one is sent in to rescue him!
The game play is like Ikari Warriors, Commando and other over the top run and guns. You have your basic machine gun that never runs out of ammo and you can get other weapons that are limited. Wish there were a bit more variety. You can also hijack a motorcycle here and there to blast your way through enemies. Most stages have a boss encounter, some even have two. The game play is not too bad, you get all the continues you need and there are good checkpoints. Unfortunately, the tank before the final boss is really hard and the final boss also is rather difficult.
So, this game is really fun, could have used a bit more story, but that is probably just me having played so many games that are newer being used to more fleshed out stories. Back in the day, this one would have been awesome. Interesting playing PC Engine games as the system actually surpassed the Genesis and SNES power wise after all the attachments and such, just look at Rondo of Blood; however, it died without doing anything in the 32 bit era. It's a shame, I would have loved for this, the Genesis or the NEO GEO to have survived as they are all unique consoles, instead Xbox came along and really, it just does not have a distinct or unique flair that a lot of the older consoles had.
Fukkatsu no hi (1980)
Talk about having incredibly bad luck!
This film had its moments and the possibility of being a pretty good film, but there is just a bit too much wrong with it for me to say it was enjoyable. Then again, I film with such a depressing subject matter and ending is bond to be not very fun to watch. A sizable number of actors in this thing; however, most of the ones you know are past their prime in this thing. There are also one too many things that make a person say, "oh come on!"
The story, a deadly virus has been made and by golly someone is going to sell it or something and they end up in a plane crash where the fires burned it, literally destroying it...at least that is what should of happened. No, here it somehow crashes on a remote mountain, survives and starts killing as a general tries to cover it up, because that is what one tends to do. Well forget all the virus stuff and even seeing much in the way of the virus taking hold as this virus cannot survive the cold so all the people in Antarctica are safe, and will be having many meetings. Did I say safe? Well I mean not so safe because a young man there has predicted an earthquake rocking Washington D. C. thus triggering a nuclear attack on Russia which will then counterattack the U. S. and then shoot a missile down to Antarctica...crap! Well people are sent to stop it and they fail because somehow the earthquake hit cause Washington is always being rocked by huge earthquakes and earthquakes are always precisely predicted and the world is pretty much doomed!
So we get to see Glen Ford as the president, Henry Silva as general who really wants to use some nukes, George Kennedy as spokesman from Antarctica, Robert Vaughn as dude who hangs out with the president and dies, Edward James as dude with puffy hair who gets mad, but plays the piano quite well, Chuck Connors as a non British, British naval commander and Bo Svenson who looks like he could be Connors son. Then there is the Japanese guy who tries to stop the apocalypse, who seems to be actually trying and does a good job as he reports the failure of stopping the missiles from firing.
So, a very depressing movie, but at times almost so bad that it detracts from the subject matter. Not sure why Conners is in this as a British naval submarine commander as he does not even attempt an accent in this thing. May as well have a bit cowboy hat on. There are points where they get some scenes right where Vaughn dies and Ford looks so defeated. The Japanese guy is good in this as he looks so defeated and you know things are not going to be happy; meanwhile, George Kennedy just looks bored. Still, not entirely bad, I just think a lot of actors simply just took the paycheck instead of putting their all into this.
Road Blaster (1985)
Basically a Mad Max type Dragon's Lair.
I played this on the Sega CD, though it was originally an arcade game. I never played that or any other version other than this one. From what I have heard, while this one does not have the best picture, it does have the best music and controls. For some, this will not be their cup of tea, as so many people do want full control; however, I have a special place in my heart for games of this sort starting with playing Dragon's Lair and Space Ace at the arcade. I actually found this one to be quite enjoyable too, though just an illusion, it almost does seem like you have full control in this one as there are prompts all over the place!
The story, a gang has killed your wife! Their mistake? They left you alive! How is one supposed to get their revenge? Get a cool car and start running them off the road, Mad Max style. The only thing missing is the double barrelled shotgun. Of course, this one does not take place in a post apocalyptic future which means we get you driving through some stores and barely missing pedestrians!
