Ghostbusters trailer 2 thoughts

And once again the gates groan as the beast thumps and pounds, eager for the taste of the flesh within. That's right, Ghostbusters has a new trailer. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I really didn't like the first trailer, while I did like about 2 things in it, it was a shit trailer that really didn't give me hope for the movie, and now, what with Paul Feig losing his shit in interviews and the feminist horde fighting tooth and claw to defend this poor movie from all the evil neckbeard MRA #gamergate bigots, this movie just keeps looking more and more like a train wreck. But now we have a 2nd official trailer, ignoring the international trailer because that turned out to be even more of a failure than the first one, and how's this trailer, it's better, if that means anything.

This trailer starts in a way I actually liked, at first anyway, with creepy music and a voice over describing some evil force, complete with a surprisingly creepy looking red-eyed ghost and a few more shots of the haunted mansion ghosts from the first trailer, everything looks good until we see the mouth behind the voice over and he talks again. The unnerved response from the Ghostbusters does make me want to laugh, more out of an understanding of the joke than the joke actually being funny, but it's just what he says, "except you girls, I think you can handle it," given the already mentioned Feig meltdowns and the agenda he's clearly tried to bolt onto this film, that line really comes across as fishy. The Ghostbusting tech gets some more time in this trailer, and while I'm becoming less of a fan of it the more I think about it, it's serviceable. The ghosts however, not so much, like in the first trailer, they look fake, artificial, cartoony, and while they still have the vibrant colours of the first movie, I don't like the hyper CG look of them here. The new Ecto-1 was one of the 2 things I liked in the first trailer, and while the ornament looks really cheesy, I still like the design, but not the siren, if it does sound like that, compared to the original Ecto-1, it sounds utterly uninspired. The cheesy voice over from McCarthy doesn't help make things better when we see the puking scene again, and it's just as snotty here as it was in the first one, and about as funny, which is to say, not remotely, in fact it may be worse when McCarthy chimes in and calls it beautiful, really, again, I kind of see the angle they're trying there, but it is not funny, it's shit. The classic Ghostbusters theme is good to hear again, but given the soft piano of the first trailer, even it feels cheap and weak, merely an attempt to ensnare nostalgic Ghostbusters fans. And yet again, the trailer throws a really un funny piece of comedy that we've already seen, the crowd surfing scene from the international trailer. I actually love this scene, but not because it's funny, because of a Paul Feig quote I sniffed out; "I don't care what shape or size they are, (regarding the casting for the film) I live and die on what things are funny and whether or not people will be entertained by them." Sorry Paul, but you lie, you lie; if what they are doesn't matter to you, then why does Leslie Jones ask if it's a race thing or a lady thing? She says that because that is in fact something that matters to you isn't it, Paul, again, if you really did pick the 4 funniest people you know, why did they all happen to be women, I mean, it's not like Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, among others, were at one point supposed to be involved, I found a neat little video on YouTube on a channel called Midnight's Edge, it's a good video and it details this film's alleged woes way better than I could, I leave a link in addendums. And I'll get back to Midnight's Edge's videos later.

We see more of the films effects, and again, they look cheesy and fake, and we hear of a plot point we already knew about, the Ghost machine. Chris Hemsworth says a joke that isn't funny, no shock there, at least Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon didn't look impressed by it either. Next we see some actual Ghostbusting, which doesn't look utterly dreadful, to be honest, I am prepared to give this film that much benefit of the doubt, maybe, if only for their existence alone, the scenes with the Ghostbusters busting ghosts might be cool. Tell you what might actually also be funny, but that I'm not prepared to give the movie benefit of the doubt for, possessed Chris Hemsworth, given what I've heard about an alleged dance number with him and the army, I'm not holding my breath, but maybe the villain won't be utter crap, maybe. And the ghost machine actually looks cool, to be honest. Again though, the trailer drags itself down when McCarthy gets lively, and becomes a stupid, hyper exaggerated version of herself, and, not being an enormous McCarthy fan personally, I'm not impressed. And Now is when I need to refer back to Midnight's edge, from whom I learned of Paul Feig's Ghostbusters pitch, and a leaked story summery for the film, one that's eerily reflected in the trailers, from this I learned of an apparent dance number with the Army and the villain, one mentioned both in Feig's pitch and the leaked summery, and, in the pitch, a sub plot involving the government trying to cover up the existence of ghosts, which, I'll be blunt here, sounds fucking retarded, and this trailer seems to allude to that possible sub plot, which isn't good. And at this point I feel that Feig needs to learn something about comedy, because these 2 trailers have already done it enough, people getting crazy and loud doesn't translate to funny, it wasn't funny with the "Power of Patty," it isn't funny here with McCarthy, and it isn't funny with Wiig here either. And that scene just looks lame, what was the idea of that, you want to talk about professionalism, Feig, that isn't professional, it's stupid, and it gets compounded by McCarthy, it not funny. But then, get ready, because for the first time, ever in this film's marketing, something actually made me legitimately laugh, Leslie Jones, with the ghost perched on her shoulders, "nope, going to take off, don't piss off the ghost," then some kids come up to her and start taking selfies with the ghost, that is actually pretty funny, and not in ironic or pathetic way, it made me laugh.

