Godzilla vs Kong - A modern take on an old titan war

I'm a sucker for monster movies, from the golden age to the modern, vampires to kaiju, they're my jam. Godzilla vs Kong should fit undoubtedly in the sweet spot. It's not the first time the two titans have clashed and it would've even been the third if Toho didn't scrap the plans for a remake back in the early nineties due to licensing issues. I will not compare this new reimagining of the classic 1962 movie, now directed by Adam Wingard (You're Next, The Guest), but I will give my best impressions of what to expect without ruining surprises.

Monster Hunter movie impressions

So I watched Monster Hunter, the new Paul WS Anderson movie and... it's exactly what you'd expect. It's a highly entertaining action schlock with a dumb, dumb, dumb plot. There's some worldbuilding adjacent to the lore of the games it's based on, but it's the bare minimum.

Movie Idea #3: LIFEFORCE 2

Lifeforce is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated science-fiction movies to come out of at least the 1980s. Based on a book by British novelist Colin Wilson, titled The Space Vampires, this 1985 movie exudes a multitude of themes from police drama to Gothic fantasy and from sci-fi to old school practical horror. While unfocused in many respects, it was also a fountain of fresh ideas at the time and one of the movies that keep inspiring me. I'm a fan of Lovecraft's cosmic horror and, while I admit I never read the book, I do know there isn't much of it in the movie, but little there is has a lot of potential. I wanted to see that in a sequel, but there never came one. Maybe for the best.

On that note, please keep in mind that this opening script is purely a passionate work of fan-fiction and in no way intended for production or meant to infringe on any copyright rules. That being said, please enjoy! I am open to criticism and I strive to learn.

Video Games Featuring Black Protagonists (Part 4)

Here is in fact the list of games I missed in the first three articles. Some are unknown indie games that were hard to notice at first, while other released after I already wrote them, of course, in alphabetical order. What started as a curiosity mining, turned out to be a journey and discovery of characters and games I never even heard of. I definitely want to play some and other I might not want to ever touch again. Just like any games featuring all types of characters, the skin color of a character doesn't really make or break a story, except when culture or beliefs are involved. And I shall start with exactly one that makes a point out of culture and belief. Well, there's no further ado. We've set the rules before, there's not much to say but have fun and here are more game in which you can play as a black character:

Alita: Battle Angel - A real hero and a real cyborg warrior

"I do not standby in the presence of evil!"

Based on the Japanese cyberpunk manga Gunnm, or better known as Battle Angel Alita, and also on the 1993 anime adaptation simply titled Battle Angel, this movie takes a very bold approach to remake it for the western audiences, while trying to retain much of the core of its origins. Produced and written by James Cameron as a longtime project of his, even before Avatar, Alita: Battle Angel follows the original story conceived by Yukito Kishiro very closely. Too closely, I might say. The directing part went to Robert Rodriguez of all people and I really have some irks to say about that. In preparation for this review, if I may call it so, I tried my best to find both the manga series and the animated movie just to make sure I have the basics laid out. Surely, a movie needs to stand on its own, but I needed to know if it indeed does and whether some of my suspicions are true. So buckle up, 'cause we're going on a complicated ride!

Predicting Anthem & Bioware's Future

Bioware has gradually given up on making role-playing games, not just the brilliant games they used to create. They are now a husk of what they once were and EA are using them like a sock puppet until the industry wears it out and nothing but dust remains. When they announced Mass Effect: Andromeda, I was skeptical, but hopeful. When they started to release gameplay footages and boasted about their engine and graphics over story and characters, I knew what Mass Effect: Andromeda was to be and I did warn them, I warned the internet wherever I could like a madman. Me, the guy who was so impressed with Mass Effect 2 and with the marketing for Mass Effect 3 that I decided to pre-order it, as I rarely do. Not only that, I pre-ordered Mass Effect 3's collector's edition for that damn N7 patch. I am a fan of both Bioware and Mass Effect in particular, yet I knew better than to buy Andromeda.

Bioware has been pulled from creating more content for their "promising" Mass Effect: Andromeda, you know, at least to justify paying full price for an obviously rushed travesty of a game. I don't need a confirmation to know that Anthem isn't Bioware's thing and that they've been given an ultimatum. You'd think that Andromeda was successful enough, right? But is it ever enough for the greedy board of shareholders who want more, more, more and even more? So EA pulled out the whip on Bioware.

