Film of the
Week:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The first film in the live-action franchise wasn’t that well-received,
and the critical responses only ever got worse as the sequels started to roll
out. Even though the critics wrote scathing reviews, the franchise somehow is
making enough money to warrant three sequels, with a fifth scheduled to be
released next year.
The main reaction to the films is that the story starts to
disappear until, when the third came out, many said the story was practically
non-existent. When the fourth came out last year, even though it made a
staggering billion dollars at the box office, critics absolutely hated it.
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about films, and
when I mentioned that I actually like the Transformers series, they groaned as
if I had a bad taste in movies, even though I said that I love all the greats,
such as Jurassic Park, Godfather, Godfather Part 2, and many more. I made it
even worse when I said my favourite out the four is the third, which was actually
given the second worst reviews. I mean, is it really a bad thing if I like the
Transformers franchise.
The film starts off in 1961, when the Ark, a Cybertronian
spacecraft carrying the necessary equipment to end the on-going war between the
Autobots and the Decepticons, crash lands on the moon, which is detected by
Nasa. President John F. Kennedy authorises a mission to put a man on the moon.
When Apollo 11 lands on the moon in 1969, the crew investigates the crashed
ship.
In present day, Sam Witwicky (played by Shia LaBeouf) struggling
to find work. He is also angry at the fact that he is now unable to work with
the Autobots even though he had helped them save the world twice over. We are
introduced to a new female lead, Carly Spencer (played by Rose
Huntington-whiteley), who works in a luxurious company with a confident boss.
Sam becomes jealous of the relationship Carly and her boss have, Dylan Gould
(Played by Patrick Dempsey). Eventually, Sam does get a job delivering the mail
in a large office block.
The Decepticons learn about the ship and attempt to construct a
space bridge connecting Earth and the Moon to bring all the Decepticons to
Earth. The humans once again team up with the Autobots to defeat the
Decepticons in their biggest battle yet.
Visually, the special effects are stunning. And there are a lot of
effects throughout the film. And being a Michael Bay film, it does contain a
lot of explosions.
The epic fight that takes up nearly the entire film is big and
continues to grow. I said once before that the reason why I enjoyed Pacific Rim
was because it was robot and monster battling it out for two hours. That film
was also criticised not having that much story. When done right, and I believe
Transformers: Dark of the Moon has done just that, one giant long fight can be
just as entertaining as any other movie. Robot Vs Robot – Autobots Vs
Decepticons – for two and a half hours. What is wrong with that?
If you watch the film as it is, and not judge it as part of a
franchise and watch it just for the fun of it, then I believe it will then
become an entertaining film for you.
TV Episode of the Week:
Soul Eater – Episode 9 – Legend of the Holy Sword – Kid and Black☆Star's Great Adventure?
If I were to sum up this episode with one
word, it has to be: FOOL!
Death the Kid and Black Star is tasked to
tidy the library. When doing so, they come across a book about a legendary
sword known as Excalibur. Anyone who successfully pulls the sword out of the
stone is deemed a hero and will be rewarded with glory and fame. It’s a
no-brainer that they go looking for the sword. When they find it…
FOOL!
It isn’t exactly what they had in mind.
The other story in the episode, Maka’s dad,
Sprit Albarm, tries to reconnect with Maka, but doesn’t do as well as he had
hoped.
Soul Eater comedy that doesn’t take itself
too seriously, but when the moment calls for it, it can become quite so, even
becoming emotional at times as well. But the main focus is comedy, and you will
be laughing from your gut with each episode.
Game of the
Week:
Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale
I’ve talked a lot about sandbox, racing, and simulator games over
the last couple of weeks. This week, I would like to break away from those
types of games and move onto something that I never actually thought I would
like. A Japanese Role Playing game, known as Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale.
The aim of the game is to run a shop in order to pay off your debt
that your dad has raked up, or you will lose the shop and subsequently your
home as you live above the shop. Each day, you have to sell stuff and buy stuff
from customers, as well as venturing into the tombs with a trusted guide who
will fight all manner of enemies to gain free items and experience points so
you can progress further into the tombs, defeating bosses along the way.
Your day’s are split up in four quarters. If you open the shop,
you will lose one quarter of your day. If you venture into the tombs, you will
lose two quarters of your day, and the same goes for when you go to the market
to either buy new items or sell unwanted ones, and when you go and buy armour
or weapons from the Merchant’s Guild, or if you just want a friendly chat in
the Town square, which will ultimately progress the main story as well.
At the end of each day, you are given a rating on how well you have
done and how much profit you’ve made or how much you’ve lost. At the end of the
week, you must have enough money to pay off that week’s payment, which rapidly
increases over the next few weeks. The entire game is set over four weeks. Once
you have successfully paid off the debt, you will then get the choice to
continue playing the game indefinitely, without the worry of not having enough
money at the end of the week.
It is a tough game. When you enter the tombs, the enemies don’t
back down. They attack you with everything they have, and the bosses are exactly
the same, except a lot stronger. You have to manage your time perfectly to
maximise each day to get the maximum amount of profit you can. You can be on a
roll, gaining plenty of money, but then the slightest mistake can lead you
losing hundreds, possibly thousands of pounds in one go, leaving you wondering
what happened. Each decision you make has to be well-thought out, just in case
it does turn out to be bad in the long run.
And that is what makes it fun, in a way. Because it’s difficult,
the level of satisfaction that comes from when you successfully pay off that
week’s debt cannot be replicated, and when you’ve completed the game, you feel
as if you worked hard and deserve to win. I have put many hours in this game,
and I can tell you that when I say you feel as if you deserve to win at the
end, I’m talking from experience.
If you enjoy JRPGs, then this is a great game for you. However, if
you haven’t really ventured into these types of games before, then I would say
that this is a good game to sink your teeth into. I can assure you that once
you’re playing, you won’t be able to stop until you’ve beaten the game.
Video of the Week:
STORE CLERK BLUES | Job Simulator – VIVE
Last week, I talked about Jacksepticeye
playing as a store clerk. This week, I couldn’t resist talking about Markiplier
playing the same game. Jack only played a part of the game, whereas Mark plays
the entire game. And it is funny throughout. I couldn’t stop laughing at the
antics Mark gets up to playing the game, and when it jumps to Mark doing some
random action in the middle of the living room, makes you wonder what someone
would think you were doing if they had walked in on you. We know what he’s
doing, but they don’t, and that adds to the humour.
Thanks for reading
Antony Hudson
(TonyHadNouns)
My book, Sector 22: Zoey, is now available on Amazon, eBay, and SkyCat Publications' website:
Amazon:
eBay:
SkyCat Publications:
Ask me anything at:
ahudsonpresents@live.co.uk
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