Avatar: The Last Airbender, not just a kids cartoon but a sprawling epic.

Unlike most fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I did not grow up watching the show.
I knew of it but I never watched it.
In fact, my first exposure to the show was the live action movie and we all know how that turned out.
So, imagine my surprise, when I learnt that a lot of reviewers I listen to considered this to be one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
After hearing this I naturally had to check it out and watch all three seasons of the show.
And you know what?
They were right.
Because Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the greatest TV shows I have ever seen.
It is right up there with Death Note, Game of Thrones and Westworld, for me.
This surprised me to no end because, before this, I considered the show to be nothing more than a kids cartoon like Spongebob Squarepants.
But Avatar: The Last Airbender is not this.
Instead of your average kids cartoon the show is a sprawling epic, full of likable characters, engaging stories and excellent use of world building.
If I had one criticism of the show, it would be that initially it does not appear to be the epic story that it is.
The first episode did not really grab me like most of my favourite shows’ first episodes did.
However, after the first few episodes, the show expands its storytelling, creating a complex world and characters that left me engaged from start to finish.
The plot of the show feels more like an epic tale like Lord of The Rings.
The plot is that the world is divided into four nations, Earth, Water, Air and Fire, and each of these nations is able to control their own individual element.

Map of the four nations seen in the show.

The Avatar is the only one who can control all four elements but he disappeared 100 years ago, allowing the Fire Nation to invade the other nations in an attempt to take over the world.
100 years after the Avatar’s disappearance, Water Tribe siblings Katara and Sokka discover the Avatar, a kid named Aang, frozen in ice.
After freeing him the three set out on an adventure to stop the Fire Nation and save the world.
This is a really great premise and it is helped by the show’s storytelling, with each episode expanding our knowledge of the show’s world and its characters.
In fact, the characters are some of the best out of any show I have ever seen.
Every character stands out, from the heroes to the villains.
Aang is a lovable naive kid with a great moral code, Katara is a motherly figure who stands up for her friends and Sokka may be the comedic relief but he is also incredibly smart and is extremely useful to the group.
Chasing after them is Prince of The Fire Nation Zuko and his uncle Iroh.
These two are easily the best characters in the series, with Iroh coming across as the kind old man who anyone would like to have as their uncle and Zuko has, in my opinion, the greatest character arc of any character I have ever seen.
If you compare Zuko from the start of the show to the end he is a completely different person and watching him make this journey of personal growth across the series was nothing short of enthralling.
And as the show went on even more great characters appeared like Toph, Azula, Suki, Ozai and many more.
I could literally make an entire post about why these characters are so good.

The three main characters Aang, Katara and Sokka along with their pets Appa and Momo.

These great characters mixed with the intriguing story make for some fantastic episodes that are some of the best TV I have seen, like The Storm, The Crossroads of Destiny and The Southern Raiders.
Even the filler episodes are great.
Avatar Day has nothing to do with the main plot, yet it is a great episode because of its intriguing mystery plot and funny moments.
And then there is The Ember Island Players, which is literally the only good recap episode I can remember.
This episode actually did something creative with the idea, turning it completely on its head.
When making a recap episode, The Ember Island Players should be set as the standard for what makes a great one.

The Ember Island players in the only recap episode that ever had me invested.

There were only a few stumbles with episodes like The Great Divide, and Nightmares and Daydreams but these episodes do not detract from the overall greatness of the show.
The show is further improved by its soundtrack, animation and themes, all of which are excellent.
The soundtrack and animation are so unique in their style that if I stumbled across the show on TV I would instantly know I was watching Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The themes of the show are also presented really well covering spirituality and balance.
All of this greatness culminates in the four part series finale Sozin’s Comet.
It feels like the creators of the show were holding back on the music and animation until the finale because the music and animation on display in these final four episodes is nothing short of fantastic.
The themes are also best displayed in these episodes and the characters go really well with them, especially Aang, who had a great character arc in these final episodes.
If you watch the final four episodes, I would suggest you watch them all together because it feels like you are watching a movie.
Sozin’s Comet was a fantastic way to end the series, which is surprising considering most shows go on for too long or have lackluster finales, while Avatar: The Last Airbender ended its story perfectly.

the four part Sozin’s Comet was a fantastic way to end the series

Honestly, I cannot recommend Avatar: The Last Airbender enough.
I loved the show and it left me wanting more so I cannot wait to check out its follow up series The Legend of Korra.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a fantastic show that deserves recognition for the epic story that it is.