Why the first season of Star Trek Discovery ended poorly

I've done a bad, bad thing. I responded to some random guy on Twitter describing Star Trek Discovery's last episode of the season as objectively awful and adding a sarcastic "Enjoy!"
Aside from the obvious shitposting, there was a hint of honesty in my dumb statement. Well, when a couple of actors took passive offense, leaving their own harmless sarcastic responses to me, that's all it took to attract a horde of bloodhound fans. You can't just simply mess around with a beloved intellectual property without pissing off the fanbase one way or another. I will admit, joke aside, that my tweet was mean, though not malicious or ill intended, and that I could've either minded my own business or further elaborate. For that I am sorry and I might flagellate myself for this crude mistake, maybe. Though I have decided to ignore most of the "nonconstructive" messages, some have argued that my "criticism" wasn't even constructive or creative, so why bother "sharing"? People have this wrong mindset that "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," but it doesn't take much imagination to see it brought up by hypocrites and it's a funny thing that they only apply this quote whenever it suits them. Well, I'm sorry for not being able to self-censor my thoughts just because people will take offense with my opinions, stupid as they may be... or not. So even if that is my subjective opinion, I feel that I now have to explain why some episodes of Star Trek Discovery, especially most of the second half of the first season, are OBJECTIVELY awful. Consider this my constructive criticism.

Video Games Featuring Black Protagonists (Part 3)

I'm back with another batch of games in which you can take on the role of a black character with a story and a personality. I'm really sorry I couldn't include Sheva Alomar from Resident Evil 5 or Isaac Brigs from Splinter Cell: Blacklist, even if they are playable characters, have cool personalities and change the game completely in co-op, they can't be selected as the main character in single player, nor can you play as them in at least one mission. At the same time, no matter how I tried to twist the “fictional races” thing, I still couldn't bring myself to include Star Wars: Republic Commando. Delta Squad are all clones of Jango Fett, who's portrayed by a talented Maori actor, Temuera Morrison, the canonical face, and he is Polynesian, not black. Also sad to not include games like LEGO Marvel Super Heroes or its sequel because the stories mainly focus on the usual protagonists, which are all either white or... green. Another debate I had with myself was if strategy games like Civilization V or VI count when you play as the ruler of a country or empire, but is there really a plot and do you really play as that character or are you playing as their secretary? And lastly, still bothered I picked story protagonists only because I can't include any of the awesome Overwatch characters since they don't lead any plot. I did mention that in the first article, the rule about half-backed stories for an online-only game without an actual plot, but I do feel bad about it.

5 awesome new TV series worth giving a chance (February 2018)

I like to seal the day with a good TV show in the evening. It's my relaxing way of escaping from mundane to exciting and fascinating worlds, even for a while. I'll be honest, sometimes it doesn't really pan out. Many times I had to give up on watching the rest of the episode after just one episode, sometimes on very popular series. Other times I stuck around through and through with the most obscure of productions. Of course, not all stories are for everyone, so please keep an open mind, even if you are critical, and please try giving these shows at least a try. They are worth it.

Book Review Press Release for my festive short story The Tiniest Elf

Author's new book receives a warm literary welcome.

Readers' Favorite announces the review of the Children - Adventure book "The Tiniest Elf" by Laurentiu M. Badea, currently available
at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077KBWRJ2.

Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the "Best Websites for Authors" and "Honoring Excellence" awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.

"Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

It is the day before Christmas and Lilly is waiting for her mother to arrive so that she can spend Christmas together with her parents. Her mother works in another city and she was unable to make it on the first day of Christmas because it was snowing way too much. In The Tiniest Elf by Laurentiu M. Badea, Lilly decides to write another letter to Santa Claus, apart from the earlier one she wrote, because she realized she should ask Santa for something else. In the northernmost realm of Lapland, inside Santa’s workshop, Santa’s elves are working to finish the last touches of Santa’s departure. Like every year, Santa’s five trusted elf friends are going with him to share gifts to children all over the world. Lilly is wondering how she can get her letter to Santa Claus. Will Santa get Lilly’s letter on time?

I like the concept and the underlying message of the story which will awaken the child inside all of us. It is such a magical and heartwarming story, and the innocent girl and her wish to be with both her parents for Christmas is tangible. It is a good book to read out to youngsters during the Christmas season as it captures the essence and spirit of the season beautifully. Many children will be able to relate to Lilly’s feelings. It is a good storybook for both read aloud sessions in classrooms and also bedtime story-telling as it conveys a beautiful message to young readers."

