Gotham Season One: Best and Worst

Just like with Arrow and The Flash here is a list of the highlights for Gotham.

Best

Gordon and Bullock: These two made one great team and I really like seeing them together solving the recent crime of the week. I like their banter, arguments, their different points of view on everything and I liked how they grow to trust one another over the course of the season.

Villain and Hero origins: It is great seeing a live action and different take on the origins of some of Batman's heroes and villains. Every week I eagerly await this show because I just want to see which villain or hero is next to be seen.

Alfred: Sean Pertwee has always been such a great actor and the perfect choice to play the younger, no nonsense Alfred who kicks some serious ass!
 
Penguin: The best young version of a Batman villain in Gotham; a highlight in every episode and a scene stealer!

Bruce and Selina: Another great team in Gotham, these two are just so great together. I like how they learn from one another because they are from different social classes and I enjoy the episodes when they partner up.

The Red Hood episode: One my favourite episodes of the season; the Red Hood Gang was really funny, I liked the Alfred subplot and I found it interesting that they treated the Red Hood itself as some kind of cursed item.

Great action moments: The fighting and shootouts have all been entertaining to watch, I'm glad they don't hold back on the violence too much.

The corrupt GCPD: It was always good throughout this season seeing Gordon stand up to the other cops, especially against Loeb towards the end of the season.

The original Ogre villain: The Ogre really worked as a villain; he had a great backstory, methods of killing (we didn't see any real bondage lol) and he was developed really well. Shame he was killed off at the end.

The Goat episode/Bullock Flashback: Bullock is one of my favourite characters and I liked that the episode focused on him. I also really liked the Flashback at the beginning because you can really see the difference between him then and now.

Gordon and Leslie: This relationship was a 1000 times better than when Gordon was with Barbara because there was no chemistry there. With these two however it worked so well and they come off as a far more convincing couple than Barbara ever did. You know I wouldn't be surprised if this was only supposed to be temporary but got so popular they kept them together because I have read many opinions on this and they want Barbara out of here!

Nygma's decent into madness: I know for the beginning of the season he was a side character who was also comic relief but near the end when he killed you can really see him taking the first step to a villain. I hope he actually becomes the Riddler during season two and maybe Kringle will join him as a Harley Quinn kind of companion.


Worst

Fish: Everyone knows I hate Fish because she was an original character that just did not work in Gotham. Jada Pinkett Smith is just a terrible actress, Fish herself is really stupid in the things she did and I hated that the series had to try and fit her into every plot. The few episodes near the end that didn't feature her proved that the show did not need her at all, I am glad she was killed off and I hope she never comes back.

Barbara: Now on to Barbara who is as stupid as Fish and I hated everything she did; from her forced lesbian subplot, drinking, drugs and I always got the feeling she blamed Gordon for everything even though it is all her fault. I know her faults is her crucible to move past but I said this about Arrow's Thea and Laurel and I am saying it now; I have no sympathy or care much for a character who goes through drinking and drugs as a crucible. It is a waste of time and the character (mostly women for some reason) act like complete bitches. Then of course Barbara killed her parents and tired to kill Leslie and I honestly don't know if they can bring her back from this so I hope she is gone forever like Fish.  

Montoya: The character who started Barbara on the path of ruin; she was incredibly annoying whenever she was on screen and I just hated that she kept going after Gordon in the beginning. I am just really glad that she was barely in the season so I hope the writers decided to drop her character.

The death of Maroni and the departure of Falcone: Two awesome characters and mob bosses whose exit from the show left something to be desired. First off I really liked Maroni because like Penguin he was a bit of a scene stealer whenever he was on screen but no he freaking had to be killed off by Fish at the end just because he said a few wrong words to her. Then there is Falcone that I think the show portrayed him as weaker as he should be; he is supposed to be the big boss of Gotham yet characters (like Fish) seem to one up him and then he just leaves at the end.

Butch and Dent were underused: Two great characters who should have had more screen time because Dent is one of my favourite Batman characters and Butch was way more interesting than Fish.

Selina in the finale: She is one of my favourite characters but the way she was in the finale was just plain annoying and it was thanks to bloody Fish! The gave her a stupid look and made her act too differently and it was probably all so they can portray Fish as this great leader.

Fish ruined the Dollmaker subplot: Colm Feore is one of my favourite actors and I was glad when he was cast as the Dollmaker, buy why oh why did his plot have to be a part of Fish's! He was really built up in the second episode but most of the time Fish hogged all the screen time doing her stupid mutiny with the prisoners which was just so boring.

There you have it a list of the best and worst of Gotham season one in my opinion. I probably missed a lot buy these are the ones that just really stood out as I was writing this list.

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;





http://screencapped.net/   

The Strain Season One Review

"Want to see what's under my hood?"

