READY PLAYER ONE - Why you should watch it!

I have returned from the Oasis without a single key or coin to show for it. However, I do have a ticket! 

I went to Ready Player One the day before it officially opened in theaters and it was amazing! I really enjoyed the story and how Spielberg created an incredibly CGI-filled world. Today will be part review and part reasons to watch list. But first, some background.

NOTE: Spoilers beyond this point. You shall not pass...if you don't want spoilers.

Ready Player One - Background

For those unfamiliar with the book, I first recommend reading it. It is a fun story that probably has even more pop culture references than the movie. For those who wish to not read it, here are the highlights:

What is Ready Player One?

Ready Player One is about a teen living in a dystopia version of Ohio in the year 2049 where he becomes the first person to find one of three keys hidden inside a video game called Oasis. In the story, the creator of the game, James Halliday, died, leaving behind an enormous fortune. The right to his fortune is hidden inside the game as an Easter egg. The Easter egg can only be found after acquiring all three keys, also hidden in the game. When our hero, Wade Watts, finds the first key, he finds himself in a race against an evil corporation to find the remaining keys and prevent the corporation from taking over the Oasis. 

Now that you have a short background, we will dive into the review. 

Ready Player One - Review

Having read the book prior to the movie, I have a bit of a preference toward the book. That being said, I really enjoyed this film. The film starts off like a classic Spielberg film, introducing us to the world with smooth, sweeping shots. The way Spielberg paces an opening, and films in general, is always impressive to me. In this movie, we jump right into the action with an amazing car race sequence that got my adrenaline pumping immediately. Also, listening to Van Halen's Jump helped too!

The movie grabs you and keeps you interested throughout. The characters Wade Watts/Parzival, played by Tye Sheridan, and Samantha/Art3mis, played by Olivia Cooke, had a great dynamic between each other. It was fun and light, but kept the romantic connection strong as the movie progressed. The side characters were, at least for me, a bit more forgettable. Well, except for Sho, played by Phillip Zhao. James Halliday, played by the great Mark Rylance, was my favorite character. He portrayed the anti-social, nerdy side well and displayed the heart behind the character in a genuine way. Honestly, in that regard, I felt the movie did better than the book. 

The story itself was going to be difficult to deliver. The book was packed with references and the movie had to at least live up to that. I couldn't imagine being the producer on this movie. The amount of phone calls and favors they made/asked for had to be ridiculous! Even with all the references, the story had to be sound. Thankfully, it was faithfully adapted by the writer of the book, Ernest Cline. Zak Penn helped too (another solid, Hollywood writer). The references did not get in the way of the story, but the story wasn't trying to be overly complex. It was a simple story that was told well. The movie was a great example of all pieces of production coming together to make a solid movie. 

The best part about the movie was the CGI. Movies have been improving CGI for a few years now. Star Wars and Marvel films tend to be the first movies that come to mind when you think of CGI-heavy movies, but I believe this one deserves serious consideration. The car race sequence and final battle scenes are the most epic CGI experiences I have ever seen. For many, Spielberg isn't the name that comes to mind when they hear about a CGI movie. He's been known for Academy Award winning films and pop culture classics like Jurassic Park, Jaws, and E.T. Yet, he has been quietly working on some amazing CGI films like The Adventures of Tintin and The B.F.G.

I could probably go on forever about the CGI and Spielberg's talent, so I'll stop here and just say, it was impressive. The movie overall, is a solid film with impressive CGI that is fun entertainment. Now for the Top 10!

Top 10 Reasons To See Ready Player One

These are in no particular order:

1. STEVEN SPIELBERG!
2. The impressive CGI of fake people in a fake world
3. A Delorean that doesn't go back in time
4. Mark Rylance acting awkward and not like a big, friendly giant
5. Seeing Director Krennic again lose to a rebel group
6. Awkward teenage romance
7. Raging adults wearing headsets and power gloves
8. 80's music
9. An abundance of outdated, but lovable pop culture references
10. A giant freaking egg!

Have you seen Ready Player One? Do you agree with this review? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments or on social media. 

-J.J.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - "Review"

On Saturday, December 19th at 10am, my brother and I relaxed in reclining leather seats and watched a story from a galaxy far far away! Below, I will be giving a short review and general thoughts on this film (and I can already say its pretty positive). Keep in mind readers who haven't watched it yet that I will be having some major spoilers beyond this point, so if you want to keep it a surprise, avert you eyes away now.

When i sat down and watched the LucasFilm logo flash on the screen, I was excited and ready to be transported into another world. And transported at hyper-speed I was!

