Escape from New York
Greetings, Escape from New York is 1981 film directed and co-written by John Carpenter. Carpenter has made many movies during his career with the Thing, the Fog and Big Trouble in Little China being some of his most well-known works. Prominent actors in this film include Kurt Russel as the protagonist and former US Special Forces agent called “Snake” Plissken. Kurt would work with John Carpenter again in Big Trouble in Little China, another American film from the 1980s. Other performers including Lee Van Cleef as New York Police Commissioner Bob Hauk, Donald Pleasance as the unnamed President of the United States and Isaac Hayes as a criminal leader with the self-appointed title of Duke. The music was conducted by Alan Howarth who had collaborated with John Carpenter on various projects.
The plot is set in the late 1990s when the American government had already evacuated civilians from Manhattan, transforming it into an enormous maximum security prison after there had been a giant spike in the amount of criminal activity. The prison is walled off from the rest of the US and there is no potential escape routes for prisoners as the surrounding area is well patrolled by guards who engage in lethal methods to deter anyone from leaving. The President of the United States is travelling to a peace conference with the People’s Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics when Air Force One is captured by terrorists. The President is saved by his security when they lead him to an escape pod aboard the plane and launch it with him inside. The plane eventually crashes, as part of the terrorists’ plans, but the President is trapped in New York and carrying a brief case that contains an audio tape which describes the blueprints of a new weapon.
A squad of police are sent into Manhattan to retrieve the President but are met by the right hand man of the most powerful crime boss in the prison. Romero, on behalf of the Duke, gives the police a warning. He presents them with the president’s severed finger and his insignia ring, demanding that the prisoners are to be freed in 24 hours or the presidential hostage will be killed. At this point Hauk decides to offer Snake a deal. Plissken, convicted of attempting to steal from the Federal Reserve, will be given a presidential freedom if he returns the President successfully. The protagonist will be given a glider to enter Manhattan alone and undetected by landing on the World Trade Centre. Bob gives the anti-hero extra motivation once Plissken had agreed to the deal. To ensure that Snake wouldn’t try to escape, Hauk had him injected with microscopic explosives that will detonate within 22 hours unless he is given the antidote by the Commissioner.
Overall, I believe that Escape from New York has some interesting plot points that could have made it into a great movie but that it was let down in other regards. For instance, the dystopian future setting was intriguing but I feel that the movie faltered with unenthusiastic and subpar acting from some of the main cast. Additionally, there didn’t seem to be any character progression at all nor did I think any of them were particularly likeable. It is difficult to root for a character to win if you aren’t particularly interested in what happens to them or about the individual themselves. It should be noted that although I wasn’t overly struck on it, it has gained a cult following. A sequel titled Escape from LA was also released in the 1990s to mixed reviews.
Plot=6/10
Characters=6/10
Special Effects=7/10
Overall=6/10
Quote of the Day
I'm not signing. Birthdays are just a bogus holiday created by greeting card companies!
Floyd Pepper
The Muppets
A Storm of Swords
Greetings, A Storm of Swords is the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series which was published in the year 2000. It was divided into two different novels called Steel and Snow as well as Blood and Gold, due to its length. The series was written by George R.R. Martin and it has a very extensive lore, numerous historical events that are relevant to the plot and a great range of characters. This vast amount of characters can cause the story to become complicated but it generally has several main points of view that are seen from Jon Snow, Daenreys Targaryen, Arya Stark, Davos Seaworth, Tyrion Lannister as well as a few others. Most characters do not have chapters dedicated to them and serve as secondary or territory actors in the storyline or are only mentioned in passing.
The plot begins shortly after the second novel ended as war ravages the seven kingdoms of Westeros with several kings fighting for the iron throne. The main challenges to Joffrey Baratheon’s crown are Robb Stark of Winterfell, Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands and Stannis Baratheon. Additionally, Daenrys is building her own forces by freeing slaves known as the Unsullied and adding them to her army as she makes her way to the seven kingdoms. Her dragons are an additional tool in her arsenal that she uses to terrorize those that oppose her. A different threat comes from the northern regions that are separated from the kingdoms by the Wall which is protected by the Nights Watch, an army of criminals and vagabonds defending the civilized against the Wildlings. The self-proclaimed king of the Wildings, Mance Rider, threatens to break through the wall with his enormous army of savages, supernatural beings and trained fighting animals such as mammoths.
