Hey guys! I't been a while since I wrote any media reviews, but we've been watching quite a few movies lately, the first of which being the sequel to Marvel's Thor. I have this review and three more lined up for the next day or two, so keep an eye out for them!
So, starting in 3, 2, 1...
PART ONE: THE PLOT
Two years after the events of Thor, the hammer wielding god of thunder is busy quelling rebellions and crushing the foes of Asgard, bringing peace to the Nine Realms.
That peace is threatened, however, when an old foe, Malekith, and his Dark Elves from an age long past return from darkness to challenge Asgard again.
Worse, Thor's Earthling damsel Jane Foster is caught at the center of the struggle, having stumbled upon the powerful Aether which Malekith seeks, an element that will allow him to return the universe to darkness.
Forced to rely on his deceptive brother and rival, Loki, Thor must destroy the Aether and stop Malekith before all Nine Realms are cast into eternal blackness.
PART TWO: THE REVIEW
I enjoyed the sequel to Marvel's Thor, but it could have been so much more.
First of all, it could have done with quite a few less jokes, particularly in the climax, when it could have been and should have been far more epic.
Despite being visually entertaining, the movie needed and deserved more development. The villain, Malekith, failed to deliver as the ancient enemy he was described as, and was poorly developed.
More frustrating, to me, was the lack of inner struggle in Thor himself. While the original movie had Thor facing an inner flaw, his pride, to overcome a problem, the sequel included no such inner struggle, unless you count a damsel in distress and an insane brother as an inner struggle. And if neither the hero or the villain has a flaw, the story will hurt for it.
As an aspiring author, I know what goes behind the creation of writing a story, and the first thing I look for is the protagonist's inner struggle. There wasn't one.
Jane Foster, the lead female role in the movie, was much more of a distressing damsel than a brave character, although her vast intelligence as a scientist and her effectiveness in the climax was still intact.
Be that as it may, the movie was fun, and while many funny moments didn't belong, they were still funny. I was disappointed with a few of the actors/actress's performances, mainly Natalie Portman, but others were better, foremost of which being the performance of Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
Almost completely stealing away the screen, Tom Hiddleston's Loki, the untrustworthy and vengeful adopted son of Odin, kept the screen time interesting with the dynamic he added between himself and Thor. You know he'll do anything to get to the top, and yet you can't help but want to see him redeem himself. Although, if you're a reader of Norse Mythology like me, you'll know where his story ultimately ends.
I must say I expected the movie not only to be more epic, but to be a good bit different. For starters, I thought Thor would be facing the great possibility of losing Jane with more emotion, and I thought the threat against Jane would be brought up and kept in the eyes of viewers longer. Instead, the entire sub plot about Jane was dwarfed by Loki's involvement.
Secondly, I thought there would be some jealousy going on between the Asgardian female warrior Sif and Jane surrounding their affection for Thor, who shows respect towards one and little strong emotion towards the other.
Now back to the positives: The action was very cool.
I particularly enjoyed watching the Dark Elf ships in action, using their angular, rigid bodies to maneuver around and dodge laser bolts. The landscapes and visuals were impressive, and there was also a good bit more of Asgard shown than in the original movie, which only showed the city itself.
As before stated, Tom Hiddleston's performance and the dynamic between he and Thor was entertaining, and the humor was great, although I would have liked less in the climax.
As a movie based off a Marvel comic book, it's amazing. As an epic one....It could have used a little more oomph.
PART THREE: CONTENT REPORT
Predictably, there is a good bit of kissing and flirting. A man is shown in a news report running around nude, although objectionable areas are blurred out (Else the movie would be rated R!).
Violence includes knife fighting, people being killed and massive areas being obliterated throughout, although there is very little blood shown. One character's hand is shown cut off.
The Dark Elves have an elite unit called the Kursed, who use some kind of object to, I guess, burn themselves into agony and rage, which they spill out on their enemies. The Dark Elves, Malekith and the Kursed could be scary for younger children, along with a few scene including the Aether, which might also be disturbing for children.
Loki, being who he is, deceives and has his own sneaky agendas. One scene shows him in the midst of a prison cell that he wrecked, sitting with his hair down, looking slightly crazy.
