Paddington 2

As with the first Paddington film, I will admit to not seeing Paddington 2 when it first released, mainly due to how silly it looked in the marketing. After actually watching the original recently, I found myself eager to watch the sequel at the next opportunity, enough to actually track down and read a library copy of the original A Bear Called Paddington book in the interim. I can not only speak more confidently of the first film’s faithfulness to the source material, I can also say that I enjoyed the second film, which I rented through Amazon Prime Video, even more than its predecessor.

Second Look - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PS5)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.

Following the mixed reception of Resident Evil 6 (RE6), in spite of its high sales, Capcom realized it needed a change in direction going forward with the franchise, which included cancelling a sequel meant to continue in RE6’s footsteps. Jun Takeuchi, who had experience with the series since the original Resident Evil (RE1) and produced Resident Evil 5, took over the project and helped brainstorm ideas for the next game, which led him to an isolated setting in the vein of both RE1 and The Evil Dead. As development proceeded with this concept in mind and under the direction of Koshi Nakanishi, which included a first-person viewpoint, the team created the RE Engine (“Reach for the Moon” Engine) for smoother next-gen game development and later made the game VR-friendly. Despite some misgivings from fans based on the Beginning Hour demo, the final 2017 release, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (RE7), received near-universal praise and sold well enough to warrant a sequel of its own, Resident Evil Village.

As I’ve mentioned in other Resident Evil (RE) reviews, RE7 was my formal introduction to the series after a couple false starts. Despite some flaws and my general aversion to horror games, I loved it and played it multiple times across both the original release and the later Gold Edition release, which has all of the DLC on the disc (sans Not A Hero). My journey through all of the pre-Winters RE games inevitably led me to another replay of RE7, this time through the free PS5 upgrade. I had always viewed RE7 as one of my favorite survival horror games and, perhaps as expected, this latest playthrough didn’t really change that. What did change, however, was my appreciation for this entry’s accomplishments in light of the rest of the series’ ups and downs. As a consequence, however, some of its flaws did stick out a little more.

Second Opinion - Logan (+ Logan Noir)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Logan and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

As the X-Men film series started going beyond the original trilogy, it was natural that the fan favorite Wolverine would receive his own solo films with the rough X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the improved The Wolverine. This would be later followed up on with the R-rated third film, Logan, and although Deadpool’s own R rating did not factor into Logan’s, Deadpool’s success paved the way for further R-rated superhero films in the Hollywood landscape, as well as Logan’s own critical and financial success. While I had barely any familiarity with the X-Men films on my initial viewing, extending only to the first two Deadpool films and maybe the original X-Men film, I thought it was one of the best comic book films I had ever seen, enough to also watch the alternate version, Logan Noir. During my recent deep dive of the X-Men films in release order, I found it interesting to rewatch Logan again in the context with the rest of the series, finding it to still be just as good as I remembered.

Second Look - Transformers: The Last Knight

Note: This review contains spoilers for Transformers: The Last Knight.

When I first watched Transformers: The Last Knight (TLK), I was able to view it in a theater one day early as part of AMC’s Optimus Prime Time event, which included a special lanyard and a T-shirt, both of which I still own even after having since downsized my Transformers collection. My original review of the film, which I wrote that night and posted the following day, was a lot more positive, likely influenced by having seen it in a theater that appeared to be filled with other Transformers fans. After having rewatched Age of Extinction (AOE), I decided to give The Last Knight another shot to round out my reevaluation of the live-action films prior to Bumblebee. This time, however, my view on it is a lot more negative.

Stubs - Batman vs. Two-Face

Batman vs. Two-Face (2017) Voices of Adam West, Burt Ward, William Shatner, Julie Newmar. Directed by Rick Morales. Screenplay by Michael Jelenic, James Tucker. Based on Batman by William Dozier, Bob Kane, Bill Finger. Produced by Michael Jelenic. Run time: 72 minutes. United States. Color. Animated. Action. Superheroes. Direct to Video.

For DC and Warner Bros, Batman is a franchise that keeps on giving and one that they keep asking to give. Following the success of Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016), Warner Brothers Animation decided to go back again to the world of the 1960s Batman TV series created by William Dozier based on the comic book created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This would prove to be the last time they could with Adam West, as this production wouldn’t be released until some four months after his death.

Wonder (2017)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Wonder (2012).

As part of an effort to read more books, I read the 2012 middle grade novel Wonder by R. J. Palacio and, while not perfect, I found myself hooked. Soon after I finished the book, I felt like watching the 2017 film adaptation from Lionsgate and found a free on-demand listing. As expected, the film takes liberties with the source material to help suit the new medium. However, I still found the adaptation well-crafted and just as worthwhile as the book.

Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition

When you’ve spent about a decade developing games in one genre, making a dramatic shift to another can invite a lot of risk. Guerilla Games certainly had their work cut out for them when they took such a risk, transitioning from the FPS-centric Killzone franchise to an open world game, Horizon Zero Dawn. Not only did crafting a whole new world require plenty of research, their own Decima engine needed to adapt to a genre it wasn’t originally designed for. Fortunately, their gamble paid off when the game launched in 2017 to rave reviews from critics and enough positive response to warrant a sequel. With the release of this sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, I finally took a look at Horizon Zero Dawn, specifically the Complete Edition, and found myself wondering by the end why I hadn’t played it sooner.

Snake Pass

During 2017, 3D platformers saw a resurgence in interest, due in part to indie developers exploring new options with the genre. Of the more well-known attempts at reviving the genre, the one that received a lot of attention was Yooka-Laylee, developed by former members of Rare, a British developer known for such titles as Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye 007 and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Having no nostalgia for Rare’s titles, however, I found myself more interested in two of its competitors, Snake Pass and A Hat in Time, the former of which I would pick up as a free giveaway through Humble Bundle. With this in mind, I thought that Snake Pass’ main gimmick of a platformer without jumping really allows for some innovative ideas, but I’m not sure I would have liked it as much if I had paid its $20 asking price.

The Evil Within 2

While the original The Evil Within developed more of a cult following, it still sold well enough to warrant a sequel, The Evil Within 2, released three years later in 2017 to generally positive reviews from critics. However, while Shinji Mikami was still involved, he stepped down to a supervisor role and let John Johanes take over as the director. Whether or not the change in director works depends on who you ask, but I personally found it a dramatic improvement over the original in several areas, especially since I played it immediately after finishing the original, though the writing still bugged me for a different reason.

The Mummy Demastered (PS4)

Only a few months after Universal’s critically-panned 2017 take on The Mummy, which also failed spectacularly at kickstarting yet another cinematic universe, WayForward Technologies released a retro-styled video game tie-in, The Mummy Demastered. Unlike many other movie tie-in games, this one released to critical praise, with fans and critics considering it a major improvement over the actual movie. Though I haven’t seen The Mummy (2017) myself, I did hear all the praise and eventually got a physical copy through Limited Run when I had the chance. As I’ve grown more familiar with WayForward’s library, and found an opportunity to play the game myself, it definitely lives up to the hype.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable - Chapter I

Note: This review contains massive spoilers for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, begun by mangaka Hirohiko Araki in 1987, tells the multi-generational story of the Joestar family and their continuing battle against the forces of evil. The series is split into currently eight Parts, each focusing on a different Joestar, with Part 3 introducing the concept of Stands, which are psychic powers reflecting the personality of the user. Part 4, Diamond is Unbreakable (1992-1995), tells the story of Josuke Higashikata and his misadventures in the fictional town of Morioh, solving mysteries about his hometown along the way.

I will admit that, while I had heard of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and was aware of its limited US import in my high school years, it didn’t really grab my attention until the series received a proper anime adaptation in 2012, and since then it has become one of my favorite anime/manga series in spite of whatever flaws it has. My curiosity was piqued when, at the height of the increased popularity of Diamond is Unbreakable following its anime adaptation, a live-action film based on the series, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable – Chapter I (JP: JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken Daiyamondo wa Kudakenai Dai-Isshō), was announced in 2016 to be directed by prolific director Takashi Miike, though I held off on actually trying to watch the film until it had a proper release stateside. The opportunity finally presented itself when Viz Media brought it over in subtitled form on Blu-ray in 2020, though I did not end up actually watching it until some time later. As someone who has read the official English translation of Diamond is Unbreakable from Viz and watched the anime twice, once in subtitled form on Crunchyroll and once in English dubbed form through a Toonami broadcast, I thought it was a good movie overall, though it could have been improved in places.

Night in the Woods

Since its original release in 2017, I had heard good things about Night in the Woods, an indie game developed by Infinite Fall and published by Finji after a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, but I didn’t have the opportunity to actually play it until I got it as part of an itch.io bundle. Since the version I ended up playing was the Weird Autumn Edition, which added a few things to the base game, I have no experience with the originally released version. All the same, I ended up liking the town of Possum Springs and its inhabitants, though the game itself isn’t perfect.

Cars 3

Note: This review contains spoilers for Cars 3.

Sometimes when watching a film series, you might skip any entries past a certain point because you felt burned by one of the sequels. Such was the case for us with Cars 3, the only Pixar film we hadn’t seen, since we viewed Cars 2 as a less-than-stellar sequel to an already okay film. Though we had heard good things about Cars 3, we actively avoided it for about four years until a window of opportunity struck and we could finally complete that unsightly gap in our Pixar viewing via Disney+. As it turned out, it improved on the previous films enough that we now wonder why we didn’t watch it sooner.