You can learn more about Laurentiu M. Badea and "The Tiniest Elf" at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-tiniest-elf where you can read reviews and the author’s biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages.

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Movie Idea #2: Tools

The story is centered around a group of robbers specialized in stealing tools and auto parts directly from the manufacturing factories and selling these to under the counter shops. But as some of the members become increasingly ambitious, the group starts making mistakes and gradually falling apart. Their leader is an aging veteran who's only motivation turns from profit to escape.

A new and young security chief gets appointed at a large tool factory, which also happens to be the robbers' "last big hit", but it all goes awry at night when the group divides between the murderous side and the ones who just want to abort and leave.

It culminates with the young security guard fighting the good guy robber (in the latter's attempt to buy time for his friends to escape), after they both work together to take down the gun totting bad guys. They both try to strangle one another with electrical wires, and when the robber gets the upper hand, he gives up, not going through with it, proving he can't be a murderer even when his life depends on it.

The story epilogues with the security guard letting the robber go and, some time later, one cold morning, in an almost empty parking lot, the security guard is waiting for the now-retired robber, sitting on the trunk of his car, with a hard to pass proposition: come work as a security analyst.

(By the way, I'm aware of the light drama between the two actors shown above. The image is purely referential. And I'm also aware of the bad choice for the article title.)

Video Games Featuring Black Protagonists (Part 2)

This is a continuation from a previous article I wrote (read it here!), when Mafia III was still fresh. Maybe Mafia III wasn't what we all hoped it'll be, but one of the best elements of that game is still Lincoln Clay, the protagonist. In the first part, I list the specific rules by which I choose these names. Among the most important rules, as an abbreviation, the games must have some semblance of a story, the character needs to be a protagonist and playable at least one chapter, and the character must be obviously black. Again, I repeat from my previous article, I do not have an agenda, this is for informational purposes only. I am aware of the fact that there are too few games to give people of black heritage a proper representation and a major role. In fact, that's why I took upon myself to make this list, otherwise it would be too much to handle. Well, I also initially thought this would be a simple endeavor, but it is not easy at all. I missed a few games, and thus ruined the alphabetical order a bit, but I knew that from the start and wanted to take a bit more time on the second part to make sure I wont bobble it again. There will also be a third part, maybe even a fourth part. I will not be reprising the games I missed this time around. I will leave those for the very end. All this being said, let's get on with it!

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales AKA Salazar's Revenge

For those who don't know, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are based on Disneyland's theme ride of the same name, one of the oldest and longest lasting attractions in the original park, and subsequently incorporated in each Disneyland park in the world. Obviously, after the success of the first movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl, the ride became even more famous and included characters from the movies too. The first three movies were directed by Gore Verbinski, made famous until then by his horror remake The Ring. He didn't return for the fourth and this, the fifth installment in the series, but not because his overarching two sequels didn't do as well, but because he started working alongside Johnny Depp on Nikelodeon's Rango, for which he received a directorial Oscar, while producer Jerry Bruckheimer went around saying the Pirates series was a trilogy and was over. As we all now know, it is not over.

Crazy Movie Idea #1 - Carol of the Bells

'Tis the future. Humanity has made immense progress. There is no other civilization on this side of the Galaxy, but we have managed to colonize hundreds of planets, some even terraformed. These terraformed ones are a stain on our history and those who stay there have dealt with much shunning. No longer. Humans are well beyond malice and spite. We're so far into the utopic reach, there is no sense of begrudging inequality or discrimination, there's no logic for superstition or religion. But far on an old home, our planet Earth enjoys a blissful ice age and the longest lasting pagan tradition mankind has ever celebrated: Christmas.

Kong: Skull Island versus Peter Jackson's King Kong

You might say this is like trying to compare apples and oranges, and I think you might be right, not because one's better than the other, bottom line spoiler, but because they're different in tone and overall story design, but also even in scope. What I'm trying to analyze is how King Kong changed since 2005, why these changes are made, if they make sense, and what they mean for the future of this classic monster movie titan. I'm not about to go into the history of King Kong movies, but it's fair to say that most people regard the original 1933 movie as the best one until this day. I don't know if it's nostalgia or if the movie is regarded today as a cinematic marvel for its time, but the originals are usually considered more important to cinema history than any remake or reboot, no matter how technically superior or inferior. But since I'm not going to go that far in time, all I want is to see if Peter Jackson's remake is the definitive King Kong of a new millennium, or if Legendary Entertainment's new attempt at reviving the titan ape in the hands of a relatively unknown director was a good idea.

