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The Woods (2017)
Great effort by Suptic and the boys
The Woods is a short film by the YouTube channel Sugar Pine 7, arguably one the best channels out there. They make vlogs in a mockumentary-like way, which tend to reach some hilarious and creative peaks very often, putting them over many of the other vlogs or sketch focused channels.
With that said, I was really interested and excited when I heard that SP7 were making a short film, noting the creativity that they had displayed on their regular YouTube content and also on their more serious stuff on the same medium (for example the end of season one "Akrasia" and the sort-of short film "Death Of A Water Warrior"), showing that the team had/has some notable skills at compelling acting, writing and directing in a more dramatic manner, plus pulling off some amazing cinematography along the way.
With that being said, The Woods is, overall, what I expected. Letting me down in some aspects and really amazing me in others.
The film revolves around a couple of friends who are about to spend the weekend at a cabin in the hoods, thing that ends up being, let's say, pretty deadly.
I won't delve much into the plot, but it's a pretty standard slasher film, following quite firmly the genre tropes and mannerisms.
So, some of the problems that this films faces I'd say are purely related to the writing and some of the acting (there are also some noticeable flaws with the sound mixing and editing, but minor nonetheless). Because of it being a short film, there's obviously no way to fit in characters backstories in a deep way, but for some reason they try to do this with some characters (for example Suptic's character relation with his dad and also the relationship of Mimi and Elliott; on both instances you never quite get how the characters "feel" towards the problems that the film shows us).
In regards to the acting, James DeAngelis is pretty much the weakest (which is quite disappointing taking note of how compelling he was on the earlier mentioned Water Warriors video) along with some of Suptic scenes, with the most notable example being a scene were they're talking at a balcony, which just comes out as really awkward instead of emotional. But also on the note of acting, the absolute highlight is Mimi Torres, who despite having a not so well written character, she's emotionally compelling in every one of her scenes.
Now on to the positives, the production design of the film is brilliant, along with the cinematography and the special effects work done on some scenes. If it wasn't for some clunky sound design, this would've been a pretty masterful short film on a technical level.
In conclusion, this a really great first effort from Sugar Pine 7 on a production of this type, and I'm pumped to see what they can make in the future. Despite its flaws, this is a really enjoyable short and you should go and watch it.
6,5/10 - Now being honest, the only problem of the film was its lack of Autumn. I love you Autumn.
Star Wars: Battlefront (2015)
Underwhelming Mess
The hopes were high when a reboot of Batlefront was announced at 2013 E3, even more knowing that the game would be in charge of no other than DICE, the developers of the acclaimed Battlefield series, which inspired the original Star Wars Battlefront games. Sadly, DICE it's under EA's wing, which from a extremely objective point of view, could be seen easily as a non too consumer-friendly company. As the months and then years passed, the speculation and excitement was bigger and bigger from the fans, especially after the gameplay trailer shown at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year. Finally, the game came out; after having played over 20 hours, I can't deny that I've had an awesome time playing it, but the feeling about what could've been generates on me a sensation between rage and disappointment. On the graphics and sound department, the game is absolutely flawless (excepting the awful voice acting in most heroes and villains), the game looks and sounds like Star Wars and because of that, it's one of the most immersive game to date. Then, the gameplay; it's pretty "arcade" or casual, really easy to get into, something that could bother some "hardcore gamers", to me it's fine because keeps the accessibility that the original games had and almost every other Star Wars game have had. The main problem of the game comes when we dive into the content of the main game, a game that costs full retail price. The developers said some months before release that the game would be multiplayer focused, without a conventional campaign, the first bad sign. With that said, it can be expected that the game would have a really complete multiplayer experience (like every other modern multilayer based game), but what we get in Battlefront it's an extremely limited experience; the main game only come with four planets (Hoth, Endor, Tatooine and Sullust), with a new one being added later this month (Jakku), the number of planets was alarming and worried a lot of fans when it was announced, but then they (Dice) said that every planet would have different maps. Yes, in fact, every planet have different maps (something like 4 or 5 each), so, the main problem lies into the game modes. There are something like 10 game modes, which sounds like a decent number, the problem is that only two of those apply all the features that the games disposes (Heroes/Villains, vehicles, massive ground battles; basically what the original games were all about), but almost every other game mode (excepting Fighter Squadron and Heroes vs Villains) feels like just a fill in (like Blast, a painfully generic team deathmatch), modes that that end up as bland and too different from what people used to love about the older games, massive Star Wars battles (like the ones on the two "big" modes, Walker Assault and Supremacy). Summaryzing, we end up having: two "real" modes, whit four maps each (which are all pretty similar), 6 heroes and villains to pick (3 each), 4 ships in total, two ground vehicles (both from the empire side), 11 blasters, 25 "star cards" (perks and various equipment), an almost empty and lazy character customization and a laughable single player "experience"; plus, when you first boot up the game, you already have a text box on the main screen offering you the fifty dollar season pass (almost the same price of the main game), almost saying that you can't have the full experience without it. I could dive more into the game aspects, but you get my point. This game could've been one of the best game in history, but the developers messed up, the game had a rushed release, which causes an almost sickening dependence on future DLC. If you don't like Star Wars nor arcade/casual shooters, I wouldn't recommend this game to you, lacks on content and, consequently, replay-ability.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (2015)
