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Thursday 30 July 2015

[Movie review] Ant-Man (3D) (2015)

The following text is a (rough) translation of my Swedish review which can be read at the Swedish online movie magazine MovieZine. Because of that, the presentation is different from the usual way I write my reviews for this blog.


A heist movie - but with superheroes (and ants)


First official trailer of Ant-Man. (Marvel Studios)


Ant-Man is the twelfth film (in order) which takes place in the fictional Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a couple of months after The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Instead of writing the plot's summary which many reviewers already had done, I'll immediately tell you what I think about the movie.

After watching several MCU films with epic battles between Good and Evil, I must say that Ant-Man feels very different – at least when I watched it at the cinema.

The thing is that Ant-Man doesn’t feel like a classic superhero movie. Instead, it's more like a family-friendly heist film (à la Ocean's Eleven) where a sympathetic protagonist (Paul Rudd) is hired by a scientist (Michael Douglas) to steal a weapon which is dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. The fact that our hero gets the help of three other cronies in order to succeed with the heist makes the film feel even less like a superhero movie.

Of course, in order for the visitors to get the feeling that Ant-Man really is a superhero movie taking place in the MCU, Marvel adds another superhero (Falcon from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, played by Anthony Mackie) and cameos such as Peggy Carter (from Captain America, played by Hayley Atwell) and Howard Stark (the older version from Iron Man 2, played by John Slattery). And don't forget the villain who also receives superpowers (in one way or another) towards the end of the film.

When you read this review, you may think that I'm criticizing the movie. Not at all!

The film is funny with its funny dialogues. Michael Douglas makes a great interpretation of Dr. Hank Pym where he convinces the moviegoers of his inventions and discoveries. Paul Rudd is absolutely superb as the sympathetic burglar Scott Lang who does everything for his daughter and becomes the superhero Ant-Man.

I almost forgot to comment on the film's special effects. All of the scenes where the protagonist shrinks himself to the size of an ant are well done. Many have compared these scenes with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). Personally, I think Ant-Man has taken a step further and can also be compared with A Bug's Life (1998). It's awesome to see the protagonists being able to communicate with ants (which plays a very important role in the plot), don't you agree?

Another cool special effect is when Michael Douglas (thanks to Lola VFX) also plays a younger version of himself instead of using a younger actor. It's fantastic to be able to see him in a flashback where he looks just like when he starred in the movie Wall Street (1987).

Unfortunately there are things in the movie which I'm not satisfied with. Firstly, I don't find the antagonist (played by Corey Stoll) not convincing enough. True, he is evil and doesn't hesitate to kill in order to reach his goal. But is he as intimidating as previous MCU-villains, like Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges), Abomination (Tim Roth) and the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving)? I think not.

Secondly, I'm not too fond of the character Hope Van Dyne (the scientist's daughter) played by Evangeline Lilly. For some reason, I don't think the Hobbit-actress is the right choice for the role. I can't explain it, something just doesn't feel right. Also, I am no fan of the character's hairstyle.

I saw the 3D version of the film, but I don't think there is much difference between the 'regular' and the 3D version. The 3D effects are seen only in a few scenes.

Despite these disadvantages, I think the film deserves four stars of five, and I look forward to Ant-Man's next adventure in the MCU.

By the way, don't leave until you've watched the two post-credit scenes. Otherwise you'll miss important clues to the next MCU movie coming in 2016!


ScoreFull Star YellowFull Star YellowFull Star YellowFull Star YellowEmpty Star


(To know how I rate mobile games and movies, please read about it here.)

Tuesday 21 July 2015

[Game review] Sonic Runners (Android) (2015)

The game (version 1.1.1.) is tested on Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus.


Sonic Runners Teaser Trailer (SEGA)


Taking place after Sonic Colors, Dr. Eggman (known in the first games as Dr. Robotnik) has once again started to kidnap innocent animals (a plot similar to earlier Sonic-games). Sonic and his friends must go and rescue their friends and defeat Dr. Eggman - one more time.

What do I think of the game?

I'm a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan and I love playing Sonic Dash - a free-to-play endless runner game - on my iPad 2. So when I learned that Sonic Runners would be another endless runner, I was very astonished. But there are (big) differences between these two games.

While Sonic Dash (developed by Hardlight) is a 3D (sort of 'third person') endless runner similar to Temple Run, Sonic Runners (developed by Sonic Team) is an endless side-scroller.