Characters are shown reveling and feasting with drinking involved, and Sif asks Thor to have a drink with her.
The movie is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence; some suggestive content.
PART FOUR: RATING AND CONCLUSION
I give it four stars. Although I was disappointed with several things as I said above, the movie was fun, funny, and had a few cool action moments, paired with the highly entertaining dynamic between Tom Hiddleston's Loki and Thor, and impressive visual effects. The movie was left wide, wide open for another sequel, which I look forward to seeing, and overall, it was well worth eight bucks to watch in theaters.
Hey everyone! Welcome back! Today I'm very excited to share with you the teaser trailer for Halo 5, along with my theories about what it entails.
343 Industries, the new owners of the Halo franchise released a teaser for the next upcoming Halo game this year at E3, so here it is:
PART ONE: FACTS
It's been less than a year since the release of Halo 4. No one would have expected any kind of Halo announcements at E3 this year, and yet Microsoft and 343i surprised us with this mysterious teaser. Why? Because Microsoft's new, next gen game console Xbox One was also announced at E3, and Halo has almost always been the killer app of Xbox consoles.
So, let's get down to business. The creators for this new Halo game have told us that Halo 5 will be formatted for 60 Frames Per Second video and made exclusively on Xbox One. Also, Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer has announced that the new line of Halo games will no longer be called the Reclaimer Trilogy, as he says Microsoft
"Didn't want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy."
That's not surprising, given the enormous popularity of the Halo franchise and the even more enormous amount of story still open to be told.
Franchise director Frank O'Conner has said that 343i
"Will do better next time," and that the studio has learned from their experiences with Halo 4. Phil Spencer, explaining the teaser trailer, also said:
“There was no ambiguity in not putting a number after the game. For
me, what we showed wasn’t the game. Nobody should be confused on that. I
didn’t really want to try to show something that was clearly a thought
piece by the studio around where Master Chief is in his journey, and
then drop the name after it and be somewhat disingenuous about that
being the game. But I did want Bonnie [Ross] to come out and say
'First-person shooter. Master Chief.' Because they'll get the questions-
'Hey, is this ODST? What are you guys doing?'. Bonnie [Ross] comes out
and reaffirms that 343 is building this game. It’s Master Chief. It’s a
first-person shooter at 60 frames per second. It’s coming in 2014."
343i has also stated that the upcoming Halo game will be a much darker title than its predecessor.
A final note is that a new live action Halo television series will begin on Xbox One in the near future, directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg.
PART TWO: REVIEW, ANALYSIS AND SPECULATIONS
Despite what Phil Spencer said about not putting a number after the title, it has become quickly obvious that there is indeed some ambiguity going on about it. While 343i calls the upcoming Halo game 'Halo Xbox One', the title screen bears the number 5 in the clouds above it, and beneath it the letters L and O form to look like a 5 as well.
If the upcoming Halo takes place after Halo 4 (Which it obviously does), and if it is a 'legitimate' entry into the franchise as opposed to a spin-off like Halo Wars or ODST, then why not just call it Halo 5? Well, my best assumption is that 343i wants to look at the upcoming Halo as a new beginning for Halo. Perhaps the industry feels that Halo 4 was just an introduction to the Reclaimer Saga as opposed to a full chapter in it? Or that, because of the release of Xbox One, they want to start afresh?
In any case, because of supporting evidence, it seems only fair and logical to call the upcoming Halo game Halo 5.
So, let's move onto the teaser itself. The first noticeable thing about the teaser is that Master Chief is obviously on another world--a world that has at least one large moon, which can be seen in the sky if you look very closely.
Also, the surrounding terrain is desert. Many Halo fans have theorized that the Chief is on the Ark, an installation tasked with creating, replacing and activating the entire Halo Array.
As most Halo players know, Master Chief himself activated a replacement Halo on the Ark and 'did a number on it' according to Cortana. Whether doing a number means destroying it completely or just damaging it is unclear.
Another supporting fact is that the Ark is known to have vast deserts and wastelands on its surface, and that it has at least one moon, including one that is shielded at the Ark's center.
However, there is more than one Ark. The Ark Master Chief damaged is called the Lesser Ark. It handles only the Halos with 10,000 km in diameter, while the Greater Ark creates the Halo with 30,000 km diameters. However, as you'll see, it seems more likely that Chief is located on the Lesser Ark.