The Disaster Artist expertly portrays the artist behind the disaster.

In 2003 one movie left the world baffled, confused and unsure of whether to laugh or cringe at what they were seeing.
This movie was The Room.
Written, directed, produced and starring the larger than life Tommy Wiseau, The Room is considered to by many to be the greatest worst movie ever made.
The acting is laughably bad, the story and characters are inconsistent and numerous sub plots appear and disappear at the drop of a hat.
Yet, despite this, the movie has persevered to become a cult classic, with sold out showings the world over.
This movie is a complete enigma so I guess it makes sense that someone would want to make a movie about it.

James Franco turns out to be that person because, much like Wiseau, he both stars and directs The Disaster Artist, which is based off the making of The Room.
However, unlike Wiseau, Franco was able to make a really good film.
The Disaster Artists is fascinating to watch, not only for people who have seen The Room but those who have not as well.
Franco stars as Wiseau and his brother Dave Franco stars as Greg Sestero, Wiseau’s friend, who played Mark in The Room.
The film highlights Wiseau and Sestero’s friendship and how it lead to the making of The Room.
Both Franco brothers give fantastic performances in this movie, especially James Franco.
I was originally concerned that he would just do a Wiseau impersonation the entire film but my fears immediately disappeared as soon as he appeared on screen.
Franco is not just playing Tommy Wiseau, he IS Tommy Wiseau.
It was fascinating to watch this strange character interact with others, who are often shocked and freaked out by his mannerisms.
“Is this guy for real,” is a common reaction among the characters.

Dave Franco is also great as Sestero and the film did a really good job of showing why he would befriend such an eccentric person.
The other actors, like Seth Rogen, also do a great job and there were even quite a few cameos in the film.
Although this did kind of take away from the film to be constantly going, “hey, is that who I think it is?”
The Disaster Artist is basically cut into two parts.
While the first part establishes Wiseau and Sestero’s friendship, the second part focuses on the making of The Room and this is where the movie really gets good.
Like Franco’s performance, I was also concerned about how the film would portray the making of The Room.
I was worried it would just be a bunch of jokes and scenes that only those who had seen The Room would understand.
However, once again, the movie surprised me.
While it certainly does have jokes about The Room, the audience is never left out.
It is explained why these scenes do not work in the film and in a very funny fashion.

Another thing I liked about The Disaster Artist was it did not deliberately set out to mock The Room.
It would have been easy to make fun of Wiseau and how he completely misunderstood how to make a film but the movie does not do this.
Although the movie does sometimes poke fun at Wiseau, it also portrays him in a way that makes you root for him.
We all have dreams of becoming famous or making something that people will appreciate that do not always work out and it is very engaging to watch Wiseau’s journey to actually accomplish it, even though it does not turn out like he hoped it would.
In fact, my favourite part of the movie was the ending, where it was established why this film is so ingrained in pop culture.
It left a smile on my face.
However, not all is perfect as the camera work sometimes stumbles a bit.
Most of the shots are hand held and this does not work for some scenes.
It felt like some of the scenes should have been static shots and, with the camera constantly moving around, it felt a bit jarring at times.
Still, The Disaster Artist is an enjoyable and oddly inspirational film that shows why The Room has become the cult classic it is today.
It made me want to go and re-watch The Room so I could both laugh and cringe all over again.