Immediately after, I was surprised by the lack of one classic Star Wars staple: the story crawl.

Every Star Wars film had the crawl; it was as iconic as the opening theme that blasted my eardrums with joy. Instead, Rogue One jumped right into the story. I already had an inkling that this was going to happen (stupid media rumors), so I wasn't to thrown off by the possibility. Also, it made sense. This is really just another story within Star Wars, not the main story line we all have fallen in love with. Still, lets talk about the story.

THE STORY

I actually enjoyed the story immensely and was refresehed by the new direction of the film. It had much more of a "war" focus and felt grittier than other Star Wars films. Below I will recap the story, but if you care not to read it, feel free to skip ahead:

The face of a James Bond villian...

The story jumps us to an imperial ship landing on the home planet of Jyn Erso (played by Felicity Jones), daughter of Galen Erso (played by Mads Mikkelsen). The imperials were sent to retrieve Galen, who was responsible for creating the super laser for the Death Star. Galen, realizing his inability to refuse, sent his wife and daughter to hide and wait for a rebellion friend, Saw Gerrera (played by lazy eye master, Forest Whitaker). However, the escape plan goes off course as the Jyn's mother doubles back to defend her husband. She confronts the imperial soldiers, lead by Orson Krennic (played by Ben Mendelsohn) and is killed in a gunfight. The group takes Galen and searches for Jyn. Unable to find her, they leave. After an unspecified amount of time, Saw Gerrera arrives and takes Jyn to safety. Then we fast forward.

One is not like the other...because one of them is evil.

Years later, see a rebel spy, Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) find information about a potential weapon called a planet killer (a.k.a. Death Star) and its creators. It leads to them finding and extracting Jyn from Imperial capture. While Jyn was being extracted, she reacted like any normal rebellious fighter, she rebelled.

Busting out and was able to smell fresh oxygen until a reprogrammed imperial droid by the name of K-2S0 (played by the lovable Alan Tudyk), "congratulated" her for being rescued. The rebels gave her an offer she couldn't refuse, help them find Galen and they would let her free. Cassian, K-2S0, and Jyn then headed off to the planet of Jedha to find a imperial deserter and friend of Galen Erso, Bodhi Rook (played by the multi-talented actor and rapper, Riz Ahmed). What made this really interesting is although Jyn was looking to get her father back, Cassian was under orders to kill Galen once he was found.

The group arrived on Jedha and were soon in the middle of a rebel attack on the Imperial controlled planet that was harvesting crystals to power the Death Star. After an insane battle, they are soon surrounded by Imperial forces. It wasn't until a blind warrior, Chirrut Imwe (played by Ip Man and martial art master, Donnie Yen), and his gun totting heavy sidekick, Baze Malbus (played by Jiang Wen) that they were able to escape the Imperial forces. That didn't stop them from being captured by a splinter rebel forces group. They were taken to their leader, who just so happened to be, Saw Gerrera.

Saw Gerrera gives Jyn a holo message from her father where he explains that he created a flaw in the Death Star (the one we are all familiar with) and that the plans needed to be given to the rebels right away if they were to have any chance to defeat it. It was at the end of message that the Empire planned to test the power of the Death Star on the Jedha. Not utilizing its full potential, they focused the attack solely on the city of Jedha. The rebel group, including their new friends and deserter pilot all left the planet just in time to escape the devastating effects of the Death Star's blast.

With the help of the former imperial pilot, they go to Galen's base of operations and hope to extract him (or in Cassian's case, kill him). As they try to fly under the radar on the stormy planet, they crash land outside of the landing area. Cassian and Bohdi leave the ship to find Galen, Cassian hoping to assassinate Galen without Jyn knowing. However, the wise words of blind Chirrut cause Jyn to go after her father. The

The attempt goes array after Rebel ship are dispatched to the base and attack. The attack leaves Galen dead and the extraction plan ruined. They regroup at Yavin 4 and talk with the rebellion council to encourage an attack at Scarif to retrieve the Death Star plans. Although his had split support, ultimately the council decided against it. Cassian, trusting Jyn, gathers a small group of rebel fighters and take a stolen Imperial ship named Rogue One to the Scarif.

If the most enjoyable character is the largest, this is completely accurate...but they need to make Donnie Yen bigger.