Here is a show I so wanted to do episode reviews but never got round to it, a Vampire/Horror TV series based on the novel by Guillermo del Toro. I immensely enjoyed Season One and the biggest pull for me was how it portrayed vampires; dark and disturbing, none of that Twilight s**t. I am a massive fan of vampire fiction in film and I find Twilight to be the biggest insult to it, in my opinion the best vampires are Bela Lugsoi, Gary Oldman and Christopher Lee - they did a good job of portraying Dracula has a tragic, mysterious figure yet still scary and powerful. Examples of really great modern telling's of vampires are Stakeland (one of my favourite films), John Carpenter's Vampires, Underworld and Blade to name a few. I am glad that The Strain decided to take the Blade route because I enjoyed Blade's version that Vampires are like a disease yet they are intelligent and have their own secret society. SPOILERS BELOW!

I just wanted to make this quick so to save time I will just list some of the good points and bad points of Season One and give an overall score at the end. I admit I am probably going to miss a lot of stuff that I want to mention, especially for the good points.

Good

The Characters: I honestly don't think there is a single character or casting that I dislike in this entire series, everyone from Eph to Nora, Eichhorst to Gus; they have just been  freaking awesome. A real standout goes to David Bradley as Abraham; the guy is the oldest character but he is such a badass with his silver sword and everyone turns to him for wisdom.

Doesn't hold back on the violence and gore: Either when it's fight the vampires or slicing them open we enjoy a gore fest! Anything lower than what they shown and I would have been disappointed.  

Character Deaths: Maybe not on the same level as Game of Thrones but this series isn't afraid to kill off some of it's characters even though most of them I admit aren't the main cast but are well developed secondary characters.

"The Creatures of the Night" episode: Probably the best episode of the season, it was when most of the main cast where trapped in a gas station surrounded by vampires. We got some great action and tension but what made this episode stand out was that it only focused on this setting and characters and didn't change to any other subplot. It is refreshing when a TV show does this, for example Game of Thrones ninth episode of a season does it because it gives it a chance to focus on one particular event.

The pacing/settings: I liked how we got to see NY slowly descend into chaos because of the outbreak and lack of phones/internet. It was portrayed really well and I liked how messed up the city got shown by the homeless, broken down streets, looting etc.   

Bad

Some characters where underdeveloped while others weren't compelling enough: I feel that some of the characters deserved a lot more screen time and backstory; for example the Ancients and their commandos where awesome but only served as a teaser for Season two. Then there is Palmer and his head of security Cross, I wanted to know more of the relationship between those two and maybe more of Palmer's history of how here turned to vampires to save his life. Then there where some characters who had too much screen time to develop their stories but they weren't that interesting like Nora and her mother or Eph's wife and the problems with they had and with her boyfriend, I still liked them though.

Some storylines didn't go anywhere or could have been expanded: I think the four survivor's on the plane where going to turn into Masters but instead they just turned into regular vampires. It was great seeing four from different walks of life deal with their symptoms but three of them just die shortly after. For example the wife of one of the survivors killed someone to feed her husband and I thought she would continue to do that for a awhile until she had to be stopped by the group but then she killed herself next episode.

There you have it, just a quick review of the first season because it's Easter Sunday and I'm mostly just relaxing. Only two for the bad list but that is because The Strain is a great TV series and I am looking forward to Season Two. I would have really liked to review each episode of Season One but with everything else I have to review now I just can't fit it in, luckily I think Season Two is airing when Arrow and Flash are on break so plenty of time for that. 

SCORE: 8/10 

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/ 

My Thoughts On The Walking Dead Season 5 And More

I don't review The Walking Dead as a whole series anymore and I chose not to review individual episodes however I thought I'd give my thoughts on season 5 by listing the good and bad points of it. SPOILERS.

Good

The Hunters: Now these where portrayed well in the TV series and their backstory was even improved upon and they lasted a whole lot longer than in the comics. The individual hunters where fleshed out a lot more, we had an awesome season premiere of Rick's group escaping their camp and we got some really gruesome cannibalism scenes from them later.

Father Gabriel: A character who like the Hunters was portrayed really well in the TV series because they barely changed his character and backstory. In my opinion when you want to change a character from source material to live action it only works with minor characters for example giving them more of a backstory. It worked with the Hunters and even the group Daryl was with for a bit in season 4 but it doesn't work with main characters; Andrea and the Governor for example. Andrea I just hated and found annoying (plus she was completely miscast) and while I really liked the Governor and David Morrissey they took away a lot of the sick and violent stuff he did in the comics.

Abraham's group/Flashback episode: Another example of characters portrayed well in live action and probably the best ones as well because they really look like their characters. One of my favourite episodes this season was when it focused on Abraham's group and his flashback. I am grateful to this episode too because it gave us a break from that so boring police arc.

The Alexandria Safe Zone: A part from a few changes that annoy me (the biggest one mentioned below) the safe zone really looks great. We also have quite a few major characters introduced from the comics who live in the safe zone like Aaron, Jessie and Pete. It seems to be sticking close to the source material and even when it hasn't it has still been entertaining such as when Glenn, Eugene and the others went to find parts for the solar grid.

