Spin-offs are regarded with mixed feelings, especially in the video game universe. It's a quick deviation away from the main storyline and it can provide gamers with the ability to test new features, characters and a non-canonical alteration to the game's universe. Already released under another spin-off game for 2012, Tekken is back with the anticipated return tournament game: Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
There are a few video game fighting series that have survived the test of time - Tekken being one of them. It's a great fighting chronicle with some of the most interesting characters in their game roster. I've never played any of the original installments in the storyline until last year with Tekken 6 and I realized that I did, in fact, play the original game as a child. In terms of this new entry in the spin-off series, I'm not sure if I'll actually get it. Main entries and canonical installments provide more to the overall storyline; sometimes a spin-off game can be mostly just filler until the next "main" game is released.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 doesn't come out for a few months so I'll have some time to decide. However, I've heard some reports that Tekken 7 might already be in development. I may need to read a few more gaming websites and blogs to learn more. Until then, feel free to check out the official trailer to Tekken Tag Tournament 2 below (provided by Gamespot).
Horror movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. Half of them are innovative, positively scary and could become cult hits in my movie collection. The rest, on the other hand, are overtly cheesy, slapstick or even painful to watch all the way to the end. You can never tell what to expect when you head to a theatre and sometimes I've been letdown.
On today's post, I'm going to be writing a review about a horror movie that has most recently premiered in theatres last Friday. I had high hopes for this movie - did it meet my expectations (or at least the bare minimum)? It's the horror-comedy surprise hit: The Cabin in the Woods!
The Premise: We've heard the legend before. A couple of teenagers and/or college students head into the woods to party and enjoy a fun weekend in their lakeside cabin. They experience a little too much fun (i.e. sex, drugs, and alcohol), only to realize a mysterious and dangerous threat is lurking in the woods ready to pick them off one-by-one. The Cabin in the Woods revitalizes the familiar format and adds a new spin to it that could bring new light to a well-known urban legend.
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Planning on having a relaxing weekend, five students head off in their RV to a mysterious cabin in the woods. The group consists of alpha-leader jock Curt (Hemsworth), flirty Jules (Hutchinson), athletic intellectual Holden (McCrea), not-so-innocent Dana (Connolly) and perpetual stoner Marty (Kranz). After some swimming, drinking and a provocative game of truth-or-dare (including a strange make-out session with a wolf - yes, you heard me), the door to the cabin's cellar mysteriously opens on its own. Much to the dismay of Marty, the group heads deep into the cellar to explore the antiques that remain from the cabin's original owners. After reading from an ancient diary and reciting a few Latin incantations, zombies begin to crawl from the ground and are now on the hunt to finish off the students before morning.
Another interesting point to this story is the unexplained facility (and its employees) watching the students as they interact in the cabin. Without giving too much away to spoiler any significant part of the story, these employees have a bigger role than watching these five teenagers try to survive the night.
The Good: The Cabin in the Woods was surprisingly a good mix of horror and comedy. Monsters and scary sounds did tend to just pop up out of nowhere to scare the audience, but there were some truly terrifying moments that made me jump out of my seat. However, I think the comedy side of the film was the true standout piece from the film. At times it was witty and sarcastic - playing off the jokes that most people would have with a horror movie. It was very reminiscent of Scream (1996) and the self-aware and witty ensemble cast that had to survive the series of unfortunate events.
Another note of reference is that the film was co-written and produced by Joss Whedon (known for Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel fame). I mention this because having watched these two shows (among some of his other work), there's a specific style that Joss Whedon is known for and perfects. He is great at writing characters and making them unique. The writing for this movie was incredible - the characters were witty and developed from individualists before being molded into their typical horror movie archetype. Dialogue and a story arc are two key concepts for me when watching a movie, especially a horror movie. Some writers and directors choose to ignore both components in favour of a high body count or blatant nudity. Joss didn't skip out on the essentials for this movie and it shows in the final piece.
The last positive that I want to highlight about The Cabin in the Woods is the overall story and the climatic twist. From watching old horror movies, the idea of a monster and/or killer terrorizing students in the woods is somewhat dated and a concept that has been reused countless times. A great point for the film is that the story takes this one concept idea and develops it into a greater concept that would make the viewer rethink certain horror movie scenario.
The last positive that I want to highlight about The Cabin in the Woods is the overall story and the climatic twist. From watching old horror movies, the idea of a monster and/or killer terrorizing students in the woods is somewhat dated and a concept that has been reused countless times. A great point for the film is that the story takes this one concept idea and develops it into a greater concept that would make the viewer rethink certain horror movie scenario.
The Bad: I only have a few negatives about this movie. The first would be that at times, it did focus on the cheesy side of the horror movie. I do understand it was part of its 'self-aware' horror theme and it was making fun of itself in retrospect; however, some pivotal scenes were so overtly corny that all the viewer could do was to laugh and wonder if these characters actually uttered those lines. One scene in particular with Curt was absolutely hilarious in part to a movie defining move that his characters makes mid-way through the film (not going to spoil it).
The only other negative that I might have with the film is that the CGI special effects could have been touched up a bit. When the monsters started to attack the students and the scene relied on some computer-assisted special effects, this was the moment that need a more realistic enemy. The CGI quality was good for The Cabin in the Woods (don't get me wrong); though, it could have potentially used another week or so to fine tune the quality to its great potential.
The Results: 3.5/5!