Cassian, K-2S0, and Jyn steal imperial uniforms and infiltrate the main archival tower while therest of the rebels caused a distraction. It was an epic 300 like battle where you knew that escape was impossible. Cassian and Jyn get inside and find the plans, labeled Stardust. Unable to go back to upload after K-2S0's sacrifice, they climbed the archive tower to the top relay dish. As they climbed , they were attacked by Orson and his Death troopers. Cassian is shot and Jyn climbs solo. Jyn gets to the top and puts the plans into the relay system. Unable to send, she re-positions the relay dish. Once she finished, she heads back to send the plans to the rebel forces. A TIE fighter comes out of nowhere and shoots the bridge and tosses Jyn back. She climbs back up and heads for the console when, you guessed it, Orson arrives holds her at blaster point. He gives his claim to victory when Cassian, you guessed it again, shots Orson. Jyn sends the plans to the rebel forces and the rebel forces that could retreat fled.

The Death Star arrives at the Scarif and destroys the base, killing all the remain rebels, including Cassian and Jyn.

Gosh, that was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be and I didn't mention the imperial side. Anyways, the story blends perfectly with Episode 4, leaving right were we start in Episode 4. The ending scene with Darth Vader laying waste to rebels was something straight out of a sci-fi horror story. It was awesome! What was also awesome were all the new characters.

CHARACTERS

Cassian Andor and K-2S0 looking at amazed at life...or the impending doom rolling toward them.

It was great to see some brand new faces and it really showed off the universe with the casting choices. In film, diversity has been made into a somewhat controversial topic of discussion, but necessary. Some argue diversity is needed (which I agree), but not at the cost of changing original stories with per-determined characters (sort of agree, sort of don't agree). What is great about Star Wars and most sci-fi stories is that having diverse cast is actually needed to create a better story. It doesn't feel forced or pandering to a certain crowd, it just feels normal. Each character had something interesting to bring to the story and each was truly unique. From Cassian's order focused spy life, to a Chirrut's force focused ability to overcome his blindness, it was great to see.

Blind Ip Man in a galaxy far, far, away...

Of all the characters, my two favorite would have to be K-2S0 and Chirrut. K-2S0 was once again another lovable droid, but with a fun sense of humor. He was one part C-3PO, one part Boba Fett, all hilarity. His humor is on full display on Jedha and again on Scarif when he dispatches Storm troopers.

Chirrut was nearly the opposite of K-2S0. Not to say he didn't have a great line on Jedha ("Why are you putting a bag on my head, I'm blind!"), but overall he was mostly a stoic, wise force believer. In Rogue One, they really put focus on the Force as a belief or spirituality instead of a actual power. His character was also one bad dude! Defeating a handful of storm troopers with only his staff is beyond awesome!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Don't Mess with the Moff!

My last thought that I want to mention is the use of CGI in the movie. I was quite surprised when I saw Peter Cushing return from the grave to reprise his role as Grand Moff Tarkin. We first saw the technology used first in Gladiator and later a more refined version in Fast & Furious and Marvel's Captain America: Civil War. Then later in the movie we see Princess Leia, who hadn't aged a day since Episode 4 in the 1970s. The technology was quite incredible and as much as they used Grand Moff Tarkin in the movie was quite a testament to the improvements made. I could definitely see this be used to continue aging actors careers in long running franchises in a few years. Rogue One was a great movie and although it had a few short comings with the writing (like sassy Vader), I felt it was still a great addition to the Star Wars universe.

Well, I was really long winded today...I am sorry about that. If you enjoyed it, let me know and I can do more movie "reviews" like this in the future. I am fully aware that this wasn't really a review and more of a synopsis with a few things I liked sprinkled in, but I enjoyed writing it to share with you the awesomeness of the movie.

I also want to thank everyone for signing up to the newsletter. I hope to have some awesome content come your way for the New Year. Also, finally shout out to Josh for winning the Lootcrate giveaway! I hope you enjoy the cool nerd merch!

May the Force be with You and enjoy the holiday season! -J.J.

Writing Monsters (and other resources) Review

October has arrived and Halloween is only a few short weeks away, so I thought it would be appropriate to talk a little bit about monsters. Well, writing monsters to be exact. As mentioned in last week's writing update post, I told everyone that I would be talking about some writing resources I bought off Writer's Digest.

I bought a two e-book bundle and a webinar on world building. The two books were, "Writing Monsters: How to Craft Believably Terrifying Creatures to Enhance Your Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction," and, "Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction: How to Create Out of this World Novels and Short Stories."

Both books were authored or co-authored by Philip Athans, author of Baldur's Gate and former editor at Wizards of the Coast. When looking at his vast experience in the science fiction and fantasy world, from a novel and game perspective, I thought he would have some great advice on how to create stronger works in those genres. I was correct.

