reviews

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[Reviews] Movie Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

A darker mood makes this threequel tonally and structurally uneven; it's still grandly ambitious and a strong recommendation.

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“This may terrify children,” I repeatedly thought to myself, sitting through a bolder but much grimmer installment in a series that’s often been content to be mostly lighthearted fare for families and young audiences. The first Sonic the Hedgehog film felt like a standard but sometimes poignant fish-out-of-water story with some grandly ambitious set pieces […]

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[Reviews] Movie Review: Fall (2022)

Good stunts don't make up for an ugly and oftentimes intentionally poor script.

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“Fall” is a minimalist hour and a half of compelling stunts tethered to a problematic and frequently unlikable script. Most of the characters are unsympathetic, the acting frequently fails during critical moments, and the resolution isn’t satisfying.

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Game Review: Divinity — Original Sin II

A rushed storyline deprives the incredible turn-based CRPG combat of some of its meaning

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You’re either going to love or hate this game. Its turn-based combat is by far the most fun that I’ve ever played in a CRPG, but while I loved many character subplots, I had some issues with the gameplay balancing and especially with the main story pacing. Original Sin II is readily accessible to players […]

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[Game Review] Cities Skylines — Industries expansion

Some much-needed depth and easy organization adds welcome challenge to a respected if simplistic city builder

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First of all, big thanks to this guide https://steamcommunity.com/app/255710/discussions/0/1733216893888441236/?ctp=2 for being a really good explanation of how the new industrial supply chains work. I loved this DLC a lot more than I thought I was going to. Seeing other people’s reviews about traffic problems initially scared me off since traffic was the #1 difficulty I […]

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[Reviews] Movie Review: Sonic the Hedgehog

The blue blur transitions from video game to silver screen with excitement, uneven charactizeration, and inappropriate humor

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Sonic the Hedgehog is the sort of “children’s movie” that earnestly suggests that a valid way for a kid to learn to make friends is to spend an hour in a bar, and indeed a noticeable chunk of the film takes place there. Despite some infrequent but severe pacing issues, that huge non sequitur being […]

[Happy New Year!] Movie Review: Knives Out

Rian Johnson's storytelling and eye for aesthetics has improved sharply from some of his previous works.

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Director and writer Rian Johnson returns to the suspense-thriller genre with a quirky, modern murder mystery filled with gorgeous settings and plenty of humor. I had my doubts upon learning Johnson was involved, especially in light of this film’s incredibly high amount of critical praise—Star Wars: The Last Jedi was exciting but felt unfocused, and […]

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[Reviews] Movie Review: Pokémon — Detective Pikachu

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A children’s live-action comedy-mystery starring a talking mouse with a caffeine addiction, a searing wit that narrowly remains age-appropriate, and a heavy case of amnesia shouldn’t be such a successful combination, but it works well. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is first and foremost a tech-demonstration movie whose splendid special effects take precedence above story complexity or […]

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[Reviews] Movie Review: Avengers – Endgame

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Avengers: Endgame, while remaining worth a watch, is not Marvel’s best work. It’s not the series’ funniest installment, despite devoting a remarkable fraction of its unnecessary running time to jokes and gags; it’s not the most thought-provoking, with story decisions and contrivances that undermine its “move-on” message on multiple occasions; it’s not even the most […]

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[Reviews] Movie Review: Captain Marvel

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“Thank you, Stan.” Captain Marvel’s opening montage, a collection of Stan Lee portraits set against the Marvel Studios logo, is a poignant and meaningful dedication to an iconic personality who was partly responsible for giving popular culture a bevy of iconic characters with abilities as diverse as their backgrounds. They’re joined by Carol Danvers, an […]

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[Reviews] Movie Review: Incredibles 2

Pixar's latest is a big-hearted follow-up to a beloved film. PHOTOSENSITIVITY WARNING.

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Despite feeling remarkably familiar for being such a long-awaited sequel, Incredibles 2 adeptly balances exciting action alongside thought-provoking and humorous family relations and is an easy recommendation for viewers seeking heroic adventures that don’t limit themselves to a teenage-and-above audience. Please note: If you or your loved ones have symptoms of epilepsy or photosensitivity, be […]

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