#seas acting kind of upgraded in the last episode and this one especially so i took note of that

[petrichoraline]

the slow dance scene in the latest episode is the most beautiful thing, it was beautifully scripted, shot and most importantly, acted out, im in awe

[popculturebuffet]

The Legend of the Three Caballeros: Mt. Fuji Whiz and Thanks a Camelot Reviews: Thank God, No Daisy (Comissioned by WeirdKev27)

Saludos amgios and welcome to the final sprint of THE RIDE OF THE THREE CABLLEROS. If your wondering if this is a bit soon.. that’s because it is. While I planned to do the episodes as is before.. this bottom half of the series so far has been so good I couldn’t bare waiting days to get to the next episode just as things are getting really good, especially after the last episode’s cliffhanger. So today, I intend to FINISH the series, with an epilogue next week for my look at the cabs as a whole via a top 12 moments list. Plus i’m already excited for the next retrospective, so there’s that. And yeah Kev’s funding ANOTHER one and you can too.. serioulsy just shoot me an ask for any solo episode or arc you wan’t covered. But now’s not the time for shameless plugs, it’s the time for adventure and to sew up a cliffhanger! So come with me after the cut for some ghouls, ghosts and arthur won’t you?

PREVIOUSLY ON LEGEND OF THE THREE CABLLEROS:

And now the conclusion...

Mt. Fuji Whiz:

First off... let’s talk about the episode titles for the series since I don't think I have yet. 

It has bothered me for the ENTIRE run of the series how terrible most of them are. There all a pun of some kind on something involved with the episode.. but out of 13 episode titles the only ones I like are World-Tree Caballeros, No Man is an Easter Island, Stonehenge Your Bets, Nazca Racing and Thanks a Camelot. And most of them fit the theme of the episode with the exception of Stonehenge: World Tree is a clever pun they couldn’t NOT use, no man fits the theme of the episode as bad as that episode is, Nazca Racing is just another good pun and fits the race at the end, and thanks a Camelot while a very simple one, fits the story of that episode, i.e. everyone's dissatisfaction with Arthur’s training. More on that later. Point is the rest are just.. really cringe inducing puns. And I do LOVE a good pun.. but that’s a GOOD pun, not obvious ones about a “pyramid life-crisis” or a play on gee whiz in 2018 for god’s sake. And the finale title is just.. really awful as they gave up entirely and named it after square dancing for HOPEFULLY no adequate reason. And look the series is a comedy first with the action second, pun titles would be fine.. their just so bad it sucks all the pun out of them. See what I did there? THAT’S a pun. And not even a great one, but it’s still better than this. It feels like the titles were an afterthought and it’s obnoxious. and frustrates me every time I have to type them out. And with only four episodes left I had to get it out sometime. 

So moving onto the actual episode we pick up with the ending of last episode: Death killing the Cabs and Team Sheldgoose. And as we see shortly. he wasn’t bluffing. We pick up with them in the underworld in a dmv line. My god.. it’s even worse of a beaurcrcy than Beetlejuice. Feldrake informs the cabs where they are and Donald, being Donald, dosen’t have the patience to wait in line with the bilions of souls down there, especially since the take a number thing gave them a number that needed to be printed on both sides.. and their at 4. Good gag though. So Donald storms out the moment he sees and exit and our boys head into the city of the Damned. Sheldgoose meanwhile decides to do his best Karen and demands ot speak with the manager.. whose another Sheldgoose it turns out. Uh-Oh.  After the credits our boys explore the city and hoping not to get hit with more ghost cards, find shelter in a little tavern owned by none other than Clinton Coot, Donald’s Great-Grandpa and father of his grandmother Elvira Coot. Clinton initally mistakes the boys for their ancestors, and is disapionted in meeting donald, but once he learns their the ones that inehreted his Cabana, he’s exastic to meet and learn about them. We also learn he had a collection of fragile frontiersman figurines.. which cleverly, are all various versions of Scrooge from life and times. His second cowboy outfit from the side story “The Vigilante of Pizen Bluff”, his prospector outfit from “Terror of the Tranysval”, his klondike prospecter outfit and him finding the goose egg nugget from “King of The Klondike” and him bitterly hauling a sack of his loot into town from the same story. Also some palet swaps of all but the last one because animation is expensive. Panchito.. destroys them all while putting down his pIzza. “NOTHINGS BROKEN”. Clinton then invites the boys to have a sip of his memories, literally he drains some out and despite their relcutance the cabs take a chug.  They reveal prettty much.. every nagging question about the cabana. Clinton, after finding out about his ancestor Duego Duck, the original cabs version of donald, Clinton traveled the world and the 7 seas, everybody’s looking for something.. and he was looking for every trace of the cabs, and their mysterious ally, who we know as Xandra. He gathered all of it, hence the massive collection of books and magical treasures in the cabana, eventually finding their hidden lair and building his cabana on top of it, founding New Quackmore with Sheldgoose’s own great grandmother.. who betrayed him and took the institute from him. His consolation prize was finding Ari and the atlas but he couldn’t open it like the boys and is curious what they found. I absolutely love this and while I feel Clinton’s history would’ve worked better as an overaching mystery, there were seeds for all of this planeted throughout the season, with Sheldgoose being in charge despite the name and Clinton being involved, Shelgoose’s mention a sheldgoose has always been president, and the tease last episode. Still would’ve liked MORE exploration and build up to this , but what we got was facenating upgrading Clinton from a footnote on the duck family tree, to a throughly loveable character: A guy who was so fascenated by his ancestor’s adventures he became an adventurer himself and who lovingly catalogued eveyrthing the guy and his friends ever did.. and had some heartrending reasons why we’ll get to. 