Next, we notice that Master Chief is heavily cloaked and hooded. 343i has stated that the Chief is purposefully disguising himself from someone or something.
Soon after, we hear some kind of odd phantom sound, followed by a moment of anti-gravity surrounding some kind of huge Forerunner construct which emerges from the sand.
Many fans have suggested the construct could be a type of or merging of War Sphinxes or a Seeker, both large Forerunner constructs, but this seems unlikely to me, as neither are described as having wings, and Seekers have no upper cabin or 'face'.
It is very clear that the construct is Forerunner in origin, although there is the slim possibility of it being a Precursor creation.
Next, the Chief reveals an AI chip on a dog tag in his hand. The sad music accompanying the scene insinuates a memory of Cortana, but Cortana's chip was destroyed on the Didact's ship in Halo 4. I've noticed that the central section of the chip appears to have some kind of Forerunner symbol or pattern on it (But more on the chip later).
Finally, we see Chief's helmet is cracked on its right side, and that all his armor is very worn and possibly damaged. What does this mean? Could Master Chief have had some falling out with the UNSC or Humanity? How much time has passed since the events of Halo 4?
What is he doing out on his own? Why is he carrying an (Obviously dormant) AI chip?
Well, that's where a new and very interesting possibility comes into play.
Because get this: the Lesser Ark is also the home of the ancient, powerful Forerunner AI Mendicant Bias.
For those of you who don't know, Mendicant Bias was a Contender-Class Forerunner AI--the most advanced and powerful Artificial Intelligence at the time of his creation by the Forerunners. He was originally created to organize and use Forerunner defenses against the Flood, but he defected to the parasite's side when a Gravemind convinced him otherwise and eventually caused Rampancy in the AI, who turned on his creators.
However, the Forerunners created a new AI, Offensive Bias, who stopped Mendicant and separated the traitorous AI into several shards.
Eons later, Master Chief and Cortana encountered a shard of Mendicant in a Covenant ship in Halo 2. Cortana managed to stall Mendicant Bias at High Charity long enough for Chief to make it aboard the ship holding the AI.
Eventually Mendicant Bias was reunited with his shards on the Lesser Ark and tried to communicate with Master Chief through Terminals in Halo 3. One message from Mendicant Bias shows clearly his intent to communicate with the Chief:
“And so here at the end of my life, I do once again betray a former
master. The path ahead is fraught with peril. But I will do all I can to
keep it stable - keep you safe. I'm not so foolish to think this will
absolve me of my sins. One life hardly balances billions. But I would
have my masters know that I have changed. And you shall be my example.”
At this point, Mendicant had become penitent for his crimes against his creators and obviously wishes to redeem himself through Master Chief. Why the AI specifically chose the Chief is unclear, but what is clear is that Mendicant could still lie 'entombed' on the Lesser Ark.
What this could imply is that the Chief is seeking out Mendicant Bias for some reason--perhaps as a guide, perhaps as a new ally...There are infinite reasons why Master Chief could be seeking Mendicant, but keep in mind, nothing has been states--the Chief could just simply be searching for a fragment or shard of Cortana, or seeking answers about the Forerunners.
Above all, it's obvious the Chief is going to be facing an even tougher foe than before--I mean, who else could manage to bang his majestic armor up that bad when four previous games haven't even made a dint in him? It is very possible and almost proven that the
Didact could return as the villain of Halo 5. Besides being a great villain overall, he was not actually shown to die in Halo 4. In fact, all he did was fall into a mist of what Cortana called a 'significant slipspace event'. Meaning he could have been teleported to another planet and survived.
Also, the Didact knows possibly more about the universe than any living being--he could have answers that the Chief needs in order to defeat a new or old enemy and save Humanity.
To recount the proposal that Halo 5 will be a darker story, what could be darker than the possible return of the Flood and an alliance with a reportedly rampant Forerunner AI, along with the loss of Cortana and a possible falling out with Humanity?
My personal opinion is that the Chief will be totally on his own in the upcoming title, and I am almost certain that the Flood will return as an even greater threat than before. After all, the Chief didn't fully end the Flood in Halo 3--he only defeated it and temporarily stopped it from growing more.