Each book tells you exactly what to expect from it right in their title, no detours. I haven't finished either book because its only been a week, but from the little I have read of each I learned quite a bit.  From, "Writing Monsters," I learned how to see monsters as metaphors. Ironically, that is what drew me to getting this bundle in the first place. It helped me think differently how I approach creating monsters that fill a world, regardless of genre.

Creatures often occupy the horror, fantasy, and science fiction worlds, but they can occupy every other genre if we let them. From a child's pet to a towering giant, creatures (and by extension, monsters) should be in stories to create depth. Using metaphors is a unique way of doing that.

The other book, "Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction," was a great resource on how to develop a world and story construction, allowing to go back to basics on how to craft a living breathing world and the story inside it. It was also a spectacular reference for key elements in fantasy and science fiction stories that often go overlooked like: Economy, Religion, Government, etc.

Even as I worked on short stories, I often found myself having questions about these elements and it slowed down my writing process. The book helped me, especially for science fiction and fantasy stories, think about the story takes place in first in order to better craft a complete story. 

It doesn't need to be done by everyone because each person has their own process, but for me it was a great help.

In regards to the webinar about world building, I decided to hold off on viewing it until I finishing reading both books as I feel the webinar may be a greatly complimentary piece to the reading.

Overall, my early impressions of these books are extremely positive and I will be sure to continue to use them in the future as I try to create more engaging stories. The books also gave me a great idea for a short story (that and the beautiful fall weather). My goal this month is to have this short story completed before Halloween and released for everyone to view.

I will keep people posted on the progress and where it can be read on the next few blog posts this month.

Until next week, keep writing everyone! -J.J.

Legends of Chaos Review

While at LionCon this year, I was introduced to a new game by a neighboring vendor called Legends of Chaos. Legends of Chaos is a card game similar in style and design as Magic: The Gathering, but with different rules.

The game pits two or more hero characters against each other in a battle royale, using a myriad of weapons and sidekicks to defeat one another.

For people who are familiar with Magic: The Gathering, Legends of Chaos may appear to be a knock-off of the popular card game. At first glance, you would be correct. The gameplay is identical to Magic, except for a few elements. The game starts with choosing one of seven playable hero cards. These heroes determine how much health a player has at the beginning of the game and dictate which cards can be used based on their class.

Unlike Magic, Legends of Chaos does not use land or other types of energy cards. Instead of drawing monster cards to attack the opponent, the player draws weapon cards that can only be used by the player's hero or sidekick. A sidekick card, once drawn, can be added to the battlefield to provide additional attack and defense options.

Another element that differs from the Magic is the use of a "One/Two" card. The card dictates how many cards a player draws at the beginning of his/hers turn. The card always defaults at one each turn, but when a sidekick is played, the player can draw two cards the next turn. Each turn the card must be flipped, alternating how many cards can be drawn each turn.

For more information on their rules, it can be found on their website and they have a printable PDF as well.

Although the game may seem to only have a few differences in terms of gameplay and rules, I thought overall it was a fun little game that is early in its development. They have only the first series printed and they are working on the second series. It was cool to support an emerging card game company, even if they have an upward battle in front of them with the dominance of Magic: The Gathering.

What I will say that would help improve the game's success at conventions would be developing a stronger, more condensed explanation of the rules. It was confusing at first when it was being explained, but once I started playing it, I picked it up quickly. I hope the team can find a simpler way of explaining the game to emerging audiences.

What are your thoughts on this game? Has anyone played this game or would like to give it a try? Leave a comment below if you have and share with a friend. Also, expect a writing and giveaway update next week!

Suicide Squad Review - Better Than Critics Say It Is!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch the latest DC universe film, Suicide Squad, and I wanted to offer a more balanced review than what I saw on the internet prior to its release.

As everyone may know by now, Suicide Squad has received quite a bit of backlash from critics (currently sitting at 27% on Rotten Tomatoes). However, I feel that the critics may be overreacting on the film’s perceived mistakes and shortcomings. This review will spoil the movie so proceed at your own caution.

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The movie does not ease anyone into introductions and jumps right into the characters and uses flashbacks to develop the character’s origins. Although I was thrown off guard by the approach initially, I actually liked it and felt it was fitting for the tone of the movie. Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and Amanda Walker (Viola Davis) were by far the most interesting characters in the movie for me. Will brought a cool, hitman energy to the character that I felt was in line with the comic books. He is definitely the star in this movie, but Margot almost stole the show. Her portrayal as Harley Quinn was near perfect, hitting both the Brooklyn accent and fun attitude of the character. Her performance alone should be worth a look by producers as a potential spin-off with real potential. Viola Davis’s performance as Amanda Walker was chilling…and in a good way. Now that I reflect back on it, Viola Davis may have had the best performance of the three.