Sonic Runners can't be played offline (which is a huge disadvantage) and unfortunately, this is not the game's only problem. It takes too long for the game to connect to its servers, and the loading times are too long.

When I played Sonic Runners the first time and had to type in a username, for some reason it took time (too long!) to open up the virtual keyboard. This made me think the game had frozen.

It was possible to play the tutorial missions (although with some lags) but afterwards, it was impossible to play the game. Because of the many 'pop-up' advertisements, the game suffered from constant crashes.

So on a Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus, the game isn't playable at all!

Otherwise, Sonic Runners would have been a great mobile game title if everything worked. The animated characters (based on the post-Sonic Adventures era) look great as usual and the game is a nostalgia trip back to first Sonic-games developed by Sonic Team. I'm not too fond of the modern Sonic-music - I still prefer the classics such as the theme for Green Hill Zone (found in the first game for Sega Mega Drive in 1991).

There's one good thing with the game though. Since you're forced to register in order to play the game, it's possible to 'transfer' your progress to other devices. So hopefully you'll find one device where Sonic Runners is fully playable.

But for now - if you own a Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus - avoid this game until it gets fixed (if Sonic Team decides to fix it at all).

Score: Full Star YellowEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty Star


(To know how I rate mobile games and movies, please read about it here.)

Monday 20 July 2015

An unexpected McMeal deal!

On my way home today, I got an unexpected offer in the official app of Swedish McDonald's: buy a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a Medium French Fries for only 19 SEK (≈ €2.02 or $2.20)!

So naturally, I went to the nearest McDonald's restaurant.

Thanks for this offer, McDonald's! You made my evening!

(It's 19:35 PM Swedish time when I write this blog post.)

Friday 17 July 2015

[Movie review] Terminator: Genisys (3D) (2015)

The official trailer for Terminator: Genisys. (Paramount Pictures)


John Connor (Jason Clarke) and his resistance movement has successfully defeated and destroyed Skynet (an artificial general intelligence system seeking to eliminate the human race). But before the victory, Skynet at the last minute sent a T-800 Terminator (a robot assassin) back to 1984 to kill John's mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), a loyal follower of John volunteered to travel back in time and protect her. 

But when Kyle makes the time travel, the past is inadvertently changed and the defenseless Sarah Connor he thinks he's going to protect no longer exists. Instead Kyle meets a more confident Connor and a reprogrammed T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who acts as her guardian and surrogate father. Sarah - with knowledge and insight of the future battles with Skynet (thanks to her guardian) - has a plan to time travel into the future and destroy Skynet before it's born.

What do I think of the movie? *No spoilers*

When I watched the trailer (nota bene: not the one at the beginning of this review) the first time, I wasn't impressed. The movie's main antagonist didn't impress me then and he didn't impress me now during the whole movie. I don't think he was a dangerous threat despite his abilities.

I don't know what to say about Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney who play the protagonists. Something just doesn't feel right. Perhaps I'm too used to the original portrayal of the characters played by Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn in The Terminator (1984).

During the movie there are some theories about how the past has changed itself. These theories have been mentioned a couple of times and mind you, they aren't easy to apprehend at all.

What about the action scenes? - Too much CGI (Computer-generated imagery).

How about the 3D effects? Sadly, I don't think the 3D version would be a much difference from the 'normal' version. I only felt the effects when I saw the logo for Skydance Productions.

Personally, I think there are only two things which saved this movie from a disaster. The first are the scenes taking place in 1984. If you've watched the first Terminator-movie, you'll recognise lots of the settings in those scenes. The second is Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as a T-800 Terminator. I laughed when he said funny lines and I think his portrayal as an emotion-less robot is authentic.

So what is my final verdict? Terminator: Genisys is a near-average science fiction action film which is enjoyable much thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the nostalgic trip back to 1984.

ScoreFull Star YellowFull Star YellowHalf Star YellowEmpty StarEmpty Star


(To know how I rate mobile games and movies, please read about it here.)

How I rate mobile games and movies

(Please note that the content of this post may be revised in the future.)

(To understand why I prefer to write reviews on my blog instead of directly on Google Play, please read about it here.)

To make it simple, I'll use the universal 5-star rating system:

5*: Excellent
4*: Very good
3*: Average
2*: Bad
1*: Should be avoided at all costs

I'll also apply half stars if needed.


How do I rate mobile games?


I play with either an Apple iPad 2 or a Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus (GT-S7580). I rate mobile games after:

1. The possibility to play the game offline

Let's face it. If the game requires a constant Internet connection, it's impossible to play it unless you have access to free Wi-Fi or are ready to pay for a data plan.