Bad

The episodes with the Beth and the police: This just had to be in the bad list because it was just so damn boring! Probably the worst episodes of all in the whole series and it just wasted so much time. For starters I have never liked Beth's character; I never got why they downside Hershel's family and then replace Billy from the comics with another daughter. Next that woman who was in charge of the police (can't be bothered to remember her name) was just such a bad character, I mean they don't even make it clear if she is good or a villain. All the cops hate her, she lets them do all they want with patients, she imprisons Beth and Noah yet wastes so much time explaining her side of everything. To make matters worse they didn't even have a big shoot out between the two group; the policewoman and Beth just both did something stupid and got themselves killed.

Killing off Bob, Tyresse and Noah: What started off as a joke on the internet has become true in my opinion; the always seem to kill off the black guy. They built Bob up to be such a good character that it was such a shame that they used him to replace Dale's death in the series. I know Tyresse dies at the prison in the comics so they had to kill him sooner or later but I feel like they could have done a lot more with him and let him reach the safe zone. Then there was Noah who I felt they didn't even need to kill off despite it being a really cool and gruesome death scene. I just can't get why these great characters had to die when such an annoying bitch like Sasha is still around and I'll get to her now.

Sasha: Now this is one annoying bitch who I wish they wold just kill off already! I know she is a bit of a replacement for Andrea and is even taking over some of Micchone's comic scenes in the Alexandria Safe Zone but I think it hasn't worked. She just whines and complains about everything and I just find her rages when she attacks zombies to just be so bloody stupid. I just don't get the point of her character at this point because she just seems to hate everyone and everything and she outcasts herself too bloody much.

Replacing Paul Monroe with Deanna: Now this is something that really bothers me; in the comics the leader of the safe zone is an ex- politician named Paul Monroe. He is a really good character in my opinion and brings a great backstory about the safe zone where he was forced to exile it's founder and friend Davidson. However we don't get that in the TV series instead he is replaced for no apparent reason at all by Deanna who is just such a poor substitute. Her recording all her meetings is just pointless and I just find her to be really unlikeable, weak and incredibly stupid; she just doesn't feel like she could be a leader of a community.

No weather changes: This is actually for all seasons but I am really annoyed that it is always summer in the Walking Dead when they have to battle all seasons, like the winter, in the comics.

The Finale: The parts with Morgan, Daryl and Aaron where good as well as the ending with Pete but besides that it was such a disappointment for a feature length episode. I just hate everything Sasha does such as lying with those walkers to her confrontation with Gabriel; are they trying to make us feel sorry for her because it is not working, they have just created an incredibly annoying character. What I also hated was that they didn't kill Deanna off and now we have to suffer with her in season 6 now; why did they have to make her husband be the one killed by Pete? I just don't get why they had to replace Paul with her! It just didn't feel like a finale to me because it didn't feel like anything major happened, plus we didn't even get a major character death or even that Nicholas who so deserves it.

There you have it just a few good and bad moments that really stood out for me this season. I really do like The Walking Dead but my biggest problem is that it changes too much from the comics and when it creates it's own original material it is usually boring. Here is a few examples from each season after one (that season only had six episodes anyway):

Season Two: The entire season set in Hershel's farm, spending ages discussing whether or not to kill their captive, Andrea and that zombie in the well.

Season Three: Andrea being with the Governor because she basically does nothing and this replaces the awesome arc in the comics when Rick is captured by the Governor, introducing Tyresse now when it should have been in last season and cutting out a lot of the violent things the Governor does.

Season Four: The sickness lasts a bit too long, baby Judith surviving the Governor's attack when in the comics her death haunts Rick and Carl for ages, the group splitting up was dragged on for too long and felt like filler.

Despite these examples I still really like The Walking Dead TV series but there are a lot of characters and events I want to see from the comics, Negan and Jesus for example (no spoilers but those who have read the comics will know what I am talking about!)       

Arrow Season Three: Nanda Parbat

So freaking awesome!!

When Malcolm is captured by the League of Assassins, Oliver considers saving him for Thea's sake. Meanwhile Felicity fears for Ray when he becomes more and more obsessed with finishing the ATOM suit.

What an awesome episode, this one aired in America just before a three week break (hope we don't have that over here) and left the audience with such an unexpected cliff hanger. First off I actually really liked Laurel, Thea and Nyssa for the way they dealt with Sara death in their own way. Laurel for example did let her emotions get the better of her and attacked Malcolm, sure that was a stupid thing to do but I think she knew that and I liked her bonding with Nyssa over Sara's laugh. Thea betrayed Malcolm to the League and told Laurel and Nyssa the truth but it was good seeing her admitting that she did feel guilty after having a great moment with Roy. Just thought I'd point out that it was cool how they went back to Roy killing the cop in season two and his guilt over it, until this episode I thought he just moved on. Finally there is Nyssa' whose feelings for Sara has probably now cost her being the Heir of the Demon and I am interested to know how this turns out however I do hope she finally moves on from Sara and hating Malcolm soon so they can add something else to her story. Malcolm was also great in this episode because of how he had to deal with everyone against him (except Oliver it seems), I liked how he never took Laurel seriously in their fight and it shows how dangerous Ra's actually is since Malcolm was afraid. There was a lot of awesome action sequences from all these characters as well; especially Diggle and Oliver's assault on the League, however I am a bit disappointed in that because the episode was a bit slow paced so we only got the last five minutes of the episode with it and after so much hype.