The Walking Dead delivers its weakest episode of season eight so far.

The Walking Dead season eight has been pretty good so far.
There have been no standout episodes but every episode has been above average and often great.
This changes with the sixth episode, The King, The Widow and Rick.
I do not think this is a bad episode but it is average, at best.
Compared to the rest of the season, there is not much happening in this episode.
The biggest event of the episode was Rick being captured by the, oh so annoying, trash people, although it is obvious he will not be a captive for long.
Rick’s storyline was the shortest in the episode, as it only had a few scenes.
It opened moments before Rick arrived at the Junkyard, with Jadis constructing ornaments naked… for some reason.
Then Rick arrives and, one intro later, Jadis greets him, having put on her clothes in record time.
Seriously, how did she put on her clothes so fast?
Anyway, we finally learn why Rick was taking Polaroids of their victories against the Saviours, when he uses this as proof of their failures.
Jadis, however, locks Rick up anyway.
Although, it is obvious that Jadis will eventually join Rick, it is good that she said no because it would have been highly unrealistic had she said yes.

Meanwhile we get a scene with Rosita and Michonne, trying to stop two Saviours from delivering a truck playing Opera music that will lead the Walkers at the Sanctuary away.
During this scene, Rosita blows up one of the Saviours with an RPG, which I found to be incredibly stupid.
They then meet up with Daryl and Tara and go to attack The Sanctuary, going against Rick’s plan.
I know they want revenge but this is a really stupid idea.
Why would they go against Rick’s plan when it is clearly working?
I hate it when the characters make stupid decisions just to advance the plot, when there were clearly other ways of doing so.
This storyline was by far the weakest of the episode.
Speaking of characters doing stupid things, Carl helps Siddiq kill some Walkers, when there is no reason to do so and nearly gets himself killed.
It felt like a gimmick to increase the tension of the episode, when really it just made me roll my eyes.
Although, Siddiq does seem like an interesting character.
I thought the character was someone else, other than Siddiq, but I was wrong about that.
I really did like how he remembers almost every single Walker he has killed, it was pretty funny.

Meanwhile with the king storyline, we see how the deaths of Ezekiel’s people and Shiva is affecting him.
We get a very moving scene between Ezekiel and Carol that makes it seems like they will get together after all.
However, the writers seem to be forgetting that Carol was already in a relationship with Tobin so hopefully they resolve that and do not make it just a forgotten plot thread.
Besides, The music in this scene was excellent and perfectly reflected what was happening.
Despite the episode being the weakest of the season, for me, it definitely had the best music.
Finally we get the widow storyline, with Maggie deciding what to do with the Saviour prisoners.
This was my favourite part of the episode because we got more of a sense of who some of the Saviours are and it possibly hinted at a future storyline.
I like that we are seeing good Saviours as well as bad ones.

The Saviour Dillon looks to be an interesting character going forward, due to his reluctance to fight and risk everyone’s lives.
He is a great contrast to Jared, in that regard because the two are polar opposites.
Gregory being locked up with The Saviours is also interesting because it raises the possibility of Gregory’s storyline happening much earlier than it does in the comics.
However, other than that, there really was not that much interesting happening in this episode.
Michonne and Rosita’s storyline felt more like filler to get them to join up with Daryl and Tara so they could go to The Sanctuary.
Rick’s storyline was very brief and offered so surprises because we saw that he got captured in the trailer and, although Siddiq seems like an interesting character, the scene with him and Carl killing Walkers was stupid.
The storylines at The Hilltop and The Kingdom were the only interesting ones but The Kingdom’s storyline was really short.
Then there was the fact of how stupid many of the characters were being just for plot convenience.
Overall a very average episode, with nothing exciting happening.
Hopefully we will get more next episode.

Death Note, an anime that is a masterpiece to a person who does not typically watch anime.