Balon Greyjoy is killed off at the beginning of Blood and Gold without any great details of how it happened. It is rumoured that he fell off a bridge during a storm but more sinister explanations are possible. Stannis, one of the kings, is informed by his priestess called Melisandre that she had seen in a vision that other competitors for the throne would also die as he was the rightful ruler of Westeros. In another storyline, Robb Stark had alienated the support of the Freys by marrying Jayne Westerling, and breaking his word to marry into the Frey Household. Cateyln, Robb’s mother, notes that it was a dangerous decision for her son to marry out of love instead of thinking strategically but she believes it is possible to re-secure the allegiance of the Freys via having her brother marry into the Frey family.
These novels are very difficult to summarize due to the great scope of the series and the many storylines that run through it. One of the aspects of a Song of Ice and Fire that I enjoy is the unscrupulous acts of betrayal and clever schemes that are devised by intriguing characters such as Tyrion or Little Finger. Another entertaining feature is that the reader can be taken by surprise at how quickly a character can be killed off in an unforeseen circumstance and it should be noted that death is a common occurrence in Westeros. While there are supernatural elements involved, they are barely touched upon and the narrative focuses on the wars between the different houses. I enjoyed these novels and look forward to the next instalment as well as eventually knowing who will end up on the iron throne.
Plot=9/10
Characters=8/10
Wording=9/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
I understand. You found paradise in America, you had a good trade, you made a good living. The police protected you and there were courts of law. You didn't need a friend like me. But, now you come to me, and you say: "Don Corleone, give me justice." But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to do murder for money.
Don Vito Corleone
The Godfather
John Wick
Greetings, John Wick is a neo-noir film from 2014 which was directed by Chad Stahleski and David Leitch. The music was composed by Tyler Bates who also had roles in creating the soundtrack for other famous movies such as 300, the Guardians of the Galaxy as well as its upcoming sequel. John Wick stars well-known actors including Keanu Reeves as the titular character, Willem Dafoe, Michael Nyqvist and Alfie Allen among other cast members. A sequel titled John Wick: Chapter Two has also been planned and is hoped to be released in 2017, which could potentially lead the way to other sequels in the future.
The plot begins with a retired assassin called John Wick losing his wife, Helen, to a terminal illness. In order to help John cope with her loss, Helen had prepared for a puppy named Daisy to be delivered to her husband in the event of her death. The puppy was given to John as a means for him to stay emotionally connected and ensure that he wouldn’t suffer through her death alone. Overtime the retired hitman and the puppy developed a special bond, forming a happy relationship until it is disrupted by a chance encounter with the son of a Russian mobster. The son is named Isoef Tarasov, a cocky and entitled young man that believes he can get whatever he wants. John and Isoef’s paths cross at a petrol station when Tarasov puts in an offer to buy Wick’s car, a vintage 69 Mustang. The retired contract killer refuses any attempts to make a deal and the two seem to part ways however John is unaware that Tarasov’s gang followed him back to his house.
During the night, the gang attempt to steal his Mustang but John catches them in the act. The gang have the advantage in numbers as well as the element of surprise and as such they manage to knock him unconscious. Despite this, he remains long enough in a state of drowsiness to see his puppy, Daisy, being killed by Isoef purely out of spite. Wick wakes to find the corpse of Daisy beside him and his Mustang stolen. John decides to pick arms once again to avenge the death of Daisy as well as to reclaim his car. Viggo Tarasov, the Russian gangster and father of Isoef, eventually learns of his son’s actions. He beats his son for his foolish actions and declares that John Wick was his ultimate hitman, nicknamed Baba Yaga or the bogeyman because of Wick’s skill in combat. Realizing the potentially dire consequences for himself, Viggo reaches out to John and extends an offer of peace in order to avoid any conflict. Wick refuses, forcing Viggo to send out a hit squad to John’s house in order to end the situation as quickly as possible. John Wick survives the attack and he escalates the matter by seeking revenge on both Tarasovs.
While the movie is not outstanding in terms of character development or original in its storyline, I did find it visually impressive. The fight or action scenes were well choreographed, more so when John was forced to fight in hand to hand combat against multiple hostiles. Additionally, I found that it was easy to root for John Wick as the protagonist while Isoef Tarasov was successfully portrayed as a dislikeable, cowardly antagonist as the writers had in mind. While I wouldn’t say that this film is an essential experience for movie goers, I did find it to be an enjoyable, if somewhat predictable movie. It is certainly worth a watch if you find yourself in a mood to watch an action film but are at a loss as to what to watch.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
Those socks need a good darning... Darn you, socks!