The Flood are still out there, the Didact could still be around, Mendicant Bias could make a comeback, Chief could be outlawed by Humanity, and there could be something far bigger looming ahead--possibly the return of the Precursors, if I'm any judge of story expansion and raised stakes.
All in all, I'm enthusiastic about Halo 5.
While 343i definitely made some mistakes with Halo 4, I feel confident that they have been (Possibly since before Halo 4's development) and are working double time to produce a great Halo game for 2014, especially considering that Frank O'Connor himself has said the studio has learned from its mistakes and will do better. He also said that they've specifically learned the 'players needs and wants', which is also encouraging. Compounding that, the game is being released on the next gen Xbox One console, and it will be exciting to see any positive changes resulting from the new console's abilities. Despite having some problems with Halo 4's gameplay, I am thoroughly enjoying the new story arc forcing Master Chief to come to grips with his humanity. The Reclaimer Saga will most definitely be an incredible ride, and I look forward to seeing where 343i takes us.
"Every Great Journey begins with a single step. This is our beginning. Thanks for trusting us with the universe you love and joining us on this epic adventure." -343 Industries.
So guys, hope you enjoyed this second trailer review and analysis on No Spoilers Allowed! Feel free to comment below and return for more epic media reviews in the near future! Peace.
Matt~
I recently wrote a review on one of my favorite movies, How To Train Your Dragon. I referenced the coming sequel, How To Train Your Dragon 2, and that got me thinking 'You know, I'd like to review trailers of movies, too!' so here I am, starting a new thread of Trailer Reviews and speculations about what the upcoming movies may contain. In the future I would like to start doing video reviews as opposed to text reviews, but for now, I hope you enjoy the first of my Trailer Reviews, starting with How To Train Your Dragon 2.
PART ONE: THE TRAILER(S)
So far there has only been one trailer for How To Train Your Dragon 2-actually a teaser, but it's given us enough to wonder about. You can watch the teaser on Youtube here, but just remember, I'm not responsible for any content seen outside my page.
PART TWO: BACKGROUND INFO
Dreamworks Animation has announced they have intentions of making at least three How To Train Your Dragon films. That's not surprising, given the original's financial success and lasting popularity. The HTTYD films are set to become Dreamwork's newest big franchise, which they themselves have stated.
All the original cast members from the original HTTYD film will be returning and reprising their roles, despite some doubt early on in pre-production. Also, the composer of the HTTYD soundtrack, John Powell, will be returning to create the score for the new movie, which probably has me more excited than anything.
The film will be written, directed and executive-produced by Dean DeBlois, who co-wrote and co-directed the first film, along with the return of Bonnie Arnold as producer and former co-writer/director Chris Sanders as an additional executive producer.
New characters and voice talents have been hired for the sequel, including Game of Thrones's Kit Harington as the film's new villain, Eret, Cate Blanchett as Valka, a vigilante dragon rescuer, and Djimon Hounsou as Drago Bludvist, a dragon trapper.
Dreamworks is now using two new programs, Premo and Torch for the film's animation, which they say will 'allow more subtlety, in facial animation, the sense of fat, jiggle, loose skin, the sensation of skin moving over muscle instead of masses moving together'.
As far as the new animation goes, the teaser trailer has
shown us enough to see that the overall animation atmosphere of the HTTYD universe has kept a familiar look but also introduced a positive new feel. Photos for the new movie are not abundant yet, as the sequel is scheduled for June 13, 2014, almost a year away (Oohh...I can't wait!), but a few photos have been released, which I'll spread throughout this blogpost. So, what do you think about the new animation and redesign? One more note I thought would be of interest is that the same cast, producers etc. are set to not only return for HTTYD 2, but for the third film as well. Good stuff. PART TWO: REVIEW, ANALYSIS AND SPECULATIONS
Dreamworks Animation gave us a brief blurb for the plot of How To Train Your Dragon 2, which I would have put in the background info section if not for the fact that I'm going to dissect it here for information. Here it is: It has been five years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island's new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. At the beginning, Hiccup is pressured by Stoick to start a family and become chief, but Hiccup rebels by flying away from Berk and exploring new lands. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.