You know, I am not a big fan of anime.
The only anime series I had an interest in was Dragon Ball and its subsequent series because I grew up watching it.
If a good anime was on TV that I had heard good things about, I would watch it but I had never considered any anime to be one of the greatest TV series I have ever seen.
However, all this changed when I saw Death Note.
Oddly enough, I have the notoriously hated Death Note Netflix adaptation to thank for discovering this series.
I saw many reviews condemning the movie for how it differentiated from the anime and manga, in the worst of ways.
Many people drew comparisons to the anime in their reviews and this is where my interest peaked.
Reviewers talked about amazing characters, themes of religion and what justice is and all of this wrapped up in an exhilarating cat and mouse game between two geniuses.
I made sure to buy Death Note as soon as I could and I was stunned at how incredible this show really is.
Death Note is a show with almost no action and yet every episode was so intense and had me on the edge of my seat to see what would happen.
The Death Note anime is actually an adaptation itself of the manga series, with the same name.
It follows Light Yagami, a high school student in Japan, who comes across the Death Note, a book that can kill anyone if you write their name in it.
Accompanied by a Shinigami, a god of death, named Ryuk, who acts as a spectator, Light takes on the name Kira and sets out to rid the world of criminals by using the Death Note and create a new world, where he is God.
However, Light’s goal is not secure because the world’s greatest detective L, who becomes aware of the mass killings of criminals, sets out to catch Light.
And so begins an intense game of cat and mouse between the two, with Light trying to kill L before he is caught by him and L trying to catch Light before he is killed by him.

If I could describe Death Note in one word it word be fascinating.
Everything about Death Note is fascinating, from its religious themes and it presenting the question of what justice is to the audience, to Light and L’s game of cat and mouse.
It was amazing to watch these two geniuses try to outsmart one another through their constant, expert use of lying and manipulation.
I was astonished by how quick the two were to constantly outsmart the other’s full proof plans.
The conflict between Light and L was the definite highlight of the series, amplified by how great both characters are.
L was definitely my favourite of the two, with his quirky characteristics and his amazing levels of deduction blending seamlessly.
It was a delight to watch him pose a serious challenge to Light, through his amazing abilities of manipulation and deduction skills, in ways that no else could.
His standout moment, strangely enough, comes when we do not know what he looks like.
It is in the second episode and truly shows how much of a threat he will be to Light’s plans for a new world.
The fact that L is so interesting, despite us knowing almost nothing about his backstory, even his true name, shows how great of a character he is.

In comparison, Light is also thrilling and mysterious.
He is almost, if not just as smart as L but his Death Note gives him a considerable edge.
And, although Light is setting out to make a better world, his way of doing so and one of his main motivations raise serious questions about his morality and lead the audience to ask some very hard questions concerning their own morality.
Many people like Light and want his plan for a new world to succeed and this is actually quite amazing, considering that in any other series Light would have been the villain.
Although he is trying to make a better world by killing criminals, Light will stoop to no lows, killing completely innocent people if they get in his way and even goes as far as considering to kill his own family, when they get in the way as well.
Light also has a god complex, seeing himself as a god who will build the new world and punish anyone who defies him.
In the beginning, I was actually kind of rooting for Light but, by the end of episode 25, he had become a character I loved to hate and I wanted to see his downfall.
Light is also just as mysterious as L but not in the way you think because it is actually up for debate whether Light is evil or if the Death Note corrupted him.
At some point in the story Light temporarily loses the Death Note, removing all of his memories of it.
As a result, he becomes a law abiding citizen and would never do the things he did when he had the Death Note.
However, when he gets it back, he goes right back to his end game of creating a new world by any means necessary.
It raises some interesting questions about who Light is as a person.