Just like the good old days of the beginning

Now as for Ra's offer to Oliver that was something I really didn't expect and even though I think Oliver will turn him down he will definitely be considering it next episode, he can't just turn it down straight away. You know I have read some people complaining that Arrow is being too much like Batman because of this Ra's story adaptation but since the writers have confirmed there will be no Batman in this I praise them for weaving it in the Arrow story so well and they do put their own original elements in it as well. Also I am positive now a Lazarus Pit exists because of I don't think that was just any pool Ra's was in at the beginning and how he said he met a magician all way back in the 1850!! You know I am really liking Matt Nable as Ra's al Ghul because the guy is just so imposing whenever he is on screen, you can really feel that this guy is the most dangerous man in the world. I just hope that from this point on we see a lot more of Ra's and that he takes a more active role in the story but since we are over the half way point in season three I'm sure we will.

"Your father is never going to care about Sara's death so............GET OVER IT!"

As for everything else Diggle defiantly deserves some praise because after not being that active the last few episodes he was right in the thick of it now. He had some really great talking moments with Oliver such as in the club or when they where captured and I am so glad he went with Oliver to save Malcolm. When that happened I just thought "Good old Dig; the constant rock of the group who will always have Oliver's back", luckily I hear there is a Suicide Squad episode soon and that always focuses on him more. Now we also get the big reveal of Ray as ATOM and that suit looked so freaking awesome!!!! I just really love that design and it was so epic when he flew; I know people may say that it is a knock off Ironman but we haven't seen what it can do yet and for all we know it could get his shrinking powers soon (seen him and Felicity in a Flash trailer so maybe then?). I liked the moments with Ray and Felcitiy as well because I have always enjoyed the chemistry between them (I prefer them two together than her and Oliver) and they brought in some much need humour. Finally while the Flashbacks where short and not too important they where not the big focus anyway and they where entertaining enough.

"Since there is no Batman you will have to do"

Overall this was an epic episode that was only brought down by it's slow pace and the Diggle and Oliver attack on the League didn't pay off as much as I wanted it to. Plus I do hope Thea's hatred of Malcolm doesn't last for too long because even though it will be understandable that she doesn't forgive him I just want her to work him again like before.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: ATOM!!!!!!!!!!!
                   Laurel, Thea and Nyssa subplots
                   Malcolm and Diggle played an important role
                   Ra's al Ghul continues to be awesome

Let - Downs: Slow pace
                      Oliver and Diggle attacking the League could have been longer

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/        

Gotham Season One: Pilot

It turns out Screencapped (The awesome site that lets me uses their screenshots) now has Gotham on there so I'll start now and hopefully be up to date on it soon like The Flash. Like with all of my TV series reviews this is an in depth look at the episode and meant for those who have already seen it.

The episode begins with a young Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) stealing a wallet and milk from people on the street and feeding it to her cat in an alley but quickly gets out of sight when she hears someone coming. Thomas and Martha Wayne are with their son Bruce (David Mazouz) but are soon shot dead by a masked thief while Bruce looks on. Detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) and his new partner James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) arrive at the scene and Gordon promises Bruce to find the murderer, Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee) then collects Bruce. Later two other detective from Major Crimes Renee Montoya (Victoria Cartagena) and Crispus Allen (Andrew Stewart-Jones) want to take the case from them but an annoyed Bullock refuses.

"You like bats kid?"

Gordon and Bullock begin to rough up some of Gotham's criminals to find answers to the murder and even get coroner and forensics operative Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) to examine evidence at the scene. They then go to question underworld mobster Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), who is employer of Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), but they still get no answers. Their investigation eventually leads them to the residence of Mario Pepper who resists arrest and is killed in the struggle. While searching his apartment they find a necklace that resembles the one stolen from Martha Wayne and the case is apparently solved. Later however Cobblepot tells Montoya and Crispus that Pepper was framed for the murder, Montoya later confronts Barbara Kean (Erin Richards), Gordon's fiancé, about this and then Gordon himself.

"You'll find I shoot first and ask questions later"

Gordon suspects corruption in the police department after questioning Pepper's wife and then decides to question Fish but is knocked unconscious along with Cobblepot who is found out as a snitch. Bullock tires to save him but fails and he and Gordon are almost killed until they are saved by Don Carmine Falcone (Carmine Falcone) the boss of Fish and who doesn't want cops killed. Falcone orders Gordon to kill Cobblepot as a test of loyalty but Gordon refuses to go through with it and fakes shoots Cobblepot instead, telling him to never come back to Gotham and throwing him in the river. Gordon then goes to Bruce's manor to tell him that Pepper was framed but he will find the killer one day. The episode ends with Cobblepot emerging from the river and killing a fisherman.