 As Jose leads in with not what but WHO, and likely tells clint about their adventures, a clever way to get that exposition out off screen, we cut back to the world of the living. Xandra is beating herself up, if not literally over things, and while the girls just suggest going to the underworld via zoom point, Xandra points out that won’t work. There’s only one way in: Charon, the greek ferryman of the dead.. and she realizes that’s exactly how, while the girls try a seance.  I’ll just cover the séance stuff now. The girls hold a séance to summon the boys, finding some unfinished business (A piece of said pizza) and having ari dress like a fortune teller because eh why not. There’s some good gags and stuff, but it’s mostly plot irrelvant, only hurting Panchito’s brain at first, then summoning him just as their about to fight a Tengu, with humphrey eating the pizza finsihing the buisness. Not a bad plot at all and certainly refreshing after all the Daisy nonsense last episode, but nothing really important.  Meanwhile let’s also get to Xandra’s subplot, which is both mroe relevant and funnier and again i’ll be covering all at once for convience. Xandra finds that the horn to summon Charon... is now a sax.  Huh so THAT’S what pamela anderson’s character CJ was doing when she was introduced on baywatch. 

Anyways turns out Charon’s reinvented the old boat and since Xandra’s an immortal he offers her a free ride. It’s now a cruise ship with him as the captain, voiced by voice acting legend Jim Cummings who does a fantastic job. The reasonings also brilliant: he wasn’t getting many WILLING souls with his creepy old setup, so he reinvinted things and now has a packed house, plenty of coins and a nonstop party. He even gives us an add for the buisness... this whole thing is fucking amazing and deserves to be praised and is the series at it’s best: taking something mythic and giving it some wacky but still clever tweaks. Xandra eventually gets annoyed as he isn’t going into the city so she can’t look for the cabs and takes the wheel, cursing her to be the captain now, but she just uses that to get in and finds clinton who agrees to guide her to the boys... we’ll get to where he guided them in a moment. 

And that moment is now, Clinton tells the boys there is a way out, but it involves fighting the Tengu, which is misdentified as a falcon despite, even as someone with only a surface knowledge of yokai, I knew it’s modled after a crow, or at least some versions are as it turns out.. and so is the one here so how did they screw that one up?

Point is they need to get past it, and are on a timer as when the Creepy combination of jack skeltington and that moon from Majora’s mask that’s in the sky sets and night ends, their stuck. But first they run into a guard who says they have to fill out paperwork.. and his superior is intend on that, his superior being unsuprisingly sheldgoose, who got the gig since his family runs the afterlife. Oh goodie the rich also somehow run death....

But Donald decides FUCK PAPERWORK, throws it in the air and they run for it with Sheldgoose sicing the tengu on them, which looks awesome by the way. Panchito disappears as mentioned before just as they get a plan but returns in time to free his friends and they triumph.. only for Sheldgoose to not take this lying down and summon his entire family to kick their assses. So both sides power up: having learned the trick from clinton earlier, the cabs inflate.. part of their bodies while sheldgoose forms a voltron style fusion made up of his ancestor’s heads.. with the caveman as the crotch. 

So a fight insues that’s fluid and beautifully animated, and Xandra even arrives to provide backup, with Charon relieving her because he’ could loose his five star rating. I hear you man I struggled just to get my island up to a four. So it becomes a gorgeously animated and awesome fight with Clinton joining inn, finally able to be one of his heroes. He also reitarates something he told donald, that it’s not the journey.. it’s who you take it with and part of his love of the cabs was never having companions like that. Donald takes it to heart and our heroes take their leave, Clinton finally having achieved his lifes’ work. They decide to see japan because why not. Maybe they’ll run into hannibal there. 

And to tie things off, Shelgoose and Feldrake, whose spent the etnire epsidoe still in the staff depsite being dead and...

And find.. a demonic version of Donald in a devil costume, from that short with the devil and angel Donald's.. okay I have some questions. 

He sends them back and we’re out

Final Thoughts for Mt. Fuji Whiz: One of the series best. It’s well paced, has an amazing concept and both sideplots have some form of relevance while being utterly hilarious, especially the charon one. Seriously best bit character of the series calling it now. Already headcanon him as part of the ducktales universe. Along with a lot of this actually. IT’s good stuff and despite the series falts episodes like this prove why it really needed, and still needs, a second season. 