Guybrush Threepwood
Tales of Monkey Island
Fargo: Series Two
Greetings, Fargo: Series Two is a television series from 2015 and serves as a prequel to the original Fargo show. The film was set in the late 1980s and the first television series was set in 2006 while this season is located in the final years of the 1970s. It mainly follows the character of Lou Solverson, who is the protagonist in this dark crime thriller, a Minnesotan cop played by Patrick Wilson. The character had been introduced in the first series as a recurring character and father of the heroine, Molly, who followed in her father’s footsteps by becoming another police officer. An older Lou was played by Keith Carradine in the original Fargo television show and it should be mentioned that the actor makes a brief return in this series. Other actors or actresses in the second Fargo include Jesse Plemmons as Ed the Butcher, Kirsten Dunst as Peggy and Jean Smart as the matriarch of the Gerhart criminal syndicate.
The story begins in 1979 in which the Gerhart family is under threat from two incidents. The first is that the ageing patriarch Otto suffered from a heart attack, leaving a power vacuum in his place as the three Gerhart sons want to assume control of the criminal organization. The second is the growing influence of the Kansas City mob who wish to carve their way into Gerhart territory, either by buying the family out or through seizing victory in a bloody gang war. Problems are further escalated for the crime family when the youngest Gerhart heir, Rye, attempts to threaten a judge in a waffle restaurant. The restaurant is nearly empty but the situation takes a turn for the worse when he loses his cool and kills the judge as well as a cook in a heated exchange. Rye, in an attempt to kill all witnesses, chases a wounded waitress by following her outside. He shoots her in the back but before he can get off the snow covered road, Rye is distracted by a glowing phenomenon in the sky at which point he is hit by a passing car.
It is soon revealed that a local beautician called Peggy Blumquist had hit Gerhart and in a state of panic brought Rye back to her home, believing she had accidently killed him. It turns out that he was seriously hurt in the accident but still alive. Ed, Peggy’s husband and the local butcher, soon finds out about Rye as he is trapped in their garage. The manic Gerhart attacks Ed but Blumquist is able to stab Rye to death in retaliation. A startled Ed and Peggy decide to get rid of the body by disposing of it in the butcher’s shop as well as hiding any evidence of what had occurred by dealing with the broken car. Meanwhile Floyd Gerhart, acting leader of the mob as well as mother of Dodd, Bear and Rye, grows increasingly worried over her youngest son’s disappearance. A Native American tracker for the Gerhart’s, called Hanzee Dent, is sent to find Rye’s whereabouts and bring him home. The situation is increasingly pressurized when the Gerhart’s are faced with the prospects of war with Kansas City when enforcers such as Joe Bulo, Mike Milligan and the Kitchen Brothers attempt to push the Gerhart’s syndicate into selling over their organization.
I really liked this season and thought that the colourful styles or fashions were visually pleasing, giving the show some character. I also believed the 1970s setting proved to be an interesting backdrop for the story to take place and liked the occasional hints of the future to come. For instance, Ronald Regan was added into the plot but he has little roles in it except to drive home the point that Fargo was set in the 1970s. While the show did have some draw backs, such as the unexplained extra-terrestrial side story and the supposed fate of Hanzee Dent, I believed that the series was on par if not slightly better than the original. The season didn’t suffer from the absence of the original antagonist, Lorne Malvo, like I had previously been concerned about and as such this is a show that I would definitely recommend, especially if you enjoyed the first one. I look forward to the third series which takes place after all the events we have seen so far in all the Fargo timeline as it is set in 2010.
Plot=9/10
Characters=9/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
Because some roads you shouldn't go down. Because maps used to say, "there be dragons here." Now they don't. But that don't mean the dragons aren't there.
Lorne Malvo
Fargo
Tales of Monkey Island
Greetings, Tales of Monkey Island is a Telltale game from 2009 and is a continuation of Lucasart’s Monkey Island series. While it is the fifth game in the franchise I have not played any of the previous instalments which began in 1990 with the Secret of Monkey Island. Despite this, I was still able to enjoy the latest video game and got to grasps with the existing characters. Some actors had reprised their roles such as Dominic Armato as the protagonist Guybrush Threepwood and Alexandra Boyd as Threepwood’s love interest, Elaine Marely-Threepwood. Unusually for a Telltale game, Jared Emerson-Johnson had little involvement in the Original Sound Track which is composed by Michael Land, the artist responsible for previous music in the series. Jared was involved in the game however, by voicing one of the antagonists known as the Marquis de Singe.