Now that is one scary ass butcher

When I first heard that they where going to make a series set in Gotham that didn't actually have Batman I admit I thought it was a bit of a gamble. Batman is one of the greatest and iconic superheroes ever created so this series had to be interesting enough if it focuses on other characters. Fortunately after watching this Pilot I have to say that it is a gamble that paid off because they sure did make it work. Gotham is almost like one of the numerous cop shows that are on TV right now the biggest difference of course is that the audience will feel familiar with this because it is based on existing material but what is great about it is that it is a take on Gotham just after the murders of the Wayne's which not many Batman comics have touched upon.

"Got to think of a good thief name......"

The events of this episode was really good because just like mostly every Pilot episode it more establishes the setting and introduces the main characters more than anything else. This of course introduces younger versions of the characters we know from the comics like Gordon a young detective who still has a sense of justice in this corrupt city and then there's the Penguin one of the most powerful mob bosses in the comics but he is barely up the ladder of power right now. It also does a great job at showing us the corruption of the police department and how unpleasant the streets of Gotham is; its got a kind of neglected, gritty feel to it. It also does an interesting take on the Wayne murders because as shown in numerous retellings in the comics, and Batman Begins, their murders are done just by a lowly criminal. However in this it introduces an overarching mystery that will carry on in future episodes that may involve the police department and mafia.

Your lucky it was Gordon, Cobblepot

I think we got an excellent cast here such as Gordon and Bullock because I really like that they are opposites and the way they interact with each other. Bullock is corrupt and accepts it because he thinks that's how it will always be but Gordon always tries to fight it and actually wants to make a difference in Gotham. The young Bruce and Selina are good too, these are two really good young actors and I hope they become more involved in the story and even meet each other later. It was also good seeing Nygma in this as well, it was only briefly but it was funny seeing him using riddles even to his co - workers right now. There are two standouts in this and that is Alfred and Cobblepot, they where the best characters introduced in the Pilot. First Sean Pertwee is an awesome actor and I have seen him in a lot of films and he brings a uniqueness to Alfred, more no nonsense and wilfulness. For example when Bruce is on the roof of the manor trying to face fear Alfred shouts up "get your bloody arse off that roof" I never would have expected that from the Alfreds I have seen before. Then there is Cobblepot who is just so well acted and really feels like a younger version of the Penguin. The guy is calculating, sadistic and I like the way he speaks as well, it comes off as nervous and really confident at the same time. I also like how he hates the name Penguin right now because its an insult to him but I guess eventually he makes it his own.

At the very least you got good taste in stage performers

However there are a few characters I hated and the first is Fish Mooney; she is an original character created for the series and I just cannot stand her at all. The acting of the actress who plays her is just poor, her voice for one just sounds stupid, and I find her character just uninteresting and unnecessary and I find her attitude just damn annoying. She's probably really only in the show so that Penguin might kill her and take over her turf and I hope that doesn't take too long. Then there are the two Major Crime detectives who are just p***ks for the sake of being p***ks. I don't see any relevant reason for those character to be there at all, especially that prying Montoya whose a real b***h, they suspect Gordon of being corrupt when he makes it so obvious to anyone that he is the only honest cop on the force.

"Riddle me this!"

I guess something I just want to nit pick at, and this doesn't lower the score, is that I think they made it too obvious to who the future villains are. For example the daughter of Mario Pepper is called Ivy Pepper, if she is based on Poison Ivy from the comic (since we also saw her with plants its highly possible) then call her by her actually real name which is Pamela Isley and let the audience figure it out. I guess them having Edward say riddles counts as well because it should have been more subtle. An example when they did it right is when Fish was watching a comedian in her club and I was like "is that the Joker?" but they don't tell you, it was a nice reference for the audience to spot.

How it all started

Overall this is an imaginative retelling of the origins of Batman and the villains he faced from the perspective of one of Batman's closest allies. This is like a cop/detective drama but it defiantly has a comic book feel to it and I am interested to see how they keep this working. It had some great action scenes, character interaction and keeps your drawn in with the conspiracy of the Wayne murders and police corruption.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Great take on the origin of Batman                 
                   Younger versions of the comic book characters
                   They really made the city of Gotham come alive

Let -Downs: Fish and Major crimes are just annoying
                     Should have let you guessing more about the villains

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/   

Film Review: Battle Royale

Finally thought I'd get round to reviewing one of my all time favourite Japanese film and manga/comic adaptions; Battle Royale. Very minor SPOILERS because this is just a quick review, a break from Resident Evil you can say.

Battle Royale is about how the Japanese Government have given up on their youth after 800,000 students walked out of school and created the BR act. The BR act allows the government to chose a random class and pit the students in a game against each other called Battle Royale where they have to fight to the death. They are stranded on a vast island with a wide range of weapons and are equipped with collars around their necks that will explode if there are any who refuse to compete or if there is no winner after three days. The story follows Shuya Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda) two students who wish to get off the island but must face their fellow students and their former teacher Kitano (Takeshi Kitano) who is running this year's Battle Royale.