Thanks a Camelot:

Our heroes return to the land of the living with Xandra and to the Cabana, and while Donald wants to relax a bit, Xandra being an ass shoots that down. Though her reasons are valid: Feldrake has been stepping up his game with every scheme.. which is true. HIs last two schemes, not counting his post mortem one, only BARELY didn’t kill them and actually did kill them, and him too but that wasn’t on purpose. They need some good old fashioned hero training so Xandra’s taking the to king arthur and camelot, which of course are still around, to get it and since his training involves leaving everything behind, they leave htier weapons and other stuff behind including their amulets.. which haven’t come up since but are now since their important to the finale i’m guessing and they’ve been wearing the whole time. The girls are tagging along too as they want to document things because the plot says so but their entertaining so fine and leaving Ari and the Bear to guard. And the barrier.. more the barrier.  So with our heroes off Feldrake decides they need to strike and Sheldgoose has a plan to get around the barrier to get Humphrey’s spark: hide inside a cake and have humphrey so overcome by his desire for cake he comes to them. Feldrake is unimpressed but it works.. and even better as he drags them in.. but apparently while Feldrake’s protections are keyed to our heroes bloodline.. coot’s only extneded to feldrake. Which makes sense: he was friends with a Sheldgoose and probably didn’t consider her an enemy till he’d already set the spells, and cleverly, and i’d forgotten this till writing this review: Sheldgoose has already BEEN on the Cabana grounds once and to the doorstep, in the first episode when he visited the yardsale and in the finale of the second when he showed up to give Donald his check. So the show even showed it.. we just didn’t think about it or assumed having the ring meant he couldn’t now. But nope Sheldgoose is inside and Humphrey’s knocked out. 

Back in merry old Camelot, I apolgoize for having a deficit of spamalot and Monty Python refrences, our heroes meet King Arthur, voiced by former star of said spamelot John O’ Hurley, who I was going to give a good treatment and go into his career.. then I found out he’s VERY conservative, pro trump even post riot and generally kind of an ass in how he conducts himself soooo instead a hearty

Does a good job here, still a weasel fiesta. So King Arthur trains our heroes.. via motivational statments, trust falls and what not with his knights who get the same traning, one of which is Gallhad, a frog voiced by the same guy who viced Kermit on muppet babies. Yayyyyy. The girls wonder off, finding Merlin, whose busy with spells and such and clarfying which one is which. They give him june’s phone as Merlin has a video game addiction but Arthur forbids it because well. he has a problem why wouldn’t he.  Ruined Todd Chavez’s life it did. I mean it’s exceptional now but it took a bit of living on a drunken horse with serious issues couch. 

Anyways, Donald soon gets fed up because.. hes Donald. And because.. Tony kinda leans on the more classic constantly angry donald in this one, since he DID help write the lines. It’s not BAD mind you.. but I prefer the melding of his comics and shorts self other works did, the smug ego and everyman desperation to be noticed and liked from the comics mixed with the ego but also tons of rage of the shorts. Kinda like how Daffy had his own egotistical smartguy version merged with his screwball version for the Looney Tunes Show.. which i’ve been rewatching lately. Even better than I remember, highly underated. 

My point is this Donald, as we approach the end .. isn’t for me. He’s just not as intresting as the cloudcuckoolander panchito or the smootha nd wise jose. He ballances them well, being the more direct angry one to panchito’s unpredicablity and Jose’s smooth compemplation. He’s not BAD, and i get why some would prefer this one over Ducktales, as he’s more in line with his classic characterzation.. but I just prefer a more nuanced Donald and this one isn’t it. He spends most of the series either complaning, pissed off, or pining for an ungreatful she demon. There’s not a lot of notes compared to Jose or Panchito, as Jose isn’t just a ladies man or a charmer but a fairly smart guy who has pretty damn good plans and Panchito isn’t just spacey but, kind brave and with his own moral code. They just got more fleshing out as things went and Donald didn’t and it’s disappointing. 

So Donald gets fed up with the training, and calls out it’s only motivatoinal, with the other cabs agreeing, if more tactfully, and the knights.. also agreeing, pointing out King Arthur dosen’t even do his own goofy self motivational exercises and abandon him.. at the worst possible time as the girls conjur up a super powerful magical dragon. So the knights leave him to it and Arthur is too cowardly to face it. So the Cabs do what he won’t and charge in to defend the holy grail, called the grail of immortality here for ..r easons, and fight the dragon.. and Arthur joins them, inspired to finally get his groove back and gives the knights a rousing speech and even reconclies with donald. So our heroes fight the dragon and nearly die, before the rest of the round table pitches in, and the girls find the dragons scroll and impulsively burn it.. which destorys it. So the day’s saved, and Arthur apologizes to everyone and decides to give the boys proper combat training as thanks. Also we get a really funny bit with Merlin, who throws the phone into the fire.. and much like the dragon, apparenlty it was tied to the employee who activated it because he suddenly and horrifcly burns up. PFFT. Dark but beautfiul

But of course what about the Sheldgoose subplot. Well I saved that for now to cover it all at once SO: Sheldgoose pokes around, being annoyed by a dart board of his face and what not and tries to find something to fish the spark out with... but Ari finds him and proves to be entirely useful, beating Sheldgoose down into the treasure chamber and getting inot a fight with him. Sheldgoose holds pace.. until Humphrey wakes up and with the odds against him they throw him out. Meanwhile Feldrake zaps a dog that was going to get peed on him but when sheldgoose is ejegted is surronded by dogs and clearly didn’t escape as he dosne’t want to taklk about why he smells to sheldgosoe. He is ABOUT to berate him for failure again.. but Sheldgoose points out he swiped something more important: The amulets. 

Proving once again Sheldgoose is the real power in the team. 

Final Thoughts on Thanks a Camelot:  This was a fun one. While finding out about John O Hurley was... unfortunte.. he does a decent job and the episodes a fun take on camelot with, as usual , really excellent gags, pacing and a hell of a fight scene with a dragon. Good stuff as usual

NEXT TIME; It all ends! It’s a visit to some yeti’s before one final dance betwen good and evil and one last set of episodes for this retropsective! Be ready! 