Personally I think games should be able to be played offline no matter where you are - if you're in a tunnel while riding a train, camping in the woods or simply spending your time at a location with bad Internet connection.

One acceptable exception would be if a daily present/gift requires an online connection.

2. Controls

Self-explanatory. Is it easy to control the character and access the menus?

3. The Plot

An important part of my game experience. Is the plot interesting enough to make me want to play this game until the end?

4. Graphics

It's quite obvious: Whether a game uses 2D sprites or 3D models, it must be good to be looking at.

But I won't comment so much if the textures are good or bad. I'm rating mobile games after all, and we should expect that mobile games can't be as beautiful as their console or PC counterparts. And we can't expect all of the 3D characters to be able to move their jaws in a realistic way, can we?

5. Sound and music

Another obvious fact: Not only a game needs to look good, we must bear with the sounds and background music, don't you agree?

Classic java games for old cellphones can't play sounds and background music together at the same time, but games for modern (smart)phones can.

5. Multiplayer experience

In case I play a game where multiplayer exists. I'll rate it as well. I'll comment if the multiplayer session works, if it's balanced or unfair and if the game lags or not.

6. The possibility to share savefiles between platforms

If you get a new device, is it possible to transfer the savefiles from the old one to the new one? Or do you have to restart the game from the beginning?

7. The possibility to record a gameplay session

I bet that many of you want to record yourselves playing a game and developers sometimes include this feature in their apps, but not always.

Is this feature worth your time or not? That's the question.

8. My overall experience

The most important part of the review. Is the gameplay good or bad, despite the game having an interesting plot, great graphics, music and multiplayer experience?



How do I rate movies?


My movie reviews will be easier (and perhaps shorter) than my mobile game reviews.

In my movie reviews I'll give you my overall experience based on
  1. the choice of actors (appearance and how they act their roles)
  2. music (if it fits the setting)
  3. the plot (if I think it's logical or not)
  4. the 3D experience (if applicable; will I get a real 3D experience with my 3D glasses, or is just a gimmick?)


Why don't I rate a 'real' console game or PC game? 


That's because I'm too busy nowadays. I haven't touched any of them for a long time. If I play a PC game, it usually will be Champions Online (a free-to-play massive multiplayer online superhero roleplaying game by Cryptic Studios) since I rarely buy new games.

But mobile games however, that's another story. I can play them anywhere. Sometimes I think a mobile game title can as good as its bigger counterparts.

But I won't leave out the console and PC games completely: If there are news about them on other gaming websites which I find interesting, I'll share my thoughts with you on my blog.



Will you write reviews of every mobile game?


Actually, I won't because I don't have time and because I can't afford to buy every title. Instead I'll only focus on free-to-play mobile games which belong to or are spin-offs of famous franchises.



Why do I only rate movies shown at cinemas?


I don't have time to watch movies often, I'm afraid. And I don't think you're interested in my opinions of older movies which you (may) already have watched.

Why I've decided to write reviews on my blog instead of directly on Google Play

Get it on Google play
The famous
Google Play badge
One of the reasons I started this blog (besides running my YouTube-channel Stormtrooper Sverige) is to share with you my thoughts of (mobile) games and movies I've watched. At the moment I'll only cover movies still being shown at cinemas.

I've written a few reviews of mobile games found on Google Play in the past. While it's possible to write how much you want in a Google Play-review of an app or a movie, I don't think the space offered by Google is good enough because of two things:


1. Formatting is impossible


As you may have discovered, I'm not fond of too much text without spaces. It looks like a forest of words and it makes the whole text difficult for me to read. I prefer texts divided in sections with some space between them.

This is impossible to do in a Google Play-review: No matter how hard I try, Google Play always puts all of the sentences behind each other.


2. Only the first sentences in a long review will appear (on a handheld device)


I experienced this when I wrote a long text about why I dislike Spider-Man Unlimited. This is a huge problem since other Google Play-users won't be able to read my full reviews on their handheld Android-devices. At the moment, it's only possible to read full texts if you're browsing through Google Play with a personal computer.


Please note that this isn't 'just another entertainment-blog' written by a private person for the Internet. And it won't be a blog where I speculate rumours (e.g. possible plots) about movies and (mobile) games. It's simply a blog about me and my daily experiences, either online or offline.

Although I've just started this blog recently, I hope you've enjoyed following it so far. If you like my blog and my YouTube-channel, please subscribe to them and comment on my videos and blog posts. It means a lot to me and encourages me to continue sharing things with you.