Now, you may have noticed how I conveniently highlighted the key details described in the blurb, and the reason for that is because I'm going to break them down and speculate on their meanings.
So--by charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds, what did Dreamworks mean? Well, DeBlois pretty much answered that question for us in an interview, when he said:
"At the end of last film, all these Vikings who were previously somewhat landlocked are now on the backs of dragons so the entire Northern Hemisphere opens up to them. And with that Hiccup's curiosity increases, the map expands and inevitably they are going to come across new dragons, new cultures."
My assumption is that, as Hiccup and Toothless explore, they are going to run across lands and cultures that may or may not be influenced by places in the books by Cressida Cowell. The author of the original book herself has said that the HTTYD films and books will 'share their ends', so whether or not that means elements, characters, lands from the books will be incorporated into the next couple of films or not I can only imagine. I have only read the first book by Cressida Cowell, but as far as I've read, the series really takes a more mature twist near the end of the series. The 12th and final book has yet to be published, so we won't know what 'end' Cressida was talking about until 2014, at its release.
Now onto the next tidbit: Hiccup is apparently again being pressured by his father, Stoick the Vast, to start a family and become chief. This isn't surprising, given how old Hiccup is now (I estimate about nineteen, if he was fourteen in the first movie). But why Stoick's newfound pressure? If he himself is still well and able to be chief of Berk, why is he pushing his son? Could he be aging, ailing or have some kind of new fear or enemy bothering him?
Next, we're told about an ice cave. Now, I literally have no idea what or where this ice cave could be, whether it's far away from Berk in a colder land in the Northern Hemisphere, or what. Hiccup did say that Berk was located a few degrees south of freezing to death, didn't he?
Next, we're told the ice cave is the home of many new and wild dragons, and of a mysterious character called the Dragon Rider. I cannot speculate about what other, new dragons there could be, but it seems obvious that the Dragon Rider will be Hiccup's new archenemy--a character who rides dragons but uses them for evil.
Finally, the blurb reads that Hiccup and Toothless find themselves 'at the center of a battle' to protect the peace, and that only together can they solve the problem between man and dragon. My idea of what 'at the center of a battle' means is that Hiccup and Toothless will be a median force in between human and dragon again, and that they will have to settle differences between each other to fix it. It would be interesting to see a human vs. human battle involving dragons on both sides--for instance, aerial combat between the forces of Berk and the forces of the Dragon Rider.
I wouldn't be surprised if another character, the old lady character from the first movie, called the Elder, plays a more important role in this movie, given that she was originally going to have a larger role in the first film. But that's just a random thought of mine.
All in all, I'm incredibly excited about How To Train Your Dragon 2. How could you not like that high flyin', Toothless/Hiccup teamwork (Teamed with a trailer song by my favorite epic music band Audiomachine)? As the #1 HTTYD fan, I can honestly say I'm not worried about the sequel--not worried about Hiccup and the others being five years older, not worried about the new animation, and most surprisingly, not worried about a Dreamwork's sequel ruining the original, which the company has a bad habit of doing. I think making the characters be five years older is a great move for the story, seeing as the kids like me who were four years younger when the original came out will now again be able to relate with Hiccup and his problems. The animation and redesign, though surprising at first, I now am excited about, along with the direction of the story.
Best of all, it appears Hiccup and Toothless have retained their personalities. Judging by Hiccup's new gear, including the flying squirrel flaps and newly designed prosthetic foot, it looks like he's been expanding and improving everything he uses to ride Toothless.
And Toothless is still as cute/epic as before. And even better is the fact that Jay Baruchel has kept the same toned voice for the character. Yes, it's obvious Hiccup has gone through adolescence, but there is no other voice for Hiccup--ever.
So, there it is, my first Trailer Review. I hope you've enjoyed hearing my speculations and hopes for the movie, and also that the solid facts I've presented have satisfied your taste for knowledge about the upcoming film. If so, please feel free to return for more, and comment if you have any more questions or thoughts on the review!
Peace.
Matt~
I particularly enjoyed watching the Dark Elf ships in action, using their angular, rigid bodies to maneuver around and dodge laser bolts. The landscapes and visuals were impressive, and there was also a good bit more of Asgard shown than in the original movie, which only showed the city itself.