If either Light or L had been done even slightly wrong, the whole story would have fallen apart but to have both characters done so fantastically makes the story just incredible.
And Light and L are not the only great characters in the series.
Ryuk is also a great character and his role as a spectator had great importance because it was through him we learnt how the Death Note worked.
Other characters like Light’s father Soichiro and Light’s devoted follower Misa Amane are also great and have importance the story.
Two of my particular favourite characters along with Light, L and Ryuk are the two cops Touta Matsuda and Shuichi Aizawa, who were both interesting characters.
If you add this great cast of characters to its fantastic story and its themes of religion and justice, then you have an incredible show on your hands, which is exactly what Death Note is.
Death Note could do no wrong in my eyes.
But then episode 25 happened.
This episode is infamous among fans of Death Note because it completely shakes up the dynamic of the show.
Everything changes after this episode and the show feels very different from what is was before.
The problem with this?
After this point the show is great rather than fantastic
I still love the show after episode 25 but it is nowhere near as good as it once was.
Without the dynamic we had earlier, it feels like something is missing and some of the new characters are not as good as they could have been.
For example, after episode 25 we are introduced two new characters named Mello and Near, who L has been training to be his successors.

These two characters are pretty weak compared to the other characters, with them being represented as types of L’s personality rather than actual characters.
Mello represents L’s emotional side, while Near represents his calculative side.
I just wanted a little more character development from them.
A lot of people seem to think the show should have ended after episode 25 but I do not believe this.
There was more story to tell and things to resolve so the remaining 12 episodes were necessary.
However, that being said, I do wish the show had maintained its original dynamic because, if it had, it would have been fantastic the entire way through.
And, even though after episode 25 the show had a downgrade in quality, the show was still great so this will not deduct a point from my overall rating.
Death Note is a masterpiece.
It is a fantastic anime and TV series that has you on the edge of your seat, even with the downgrade in quality after episode 25.
It has a great story, great characters and great themes and symbolism.
It is already one of my favourite shows, due to its gripping story that had me engaged, right to the end.
I highly recommend it.

What happened to Negan is no longer unknown in The Big Scary U.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 8 episode 5 follow.

The Walking Dead has delivered its best episode of season eight yet, with The Big Scary U.
The U, in this case, stands for unknown, as Gregory points out in the opening sequence, which is one of the longest, if not the longest, opening sequence in all of The Walking Dead.
This opening sequence goes on for a while but every moment of it is absolutely riveting, even though no action is happening.
Negan is scarier than he has ever been in this episode, as he yells at Simon for suggesting killing everyone at the Hilltop.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is definitely the standout of this episode, delivering his best performance as Negan so far.
I cannot wait to see more of Negan in the rest of the season.

And it is about time we saw him too since both he, Gabriel and the rest of the main Saviours have been absent for four episodes.
It is kind of strange, considering that Negan is the leader of The Saviours and yet he has not been seen in the war since the first episode, although this is because Morgan had scheduling conflicts.
It was great to see the way Negan and Gabriel interacted this episode, with a scene ripped straight from the comics, when Negan reveals he had a wife to Gabriel… after Gabriel tries to kill him, of course.
Meanwhile, inside the Sanctuary, we see the remaining Saviours falling apart.
This gives us a clear indication of why Negan has been able to keep power so long, he is the only one of this group that can keep them together, no matter how extreme his methods are.
We got a really good look at who many The Saviours are, who we did not have a good sense of earlier, which I really liked.
First there is the new Saviour Regina, who we met in the season premiere.
We got a good look at who she is along with who Simon is.
Until this episode, Simon felt more like a generic henchman to me and I had no interest in him.
This episode changed that however as we saw how Simon reacts to this dire situation and we also got a sense of his backstory as well, if it was his backstory.
From what Negan says, it appears that Simon was in charge of The Sanctuary before he arrived and was incapable of leading.
This clearly translates to how things play out in The Sanctuary and it makes Simon seem like he will have a bigger role in the war to come.

