[Movie review] Pixels (3D) (2015)

Pixels' first international trailer. (Columbia Pictures)

I'll first summarize this review with four words about Pixels: I love this movie!

Many critics felt the movie was bad, including the absence of a proper plot and a dangerous villain; bad acting, sexism and stereotypical offensive image of gamers and nerds. These critics have done everything in their power to persuade moviegoers to avoid watching the film at all costs. A journalist from the gaming blog Kotaku e.g. has spoilt the entire story for its readers. Another journalist felt that Pixels was worse than Super Mario Bros. from 1993. A third journalist recommended moviegoers to re-watch the video game movies Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children or Wreck-It Ralph instead since they, according to him, at least respected the source material.

Personally I don't agree with the critics. But instead of boring you with my arguments, let's put it this way: Pixels is not a conventional video game movie. It's a sci-fi comedy which pays homage to the classic arcade games of the 80s. People either love the movie (like I do) or hate it.

I guess the little child inside of me was awakened during the movie, because I felt the same wow-feeling like when I watched different adventure movies and series (e.g. Digimon) when I was younger.

I think Chris Columbus (the director of the first two Harry Potter movies) and the actors have done a great job. The acting may not convince everyone, but it convinced me anyway. Pixels obviously can't be compared with Columbus' Harry Potter films, but it had its own magic. The movie lacked vulgar humor etc. and I'm very grateful for that.

Since I liked Pixels so much, I just had to download the tie-in mobile game Pixels Defense directly after watching the movie. So this is only a positive sign that the movie succeeded in entertaining me greatly.

What about the 3D effects? Were they any good? Unfortunately, like Terminator: Genisys and Ant-Man, the 3D effects only felt at some places in the movie.

Score: 

[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!

Score: 


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

[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.

Score: 


(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

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.)