The game play is an input appears and you push it in time and correctly or you die. I can understand why one doesn't like this type of game, but I always found them fun. The story is nice in this one too, as I wanted to get revenge! That helps you play through it, but it does get a bit frantic at times as there can be rapid fire prompts in this one!
So, I really enjoyed this one. I am a huge Mad Max fan, so I liked the story. It would have been kind of cool if the character did have a shotgun, but I suppose that would have been a little too much like Mad Max prompting George Miller to call his attorney. So if you like Dragon's Lair and its ilk, then give this one a try, just be prepared for quicker action and longer scenes in this one!
Musha Aleste: Fullmetal Fighter Ellinor (1990)
Shoot em up featuring a mech.
One thing people forget about the sixteen bit wars is that it was hard fought and Sega did give Nintendo a run for its money. The main reason, it had a faster processor. You cannot dismiss speed as far as helping a video game move along without slow down or flicker. Nintendo ultimately won, but the victory was achieved most likely due to RPG games as the Super Nintendo had a plethora of them. Which is sad, as the Genesis or Mega Drive could do a good RPG as Phantasy Star IV was as good as many of the best stuff on the system. As for a game like this, a vertically scrolling shooter, the system was designed for games like these!
The story, I am not sure, I did not have the instruction booklet; however, from playing it and seeing the missions, it involved some sort of evil army most likely run by machines trying to take over earth. You must pilot your Mech robot through several stages as you repel the enemy forces, blow up their bases and defeat the evil computer in charge of it all! You know, typical shoot em up type stuff.
The game play is what one expects, very frenetic with enemies and enemy fire taking over the screen. On your side is your robot who can power up. While wielding a secondary weapon you can take a hit and not die, but if you get hit without a secondary power up shot, you lose a life! You also collect this icons that when you get enough you can get two ships to encircle your ship and provide more firepower and they can also be a shield too.
So, pretty typical of a shooter from back in the day, but it is a lot of fun. It was a bit difficult for me; however, I am not the best shoot em up player, from what I hear this one is quite easy compared to other shooters out there. The graphics are good, very little slow down even when the screen is swarming with enemies. Kind of wish it would slow down at some points so I can read the screen. Still, it is fun and I recommend giving it a try, though the best way these days may be an emulator as most physical copies are really expensive.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1992)
Cobra invades the arcade and it is up to G.I Joe to stop them!
The first thing one should know about this particular cabinet is that it is basically a modded one. The game most of the G. I Joe cabinets once were, is a game called Devastators. From what I understand, that game you had to keep pushing forward to go up and it was a bit tedious; however, I have not played that one as of yet, so I can neither confirm nor deny this. Secondly, while this game is a bit fun, there are aspects of it that are not so good. You have to keep pushing the fire button to shoot your main gun unless you get a rapid fire icon which sometimes they are plentiful and others not so much. Also, the Joes all play the same, the only thing special is when they come back alive after a death or continue and say "Yo Joe!" No, exclusive weapons or special moves. Then there is the fact you cannot enter any vehicles or use any of the Joe's vehicles. I mean, the game is pretty short, a flying level or driving level could not have been inserted? While it is cool to just go in and defeat Cobra with a semiautomatic rifle while they are using tanks, a few more touches could have made this way more fun and more G. I Joe like as it is, it definitely feels like a modded cabinet.
So, what is the story? Well, Cobra is doing various things to try and dominate the world once again! It is up to G. I Joe to stop them! Well, it is up to Duke, Scarlett, Roadblock and Snake Eyes to stop them. The rest of the team had a Fourth of July party to attend or something. That is okay, because the team assembled will enter Cobra territory alone if they have to, or possibly together if three other people want to help you take on Cobra and blast their way through a few areas to take on Cobra Commander himself! Though the voice actor in this thing does not sound a thing like Cobra Commander....