Also, Eugene has discovered that it was Dwight who is working with Rick and the others, although it appears he is keeping quiet about it, at least for now.
Hopefully he and Dwight will begin working together soon.
Finally we have a few scenes with Rick and Daryl, where we continue to see how dangerous Daryl is becoming.
He is willing to bomb The Sanctuary, even if it risks the lives of the innocent people inside.
Rick thankfully is against this and it leads to an interesting fight between the two.
This leads to a great callback to the first season with Rick telling Daryl “a choke hold is illegal,” which is what Daryl said when Shane choke held him in the first season.
The two then go there separate ways with Rick going to see Jadis and the Trash People.
However, along the way he sees a helicopter flying overhead.
I’m curious as to what this could mean for future storylines but also I’m wondering what is The Walking Dead’s deal with helicopters.
There was one in Season One, a second one in Season two, one in Fear The Walking Dead and now in this episode.
It is kind of weird how a helicopter is a recurring thing in the world of The Walking Dead.

Overall, this was a fantastic episode.
It is easily the best of the season so far, with great scenes like the one between Negan and Gabriel.
It is episodes like this that show The Walking Dead is not losing its cool.

Justice League is a “just” mess

The DC Cinematic Universe has been on the rocks for quite some time.
First there was Man of Steel, which was overall very forgettable, followed by the disjointed disappointment that was Batman V Superman.
Then there was Suicide Squad, which was a gigantic mess but is kind of a guilty pleasure for me.
Finally, there was Wonder Woman, which seemed to set the DC cinematic universe on the right track.
Now we have Justice League, which was supposed to be DC’s version of The Avengers and continue what Wonder Woman started, by continuing the DC Cinematic Universe’s greatness.
So, did Justice League manage to achieve this?
Well, in my opinion, no.
I actually think that Justice League is just as bad as Batman V Superman.
It might fix a lot of the problems seen in Batman V Superman but it generates entirely news ones that make the film just as bad.
First, let’s talk about what the movie did right, the characters.
In Batman V Superman the characters were all complete hypocrites so it was very hard to root for them, however, in Justice League this is completely fixed.
Batman no longer comes across as the hypocrite he was in Batman V Superman and neither do the other characters.
Speaking of which, I was afraid that the new characters Flash (played by Ezra Miller), Aquaman (played by Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (played by Ray Fisher), would not stand out, due to them no appearing in their own film before Justice League.
However, thankfully I was wrong about this because these characters are all given their time to shine, especially Cyborg.

Ray Fisher did an excellent job playing him because Cyborg was by far the best character in the movie, although he was almost completely CG but we will get to that later.
All of the cast portraying members of the Justice League are great and their chemistry is very well developed.
By far, the best scenes in the movie are when they are talking or arguing and trying to figure out how they work as a team.
Also, some of the action was really well done.
My favourite action set piece was a fight between the Flash and someone else who can move at super speed (I will let you guess who that is).
A lot of the jokes are also really funny.
I particularly liked a joke to do with Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth, which left the audience roaring with laughter.
However, this is where the positives end for me.
Where to begin with the mess that follows?
Let’s start with the story, which feels rushed.
It felt like at least several key scenes were missing.
This is probably because the studio cut down its run time to two hours.
This was a bad move on their part because the movie feels kind of disjointed because of it.
We can see that many shots and scenes from the trailers are gone, probably because of the cut run time.
If this movie had been at least 30 minutes longer it would have felt less disjointed and, maybe, I would have liked it more.
An increased run time could also have helped improve the film’s villain Steppenwolf (played by Ciaran Hinds).
Speaking of which, Steppenwolf is one of the most boring movie villains of the decade.
In my Thor: Ragnarok review, I criticized Hella for being a bland villain but, compared to Steppenwolf, she looks like Darth Vader.
Steppenwolf’s motivations are boring, he just wants to take over earth for evil reasons that are never fully developed.
He is completely forgettable, no joke, I actually kept forgetting he was in the movie until he had a scene and he looks like a video game character, due to the atrocious CGI.