[peterstanslizzie]

Reacting to: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Season 5 Episode 1)

Episode Title: Horde Prime

Introduction

Just before starting this episode, my heart was beating so fast. I was so excited and could barely contain myself. At the same time, I’m kinda sad that the whole series is coming to a close but I’m positive that She-Ra will end on a high note. So, without further ado, let’s begin my review of episode 1:

Spoiler Warning: Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or are able to handle spoilers.

Key Highlights

‘Adora’s isn’t She-Ra anymore’ Complex

She looks so good with her hair down like that

 Adora is struggling with the fact that she can no longer transform into She-Ra after breaking the Sword of Protection in the Crystal Castle in Season 4′s finale. So, she’s trying to over-compensate this by constantly charging herself into battle to prove that she isn’t useless. And people like Bow, Mermista etc. reminding her that she’s not She-Ra anymore definitely triggers her even further. 

After facing a near death experience when Horde Prime’s robot army invaded their base camp, she finally realizes that she doesn’t have to save Etheria alone and she should allow her friends to help her. Personally, I totally understand why Adora feels this way. The main reason why she’s known to be this hero to everyone is because she’s She-Ra. But I just hope that her stubbornness in always having to be only one saving the day won’t keep coming back in future episodes.

The Newest Guests of Horde Prime (HP): Catra and Glimmer

As a lot of people have predicted on social media, Catra has a lot more freedom than Glimmer to roam around Horde Prime’s base. Glimmer always has to be escorted by HP’s clones whenever she leaves her prison cell. Catra also pleads her allegiance to HP but that doesn��t seem to be enough for him because he can tell just by her body language and heart rate that she has feelings for Adora. Hmm, do tell 😬....I think HP was referring to the part where she scratched the dining table when he mentioned Adora’s name. It was such a dead giveaway.

It’s becoming a possibility that HP is either going to brainwash Catra or do something to make sure she’s 100% committed to serving him. It’s probably the former because he called her “little sister” towards the end of the episode, just like he calls Hordak his little brother. I’m not sure how Catra’s going to be redeemed in season 5 but whatever the case may be, I’m pretty sure she’s going to double cross HP but the result of her defecting will probably cost her a lot.

As for Glimmer, she’s feeling very hopeless at the moment because her powers don’t work there and she knows that HP’s army is threatening her friends and people back in Etheria. Unfortunately, in order to prevent HP from killing Adora, she reveals to him that in order to get the Heart of Etheria to work, She-Ra is needed.

In terms of the current dynamic between Glimmer and Catra, not much has changed this episode from before. Catra is trying to convince herself to Glimmer that she’s still in alliance with the Horde, regardless if it’s with Horde Prime this time. Glimmer thinks that Catra is foolish to trust him because of what happened to Hordak. I definitely agree with Glimmer here.

Adora’s Dreams

Lately, Adora has been seeing a glowing She-Ra figure in her dreams as well as visions of Horde Prime and a special, hidden part of the Whispering Woods that Madame Razz is familiar with. Her dreams remind her that the Rebellion does in fact, have another place that they can seek refuge from HP because their first hideout had already been discovered. And this place so happens to be that secret place within the Whispering Woods.

As for her specific visions of She-Ra, it’s probably there because she’s now more than eager to transform back into She-Ra. But I’m also pretty sure that it’s part of some kind of message that the spirit of She-Ra is trying to send to Adora.

The Princesses of Power

I was so pumped to see Perfuma, Mermista, Frosta and Scorpia use their powers to fight off HP’s army. Right now, they’re needed more than ever because Adora can’t use her powers and Glimmer isn’t around. I’m especially happy that Scorpia is now playing an active role in the Rebellion and she’s gotten really good at using her lightning powers.

As for Entrapta, I just love her so much. Like Scorpia, I’m glad she’s with the Rebellion and working with Bow to upgrade Mara’s ship so that they can go into space to rescue Glimmer, wherever she may be. I also hope that she will be one of the ones to travel to space because she definitely still has some unfinished business with Catra and Hordak.

Key Questions

Is Shadow Weaver Trustworthy?

With King Micah coming back, he still has some resentment towards Shadow Weaver for having betrayed him and the fellow sorcerers of Mystacor. The two of them disagree on what the Rebellion’s plan of action should be; Shadow Weaver is adamant that they should use the Heart of Etheria against HP’s forces but that definitely isn’t a possibility since Glimmer and She-Ra aren’t available. So far, Shadow Weaver hasn’t done anything villainous in a long time but I still don’t trust her because she can act really shady at times. However, she did save King Micah from one of HP’s bots by throwing a bottle of acid at it lol.

Will We See Madame Razz in the Whispering Woods?

We last saw Madame Razz in the Season 4 episode, ‘Hero’, where Adora finds out the truth about Mara and how she actually saved Etheria unlike what was told to Adora by the corrupted Light Hope. Since the Rebellion will be setting up their new base within the Whispering Woods, I wonder if they will bump into her and will she be of any help to them? But first of all, Adora needs to stop that constant flash of images running through her mind that’s been giving her such a bad headache.

Random Thoughts

1. My boy, Sea-Hawk makes a really brief appearance, without any dialogue here. But why was he polishing his sword with a leaf? LOL

2. Did you catch the Sword of Protection shining a little? Was it the reflection of the sunlight or was it the sword itself?