(If you're new to the blog and don't know why I dislike Spider-Man Unlimited, you may read it here.)

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Gameloft Confidential

The icon for Spider-Man Unlimited,
a free-to-play game released in 2014. 
© 2015 Gameloft © 2015 Marvel

Today I've joined Gameloft Confidential which is a program for content creators (e.g. YouTubers like me). It was recently started by the video game developer and publisher Gameloft.

The program gives assets (e.g. screenshots) from a couple of Gameloft's smartphone games in order for content creators to create 'awesome' Gameloft-related videos.

At the moment, the program only covers the latest (free-to-play) smartphone games, like Spider-Man Unlimited, Modern Combat 5: Blackout and Asphalt 8.



Ryan, the Community Manager for the US Marketing team
at Gameloft, announces Gameloft Confidential.


I think this is an exciting move from Gameloft's part. But I hope the video game developer will add more games from its catalogue, because I've thought of making videos of some of their 'older' games.

Spider-Woman with her new suit.
© 2015 Gameloft © 2015 Marvel
I have played Spider-Man Unlimited frequently last year and I could make videos of it since I love Marvel's famous superhero. But I've promised myself to never touch that game again.

You see, I still haven't forgotten my disappointments when it first turned out that the game's story mode had to be played online. Only the endless runner-mode was available offline. 

Secondly, premium characters (in other words, high-ranking Spider-Men or Spider-Women who could reach high levels) had to be purchased in order to complete the story's later chapters. But all purchases were totally random so it would be difficult to get the favourite character of one's choice, especially when the Spideys must be ranked up to raise the level caps and hence, reach the levels the stages of the later chapters require.

But the nail in the coffin was during the 2014 Christmas-event where all of the players could win Spider-Woman wearing her revised costume. I managed to finish the mission where a number of Christmas-presents must be collected but because of a glitch, I never acquired her!

The only 'thing' Gameloft offered was an ISO-8 compensation. ISO-8 is the game's premium currency which is needed to do the random purchases. But since I knew I would only waste them and get characters I didn't want, I declined the offer and uninstalled Spider-Man Unlimited.

Gameloft, I think you've been a great video game developer. I've followed you since 2003 when I got my first colour GSM-phone. But since I touched this pay-to-win game, I don't think highly of you anymore. You ruined my Christmas spirit last year when I played like crazy instead of celebrating Christmas. I have difficulties forgiving you because of it.

Sorry for the rant, I needed to let off some steam. I gave the game only one star at its Google Play-page, and I still think it deserves that low score.

So which Gameloft-games among the titles in Gameloft Confidential will I make videos of? I'll just wait and see if there are future games which will raise my interest. But not Spider-Man Unlimited.

3 trailers from 2015's Comic Con

While I'm excited for Marvel's Ant-Man who will have its release in Sweden on 22 July, 2015, I've watched some trailers for upcoming movies from this year's San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC; an entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego since 1970).

Of course, the ones I'm interested in are about the upcoming superhero movies Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and the spy movie The Man from U.N.C.L.E. In the latter two, our famous Swedish actors Joel Kinnaman (Arn - The Knight Templar, Easy Money, Robocop) and Alicia Vikander (Pure, Anna Karenina, A Royal Affair) have a role in each movie.


Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 2016)


Ben Affleck's Batman has a bigger role in this trailer than in the 
official teaser teaser released earlier in April 2015. (Warner Bros.)


In this movie which takes place after Man of Steel (2013), Gotham City's protector Batman (Ben Affleck) travels to Metropolis to battle Superman (Henry Cavill) fearing what will happen if alien is left unchecked, especially because of the destructive battle (between Superman and the alien invader General Zod in the previous movie) which destroyed large portions of Metropolis.

My thoughts about the trailer:

Batman and Superman are DC Comics's most well-known superheroes and there are occasions where they have battled each other - in comic books and in animated films.

This has caused fans of Batman and Superman debating for years about which one of them could win in a direct confrontation with each other.

The movie is the first time two iconic superheroes face off in a live action movie, and I think this is a way of pleasing the fans.

Man of Steel is the first movie in DC Comics's fictional shared movie universe - the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU) - and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is meant to expand it.

To be honest, I think Marvel already has a big headstart with their own Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since 2008's Iron Man and several successful movies after it (Captain America: The First Avenger, Guardians of the Galaxy among others).