One of my favourite film villains of all time!

As many of you already know Battle Royale is based off the manga of the same name by Koushun Takami. The manga is known for it's extreme violence but for touching on the themes of love, psychology and loyalty to name a few. It raises the question of what we would do in the same situation, especially if we where 15 year old students as well? I have read the manga and while I can say there are quite a few differences the film is still a near perfect adaption and the only real major cuts where some character back story and small events.

Yep I'm having nightmares tonight

We have some great cast of characters in this film and almost all of them are from the manga but before I go on I'll just get it out of the way that the acting is some of the best I've seen, you've got some great protagonists and even a lot of the support cast is great as well. However I think what makes Battle Royale stand out is its great antagonists because of how damn psychotic they are. My favourite being of course the mute Kazuo Kiriyama (Masanobu Ando), the guy just look really cool his portrayal is creepy. Some of my favourite scenes in the film is when he attacks the main characters and his theme plays in the background at the same time. Tatsuya Fujiwara and Aki Maeda are two great leads and I really like their refusal to play the game and that they don't waver in that conviction; they don't become like Kiriyama. However that is left to Shogo Kawada (Taro Yamamoto) a good guy but a badass who doesn't mind the killing and it's interesting learning how he fits into the story. Lastly quick mention to two other great characters; Kuo Shibasaki who plays secondary antagonist Mitsuko Souma and Takeshi Kitano who plays the creepy Kitano.

"You two where so damn unlucky with your weapons"

Now as for the action in this it is something else; the amount of gore and action in this is really high so it's not for younger audiences but it is dialled down a bit from what I have seen in the manga. The action in this is all really fun to watch as well, it's so fast paced and choreographed so well that wish it didn't have to end. I myself really like it when films don't hold back like this because I hate censorship I films and hate it when people complain about the level of violence, which was some of the criticism that this film received.

"That's what you get for interrupting me!"

I guess there is that much else to say about this film maybe that's because its an adaption and the only thing you have to really say if it did a good job to the source material or not (it did). As proof that this film is probably one of the greatest creation of all time just look at the legacy it has left; Quentin Tarantino has said that this was the one film he wished he could have directed and it influenced Kill Bill. Then there is Hunger Games and I don't care what anyone says the s**t books and the films are nothing more than watered down rip - offs of Battle Royale!!

"Hopefully nobody will attack me when I'm this injured"

Overall this is one of my favourite films or all time and I recommend it to everyone not just anime/manga fans.

SCORE: 10/10

You can find all of the great screenshots I used right here;

http://ladymanson.com/ShadowofReflection/home.php

Film Review: Resident Evil Extinction

On to the third now and like before MAJOR SPOILERS.

Extinction takes place an uncertain amount of time after the Raccoon City Incident and despite their best efforts Umbrella could not stop the halt of the the T - Virus. It has now spread throughout the entire world infecting humans, animals and plants and because of the latter the environment on Earth has mostly turned in to desert wastelands. Umbrella however have not given up on their experiments and Dr. Sam Isaacs (Iain Glen), head of Umbrella's North American underground facility, is determined to recapture Alice for his research. Alice herself has been in hiding since acquiring her new powers and just wanders the wasteland while evading Umbrella. Meanwhile a small convoy of humans are making their why across America just trying to survive (inspired by Mad Max 2) led by Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and accompanied by new and familiar faces such as Carlos Oliveria (Oded Feher) and L.J. (Mike Epps).

Best film characters right here!

Just like the last film Paul Anderson writes and produces this one while it is directed by someone else however unlike the last one I know the director of this one; Russell Mulcahy who directed Highlander one of my most favourite films. I really like his style because it involves a lot of a lot of moving camera and crane work which is how he got those beautiful location shots in Highlander. Also while the last film was heavily influenced by the Resident 2 and 3 games this one decided to have an original plot like the first film. Not only that but they destroyed the world with the T - Virus something which the games didn't do yet. While this is a bold new direction it also means that the films after this one will have to have mostly original plots as well because they could hardly copy the games much after this.

Ass - Kicking Alice time to shine

We got a good cast of characters with Alice returning again and kicking ass like she always is however even though she is important in the story (with Umbrella trying to catch her and cloning her) I don't find her as interesting as Claire and her convoy. I find that the exciting bits of the film are when it focuses on the other characters and even though she joins them half way through, even of she didn't I wouldn't really mind. Also returning is Carlos Oliveria and L.J. and since they are two of my favourite film characters I am glad; as I said before I am grateful that Carlos has such an important role in the films and this one is no different and L.J. has a lot more serious role now which is great to see.