And I wish I could say the atrocious CGI only affected Steppenwolf but, unfortunately, I cannot because the truth is this movie looks like a video game.
Had Justice League actually been a video game, I would be praising it for its visuals but for a big budget movie, this CGI is awful.
If it looks like a video game I’m not going to believe its actually there.
The CGI is not awful all the time though, because there are some times where it works, like when the Flash is running at super speed and with Cyborg, however the good far out ways the bad.
The worst case of CGI is in the final battle where, when fighting Steppenwolf, even members of the Justice League are CG.
This ruins the entire fight.
But, arguably the worst part of Justice League is that there is never a feeling of impending doom.
We are lead to believe that Steppenwolf’s invasion of earth is world ending but it never really feels like that for two reasons.
One, of course, is Steppenwolf himself ,who never comes across as an actual threat but just a bland, boring villain as I said earlier.
The second reason is that we do not see how the world is reacting to these events.
Say what you want about Batman V Superman but at least we saw how the world was reacting to what was happening.
We got to see what they thought of Superman and then his eventual sacrifice.
In Justice League however, no one really reacts to Steppenwolf invading earth.
When he and his forces invade a small Russian town no one reacts to it.
We do not see the world panic because of the alien invasion and we barely see how the people in the town are dealing with it.
The movie focuses on one family in this town and no one else.
Because of this it only feels like the family is in danger, not everyone in the town, or the world for that matter.

Worst of all, we do not even see how the world reacts to the Justice League.
I know I’ll probably be accused of being a Marvel fanboy for saying this but in The Avengers we got to see what the world thought of a team of superheroes.
At the end of The Avengers we see their reactions, through news reports, some praising, some condemning the heroes and it gives us a sense of the impact The Avengers have left on the world.
However, in Justice League, there is no such scene so we get no insight into the impact the Justice League has had and what the world thinks of them.
Justice League is a mess.
It may fix some of the problems from Batman V Superman, like the characters but there are still more problems that make it just as bad.
I now have no further anticipation for any film from the DC Cinematic Universe because of this… well, except for Wonder Woman 2 and Suicide Squad 2 (as I said, guilty pleasure!).

Some Guy is not some episode in the latest The Walking Dead episode.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead season eight episode four, Some Guy.

Many people are already calling Some Guy the best episode of Season 8 of The Walking Dead.
However, I do not feel that way.
I did like Some Guy but it had a few too many obvious flaws, for my liking.
In fact, I actually think this is the weakest episode of the season so far.
The Some Guy title refers to Ezekiel, in this episode, who we see torn down from a leader confident of victory, to a shell of that man who no longer wants to be called king.
I really liked a lot of the scenes with Ezekiel.
As the episode went along, we saw Ezekiel gradually lose more hope, starting with the death of his soldiers, until he loses it completely, with the death of Shiva.

Even Jerry had moments to shine in this episode, when he cut a Saviour, who was holding Ezekiel hostage, in half.
Although it is weird that he hits him twice with it, considering he obviously killed him with the first blow but that is a nitpick.
Carol is another central character in this episode, mowing Saviours down, left and right and just generally being Carol.
However, although I did like these things, as I said, this episode did have more flaws than previous episodes.
For one thing, the danger never feels real in this episode.
For most of the episode, the characters never felt in danger to me.
When Carol was being shot at from behind the car, it was ridiculous that she was not hit with the amount of bullets being fired.

Even worse is the scene where Rick and Daryl chase the Saviours with the 50. Calibur Machine Gun.
They are shot at repeatedly with this gun and, due to plot armor, are never hit.
If this was a real situation, then they would have been torn apart by gunfire.
It made the action feel very artificial and the danger not very apparent.
This episode also has a few scenes that just do not work.
First there is Ezekiel’s conversation with the Jeffrey Dahmer look alike, who took him hostage.
Some of this conversation was really good and interesting but, mostly, it was a bit of a drag.
I was just waiting for a Walker or Jerry to show up and kill him.
The final problem I have with this episode is Shiva’s death.
Yes, it was a sad death but the way it happened did not work at all.
In the comics, Ezekiel is overwhelmed by Walkers and about to be devoured when Shiva charges in and saves him, sacrificing herself in the process.
In the show however, Ezekiel, Carol and Jerry are not even close to being overwhelmed.
They could easily walk over an embankment and escape but Ezekiel wants to stay behind and sacrifice himself, even though they could all escape together.
This leads to Shiva charging in and sacrificing herself but since Ezekiel could have easily fled, her sacrifice felt completely unnecessary.