But after seeing this trailer, I seriously think this movie will give the DCCU a big chance to compete with the MCU.


Suicide Squad (August 2016)


The supervillain Joker will be in this movie, and there are 
hints of Ben Affleck's Batman being in it too. (Warner Bros.)


Suicide Squad is the third movie which takes place in the DCCU. Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) - a top-ranking U.S. Government agent - assembles a team (with the same name as the movie) of dangerous criminals who would undertake a high-risk black ops mission.

My thoughts about the trailer:

I was surprised when I heard that a live action movie about the infamous Suicide Squad (consisting of many of DC Comics's famous supervillains) would be made. When I saw the first look of all the protagonists standing with each other and the first official photo of Jared Leto as the Joker, my expectations weren't high. In fact, they're considerably lower than my current expectations of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice!

One of the reasons is the portrayal of the Joker and his henchwoman Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie. Another reason is the choice of Will Smith as the group's sharpshooter Deadshot.

At this point, we don't exactly know the plot of the movie and which mission the Suicide Squad will have to undertake, so I'll keep my expectations low for now.

Is there anything with the movie which will at least make me look forward to it? That would be the actors Joel Kinnaman, Ben Affleck (his character Batman is rumoured to be in the movie) and Jai Courtney, who recently played as Kyle Reese in Terminator: Genisys.

(My movie review of Terminator: Genisys will be published on this blog later.)


The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (August 2015)


Henry Cavill stars as the protagonist Napoleon Solo in the
movie based on the 1960's series. The British actor
Hugh Grant has a role in it as well. (Warner Bros.)


During the early 1960's period of the Cold War, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) - an American and a Russian spy - are forced to team up with each other to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, in order to prevent a worldwide catastrophy.

My thoughts about the trailer:

The trailer started well but later became messy and confusing in the end. I think the atmosphere in this movie will be different from the classic 1960's TV-series.

But since the movie is directed by Guy Ritchie, who was very successful with his two Sherlock Holmes-movies which I love very much, I'm a little bit optimistic about this movie.


Which one of these three movies will you look forward to?

Tuesday 14 July 2015

RIP Satoru Iwata (1959-2015)

'On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.'
- Satoru Iwata, 2005


Iwata-e3-2006
Satoru Iwata at E3 2006 Nintendo Press Conference at Kodak Theatre.


Satoru Iwata was the CEO of the Japanese video game company Nintendo between 2002-2015. He passed away on 11 July, 2015, due to bile duct tumor.

I must admit I wasn't too familiar with Satoru Iwata before, other than that he was the CEO of Nintendo. I 'knew' about him only through some of the 'Iwata talks' and 'Nintendo Direct' series of videos on YouTube. I thought that he was a nice person who showed courtesy towards the Nintendo-fans and -players in his videos.

I never knew he contributed so much to the world of Nintendo games before he became CEO!

For example, Satoru Iwata was the programmer of the 1984 game Balloon Fight for the NES.


Official Nintendo eShop-trailer for Balloon Fight.


Later he would also produce EarthBound and Kirby-games, and assisted in the developement of games like for Pokémon Gold and Silver (1999) for Game Boy Color. It is also thanks to him we have the Super Smash Bros. series of games today.


 
Official Nintendo eShop-trailer for Kirby's Adventure, the second game in the Kirby-series originally for NES in 1993. 


After Mr. Iwata became CEO, he would lead the transition from GameBoy to Nintendo DS and pushed on the development of Nintendo Wii.

RIP Satoru Iwata, and thanks for everything.

Bastille Day 14-07-15

Today (14 July) is France's National Day, known in English-speaking countries as Bastille Day, after the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 as seen in this drawing below, by the French painter  Jean-Pierre Louis Laurent Houël (1735-1813).

Prise de la Bastille

In the center of the painting, you can see the arrest of Bernard René Jourdan, marquis de Launay (1740-1789) - the French governor of the Bastille.

From what I understand, the French people don't say phrases like "Happy National Day" or anything similar to each other during their celebrations. This has also been described by the blogger je parle américain a few years ago.

So instead, I'll simply say "Happy vacation" to all of you who celebrate the Bastille Day and I hope you have a great day!

Monday 13 July 2015

Hello World!

After thinking for a very long while, I've finally decided to start my simple blog where I share with you my thoughts about popular culture and (mobile) video games among other things - when I'm not creating and uploading gameplay videos.

I've also thought of writing my own game and movie reviews in the future.

Please stay tuned, friends! :)


Hello World! in Firefox 31