Heavenly Sword Movie Review

On September 2nd, 2014, Heavenly Sword, a 2007 Playstation 3 launch title received a follow up, in the form of a movie. How does the new movie compare to the beautiful, heart wrenching PS3 video game? Find out below.

It's easiest to review this movie in the form of pros and cons, but first, a plot synopsis of the video game. The action-adventure game focuses around heroine Nariko, who was born with a destiny to protects the Heavenly Sword, a weapon containing a huge amount of power that can kill its wielder in less than three days. While Nariko is ultimately born with the task of protecting this sword, much of her clan thinks of her as lie, and is in fact not the chosen one. Nariko has to deal with disbelief and hatred directed towards her from her clan, and is also forced to use the sword to protect herself, her father, and the weapon itself. Now, let's start with a pro.

The movie is ultimately centered around the same end goal, but just has a different path of getting to it. This is definitely a pro, as it allows for fans of the game to receive a fresh, new plot, in lieu of a new game. While the two versions do have the same (gut-wrenching) ending (that had me openly sobbing for minutes), a whole new plot provides another level of depth to the Heavenly Sword universe.

However, this also tends to be a con. Some of the major plot point changes start to take out the meaning of the game. One prime example is Bohan, the evil king chasing down the sword. In the game, he wanted the sword for power and domination over the world, however, the movie counterpart Bohan just wants the sword to destroy it, so no one can have it. Which would be fine! The sword will be gone and can never be used for evil, sounds great right? Not for Nariko. Our obviously dyed hair protagonist refuses to give him the sword, and puts many lives in danger in doing so. While in the video game is was necessary for Nariko to protect the sword at all costs, not so much in the movie.

Another con of the movie is animation. Overall, the video game had smooth battles, beautiful graphics, stunning cinematics, and was overall visually great. This is an even greater feat considering it was an early launch title for the system. However, the movie features clunky (for the most part, some are exempt) battle scenes and animations that aren't near the caliber of the game.

The above picture is from the movie, while the below is from the game. While it may not be evident from these two pictures, the game reins superior in all aspects visually.

Now, the final pro of the movie. Putting all my cons aside, this was a solid stand alone film that provided something for fans of the game that were left empty handed for seven years. Getting to see Nariko in action again, one of my favorite video characters of all time, was in itself a wonder thing. While it may not be perfect, it is overall well, good. It was just good, and coming from a studio that is also working on a much more highly anticipated Ratchet and Clank film. I guess, that's all we can ask for.

What did you think of the film? Post in the comments below, and I'll see you in my next review!

Deliver Us from Evil Review

Over this last week, the new horror thriller Deliver Us from Evil was released to theaters nationwide. Does this film have what it takes to scare up some box office numbers? Find out below!

This film is a primarily story driven thriller, with most scares aimed at coming from realizations and plot twists. However, through out a large portion of film, mainly the first half of the 2 hour picture, the film is really only able to deliver cheap tactics created by horror films before its time, including: The tough cop who doesn't believe that anything paranormal could be happening even with overwhelming evidence of said paranormal occurrences... and the main character seeing things others can't that makes him start to believe. This, coupled with a troubled marriage due to our lead cop having strenuous work hours keeping him away from his family, all deliver few scares as we work our way through the film. However, as we progress through the movie we slowly start to gain momentum scare wise, with more interesting and shocking plot twists, coupled with carefully executed gore moments ramping up the excitement. However, all of these come just a bit too late as we lead into a less than satisfying ending.

Overall, this movie was really just... underwhelming. The plot only manages to scrape through with campy premises delivered previously from horror movies of the past. The film manages to scare up a few shockers, but nothing that'll make you jump out of your seat or throw your popcorn. Basically, if you're looking for a horror movie that won't give you nightmares, with bits of comedy that at some points are better than the scares the movie was designed to bring on, this is a film for you.

I always love interactions with all of you, so make sure to post in the comments below, and I'll see you next time!

The Conjuring Review

On Friday one of the most hyped horror movies of the year, The Conjuring was released to audiences worldwide.  Was the months worth of the hype really worth it? Find out here.

The Conjuring is a low budget horror film that doesn't rely on digital effects seen in most horror movies today, similar to the Paranormal Activity series. However, in the PA series, where every installment's formula is the same, start out slow, start throwing in minor scares, build up to the final night where everything is a huge clusterf**k of everything happening, The Conjuring immediately starts out with a bang and only continues to build from there. As I said before, The Conjuring doesn't rely on digital effects to garner its scares, nor does it rely too heavily on gore. The film holds multitudes of old school psychological scares, rather than phoned in cheap scares found in many horror movies today.


         
Overall, most horror films today don't hold a candle to The Conjuring. This film doesn't rely heavily on any gimmicks, can mentally scar you forever in ways many horror movies can't, and honestly, is an incredible movie. While this movie isn't incredibly innovative in the plot lines of horror movies department (it's honestly the same plot as every horror movie) it delivers a huge amount of genuine scares, and I definitely recommend you go see this movie.

The Croods

I saw a screening of this film last Saturday and I must say: I was quite disappointed. The animation was gorgeous but I think they could've done a much better job with the actual film itself. The comedy was too cutsie, which I did kind of expect. The directing and staging of the whole thing was kind of off. I liked the setting and the premise though. I just don't like how Kirk DeMicco (director of Space Chimps) executed it. I did, for once, kind of enjoy Nicholas Cages performance. Although it wasn't the best of the film, I personally would have nominated Cloris Leachman for the best voice and best performance of this movie. I also enjoyed Emma Stone's character. So basically, the story goes as follows: "Surviving in a volcanic world is tough enough, but caveman Grug gets a rude awakening when an earthquake forces him to leave behind the only world he knows. With his family in tow, he ventures out into the volatile world in search of a new home. The situation becomes even more complicated when Grug's family — in particular his oldest daughter, Eep — falls for a nomad named Guy they encounter on their dangerous journey. This quirky, imaginative stranger's search for 'tomorrow' is at odds with Grug's reliance on the traditions of yesterday." This description was taken from Wikipedia.
                                                                                                                                            -Ethan