City Boy Geekiness: Geeky

Showing posts with label Geeky. Show all posts

Marvel's MCU is back at it again with the next hero in their long list of movie releases. After making his big debut in Captain America: Civil War, this superhero burst into the scene with one of the most anticipated films of the year. And, it was all worth the hype! The movie we will be discussing today is the action-packed superhero flick: Black Panther.

The Plot: After several Wakanda artifacts are stolen from a museum, Black Panther (played by Chadwick Boseman) and his allies' search for the robber leads them to a bigger mystery involving a powerful and deadly mastermind, Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan).

The Results: 5/5!

Black Panther is one of the best movies to be released by the MCU yet. If I could rate this film higher than a perfect score, I would. T'Challa/Black Panther was an inspiring and fun hero to follow through his adventure. The supporting characters were equally as amazing and well-written, with Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Lupito Nyong'o, and Winston Duke being some of the best additions to the MCU. In fact, every performer featured in Black Panther stood out as a great addition to the series!

When it came to the villain, Killmonger might be one of the best villains in the MCU. The only downside, however, was the strange plot treatment to Okoyo's (Danai Gurira) love interest - the story should have stuck to what was originally written in the first draft. If you like action films (or superhero films in general), you should check out Black Panther.

If you can believe it or not, I've never played a game of Dungeons & Dragons before. I've seen them enough in the past; they're littered across TV series and movies. Twitch also has a steady stream of content, some even created by the likes of Geek & Sundry and Nerdist, to get your fill. But as a gamer, this was a series I never fully played through firsthand myself. (There was that one time my high school friends tried to start one. We failed MISERABLY and gave up 10 minutes in!)

As of this year, one of the websites I write for - The Young Folks - started up their own D&D adventure. I jumped at the chance to sign up. You know me: I love games, trying new things and I'm a bit competitive. All of that was right up my alley.

We're already six episodes deeps (my character joined in the third) and things are getting pretty heated. I play Alexandrus Tillart, a human cleric who serves the Grave domain for Kelemvor. I won't get too deep into my character's backstory, but let's just say there's a mission I need to complete and things will get a bit spooky.

If you want to join in and watch, we stream Mondays starting at 9 p.m. ET. You can check out past episodes on Twitch, YouTube and can download the podcasts on Apple Podcasts, to name a few.

Bring on the superhero movies. I would watch them all day, every day if I could. Well, it depends on the superhero. This might surprise a lot of you to hear, but I haven’t watched every crime-fighting flick. The Hulk, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and the Iron Man films are some I’ve missed. I won’t be returning my Geek Card just yet – there’s still plenty of time to get this done. (Though, the Iron Man films are still near the bottom of my list. #SorryNotSorry)

Most recently, one of DC’s most notable superheroes has hit the big screen with their own solo adventure. We saw her cameo in Batman vs. Superman – and it was EVERYTHING! The movie I will be reviewing today is the action-packed time period piece: Wonder Woman.

The Plot: Diana (Gal Gadot) is an Amazonian trained to fight an unknown ensuing battle of the Gods. After a U.S. agent washes ashore on the island, she takes on the role of Wonder Woman and enters the battle of World War II to stop a potential apocalyptic destruction.

The Results: 5/5!

Wonder Woman is incredible! I don’t give out perfect scores often, but Wonder Woman earns it (and even more). Gal Gadot shines in her leading role and adds plenty of heart/depth to the character. The writing isn’t cheesy, the special effects and fight scenes are perfectly designed, and the supporting cast each have their own personality. Wonder Woman is the DC action movie we’ve needed in a long time – more films need to be created like this. You need to see it. We need another sequel. Let’s make it happen.

I grew up watching Power Rangers. I don't just mean Mighty Morphin Power Rangers...I watched A LOT of this show. Power Rangers meant a lot to me as a child since it showed me adventure, action and the chance to do good as a teenager. Let's just say I was hooked for many years. A big screen movie has already been created about five fighting teenagers, but that was a long time ago in the 90s. This time, a reboot was created to get new people invested in the series and for others (like me!), to relive the nostalgia. The movie I will be reviewing today is the teen action adventure: Power Rangers.

The Plot: Nestled in the quiet town of Angel Grove, five teenagers stumble upon magical glowing rocks that grant them superhero powers. Unbeknownst to them, the rocks have chosen them to become the Power Rangers, a group of evil-fighting heroes. When the villainous Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) plans to steal the Earth's life force, the team suits up to stop her.