Bad place to be Isaacs 

For the new characters we have Claire Redfield and I was looking forward to seeing her because, like Jill, she is one of m favourite game characters. She takes more of a leadership role in this which is different from how she is in the games but it works and Ali Larter was a really great choice. We also have Sam Isaacs is a great primary antagonist in this and is obviously a replacement for William Birkin since they missed on their chance to use him however Isaacs is cold, calculating and merciless and serves as a great final boss (more on that later). Last from the video games is Jason O'Mara as Albert Wesker and he is a lot different from his video game counterpart; he is chairman of Umbrella now and only appears as holograms when Umbrella has their board meetings. It is a drastic change and even though I really wish he had a more prominent role I did quite like it, Jason O'Mara is a great actor (seen him in a few other stuff) so I have no complaints about the casting I just think he was underused. We also have a wide range of characters as part of Claire's convoy and I really like them all and they are what makes me like the parts with the convoy the best. Oh yeah really good seeing Linden Ashby in this film as a member of the convoy, I don't really see him in anything else but I remember him best as Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat, a great Paul Anderson film :)

Where your signature crossbow Claire?

Now on to the monsters and I was really pleased to see that they upped up the gore a lot in this one; finally we see blood coming out of zombies when they are shot, finally we see their body parts crushed! They also look a lot better as well because the zombies in the previous films really looked to normal for my taste but they looked more dried up and deformed now and probably because of the change in the environment. Besides zombies we also have the Crimson Heads from the games; they are not intelligent zombies but ones that are a lot more hyper, stronger and aggressive and I think they where perfect in this. The sequence where they fight the group is my favourite part in the film, it is just so brutal seeing them using their fists, running and biting all over the place. For animals we once again have the zombies dogs and I have always liked them but we also have the crows which I admit I am not that bothered about. Sure their scene was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (awesome film) and sure their attack on the convoy was really cool but honestly who really cares about the crows from the game?

What a why to go out

Now for the final boss of the film and something I was looking forward to along with Nemesis; Tyrant! Isaacs is the one who transforms into the Tyrant after overdosing on the T - Virus and it's Anti - Virus and I have to say it did not disappoint. It looked really cool with it's grey skin, long clawed arm and that fact that Isaacs was still in control. This Tyrant, in my opinion, is a cross between the Tyrant from the original game and the Tentacle Tyrant from Dead Aim and I have always liked both. The action scenes when he was fighting against Alice was just great however I did feel that it was a bit too short and it's death at the hands of the laser grid was kind of rushed and lacklustre.

This looks kind of familiar?

As I said some of the best parts in the film where the attack of the Crimson Heads, final battle with the Tyrant and Claire's convoy but I also liked scenes such as Carlos's death scene because that was really badass and the beginning where Alice runs into that family of crazies. However I did not like that they had so many references from the first film in here like modelling the underground to look like the mansion or putting in the laser grid just to finish of the Tyrant, it was just too much. I do really like the story overall but I just didn't get the point of testing all the Alice clones in that survival training ground at all and they never really explain why they did it.

Sorry Stevie

Overall Extinction is my favourite entry in the film franchise because I think they improved a lot from the previous films. I think the bright, desert locations was a great choice and was really different from the underground lab from the first and the dark city in the second. Plus the convoy parts are the best parts in the film and I think that's because its fun to watch, it has the best characters and events with them.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Claire's convoy/cast of characters
                   A higher level of gore
                   Like the wide, bright locations

Let - Downs: Alice seemed more like a side character in this to me
                      Too many references to the first film
                      Once again they don't have a wide variety of monsters

You can find all of the great screenshots I used right here;

http://ladymanson.com/ShadowofReflection/home.php

Film Review: Resident Evil Apocalypse

Time for a review of the second Resident Evil film!

Resident Evil Apocalypse is set after the events of the first film and the T - Virus has made it's way out of the Hive and has now infected most of the population of Raccoon City. The Umbrella corporation has locked the city down, evacuated their most important personal and are even taking advantage the viral outbreak to test their latest Bio - Weapon; Nemesis. Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory), a disgraced member of the elite S.T.A.R.S unit with a grudge against Umbrella, tries to survive in the zombie infested city. Meanwhile Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr), an Umbrella commando, is trying to combat the zombie menace with his squad but soon begins to question the corporation he works for. In the midst of this former Umbrella employee Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens after being captured at the end of the first film and finds out that Umbrella as done something to her.



It would be so cool to be there right now

Unlike the first film this one is directed by Alexander Witt and I admit that I have never heard of him before this film however it is produced and written by Paul Anderson so it is still in a similar style like the first film. The most noticeable difference however between the first film and Apocalypse is that this one borrows heavily from the game source material, for which I am glad they did. Writing a great original story in the Resident Evil story is a good move if it worked (and it sure did in my opinion) but sooner or later it had to stick more closely to the games and that is what Apocalypse does. It's plot is influenced mainly from the second and third games but it also uses elements from CVX, three of the best games in the series. I do really like the story that have here because it is so close to RE3 but they nicely fitted in the events from the first film.

"Time to blow some zombie heads off!"