The trailer ends with my worst nightmare, swinging it back round to Midnight's Edge again, in the leaked story summery, leaked by a Riddit user who claims to have seen the finished film, the user claims that at the end of the film, the Ghostbusters fight a giant version of the ghost from the Ghostbusters logo. This really bothers me, because it's just sad, I guess they guess Stay Puft was too iconic to pass up, but this is a reboot, so it can't be Stay Puft again, instead we'll just blatantly rip off Stay Puft while being as lazy with our own giant monster as we can get away with. It sounded ridiculous, the toys that seem to prove this thing's existence looked ridiculous, and now I've seen it in a trailer, it looks utterly garbage, I can't get over it, it's so fucking stupid, I hate it. And that is the newest trailer for this abomination of a movie, and my god, this trailer just breaks my heart. The jokes from the first trailers are still not funny, the effects still don't look good, and while the Ghostbusting in this trailer and the Leslie Jones dragon perch give me hope, the characters are more obnoxious here than they ever were in the first 2 trailers, the Reddit leak rings more and more true the more we see, and the giant ghost is unforgivable, utterly shit. If all hope I had in this movie hadn't already been stamped out, this trailer certainly does the trick. If I believed in a god, I'd pray that I am wrong, but I don't, and this film really doesn't look good.

And here's the link to Midnight's Edge, where they've compiled a few videos documenting this film's alleged production troubles.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvrd6VtgWF7CwaZH1S0N-Qg

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End game review

Here's wat you need to know, Nathan Drake has decided to give up his life as a treasure hunter and is now trying to live a normal life with Elena. But his attempts to live a normal life come to a halt when his brother; Sam, comes back, seemingly from the dead, and needs Nate's help to pay off a serious debt, a debt they plan to pay with the long lost treasure of Henry Avery. But an old acquaintance of theirs also wants this treasure, and will not stop until the loot is found and Sam and Nate are dead, now the race is once again on, to find the largest pirate haul in history.

One of the ways this game pulls from previous Naughty Dog games is in the opening sequence of the game, which borrows from Uncharted 2 somewhat, like Uncharted 2, this game opens in medias res, throwing you into a high stakes action sequence with no context, it is effective in the same way the train sequence was, and it does do a similarly good job of setting the tone, which is much darker than any previous Uncharted game. What follows is a very interesting prologue showing Nate's escape from an orphanage with the help of Sam, and a botched prison job in which Sam 'dies', this is, in my opinion, the highpoint of the prologue, with a fast and intense escape from the prison guards, and some fun climbing and puzzling. It's worth mentioning however that the prologue ends in a very interesting way, similar to the opening sequence of the game, there's a slight whiff of deja vu about it, which, while not a bad thing, is something I feel is worth noting. The game's story is the most grounded in the series so far, completely ditching the more supernatural and fantastical elements of the first 3 games in favour of a more conventional treasure hunting tale. That said, this is, in my opinion, the best story in the series so far, as Nate struggles to balance his married life and the life Sam has dragged him back into, and it's great to see the characters everyone loves from the first 3 games back, even if Elena takes more of a backseat for a large portion of the game. The twists and turns of the tale are cool, if at times predictable, and the mystery that arises as the near finding the loot is fascinating. Like Uncharted 2 and 3, the game's story spans the globe, with stops in Italy, Scotland and Madagascar, and Panama if you count the prologue. But what I like most about this game's story is the adventure and the drama, as the mystery of the treasure deepens, and tension rises between characters. This is a more mature story than any Uncharted before it, and that makes getting caught up in its dramas and emotions easier than ever, hard honesty, this game almost made me cry, a few times, and that puts this game up a few points for me. The game hasn't forgotten what it is though, the dialogue is still fast and witty, and the game still allows for more than enough light hearted fun, including a, shall we say, blast from the past, of sorts, which I really wasn't expecting, and it was awesome. The game does, however, borrow a fair few elements from past games in the series, like the opening sequence, and a host of other events throughout the story that are either reminiscent of Uncharted or The Last of Us, it sounds small, but it keeps happening, to the point where you'd think it's borrowing from other licenses and forms of media, like the recent Tomb Raider reboot and The Goonies, that maybe pushing it, and I don't think this detracts from the game or it's story, but it's something I thought while playing the game. None of that matters in the game's final moments however, which bring the Uncharted story to a close in a brilliantly warm-hearted and likable way, that leaves the game of an extremely positive note, in my opinion.