The Villains in their graphic skull glory....well maybe not glory.

The character that was most hyped coming into this movie was obviously the Joker. The stories of Jared Leto's interactions with cast members and his method performance was what people thought would be a major character in the story. In reality though, his role was really more of a cameo, but an important one to the film. Joker did move the story forward in his quest to retrieve Harley Quinn and it put another unique element to building Harley's backstory. For fans of the comics, they already knew that Joker's participation in the movie would be limited as he is not an official member of the Suicide Squad. So, due to his lack of participation in the movie as a whole, I think it is hard to truly judge Jared Leto's Joker performance to harshly. It was cameo performance and should be treated as such.

Spooky!

The other characters each had varying importance within the movie and having that variation wasn’t bad. The character I feel was actually most important to movie was Col. Rick Flagg. He’s kind of the center piece of this whole movie in a way. His girlfriend, June Moon (A.K.A. Enchantress) is actually the main villain and the one person Col. Rick Flagg doesn’t want to lose. Amanda Walker manipulates this relationship to have Enchantress do her bidding. That is until Enchantress goes off the reservation and escapes the watchful eye Amanda Walker. I could go on and on about the story from here, but I would rather not spoil the whole movie. What I can say is the movie was simple and straightforward, which I found to be somewhat refreshing. The movie did try to over reach and become something it wasn't meant to be. It was not meant to complete against Marvel or do better than Superman Vs. Batman to justify DC movie universe. It told a story about a bunch of villains, when backed into a corner, can come together to defeat a greater evil.

ADDRESSING CRITICISM: FILM STANDPOINT

Here I will be addressing some of the major film criticism that I heard from critics, but I will be talking a bit about the David Ayer's approach to the film. I feel it is important to note before judging a movie too harshly.

Being a fan of both comic books and general cinema helped me appreciate what the director, David Ayer, was trying to do with this movie. Each director has a different style and David’s style is definitely more character focused; something that was mentioned also by Jai Courtney and other cast members. He wants to see strong performances and give the actors that room to deliver the performance. Overall, I feel like his cast did accomplish that goal.

Sipping espresso and reading film criticism....the good life!

David (and the cast) also brought more empathy to their characters. Deadshot's backstory involved his daughter, Harley Quinn's backstory revolved around her complex relationship with Joker, and Diablo (Jay Hernandez) also focused around his family. Other characters in the movie (Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc, and Katana) are not as well developed, but it doesn’t make them bad characters by any means.

As many could gleam from the trailer, this movie was going to be an ensemble piece in a similar vein as the Avengers, except it’s in a different universe and the main “Protagonists" are actually villains. Unlike other films similar to Avengers or Captain America Civil War, many of the characters introduced in this movie were first introduced to audiences in this movie. Only fans of the comic books or cartoons would have basic knowledge of what was going to happen. That may be a reason why some critics had a problem with the movie. Marvel has been blessed with the ability to release individual origin stories and then move to the larger ensemble movie. DC simply worked it in reverse.

Other criticism revolved around a thinly written script and poor plot, which I disagree with. To say the plot is poor is hard to justify. I believe the plot was quite simple, but to say it was poor would seem more like a knee-jerk reaction. In terms of writing, especially for film, people need to understand just how hard that is to accomplish. Sometimes writing can be elevated by an amazing performance by an actor or actress. Other times, writing can be element that helped inspire the direction and performance of the actors. Film is a different world in terms of writing since film is a visual medium. Was the writing Oscar worthy? No, but is it really bad? I don't think it is at all! I think the writing was fitting to the story and fit the darker, comic book style that the director initially set out to accomplish.

Overall, what this movie did was give us something different while still fitting within a DC Cinematic Universe. The acting was solid, story was nice and simple, and the action was well done. I can't speak for the critics, but there are no hard and set rules to film criticism. It really boils down to did people like it or not and then justify. From my experience in the theater and among other DC fans, I think people did like it! So, I would recommend checking out this movie if you are a fan of comic books, particularly DC, or wanting to see a different take on the traditional film anti-hero discussion.

These are my thoughts on the movie, but I would like to know what your thoughts are on the movie? Did you like it or did you agree with the critics? Please leave a comment below or share this article with your fellow comic book fans.