An Excellent Continuation To A Master Piece
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is the last installment on the "Hotline Miami" franchise and is also the conclusion to the story from the first game. In this review I'll not reveal any spoiler. The main story revolves mainly on the acts after the events of the first game.On this game you can controls multiple characters,everyone with their one story or motivation,the first one is an actor of a "snob film",so every mission with that character is part of a movie based on the mass murder from the first game.Other group of characters are the "Fans",who are fanatics of the first game protagonist,they make the same kind of massacres to random gangs,using masks with the same style as the ones from the las installment. Other important characters are a detective and a writer,the detective is trying to solve the case from HLM1,but in the way he makes the same actions as the murderer.The writer,who is also a friend of the detective,is writing a book about the case,getting information all the way into the game. Other minor characters are: a guy from a national group who is against the Russian mafia,the Russian mafia leader,a Russian mafia member,a character from the first game who is also a "mask assassin" and a group of soldiers in Hawaii(1985). The gameplay on this game is practically the same from the first one,the campaign also consist on the same kind of levels with the same enemies. the difference between this game a the first one are mainly on the story,on this campaign you have a bunch of characters with different stories,not like the first one where you could play with only 2 on the whole game.Other thing is that the story is more clear and less cryptic than the first one,where you didn't had any clue about what was going on until 3/4 of the campaign and even there everything was blurry and ambiguous.Nonetheless,this story is equally involving and psychedelic,and even more brutal. This game is a perfect sequel to an extremely well done game,keeping the same "spirit" of the first one. If you are interested to read my thoughts on HLM!,please visit the IMDb page of the game. Thanks for reading! 10/10
Adventure Time: I Remember You (2012)
This episode made the brake in Adventure Time
This episode was the first that,to me,made the brake of Adventure Time being one "good Cartoon Network cartoon",to be a really good TV Show in general,a one who is going to be remembered as one of the best cartoon's in the whole history. With that being said,this episode is fantastic in so many ways,but I'm going to focus in only two,which are,at least for me,the most important of making this kind of episodes in this kind of shows,this episode have the comedic element(like in most of the other Adventure Time episodes) and that extremely powerful emotional element.The episode is very "avarege" the first half,but then in the second,exactly when Marceline starts two sing while the Ice King is goofing on the refrigerator,that moment is the one which marks the start of a beautiful achievement on the series,make the viewers brake in tears on a "kids cartoon". Overrall,this episode is going to be remember as one of the best in the show,with others like "Lemonhope" of "Finn the human/Jake the dog". Fantastic episode.10/10
Hotline Miami (2012)
One of the best games I have ever played
Hotline Maimi is a wonderful trip, like a good abstract movie or a bad ass surrealist book.I played the game for the first time on 2012 on my PC, I found it extremely intense and difficult, so after like 8 chapters I quit.This year, I bought myself a brand new PS4, which came with a bonus 10$ PSN card, so I said why not, lets try again this retro indie game,and hell that was a good choice.
The story of the game is a mystery from the begin to the end of the game, because that's the creator's intention, they want you to make the conclusions.
The game-play is mainly a brutal-gory top down massacre, that can be very painful and stressful at first, but with the "try and error" system, you end up controlling the levels in a easier way, but if you want to complete the game at the 100%(as me), you are going to need time and a lot of patience, mainly trying to get the A+ on each level.
The controls, at least on PS4, are very easy to handle, in my opinion, smoothers than the PC ones, although when you start, they take some time to handle, but with time there's no major difficult or struggle.
The graphics have a cool retro style, which ironically, look extremely sweet on HD. Beside this, the game have a very "intense" look, with each stage having a changing color background, which can get some people dizzy or with a headache(luckily that wasn't my case). All the gore of the game, combined with the retro aspect, make the perfect ambient to this non-stop killing festival.
The music is by far the best aspect of the game, having one of the best soundtrack that I've ever listened to, with house and electronic songs that fit absolutely perfect on each chapter, being the perfect addition to this thrilling adventure.
Overall, the game, at least to me, is an indie master piece, being today, one of the best games that the PS4 have to offer.Absolutely recommended if you like the retro style games, the ultra violent games or the good games in general.
10/10