This is the most fun to play Uncharted game to date, by far, the gunplay is faster and more refined, but can actually be bypassed entirely if you so desire, thanks to an increased emphasis on stealth. Combat areas are now more like play grounds, where you can sneak around and take enemies out quietly, Far Cry style, and the AI doesn't slouch in these sequences either, once alerted to your presence, they will hunt you down, if you're in the open, they will try to flank you, and if they lose track of you, they won't forget you're there. I like taking a stealthy approach to combat situations in games, so I am very happy with this change, but again, if you've not interested in stealth, guns blazing is a completely valid option, and it's more fun than ever, both with the refined shooting, and the inclusion of new power weapons, which are crazy powerful and huge amounts of fun to use. The game also, from time to time, drops you in a huge open area, and gives you the freedom to have fun with its new vehicle gameplay, while it's not the best driving in a game ever, and it's certainly less refined than the shooting, it's still fun to cruise around Madagascar in a jeep, or around a tropical archipelago in a boat. The climbing has also been tweaked, while still fun on its own, new additions like sliding on slopes add more challenge to the climbing, but in a good way, and the new grapple hook is awesome, swinging around on it is fun as hell, pulling off a flawless swing is satisfying, and nailing an enemy in the face fresh off a flawless swing is probably unhealthily satisfying. as the game comes to a climax, the game also does a bit of a change in pace, at least for a specific sequence, and it's in this sequence that I feel the gameplay is at its weakest, as is the puzzling, no spoilers, other than that it's dark, but if I need to find a flaw in the gameplay, I'll pick that. Treasures are back of course, and they're as fun to sniff out as ever, and of course the puzzles are also back, and like  previous Uncharted games, the puzzles can be a bit brain hurty, but are hugely satisfying to solve, and they finally solved the random death problem I've had with the series so far, which is good. One particular puzzle I'm a fan of puts Nate in an old clock tower, and sees you opening hidden doors and solving elaborate combinations, it' pretty cool.

Uncharted 4 is incredible, the story is powerful and adventurous, and closes the book on Uncharted in a way I personally love, the gameplay is fun and intense, the new stealth system is fun to play with, as are the power weapons and vehicles when you're given the chance, the story and gameplay do both drop the ball sometimes, but it doesn't detract from the quality of the game, for me anyway, Uncharted 4 is an absolute must play.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves game review (PS4)

Here's what you need to know; Drake's got himself into some serious trouble when his fellow tomb raiders screw him over in a heist, and he learns that the mystery client who hired them is a psychotic warlord with dreams of becoming a god. Now the race is back on, this time to find the fabled city of Shambhala before the evil Lazarević  gets to it first, but as usual, things are more complicated than that, and Drake will soon find himself questioning what is and isn't possible.
yes, I've been tremendously sloppy these past few weeks, almost impressively so if I do say so myself, but Uncharted 4 is coming; tomorrow, in fact. So my piss poor management of time will have to wait, because I wanted to review the highest point of the Uncharted franchise, a game that has personal significance to me, since it actually helped me through the lowest depression of my life, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