For the location of Raccoon City I have to admit that is where it deviates quite a bit from the games; Raccoon City is supposed to be a lonely, simple mountain community surrounded by a dense forest. They chose Toronto for the film and it is a little too modern looking and has a too many skyscrapers, going on about the location might be nit picking but I have played the games too many times not to notice. However to do have many great inner city locations that suited the film; the gothic style church, the school and they did a really excellent job in making the streets look ruined, looted and devastated. Plus I read that is was Milla Jovovich's idea that their be a heat wave in the film so Alice and Jill can have a more practical reason for their outfits; my thanks to her!

One of my favourite Resident Evil characters ever right here!

As for the cast it is almost completely new seeing how that Alice is the only returning character from the previous film. Firstly there is Oded Fehr as Carlos and I have to say I am really glad that they gave Carlos such a large role; those who read my Resident Evil rants know that I hate that most Resident Evil game characters are being pushed aside in favour of Chris and Leon (both of whom I think have been used a main characters too often). Carlos is one of the characters I wanted to see more of in the games so being a main character for the film franchise is the next best thing for me. Also Oded Fehr is probably one of my all time favourite actors who I think is perfect in the role; they dial down his "ladies man" personality from the game but in return he is a badass soldier and I read that he did most of his marital arts moves and gun handling himself.

If I saw Nemesis walking down the street I'll be like "Hell no!" and gotten out of there

Next we have Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine and again an excellent cast choice, she even looks a lot like Jill and wears her outfit from 3. She had a really large role in this film for which I am glad for but I kind of wish it was even bigger if that was possible. I really like Milla Jovovich returning in this and she even brings some great action sequences because of her heightened abilities but she overshadows Jill's character when she joins the main group. I'm a bit in two minds about these characters; I really like Alice but at the same time I wanted Jill to be the main leading role throughout the entire film. Maybe that is because Jill is one of the characters from the games I really wanted to see in the films but she has to compete with Alice in this.

We're back b***hs!

Now a complete standout in this film for me and who has become one of my favourite Resident Evil characters (film and games) is Mike Epps as L.J.. His character is just so funny and so likable throughout the entire film, every scene he is in is great and steals most of them in my opinion. We also have Thomas Kretschmann as Major Timothy Cain (only named in the novels) an Umbrella Security operative who is in charge of handling the Raccoon City incident. Cain is definitely the villain that was needed for the film because that is what the first one truly lacked (as I mentioned in my review of it).

"Even if where supposed to just be a medical company, lets slaughter all these civilians" 

Gone on about the characters for quite a bit but just a quick mention of the supporting ones. We also have Raz Adoti as Peyton Wells another S.T.A.R.S member, who is really great in the film but looks so much like Kenneth Sullivan from the games I wonder why they didn't just name him that. There's also Jared Harris and Sophie Vavasseur as Charles and Angie Ashford; I've always liked Jared Harris so his great in this as the T - Virus creator and Sophie Vavasseur also did a good job, I even like the nod to the Ashford family from the games even if they are two original characters. Lastly we also have Zack Ward as Nicholai Ginovaef (interesting to see a good Nicholai!) and Sandrine Holt as Terri Morales who has a great small role. All in all I have been pleased with the casting for the film and its characters.

"You looking at me?"

As for the monsters I am really glad that the Licker has made a return and that there are even more of them this time around. They are done this time in CGI but it is way better than what they used for the first film, Lickers are my favourite RE monster so glad there back. However once again I wished they could have included more monsters from the game like Hunters, Brain Suckers, the Mutated Plants etc. what sets the Resident Evil game apart form all others in the zombie genre is that its not just about the zombies, its about the dangerous and creative creatures you come across too. The zombies and zombie dogs are back in all their glory from the first film but also again there is a severe lack of gore; even when a zombie gets shot (even in the head) there really is no splatter.

Run Alice!

Now for the most iconic creature in the RE universe, Nemesis, I have to say that it could have been slightly better. I really liked the look of Nemesis in this film, I think the make - up and the suit are all impressive, however it doesn't seem that imposing like it was in the game. The main reason for this is because they made him rely too much on weapons throughout the film like his rail gun; unlike the game Nemesis does not use any of his tentacles concealed underneath his coat. Before I saw this film but after I heard that Nemesis was in it I was so looking forward to seeing Brad Vickers's famous death captured in live action and I was disappointed that not only Brad wasn't in it they didn't even use anyone else to have a sharp tentacle shoved through their throat. Plus I think the final show down between Nemesis and Milla was a bit because it was just hand to hand combat. I did like the Nemesis in this it just wasn't exactly what I thought it would be.

Oh Yeah!

Overall this is a great squeal to the first film even though I really wish that it could have been even longer like two hours because we could have had some more iconic scenes form the games.

Highlights: Characters/Cast (Jill, Carlos, L.J.)
                    Story (Influenced by the games more)
                    Locations

Let-downs: Nemesis could have been a bit better
                    Needed more gore and monsters from the games
                    A longer run time to fit in more events from Raccoon City

SCORE: 8/10

You can find all of the great screenshots I used right here;

http://ladymanson.com/ShadowofReflection/home.php