The Results: 3.5/5!
Power Rangers is a guilty pleasure action movie. There are plenty of fighting scenes, teen drama and build-up included it that leads to the climactic battle. I liked the performances of the main five teenagers who make up the new team; we learned a lot about them to get their individual personalities and why we should care about them. Elizabeth Banks and Bryan Cranston also did a great job as Rita and Zordon, respectively.

The tone, on the other hand, does come across as too cheesy and teen angsty at times; the same can also be said for the special effects. It fits the Powers Rangers TV show feel, but for those new to the series, it may look weird. However, Power Rangers (the movie) is an addictive popcorn flick. The movie provides some genuine fun and a good start for a potential movie franchise. Though, some major tweaks will be needed to keep this series fresh and mature.

I've never been the biggest fan of the Wolverine movies. After the destruction of the first movie's timeline and the strange plot of the second movie, I didn't have high expectations for the third and final film in the series. In fact, I wasn't originally going to watch it. If it had not been out of sheer curiosity, who knows what would have happened. Though, based on my mini movie review today, I'm glad that I did. The movie I will be reviewing today is the last installment in the mutant superhero trilogy: Logan.

The Plot: Set in the near future, Logan (played by Hugh Jackman) is retired, a drunk, and works as a limo driver to make a living. After responding to a ride order, he encounters a mysterious woman with a small child, named Laura (played by Dafne Keen), who are being hunted by a military group. Logan teams up with familiar friends and new to protect Laura.

The Results: 5/5!

Logan is a dark and gritty action-filled thrill ride that will keep you hooked until the very end. The final part of the Wolverine trilogy makes up for the two lackluster films which proceeded it. Hugh Jackman brings emotional heart to this tired character we've seen for over a decade now, and this may be the first time an X-Men movie has reached a perfect mix of thoughtful drama and action. Dafne Keen does an amazing job of working alongside Jackman, especially with the few words she utters throughout the movie. The action is stunning, the pace is thought out, and the ending is emotionally gripping (there may have been some tears). However, if you're not one for bloody superhero fights and a grittier side to these X-Men characters, you may not initially enjoy the flick.

I would recommend to check out Logan. It's the last film in the trilogy and the last one featuring some of the iconic actors (this is Patrick Stewart's and Hugh Jackman's last X-Men role). This a fun popcorn flick to see in theatres.

I love London. There's something about the culture or the accent that pulls me in; it's always been on my bucket list to visit it someday. Before this year and trip, I had never traveled to the city, to Europe, or even across the ocean to another continent. This was a first for me and a trip that was LONG overdue. I don't get to travel often, so this was a gift to myself. The problem now is that I miss it so much - I want to go back!

After 10 days of walking around the city and sightseeing, my camera was obviously by my side to snap a bunch of photos. And being the geeky guy that I am, I made a point to see (or, in some cases, stumble upon) equally geek and nerdy places.

Without sharing every single photo I took, here are seven moments that I think you might like:

1. THE HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD SIGN

2. STUMBLING UPON THE BBC

3. PLATFORM 9 3/4

4. RESISTING THE URGE TO BUY EVERYTHING RAVENCLAW AT PLATFORM 9 3/4

5. THE SET OF THE SPICE GIRLS' "WANNABE"

6. WATCHING ALADDIN

7. FINDING THIS HOME ALONE SIGN

Happy Halloween!

I love this holiday. Everything from dressing up to the scary movies to the overall feel of the day. Yesterday's Halloween celebration ends a weekend of costumes and horror movies. As a geek I should like creating costumes, like for Fan Expo, but I only do it for Halloween. I'm not sure why...

This year, I went as The Riddler from Batman. For those unfamiliar with the green Batman villain, The Riddler is the inquisitive Edward Nygma, who loves to challenge the Dark Knight with life-threatening puzzles and games marked with his iconic green question mark. I've dressed up as a few heroes and characters over the years; it's nice to try a villain once again (my last villainous Halloween costume was as the puppet from Saw).

Even though Halloween is over, there's always movies like Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas to keep me entertained. You can also watch this old CollegeHumor video to enjoy a quick laugh!

This year marks the second time that I've gone to Fan Expo Canada. For a guy who has plenty of geeky interests and writes a blog with "Geekiness" in the title, you would think I would have visited sooner? I know...I'm ashamed of myself. My nerdy and cosplayer friends let me have it this weekend. Still, I made the trek and spent four days capturing photos and attending panels.

Now that the weekend is up, it's time to clear out my storage space and share these photos with the world. I have an appreciation for cosplayers as they spend a lot of time perfecting their outfits and look, so naturally I captured more photos of the costumes.

Here are 10 cool costumes I spotted at Fan Expo (sorry if any of the photos are blurry):

CAPTAIN FALCON