They Finally Cast A Wonder Woman!

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Well it must be very cold someplace hot because they have finally cast Wonder Woman for the Batman vs Superman movie, Gal Gadot!  I have not seen much of what Gal Gadot has been in, but maybe that is good since I will not have any preconceived ideas about her acting abilities unlike the man set to be Batman.  She may not be my choice, but she has got the look, and has been in a few action movies, so I wish her the best.  With the main cast set, I hope this movie gets DC’s comic book cinematic universe rolling!

The Walking Dead Continues To Improve!

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The Walking Dead has been known for its tense action, and its ability to kill off main characters.  However, it has also been known for some boring filler episodes, and its at times dodgy writing.  This is highlighted by the fact it has had a new show running producer for just about every season, but with Scott Gimple I think they have found a winner!

There were still a couple of filler episodes in this first half of the season, but at least they actually let us learn more about the characters, and the promise of the prison showdown of last season was finally brought to fruition during the mid-season finally.  I am not going to spoil anything, but you should probably stock up on Kleenex if you haven’t seen it yet.

Everything about this season has been better: The drama has been more hard hitting; The action has been more explosive, and the acting has been kicked in to high gear.  It is clear that The Walking Dead no longer just wants to be the most watched show on TV, but it also wants to be the best show on TV.  That is a goal I can get behind.

I am hating AMC’s new split season scheduling because that means I have to wait until February to find out what is going to happen next, but because of the higher quality of the show, it is now worth waiting for.  Well played AMC, well played.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Burns Bright!

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is Lionsgate’s 2013 sequel to the 2012 film The Hunger Games, and it does everything that a sequel should:  It builds on and makes better just about every part of the first movie.  I was a little worried when they started production without a finished script and a new director Francis Lawrence, but my concerns were apparently unfounded.

The story picks up fairly soon after the first movie with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) back home after their survival of the last Hunger Games.  They are trying to adjust to their new lives as Victors, when they are swept away on a tour of the districts.  Tensions are running high in Panem and the people see Katniss as a symbol of hope against the tyranny leveled against them by The Capitol.   Can Katniss keep her family safe as the 75th Hunger Games and 3rd Quarter Quell (Every 25th Hunger Games) approach?

Jennifer Lawrence is amazing in this film.  It would be so easy to play Katniss as a mopey jerk, but she brings so much more emotion to this role it is just wonderful.  Josh Hutcherson must have gotten an acting coach because he has gotten much better.  He gave Peeta a little more life this time, and since Peeta is such a Boy Scout any nuance that he can be given the better.  The other actors all breathed a little more life in to their characters this time around as well which made this world much more believable.

Francis Lawrence thankfully erased all the shaky camera work from the first movie, so for that reason alone it was worth changing up the directors.  He also used his much larger budget well.  The special effects and the editing were great, the world of Panem seemed like a real place.  This is one of the rare movies that didn’t feel a little too long, or like they skipped too much of the story to tighten up the running time.  I hope that they tie Francis Lawrence up for the next two movies.

If you liked the first movie than you will love this movie, but even if you were not a big fan of The Hunger Games you should still put this movie on your watch list.  It is not only one of the biggest hits of this year, but it is one of the best films of the year too.  I can only hope that they can keep the quality up for the next two movies, because if they can we are in for a real treat.

Chill Out With Frozen!

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Frozen is Walt Disney Animation Studio’s latest movie, and yet another princess movie from the company known for princess movies.  Luckily for us they have gotten very good at making them because Frozen is excellent.  The movie was written and directed by Jennifer Lee, and co-directed by Chris Buck.

The story is about two young princesses: Elsa (Idina Menzel) who has magical powers over ice and snow, and the other Anna (Kristen Bell) who is normal yet fun loving.  The family tries to keep Elsa’s powers a secret, but she looses her control over them and encases the fictional Arendelle in magical winter.  It is up to Anna and her friends to help Elsa and save Arendelle.

Jennifer Lee also wrote Wreck-It Ralph, and it shows.  Despite the seriousness of the story it is incredibly goofy.  Sven the reindeer, and Olaf(Josh Gad) the magical snowman provide most of the laughs, though all the characters get their slapstick moments, but they do in it a way that adds to movie.  Judging by the trailers, I did not expect that to be the case.

The music is in this movie is wonderful, especially the numbers by Elsa, which is good because there are a lot of them.  This is the most musical Disney movie in a long time, but I think that was smart.  It brings Disney back to its roots, and if the movie house is going to bare Walt’s name, it should do that once and awhile.

The voice actors are all excellent, but the sisters really shine.  Kristen Bell plays the wide eyed Anna perfectly, as a young girl that is excited to get out of the castle, but still determined to save her sister.  Idina Menzel is great as the confused and conflicted Elsa who just wants the people she loves to be safe, and she is a wonderful singer!  I wasn’t sure about the magical snowman going in, but Josh Gad brought him to life, and the movie would have been dull without him.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I really liked Frozen.  Pixar is the studio people always expect make great movies, but lately Walt Disney Animation Studios has been making better ones.  If you are looking for a family film to watch over the Thanksgiving weekend, look no further then Frozen.

Free To Play Ruins Star Wars: Tiny Death Star!

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Star Wars: Tiny Death Star is created by NimbleBit the same people that made the very successful Tiny Tower.  It is published by Disney Mobile and Lucas Arts.  It is out for pretty much every major platform, but I would advise against it.

The game starts off well with Emperor Palpatine telling Darth Vader his new plan to finance the Death Star by getting people to move in, pay rent, and buy stuff.  It is very funny and it fills in one of the major plot holes of Star Wars: “How the heck could they pay for the Death Star?”

The writing is fantastic and funny.  It pokes fun at Star Wars, but with more than a little love. It also has a great look, and characters from the Star Wars Universe have never been cuter.  All of them are in this game with their own little cut scenes.

After that it quickly goes down hill.  Like many RTS type games, you are in charge of planning out the apartments and stores for the people known as Bitzens, but the rates that these things build or restock is ridiculously slow unless you spend Imperial Bucks which of course can be paid for with real bucks.  Also if you want things to run well you need to hire VIPs which again you can pay for will real money.

If they balanced this game well it would have been worth quite a few dollars, but in its current state it is unplayable unless you pay, and once you start paying there is no telling how much it will cost.  With the Star Wars license, geeks like me would have paid for a good game, but to be nickel and dimed every three seconds is just too much.  If they come out with well balanced flat fee game, I would recommend it, but not as it is.