3. I’m glad to see the other Mystacor sorcerers actually doing something. I’ve always wanted to see more from them. 

4. I’m loving the new dynamic I’m seeing here between Scorpia and Swift Wind. They do seem to share really similar personalities. 

5. This HP clone’s cute-startled face does kinda look like Hordak’s. By the way, Scorpia’s impersonation of Hordak was so accurate.

6. Horde Prime is starting off as a strong and intimidating villain so far; Far beyond Hordak ever was. He really knows how make even the boldest (Catra) crack under pressure. 

Closing Off

Thank you all so much for reading my review of episode 1. I’m so excited to see what will happen next! Tune in tomorrow for my review of episode 2. Bye!

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

My thoughts on Bioshock 1

I just wanna put this out there. It’s 12:01 am and I find it nice that I finished it before Sunday popped up. This post is gonna have major spoilers. I’ll post the screenshots in a different post. I don’t know if I should call this a review. But yeah I didn’t wanna make this quickly. Took time making some popcorn(two bags for a bowl) and getting a Diet Dr. Pepper.

But my thoughts on the game itself. A game that gamers have considered one of the greatest video games ever made.

I want you all to know. The reason I went back to playing it because I was looking up the terrible voice acting of the original RE game. That it got me to wanting to play a older game...which is the first Bioshock on my main computer. 

But in a nutshell I thought it was a pretty nice game. The gameplay is pretty stellar. Especially the combat. But I will admit, the game didn’t really scare me. Because it was considered horror by some folks. But the way I was playing I think a way how you would describe....something out of the Doom series. 

Yet this is because I was playing on easy mode. Because I wanted to experience the story. Especially when I upgraded my weapons. I was basically a walking powerhouse. Along with the fact I didn’t use my plasmids a whole lot. But I did use them when they seem needed or when I wanted to try them out. I was mainly a weapons guy. 

But yeah upgraded weapons made the journey easier. Even during the final boss with Frank. 

The story is pretty alright. Even though some of the audio diaries I decided not to listen to except for some. Especially when the big reveal was coming. 

I will admit and I think people may know of this. But I knew of the big twist and read stuff about how Jack was basically controlled through most of the game. Where the phrase, “Would You Kindly” Atlas was saying to control him. Where this becomes more clear when you enter a room that has, “Would You Kindly’ on the wall and...those diaries crap....a dog getting it’s neck snapped....to be honest I feel like the moment Jack see’s that. I feel like he was probably confused or just wondering, “What the fuck?”.

But basically where Andrew Ryan exposes this by saying the phrase a couple of times, and asking Jack to kill him with the golf club. Gonna admit to watch that twist in motion, for some reason I wasn’t expecting it to be that dramatic. Because I was expecting it to be simply casual with Andrew explaining what Jack is actually. Where Jack realizes when Andrew asks Jack to kill him, he was telling the truth. Yet I strangely like it how Andrew was trying to showcase more that using the phrase a few time to really showcase Jack was never in control. 

Yet it was nice to finally see the scene in full motion in the original game. Since I’m not playing the remastered version.

To be honest I think the most shocking thing was the fact when I went on the Bioshock wiki. That Jack is literally 4 years old. 0_0 Just....I actually found that to be the most surprising.

Including just the whole set up of why Jack is there isn’t by chance. Honestly despite the dimension hopping that surprised me a lot. Just Jack growing up and all that...surprised me the most. 

But I find it nice how Andrew during the game as you get closer to him. He’s alluding to the fact that it seems like such a coincidence that Jack crashed near that lighthouse above Rapture. As if it was some sort of miracle. 

I’ll stop talking about the twist sorry. So I was right, Atlas who is Frank didn’t really have a family. I will admit Frank’s a pretty damn good actor. Because I feel like people who first played this and if I didn’t look into certain stuff. It would of been more of a surprise. Because I find it amazing he can change his voice. 

Including the fact when you get closer to him. He’s just talking about you and him tricking you. Including why are you even still trying to get him. When Jack doesn’t have a family. I guess I can say he didn’t disappoint me as a villain. 

Again the gameplay is wonderful, Rapture was a interesting place. Both to look at and I guess to explore. I will admit I sometimes couldn’t find some stuff right away. Such as a Big Daddy helmet after a while.

The Splicer are cool and have some variety, the Big Daddies are pretty nice too. Yet what I’m amazed by and I’m glad I couldn’t find that Big Daddy helmet right away because the last two Little Sisters that were with Big Daddies were near by. 

I actually got all the Little Sisters that I recall. Basically rescuing all of them. Meaning I got the best and what I know canon ending. Gonna admit that last scene and just watching that cutscene. Despite it’s actually very quick. I can’t believe I had tears or so....despite I don’t seem to build a connection with these girls.

There is just something beautiful about that ending. Including to see they offered Jack the key to Rapture but he denies it. 

Also there is something of just seeing all these Little Sisters just literally murder Frank and I got a shot of that actually. I saw that in a video once and it’s just intriguing. It seems kind of ridiculous but once you play the game, you understand how they are overpowering him. 

The soundtrack....I’ll be honest I didn’t think about it much. Mainly because I was so focused on gameplay and getting through the game. Also weird thing this didn’t happen a lot. But I remember one time one of Franks line was up and he wasn’t talking. 