The plot begins in the middle of action sequence in which Guybrush is trying to save his wife, Elaine, from the demonic pirate called LeChuck. Threepwood stabs LeChuck with a magical sword but unfortunately the hero hadn’t assembled all of the parts for the weapon to be effective. The attack transforms LeChuck into a human while transferring the “Pox of LeChuck” into Threepwood’s hand which has become able to control itself. The pox will turn those it possesses into a demonic and aggressive creature. Before Guybrush can save Elaine an explosion on the ship knocks him overboard and he wakes up on Flotsam Island. Threepwood is stranded on the island as the winds have being blowing inland for years according to the local residents, as such he is unable to search for Elaine and he travels Flotsam in search of a way out.
It is on Flotsam where Guybrush meets a familiar but mysterious figure called the Voodoo Lady who he had encountered before in his adventures. She informs the pirate that the “Pox of LeChuck” will spread throughout the Caribbean if he cannot locate a magical sea sponge called “La Esponja Grande”, which would suck up the magical energy of the pox. The Voodoo Lady also claims that if Threepwood wishes to find the sponge, then he should seek guidance from a man called Coronado DeCava who has mysteriously vanished in his search for it. He also crosses paths with a French scientists called the Marquis de Singe who becomes obsessed with Guybrush’s infected hand as he believes it holds the key to eternal life. As such, Guybrush Threepwood must get off the island, find “La Esponja Grande” and rescue Elaine while evading De Singe’s grasp.
There are five episodes in total in which the player is introduced to a whole range of unusual creatures and colourful characters such as pirate bounty hunter Morgan LeFlay or Murray the demonic skull. While some puzzles were infuriating at times, I can say that I enjoyed this game as it was full of comedic scenes and contained an interesting storyline. I am unsure if there are any plans for a sequel but I would definitely play it if one came about. Although I cannot be sure of the future of the series, I do know it has plenty of other previous instalments that I would like to experience at some point in the future.
Plot=9/10
Characters=9/10
Graphics=8/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
I love my brick!
Father Jack
Father Ted
Deadpool: The Video Game
Greetings, Deadpool is a video game from 2013 that stars Marvel Comics anti-hero Wade Wilson, also known as the titular Deadpool. It is a brawler game and was developed by High Moon Studios, a fact that is referenced several times in the narrative when the script breaks the fourth wall. While I was not overly familiar with Deadpool before playing the game, I was aware that he was a zany character that suffered from split personalities. Womanizing, outlandish humour and hyper-violence are also aspects of his unique personality that the writers bring across into the video game as well. In true superhero fashion, Wade also has special powers such as immortality and his ability to teleport was incorporated into the game by the developers to escape enemy attacks or for jumping puzzles. Despite his immortality, Deadpool can still die in the campaign and while his teleportation is useful, it has a short range.
The plot begins with Deadpool’s apartment in which he gets a phone call from High Moon studios who are creating a video game around the Deadpool character. Wilson wants to make it the best game of all time by forcing the developers to make it exactly as he sees fit. Therefore, Wade ignores the script that was given to him and begins making up his own random story in which he is hired to assassinate media mogul Chance White. After fighting through hordes of Chance’s men, Deadpool reaches the entrepreneur but is stopped by mutant villainesses Vertigo and Arclight before being able to kill White. The two mutants are part of the Marauders, an army of mutant clones that are under the command of Mister Sinister, and bring him to the aforementioned villain. Mr Sinister then kills Chance when he reveals that the mogul’s satellites are under Marauder control. Deadpool seeks revenge on Mister Sinister as his target had been killed by the antagonist and sets up one of Wilson’s motives for going after Sinister.
Deadpool was knocked unconscious by Sinister and is wakened by several members of the X-men. The marauders are gone by the time Wade has come to, however he and the mutants discover that Mister Sinister had moved to Genosha. As explained in the game, Genosha was a mutant hideout before the Sentinels massacred them and it now serves as a Marauder base. Deadpool being his usual self decides to fly the Blackbird, the x-men’s private jet, and crashes it in Genosha. Wilson manages to knock everyone into unconsciousness including Wolverine. Wilson comments on how it was almost as if the level was designed for him to be the sole character in it and continues his pursuit of Mister Sinister.
As already noted Deadpool is a character that if aware of the fact that he is fictional and much of the game’s comedy comes from that meta-humour. For instance, Deadpool will often playfully insult the player with profanity when he is killed and mock the player’s skills. There are plenty of enemy AIs to keep the game play fresh but as it is a brawler game, most hostiles are challenging because they attack in numbers. I really enjoyed Deadpool even though the campaign quite short and only has a handful of varied locations for the player to explore. I wouldn’t be surprised if another Deadpool game was created when considering the recent success with the movie.
Plot=8/10
Characters=9/10
Graphics=8/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
Chewie...we're home.
Han Solo
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
