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sparhawk_55
Reviews
Hope Dances (2017)
Poor script and directing seem to let this one down.
While there's a good story here and my 2.5 year old mostly enjoyed it, the script and some performances really let it down. The cinematography is poor in many scenes, and the editing seems pretty amateur (weird jumps, cuts etc). Overdone makeup in almost every scene, even on the young girls, which is totally going to help with body image issues... (#sarcasm). Inane dialogue and block-ish interactions, her parents are like cardboard. Oh, and you'd better like montages, because this movie is basically just montage after montage, with a little dialogue thrown in because 'I guess we needed some dialogue, right'? Which is exactly how much thought was given to the dialogue and character conversations. Really seems more like a school project than a feature film. Can't say I recommend it, at least some of the dancing was good, which is what my 2.5 year old wanted to see anyway. I mean was there really any suspense about whether she would continue playing softball when the movie is titled "Hope Dances" and the only conflict during the movie when she drops softball is her dad pouting for about 2 scenes? They hired a Playgirl model to be a ballet instructor and hang around all those young women?
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (2006)
An Experience and a Half
This game (and the first game) were completely new to me when I began playing this game. I honestly had no idea what to expect, but I was amazed at how fast the story drew me into a game. I can honestly say that it has been a while since a game's story has been the drawing factor in my purchase. The usual games that occupy my computer and my time are short and usually mindless Shooters. To me the story felt much more like a book that I was acting out and being sort of led through.
The visuals are pretty good although it's not the best out there. Honestly though the story overshadows the visuals so much I found myself sometimes looking elsewhere in the room while the characters were speaking because I felt I could imagine the characters slightly better then they were on screen(now how many game do that, eh?) The sound quality is amazing they even made it compatible with the latest sound-cards. Which is in fact why I checked it out in the first place. I recently picked up a new sound-card (a Creative X-FI no less) and was looking for games that supported it's fancy technology. The dialog is top notch and the music and sound effects are amazing. Surround sound is a must for this or at least a decent pair of headphones.
As for how the game plays, well... that leaves a fair bit to be desired. The game-play is... clunky. I found there were a few too many loading screens for tiny areas in the level(however the loading screens were only three or four seconds long for me), I felt a constant loading system similar to that of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion would have been better for a more flowing story. Sometimes I found it very hard to see exactly what was going on because the camera would stick or not get to that particular angle I was trying to get it too. Quite often I found myself fighting with the game to just let me continue the story rather then complete some meaningless task that just showed more control issues... like the fighting system..(shudder).
Even with all its flaws it is still one of the most amazing games to come out in years. I only can hope that future games will be able to capture this magic and keep it, while improving the visuals and control to make this amazing experience flow more seamlessly.
Underworld: Evolution (2006)
Excellent Movie For Pretty Much Anyone
I saw this movie because I had heard that the first one had been good. I really had no idea what to expect because I didn't even know that the movie was about the wars between the Liken and the vampires.
Without having seen the first one this movie was still an excellent show. There was a relatively good story-line and the fight scenes (although gory) were quite impressive. The movie was shot during the night(you know: vampires can't be in the sun) which also gave a neat feel to the movie because there was very little color and gave it an almost Sin City feel. And it was just a bonus that the lead female role was hot.
All in all it was a great movie and I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of the action/fantasy genre.