Split - M. Night Shyamalan's return to form

Split hasn't really found the popularity it deserves, so there's a big chance it might not have been on your radar. If you have not seen this movie yet, be warned that this quick look on the movie contains crucial spoilers to the plot. I'll be looking at how Shyamalan proves he can still make good movies, despite a long series of awful decisions, some think starting way back with Signs, I'm thinking more like The Happening, since Lady in the Water was his last movie that I could force myself to enjoy. I also want to talk about how this movie ties to one of his earliest works and what it means for future Shyamalan films.

Ghost in the Shell - Cyberpunk Rebirth

I just love cyberpunk science fiction, but unfortunately it peaked in the 80's as a bleak prediction of what a dystopian future would look like. You're probably saying "but wait, didn't the Ghost in the Shell anime appear in the 90's?" Yes, in 1995 actually and to great and overwhelming appraisal. In my opinion, it was one of the last hardboiled and noir-esque cyberpunk movies, even if animated, from its generation, since it was based on a 1989 manga series that was very popular in Japan. It followed a similar thematic allegory as Akira, but rather in tone with Blade Runner, set in a colorful yet downtrodden city infested by technology, a setting that was in fact born long ago, in the first cyberpunk movie ever envisioned by humans, Metropolis (1927). As we all know, cyberpunk has understandably changed throughout the years and since then, from Luc Besson's The Fifth Element to Wakowskis' The Matrix series, each passing generation emulating the trending social fears of their time. But we're back now, I don't know if you noticed, we're back to 1984, when fear of being watched and controlled from the shadows, the fear of having no real freedom prevails. And what a beautiful way to revive the old school, neo noir, cyberpunk era with a remake of the classic Ghost in the Shell!

Tom Clancy's The Division one year later

Actually, Ubisoft's The Division was first announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2013, three years before it was released. To much of everyone who gleefully expected the game, including me, the game was almost what was advertised. Honestly, I first thought it would be a sort of single-player but mostly co-op focused open world third person shooter with role playing elements. As you'll see, it is not that. The graphics weren't as amazing as they were initially presented, but I understand that for two reasons. First, it was in a time when Ubisoft really put ALL their trust in the marketing department and used to advertise their games in a misleading manner. I think they learned their lesson by now, since their newest Tom Clancy game, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, was advertised in the most accurate way... possible. Secondly, these first gameplay footages they are showcasing are mostly done specifically for advertising purposes while the game is still very early in development and they only have the basics of what they strive for in the final version, hence why The Division has an entirely modified HUD. Besides, these first reveal gameplays are always done in a very constrained and linear manner, so that it can be filled with all kinds of effects, details and textures that can't be rendered in a full game with the limits of current technology. Now that I've both defended and criticized a single shitty practice Ubisoft pulled to rack in lots of money, let's talk about how The Division fares after its first birthday.

What's so great about Logan?

To be able to answer the titular question, let's make a short comparative analysis of Mangold's Wolverine movies.

After the major fail of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a movie that had sparks of genius, in my opinion, the direction of the Wolverine movies shifted to a more serious approach with James Mangold on the helm, who outright ignored the aforementioned film. Both The Wolverine (2013) and Logan are loosely based on two highly regarded and very popular limited series comic books featuring the character. Logan is inspired by the very popular Old Man Logan series and one other that I won't spoil. Before hiring Mangold, executives at 20th Century Fox were so adamant... about making up for the X-Men Origins disaster that they were in real talks with Darren Aronofsky. That must've inpired James Mangold to reach for high standards and a strong artistic tone.

My thoughts on the Open Beta of Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Three things I learned from playing Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands, that patience pays off, never to piss off Unidad forces and that missing shots gets you killed. Ubisoft had the bravery to showcase their game in an Open Beta, free for everyone, and I had to take the chance and see for myself what the game has to offer. I got to play, roam around, explore, find lots of lore stuff and even pieces of Bolivian culture and history, and watch part of the story in two of the many regions of the huge Bolivian open world map. The Open Beta featured 11 main missions in which I had to destabilize the Santa Blanca drug cartel by shutting down their operations along with three bad guys/bosses, which I thought had fun personalities and backstories. I've played a lot of betas through the years, from MMOs to first person shooters, but I've never played through such a big and detailed world in a beta, and no, I don't play Early Access titles. Before I go into what I think about my time with the game, I have to say that this is in no way a review, but only a few impressions I have about my time with an early version of a soon-to-be-released game.