Listen to any fans of Bioshock, sorry that I’m rambling. But I’m sorry I’m not praising it to the heavens. But I felt like I did myself a favor because this is a very loved game. It was nice to finally play it and finish it. I think it’s because I’m still processing some stuff. Including during a time in my life I thought gameplay is more important than story. Which was a thought I started having when I became a fan of Doom. But then loving Resident Evil again got me to realize liking video game stories. Considering before the gameplay thing, I would always prefer a single player over multiplayer. 

But now I like both. It’s just I was I guess annoyed by how much praised Bioshock gets and it makes it seem like 2 and Infinite are hated on a lot. Including it just...bothered me and that I’d felt rebellious to not play the original. Because people made it seem like what I like to call it, “The Citizen Kane Of Gaming”. It was a game changer and I should understand that.

Yet you can thank my good bro and buddy @pikablob for being the reason why I got into this series more. All because I was wondering why does Elizabeth in Burial At Sea look so young but in the timeline she would be 66. Until he explained to me things about dimension hopping and after my surprise and shock of what he told me. That got me basically be like, “Okay I need to play these games because holy shit”. Even though I’ve played 2 before and finished Infinite and Burial At Sea episode 1 before. 

It was just so insane to learn that I needed to experience these games myself as I’m older now. 

I feel like overtime I’ll like Bioshock more. Because I had predicted this could become one of my all time favorites. But I don’t think so right now. Maybe when I ever replay it again and maybe even the remastered version. I may love it more. But I felt like compared to games like the original Doom, Doom 2016, Halo Combat Evolved(Because I recall from my experience that game is a classic), and even the Call Of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy. Especially 1 and 2, with 3 being a fitting conclusion to it. I got more out of those games.

Which I sound stupid for mentioning. Bioshock is a whole different beast. I’m talking about a game where someone like Andrew Ryan literally made a city underwater that wouldn’t be affected by what he considered, “Petty morality” and look where Rapture ended up as....a fucking shit hole. 

That I recall I don’t feel terrible seeing Andrew Ryan die. Yet it’s probably because he wants to die and he accepts it. Including his final words and the way the scene went. Yet I was surprised that golf club got stuck in his head when Jack did the final blow. 

But I think that’s just my mind set. Including on a silly note and I’m finally gonna say something I’ve had in my head. I just miss Elizabeth. Again I may enjoy it more as time goes all. Because it is a excellent game. 

Because even though I haven’t played the remastered versions of Bioshock 1 and 2. I feel like if you want to. I’d recommend checking out the original Bioshock if you want to. It’s a well made game and I hope I think it’s genius about the fact The Bioshock Collection exists and it’s on 8th gen consoles now(Especially it got released on Nintendo Switch last month) and for PC’s if you want remastered versions of the first 2.

Basically was looking at trailers for the collection. I think it’s genius because that package seems perfect for any new fan who wants to experience the complete saga as of now. 

I think I’ve said enough on my piece on the original Bioshock.

Anyway during the making of this post. I was listening to this kick ass rap. I find it awesome I finished the game and got to experience it for my own. Here’s JT Music’s Bioshock 1 rap, “Rapture Rising”. Been listening to this when making this. Warning in case even though I talked about spoilers in here, you have spoilers in this rap. Again well done rap.

[karazor--el]

Interview Exclusive: Andrea Brooks on Working on Shows With Passionate Fandoms, Eve’s Development, and Favorite Things!

The CW’s Supergirl is mid-way through its fourth season and we had the pleasure of hopping on the phone with Andrea Brooks, who plays Eve Teschmacher on the series, to discuss what got her into acting; Eve’s progression throughout the series; as well as some of her favorite things!

FANDOMOPOLIS: So, how did you first get into acting? What inspired you to become an actress?

ANDREA BROOKS: I kind of fell into acting; I’ve been doing it for at least half of my life now, professionally. I was actually a competitive figure skater growing up and I attended an open casting call audition for figure skaters for a Disney movie. I ended up auditioning for a small role and they liked me. I went through a bunch of rounds of casting and wound up reading for the lead role – I didn’t get it, but by the end of that whole process I had an agent and a casting director who liked me. So, I really did fall into it through figure skating.

Did you know before then that you wanted to be an actress?

ANDREA BROOKS: Acting always appealed to me; before that I was in a theatre troupe. I still remember sitting around when I was four years old, watching Sesame Street and thinking, “oh, I want to be that kid talking to Cookie Monster!” It was always in the back of my head. I grew up fascinated by movies, and I used to cry when movies ended and the credits would roll.

How is it playing two completely different characters: one in a world with superheroes and aliens, and another in a coal mining town?

ANDREA BROOKS: It’s interesting and I feel very fortunate! I’ve been able to straddle this line for quite a number of years and play both roles, which I realize – a lot of people don’t have that opportunity. It’s fun to work on a show where you deal with a lot of dark scenarios, dealing with crazy political things; whereas, When Calls the Heart is a more positive show and about community, less fast-paced. When you’re playing two characters on the same day, there’s a lot of refocusing and tuning into your emotions that has to be done.

How have you enjoyed seeing Eve’s character develop from a mainly quirky, happy go-lucky character, to exploring a deeper development as she works with Lena?

ANDREA BROOKS: It’s beyond exciting. This season is my absolute favorite. The transition from her working at CatCo to L-Corp allows her to express herself in a more honest way, she’s really able to display who she is and hone her craft as a scientist and do more interesting work that appeals to her.