Overall, I really did like The Cabin in the Woods. It was a great experience to watch in theatres and it offered me something that I hadn't seen in a movie for a while: a good horror-comedy. Horror movies are an acquired taste and sometimes they're made really good or really bad. Even though at times it could be embarrassing and too corny with its dialogue, it was funny when it needed to be funny - as well as scary as key points. I'd recommend any viewer to watch this movie because if you might be absolutely terrified of horror movies (surprisingly there's a lot of people!), this could be a good halfway point between a "scary" horror movie and a comedy to have a few laughs.
Agree or Disagree with this review? Share your thoughts below and leave a comment to let us know what you thought about the movie.
Hi Bloggers,
My self-imposed break is over and I'm starting to jump back into the fold with this site. It's been a crazy time but in the meantime, you can also check me out on Pinterest - among other social networks to keep in touch.
Hi Bloggers,
It's been a while since my last post, but I felt it was time to bring some life back to this site with more articles and relevant postings. What better way to start my first post then with an article about one of the hottest new movies in theatres right now? I read the book trilogy years
before the movie was released so I've had time to let the details sink
in. Translation: I was super excited on opening day! This review is going to be about the latest novel-to-film adaptation: The Hunger Games.
The Premise: In a post-apocalyptic future, the world (and its remaining citizens) has reformed into a new society where all of Panem is ruled by The Capitol, a dominating and eccentric city that oversees and controls the 13 Districts. After a failed rebellion against The Capitol and the destruction of District 13, The Capitol institutes an annual game where one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 to 18 are reaped from each of the 12 Districts into an unknown arena and must fight to the death - this event is called "The Hunger Games." As a result of competing and defeating the other 23 tributes, the winner (i.e. the Victor) will earn fame, fortune and power, along with food and treasures for their District while the remaining 11 Districts must live with less supplies and resources until the next year's Games.
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| The 24 tributes for the 74th Hunger Games |
Another year has gone and it's moments away from the next reaping for the 74th annual Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) is a 16 year old tomboy from District 12. She is skilled with a bow and continually looks after her mother and little sister Prim. After Prim is reaped into the Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place as District Twelve's Tribute Girl - thus preventing her little sister from imminent death. She is soon brought to The Capitol and is quickly thrust into training and her eventual debut to potential sponsors. Along with her is fellow District 12 Tribute Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson), former Hunger Games victor and current mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), and their eccentric Capitol escort Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks).
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| Katniss volunteers to save her sister from competing in the Games |
With an arena full of deadly traps, unknown possibilities and 23 skilled teenagers ready to take her down permanently, Katniss must figure out a way to survive the Games and earn her way back home. Will she be the Victor or will the cannon fire with her untimely defeat?
The Good: The Hunger Games tried a few innovative things when it edited its final version. For one, I loved at points in the film where you heard absolutely no background music (i.e. the Reaping) or all you heard was intense background music (i.e. the bloodbath). The music, or lack thereof, provided the much-needed tension and emotion at its most pivotal scenes. The audience viewer felt the despair of being at the reaping and the anticipation of possibly hearing your name or the intensity of running to the Cornucopia when the Games finally begun.
Another plus about the film is that its characters (and by extension actors) were assets to the success of this film adaptation. Performances from the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson brought such life to their characters on the big screen. Effie and Haymitch were needed comic-reliefs and the emotion Katniss brought will truly develop throughout the remaining two films.
My final positive about this film is the overall interpretation. Based on what the reader has learned from the books, it was nice to see everything adapted to the big screen. The colours, the outfits, scenery and essentially the dynamics of the arena were interesting to see from the outside. In the movie, the audience members get to see extended and new scenes from what happens in The Capitol while the tributes were competing in the arena. These new scenes offered depth into the external characters controlling the Games and what was happening behind-the-scenes, essentially like the process of a television show.
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The Bad: I only had a few negatives about the film. Since this is an adaptation from a book, the filmmakers couldn't include every single plot and character detail from the book. I only wish that in the scenes that they did include from the arena, training and media debuts, they would have gone into depth regarding the other tributes from the arena. In the book, Katniss barely knew anything about the tributes except for a few key details about (possibly) eight tributes. I would have liked to have learned more about the tributes - including some of their names. Also, further explanation about existing prominent characters would have helped as well. I'm not sure that Effie was properly introduced to the audience, you wouldn't have known her or her purpose in the movie unless you've read the novels.
The last negative are those small nit-picky details. For an extremely detailed book, there were some things missed during the editing process. Stuff like a missed cannon fire, not showing the entire "fallen list" in the sky, and little details like that. It didn't deter my feelings toward the movie but with my perfectionist attitude, it would have been nice if someone noticed the refined details. Also, I wish that there weren't too many movie camera angles. There was the Reaping scene and I felt a little dizzy at one point because the camera kept moving every 5 seconds. Luckily it didn't last the entire film but it did feel chaotic.
The Results: 4.5/5!
The Hunger Games was great - I absolutely loved every minute of it. To finally see the novel adapted to the big screen made things so incredible as a viewer. The acting and performances from certain actors provided life to their characters and helped to drive the movie further. Pivotal scenes like the Reaping and The Capitol were key landmarks to watch in the film. The smaller refined details didn't change my opinion for the final results, but it would have been a nice good-to-have in the final product. The only thing that would have possibly made the film perfect would have been adding more backstory to certain characters and details. It's a great movie to watch as a new person to the Hunger Games universe, but only previous readers easily understood elements of the film while new viewers would not have grasped plot/character elements unless an informed friend explained it to them later on.
Agree or Disagree with the review? Share your thoughts below and give your voice about what you about The Hunger Games.