The game play has you constantly moving forward dispensing justice! You have to constantly be pushing the button because all four Joe's forgot to bring any of their trademark weapons and instead rely on a semiautomatic gun and a missile launcher with a few shots. Thankfully you can get an auto upgrade, but get hit once and it is bye bye! Why it just does not last until you die, who knows? More missile icons can be found than the rapid ones so feel free to use the missiles all the time! You run upward killing Cobra members and from time to time you will see someone from the show like Destro, the Baroness and Major Blood to name a few. The music is good and the action fast, but it would help if the members of the team had more distinct features and as I have mentioned, maybe a vehicle stage or two.
So, it is pretty fun; however, it would have been way more fun had there been more things done to make this feel more G. I Joe like. It is fun trying to blast your way through Cobra's army and while it is an arcade game it is not overly unfair. I could go great lengths of time without dying. I imagine it would even be easier to get through it was another person or two. So, it was a pretty fun game that would have been better with a few extra touches.
Violent Storm (1993)
Fun beat em up from Konami.
Score is a bit low here to me, but I had an absolute blast playing this arcade beat em up brought to us by Konami. One of the more fast paced beat em ups I have played and kind of puts games like Final Fight and other more well known ones to shame. Good music, good controls and it does not feel cheap. You can go long stretches with your character without losing a life, even against bosses. The only boss that I found a bit cheap was the final one, but then he was the final boss of the game.
The story, your are three dudes just chilling then I am guessing a mutual friend gets kidnapped and you are off to rescue her! I used Kyle for my play through and dude has the quickness! You must battle and fight your way through several stages, it is a bit impressive how many there are. Finally, you get the weird pale green dude who kidnapped the girl and face off a strange petulant childlike dude who is the real boss as he hulks out!
The controls are great, I was doing so many awesome moves as there is only an attack button and a jump button. You use the joystick to do a lot of your moves and they are easy to pull off and while there are lots of enemies, you can pull off back attacks and such and keep yourself from being surrounded pretty good; however, there is still the handy push two buttons to pull off your super move that takes off life if things get a bit too hectic. Typical beat em up move, I am sure everyone knows who enjoy games such as these.
So this one was great! I loved the fast action, I liked how fair it felt too. I got all the way to the second stage boss without having to use a continue in this thing and I went long stretches of just kicking butt! The music is fun too, they have lyrics in the songs and it fits your rampage as you fight to free the pretty girl!
Cui hua kuang mo (1993)
It would be better if Cynthia did not disappear at times in this...
I see another review here proclaiming that this, "is the worst movie they have ever seen", this review is from 2001. Those were simpler times, these days this film would not even be the worst film I have seen in a week. Cynthia's movies were generally kind of pointless, but she always looked so cute kicking butt that they were kind of fun. Also, when this was made we were not going through a period in history where every female protagonist was perfect in every way and did not need no help from a man, so she actually does not simply take down a guy three times her size in the end. In fact, she did need random guy who does martial arts to help out. Honestly, I think everyone in this universe the film is presented in knows martial arts...
The story, some woman leaves her abusive husband who happens to be a super swelled up illegal fighter. This makes him snap and go after anyone with a mild resemblance to his wife and attack any guy she may be with and kill them and rape and kill the woman. Cynthia is doing some illegal fighting herself; however, this particular illegal fighting is not exactly all that hardcore and the police are kind of wasting their time busting it. Cynthia's sister, unfortunately, looks like the super killer's wife and so he gets her and so Cynthia tries to get revenge while being helped out by martial arts cop and his doppelganger partner!
Cynthia blows everyone else away with her acting ability and that right there should be all you need to know about everyone else in this film. Very poor acting, the story is strange with the whole do not hit the ground underground fight club. Cynthia disappears for a portion of the film as it focuses more on the psychiatrist who advised the woman to leave the madman and she too knows a bit of martial arts...
So, this is definitely not a good film; however, if this is anyone's worst film of all time, said person should count themselves very, very lucky. It is a bit fun to watch as I always love hearing Cynthia's martial arts yells, as they sound so cute. I think they could have done something more with the plot putting more of the emphasis on the killer and turning Rothrock into a cop, rather than what they did, but unless they also got better actors that would not have done much good. The knife the killer used also looked like the exact knife the killer in Cobra used...