How fun was it to film 4×2 ‘Fallout’ with Melissa Benoist & Katie McGrath?

ANDREA BROOKS: There was so much funny, physical comedy in that episode… running around, being trapped, running through hallways, it was pretty chaotic to shoot – but hilarious and amazing. I adore Melissa and Katie and we get along famously; it really never feels like a work day with those two. We all love reading; podcasts; we all have so much in common. It’s an effortless, working friendship.

Did it surprise you to see how positively and quickly fans reacted to the “Team Science” pairing with Lena and Eve?

ANDREA BROOKS: It totally surprised me. We had joked about it, because any time anyone is paired with Katie – there’s going to be a hashtag. I had so many amazing messages from fans. Especially women who are in science, who feel that women in science are underrepresented on television, thanking me – and I find that so flattering.

With Eve’s Yale/nuclear science background, do you think we’ll see her aspire to be more than assistant at some point?

ANDREA BROOKS: Yes, I think that’s fair to say. I love that Eve is unassuming – you never know what she’s going to do or say. She’s spastic and unpredictable, but brilliant. I like that she’s multi-faceted in that way. There’s definitely more to come when it comes to Eve’s background. I’ve been extremely busy with the show for the second half of the season.

Have you learned any new science terms from playing Eve?

ANDREA BROOKS: Absolutely. A few of us, specifically our script supervisor, some of the crew, sometimes I wrangle Katie into this – we give ourselves little science lessons behind the scenes anytime we’re science-ing on set. I bought an art book on the periodic table recently; I like to think I kind of know what I’m talking about when I’m doing these things? It’s fun to do the side bits of research, without actually having to do science!

How is it being a part of two shows (Supergirl & When Calls the Heart) with such strong fan bases?

ANDREA BROOKS: It’s so fun! Both of the shows air at the same time on Sunday nights this year, so it’s pretty hilarious to open social media and watch two very different fandoms duking it out. I feel so lucky to be a part of anything with a fan base at all, it’s a total gift; getting to be a part of two different shows with fandoms that are supportive and love what we do, is just an absolute treat.

Onto some of “Andrea’s Favorites” –

Favorite scene to film so far from Supergirl?

ANDREA BROOKS: The scenes from ‘Fallout’ stand out to me as a favorite, because it was so fun, and funny to shoot. Or any time there’s action; I do love stunts. I love watching stunt people do their work and being involved in that. That scene at the end of season two where Eve brings in milkshakes and they explode – that’s fun. Anything physical – I’m a fan of.

Favorite costume of Eve’s on Supergirl?

ANDREA BROOKS: I love Eve’s outfits, especially recently! She’s grown up a bit from her CatCo days and come a long way from her rolled up sweaters. One of my favorites is actually what she wore in ‘Fallout;’ that pinstripe black dress with the blue belt. I absolutely love that dress.

Favorite custom of Faith’s on When Calls the Heart?

ANDREA BROOKS: I do love my nursing costume; we upgraded this season. For the past four years she had one nursing outfit, and then this year we re-constructed it with thicker fabric; it’s a cool period piece. I also love the coats, all the characters have fabulous coats, constructed from the ground up.

Favorite thing to do in Vancouver?

ANDREA BROOKS: We have a beautiful sea wall that runs all the way around downtown, and you can run it, bike along it, go on walks. In the summer, it’s a great thing to do; you can grab an ice cream and go for a walk around the sea wall. And I love biking; we’re a very active community and I quite like that because I’m pretty active. I love working out and walking places, and Vancouver’s a great place for that.

Photo credit: Judy Bishop on Flickr

Favorite current TV show?

ANDREA BROOKS: This is a bit embarrassing, but I am a bit of a reality show junkie. Right now, I’ve been watching a lot of these docuseries. I just watched the Michael Jackson one; Lorena; the OJ Simpson one that came out last year. I love true crime; so anything on that subject will be of interest to me.

Favorite vacation spot?

ANDREA BROOKS: Hawaii – particularly the Big Island, is gorgeous. Some of my favorite cities are Tokyo and Paris.

Favorite book?

ANDREA BROOKS: We’re on the subject of true crime – that still very much appeals to me in books. I recently read Bad Blood – actually Katie McGrath leant me that. It’s a story of Elizabeth Holmes and her sham Silicon Valley company that crumbled. I loved that. I’m reading Kitchen Confidential, the Anthony Bourdain biography. I’m reading Columbine – I have five books going at any time. Generally, I love non-fiction.

It sounds like fans of Eve certainly have a lot to look forward to in seeing Supergirl dive deeper into her background, and where her character is going next in the second half of season four. Thanks again to Andrea for chatting with us!

Fandopolis.

[digikate813]

Let’s Talk About: My Little Pony The Movie! (spoiler free)

The wait is over. It’s finally here, and if you’re reading this, chances are you have already seen it or are going to go see it. I haven’t done written reviews in a while, but when @marvelandponder contacted me and asked me to participate in a big collab of written, spoiler free reviews of this movie as part of her Year of Pony celebration. How could I say no to that? I’m not sure, because I didn’t, and that’s why this is here. There will be a spoiler-ific episode of “Let’s Talk About” coming up, but if you don’t want the movie spoiled for you, this is the place to be.

 This movie has been hyped up for a long time. Not only because My Little Pony is getting another chance at the big screen, but just the fact that the show has become big enough to attempt this, since movies based on existing cartoons kind of died out a while ago due to poor performance, With the exception of Spongebob, but that’s about it. So after all of this waiting and so much riding on this movie, how did it turn out? It’s pretty good, I had fun.