You know what kind of game you're in for the instant it starts, with Nathan Drake fatally injured on a train hanging off of a cliff, with very little context, it sets the tone marvellously, this is not just a heavier game than the first, it's also much more insane. The trinity of superb characters from the first game, Drake, Elena and Sully are all back, though sadly Sully does take a bit of a back seat to the new characters this game throws at the player, mainly Chloe and Flynn. Chloe, in addition to complicating the romance element of the game somewhat, more profoundly complicates the plot of the game too, with her wishy-washy allegiance and highly questionable trustworthiness. Just like the trinity though, she's fast and witty, and bounces off Drake in often really funny ways, and thankfully her intrusion into the romance element is also done really well, not in an awkward way like you'd expect, it doesn't bog down the plot at all, which is a plus. Flynn on the other hand, is more of an example of how it's hard to hate a character in this series, even when they're complete fucking arse holes, weird thing is I really like Flynn too, he's funny and witty too, and his more rigid loyalties makes him a very effective blocker to Drake's quest, it's particularly funny when he and Drake talk shit to each other, and, without spoilers, his character ending is rather deserving and satisfying. The villain is, however, kind of flat, your typical evil Russian guy, but even he has his moments, 2 in particular that are very effective, but I'll stay quiet on them. I said before that this is a heavier game than the first one, and it most certainly is, dealing with more mature and loaded subjects than the first, and having more emotional scenes with Drake and the other characters, as the game comes to a close in particular, things really start to get rough, and the ending is lovably warm-hearted. The story is more globetrotting than the first too, as Drake travels to from the swampy jungles of Borneo, to the war ravaged streets and rooftops of Nepal, to the treacherous snowy peaks of the Himalayas. This increase in scenic diversity is very helpful when you consider that this game is longer than the first, and more involved from a gameplay and story stand point.

The game plays very well, retaining many of its tricks from the first game, you still have 2 weapon slots, a 1 handed gun and a 2 handed gun, and there are more guns here too, including a slow but crazy powerful crossbow you get near the end of the game, and heavier weapons like grenade launchers and mini guns. Similar to the first game though, none of these weapons really are that one, you'll not be gravitating to any particular weapon, and will more likely be swapping them out when and if you need to in combat. New enemy types mix things up, but that isn't necessarily a good thing, the first game had freaky Gollum zombies, which were annoying in their numbers and persistence, but this game has something worse, freaky grey Hulk monsters that do crazy damage, are really fast, and absorb bullets like they're a strong breeze or something, they compound a bizarre difficulty spike in the latter half of the game, there's a surprisingly noticeable increase in difficulty with the combat, a greater emphasis on stealth makes things easier, but when that doesn't work, expect death, at the very least. The platforming and climbing is less fiddly than the first game, so less pointless deaths and suicidal leaps, though one time does really stand out to me when I died about 5 times in a row because I had to grab a ledge within a time limit, and Drake just wouldn't do it, that still happens, and it's still annoying. the Puzzling has, like the combat, become more challenging since the first game, and while there's no noticeable spike, the puzzles can get a bit brain hurty, that contrasts however with the really cool puzzles of which the game has at least half a dozen, maybe I'm just thick. The collectable treasures are back, and either they're easier to find or there is a shit-load more of the things scattered throughout the game world, again, some of them are not well hidden, others are, and others are easy to spot, but more challenging to get to than they first appear, it's not Arkham City, but they're fun little things to sniff out. Finally, I said at the start that this game is more insane than the first, and it very much is, with out of control set piece carnage that is splendid to look at, if you had time to look at them instead of running for your life from them, there are numerous times in this game when the world literally starts falling apart around you and you just have to leg it, and it is the most pulse pounding shit this game has to offer by far, providing a rush the combat and platforming doesn't even come close to providing, one very good example of this shit is a sequence in a building with a gunship outside trying to kill you, the madness that ensues is literally like an interactive version of a Roland Emmerich movie, it's awesome.

Uncharted 2 steps it up, with a superior and more emotional story, improved combat, smarter puzzles, and an overall larger scale than the first, the game does suffer somewhat form some of the issues that have stayed from the first, and the difficulty spike does make the combat feel more derivative, as well as being annoying, but the amount of fun this game offers, and emotional punch and fun characters more than make up for that, this game is fantastic, and an absolute much play.