Stubs - Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Ghost in the Shell (2017) Starring Scarlett Johansson, Michael Carmen Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han, Juliette Binoche. Directed by Rupert Sanders. Screenplay by Jamie Moss, William Wheeler, Ehren Kruger. Based on the Japanese Manga Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow and the film Ghost in the Shell directed by Mamoru Oshii. Produced by Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Steven Paul, and Michael Costigan. Run Time: 106 minutes. USA Color Science Fiction, Action

There seems to be a real trend in making live-action films from animated movies. Disney may be the most notable since it began reimagining their classic films starting with 101 Dalmatians (1996), a remake of the animated film from 1961, and continuing with remakes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Maleficent (2014), a telling of Sleeping Beauty (1959), Cinderella (2015), Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), and Mulan (2020).

Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2

I didn’t have too much experience with the output of Arc System works, but I did look forward to, and subsequently play, Dragon Ball FighterZ. I really enjoyed its style and presentation, so I decided to try a title that I heard was similar, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, which I later learned was an update to Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- that got a PS4-exclusive physical release. It took me a while to get around to actually playing it, but I’m glad I did, since the flair and presentation kept me hooked like with FighterZ. However, beneath it all, I felt like I missed something.

Stubs - Kong: Skull Island - Even Bigger and Better

Kong: Skull Island (2017) Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, and John C. Reilly. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. Screenplay by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, Derek Connolly. Based on King Kong by Merian C. Cooper, Edgar Wallace. Produced by Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia. Run time: 118 minutes. USA Color Science Fiction, Monster, Adventure.

It’s starting to seem like Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace’s King Kong is becoming like Shakespeare in Hollywood, a go-to commodity that filmmakers hope they can make seem fresh and new, even though in many ways, they’re telling the same old story over again. With Kong: Skull Island there are some efforts to tell something different, though the main player King Kong has pretty much the same lines he’s always had.

Now, if it seems the remakes are coming quicker than ever since it was only 12 years since Peter Jackson’s take on the big ape, it should be noted that Kong is getting a new treatment for an old cause. There is a battle to be fought between America’s Kong and Japan’s Godzilla but that heavyweight fight has to be set up with a series of movies, of which Skull Island is just a part. It is also why the film, originally set up at Universal, ended up at Warner Bros.

Tacoma

Back in 2013, The Fullbright Company made waves with Gone Home, which ushered in the “walking simulator” genre. However, I wasn’t as impressed by it and didn’t pay attention to their 2017 follow-up game, Tacoma. After I revisited Gone Home, I felt more inclined to try Tacoma and found that it happened to be on sale for $3 on Steam as opposed to $15 (though due to how Steam’s bundle system works, I got it for only $2.89). A couple hours later, I felt that while Tacoma improved from Gone Home to an extent, I might have felt ripped off if I had paid full price.

Stubs - Spider-Man 3 (2007) and Spider-Man 3: The Editor's Cut (2017)

Spider-Man 3 (2007) Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace. Directed by Sam Raimi. Screenplay by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi. Based on characters created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Produced by Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, Grant Curtis. Run time: 140 minutes. United States. Color.  Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Superhero.

I don’t know but if you’re like me, when the credits on Spider-Man 2 (2004) rolled and “Vindicated” by Dashboard Confessional played, I was more than ready for Spider-Man 3. When I did see that film at an employee screening at Sony Pictures three years later, I did not have the same reaction when the credits rolled. I don’t think I knew at the time that Sam Raimi wasn’t going to direct Spider-Man 4 but with the downbeat ending of Spider-Man 3, I can’t say I was surprised to learn that.

Deformers (PS4)

When second-hand games retailer GameStop launched their GameTrust publishing arm, one of their earlier titles was Deformers, a multiplayer brawler by Ready At Dawn, in 2017, which attracted me to it due to the premise and visual style despite not being much of a "multiplayer" person. I will admit I never got around to actually playing the game for some time, only deciding to give it a try when I finally had the opportunity to do so during the global 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. However, I only learned upon starting the game that the servers had been shut down a little over a year after the game’s launch, with some evidence that the game didn’t have much of a community in the first place. Fortunately, the game features Local options as well, and so I was able to check it out that way. After playing a few rounds with another person, I can see why the game might have quickly died out despite its potential.

Bridge Constructor Portal (Xbox One)

As someone who enjoyed Portal and Portal 2, the idea of Bridge Constructor Portal intrigued me, particularly the idea of putting Portal's unique brand of puzzle solving into a different genre. When the opportunity presented itself, I bought a physical Xbox One disc, but it wasn't until more recently that I found the time to sit down and play it. Though I enjoyed the few hours I spent with my first real crack at a bridge construction game, I did find my enthusiasm gradually tempered by the game’s idea of challenge.