 Chances are, if you are a fan of the show already, kid or adult, you’re probably going to enjoy it just fine. With one exception, it doesn’t really try to cater to a mainstream audience or the kinds of things that are typically in animated kids movies lately. It’s very similar to big episodes of MLP like A Canterlot Wedding, Twilight’s Kingdom or To Where and Back Again. Just with a lot more time and resources to work with.

 The biggest and most obvious upgrade, is the animation. I’m not gonna lie, when I saw how the characters were gonna look in this movie, I wasn’t thrilled. At first, it just looked, too round to me or something. But once I saw them move, all of those fears melted away. The trailers were already impressive, but the movements and expressions of the characters were so vibrant and fluid. And the camera! Oh my gosh! Did anyone else notice how smooth the camera panning was in this movie? It was beautiful.

I think it’s going to be tough to go back to the show after this, because while I know Flash is a very helpful and creative tool for animation, this just looked amazing. And while this was still done in a program, technically, it’s beautifully put together. I don’t think this is going to bring back 2D animation, but if this movie does well enough, maybe it will convince studios to try it every now and then. Because there was still CGI in this movie. Mostly for backgrounds and mapping environments, which improved greatly from the trailers. It look so much better now. And the airships are, fine. Reminds me of the ones in Avatar. Definitely noticeable, but really only distracting when they first show up.

 And because this is a movie about traveling outside of Equestria into different kingdoms, this gorgeous upgrade gets to bring new exotic locations to life. And it does an exceptional job at that. If there is one thing fans have been itching for the most, it’s expanding on the world of MLP. And I think Meghan McCarthy and the team knew that going into this. That’s pretty much the main point of this movie. Using their extra runtime to travel the world, meet new creatures, and go on an epic quest that they couldn’t do on this scale in the show, even in a 45 minute two part episode.

 So let’s talk about the new characters they run into on their journey. Now I’m just going to cherry pick my thoughts here, cause again, I’m avoiding spoilers, but the best thing I can say about all of these characters is that, they don’t make the story feel crowded. I thought they did well at moving from one location and one group of characters to another. While most of them don’t have much depth to them, they all have their place in the story and add a lot to the world outside of Equestria. While still being fun, eccentric personalities in their own right. Especially with how tough it seems most civilizations have it outside of Equestria. The pirates were cool, the sea ponies were fascinating with very interesting designs, Kristin Chenoweth’s character was, for lack of a better word, very bubbly (shut up), and I was really, really nervous about Capper, but he turned out to be very charming and whenever he was on screen, he stole the show. Taye Diggs should consider pursuing voice acting further. He’s great at it.

 The only one I wasn’t crazy about was Grubber. No disrespect to the voice actor, but he just seemed kind of shoehorned in. Just there to eat and add some annoying one liners for the trailer. It was really the only time I felt the movie was pandering. But you know what makes up for that? Tempest! Tempest was AWESOME! Again, I can’t go over everything I love about Tempest without spoiling things, so here are some bullet points. I found her to be an intimidating threat, I like that she was just the right hand mare of a bigger threat in the form of the Storm King, which is something we haven’t really seen on the show before, and maybe it’s because a million OCs before her have done this, but I didn’t realize what a big deal it was her horn was broken until I saw the characters reactions to it. It’s something else that makes Tempest stand out form the crowd. As soon as I saw her, it looked like Tempest was scientifically designed to be the bad-ass character that fans would adore, and it looks like it worked. It did for me!

 In fact, the voice for Tempest and most of the celebrity characters were, really good. When you get a celebrity to be in an animated movie, sometimes it can be tough to separate the voice from the actor, and believe it’s the character’s. That and it’s a form of acting that they aren’t used to. But this worked really well. It felt natural, they all turned in excellent performances, and for the most part, if you hadn’t told me who was voicing the characters, I wouldn’t have noticed they were celebrities. Especially Liev Schrieber as the Storm King. Oh my God. He was so great in that role. And once again, our returning cast members turn in the same level of charm, charisma, endearment and emotional weight that they have for the past 7 years. And the songs were awesome! I’ve listened to some of them more times then I’d care to admit over the past couple of days.

 There’s really not much else to say about the story or characters without going into spoilers, so, overall, this movie was a good time at the movies. When I saw the trailers, I was hoping to get a fun, globe trotting adventure and that’s exactly what I got. Better in some areas, not as great in others, but I think anyone who’s going in actually wanting to see this movie, will enjoy it a lot. While I understand people not getting into this movie, I do think, from what I’ve seen, that some critics are being too hard on it. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a big step up from where we were the last time the pastel ponies were on the big screen. It has a wonderful spirit to it, that it inherited from the show we all know and love. I can’t see anyone who isn’t a kid or a big fan getting much out of this movie, or sway them to “join the herd”, but I think if you’re willing to leave your stigmas at the door, you might have a good time at an enjoyable movie. And sometimes, that’s all I ask.

 Besides, it looks way better then that weird goose movie! Did anyone else get that trailer in their screening? What the hell was that?? Anyway, good movie, go see it in theaters if you can. Or buy it on DVD when it comes out. Please don’t pirate it.

And while you’re at it, check out the other members of this collaboration and their reviews!

MarvelandPonder

Mr-Mikail