Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

By Stefano Terry

Studio: Warner Bros

Written By: Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer

Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg

Directed By: Zack Snyder

Batman. Superman. Inarguably two of the most recognized, beloved, and iconic superheroes in the world. For decades, fans of both characters have wanted to see the two titans grace the big screen, duking it out in epic fashion. Now, here we are, in 2016, and Warner Bros. and director Zack Snyder have done just that, in an attempt to not only finally bring the two heroes together on film, but to springboard their new cinematic universe and lead-in to 2017’s Justice League Part 1. How did their gamble pay off? Read on to find out.

NOTE: This review will go in depth with the plot points of Batman v Superman, so I am marking this as a SPOILER REVIEW.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

By Stefano Terry

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan

Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, and Oscar Isaac

I was born in 1979, two years after George Lucas released Star Wars, his little indie film that would change cinema for generations to come. The Empire Strikes Back released just a year later, with Return of the Jedi releasing three years after, in 1983. I was a bit too young to be introduced to that long ago far away galaxy at the time. It wasn’t until I was 6 years old that I was able to sit down in front of the television, with three VHS tapes ready to be popped into the VCR, and have a marathon session of the Star Wars Trilogy. I found A New Hope kind of boring, Empire too scary, and Jedi just right. Even so, a Star Wars fan for life was born that day. I loved the world. I loved the characters. I loved the aliens and the adventure, and as I got older and revisited the films time and time again throughout my youth and adulthood, I grew to love the simplicity of it all (not to mention my constant flip flopping between which one I love more, Empire or Jedi).

Star Wars isn’t about convoluted plots that require endless scenes of exposition. It’s not about the nuanced gray area where humanity resides. Star Wars isn’t David Lynch. Or Christopher Nolan. It’s not pondering existential crises, or waxing poetic on what the essence of a true hero is. Oh, there are definitely some elements of that in all seven released Star Wars movies, but at the end of the day, Star Wars is about as black and white as an Oreo cookie. The good guys are good. The bad guys are bad, and in the end, good will triumph over evil. Some may think that that somehow diminishes the accomplishments of Star Wars narratively, or from a character development perspective. That by stripping the narrative down to those black and white elements, we are losing nuance and depth. I disagree. We all know how delicious Oreo Cookies are.

Non-Gaming: GI Joe: Rise of Cobra Movie Review

Yesterday, me and the missus had a date night to check out GI Joe: Rise of Cobra. I went into the affair not expecting much (I tend to leave the theater a much happier movie-goer when I go into the film expecting it to be terrible; that way, I’m always surprised), and came away, if anything, feeling entertained.

inFAMOUS Movie In The Works

Word down the street is that Sony has tapped screenwriter Sheldon Turner to pen the feature film version of Playstation 3’s electrifying superhero sandbox adventure, inFAMOUS.

Turner penned the films The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, and The Longest Yard remake.

No other information was given, besides Ari and Avi Arad producing, but inFAMOUS is excellent fodder for a big budget blockbuster summer movie, so here’s hoping that Sony aims big and gives the game it’s just due on the big screen.