Although, I did love Ezekiel’s reaction to her death.
Khary Payton did a great job in this episode.
It is these problems that makes me think this episode is the weakest in the season so far.
I still liked the episode though because there was enough character development, with Ezekiel, and some interesting action scenes to keep me interested.

Thor: Ragnarok, over hyped but still good

Given all the hype surrounding Thor: Ragnarok, with many people, including Joss Whedon himself, calling it a masterpiece, you would expect it to be one of the best Marvel movies, right?
Well, sadly not because, while I do believe the film is good, Thor: Ragnarok is certainly over hyped.
It is a very decent film and I would urge people to go and see it because the film is a lot of fun but, at the same time, I do think people are over praising it.
The film features the return of the goddess of death Hela (Cate Blanchett), who attacks Asgard and traps Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) on a garbage planet, where Thor is forced to fight in Gladiator matches, where he runs into The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
The Thor movies are considered, by most, to be the worst films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so the new Thor movie definitely needed to do something different.
Enter director Taika Waititi, who turned Thor from one of the least interesting Marvel characters into a comedy star.

This new entry in the Thor series feels like it has more in common with Guardians of The Galaxy, than the previous Thor films.
Thor: Ragnarok is definitely a comedy first and super hero movie second.
The film has some excellent jokes, some of the best in any Marvel film.
My favourite joke had to do with the introduction of Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), which left me in a fit of laughter.
Another hilarious thing about the movie is the character of Korg, played by Waititi himself.
Korg is basically the comedic relief and he gives a lot of the best jokes in the film.
However, while the comedy route is welcome, there is too much of it.
Both Guardians of The Galaxy films were comedies but they knew when to crack a joke and when not to.
As a result, these films were able to have big emotional moments but Thor: Ragnarok doesn’t know when not to crack a joke, going as far as to put them in the big emotional scenes, almost ruining them.
It is not only the jokes that ruin these emotional moments but how they were handled as well.
At the end of the film, when Thor fights Hela, something happens to Thor that is quite shocking but they cut away from it so fast that there is no emotion to it.
Another disappointing thing is the dropped sub plot with Bruce Banner and The Hulk.
Banner tells Thor something about The Hulk that you expect to come back and be a big thing later but it never does.
Also, let’s be honest here, if it was not for Blanchett’s great performance as Hela, her character would be entirely forgettable.

Hela is no different from almost every other Marvel villain we have seen.
She wants to take over the universe and submit everyone to her will, blah, blah, blah, evil stuff.
However, like I said, the movie is not bad, it is just over hyped.
There are still a lot of really great things about Thor: Ragnarok.
For starters, the visuals are stunning and the CGI on display is really good.
The action is also riveting, with the fight between Thor and Hulk being a particular standout.
We are also introduced to new and interesting characters.
I already mentioned Korg, who is a great comedic relief character but there is also Valkyrie, who is sure to become a part of the Avengers and The Grand Master, played magnificently by Jeff Goldblum.
Surprisingly though, my favourite new character was not any of the main ones but a side character.
That character is Scurge, played by Karl Urban, who becomes Hela’s henchman, after she invades Asgard.
Scurge easily has the best character development in the entire movie.
You can see he likes how Hela gives him an important position, however at the same time, he feels guilty about the bad things that Hela orders him to do.
It was great to see a henchman in a movie that would not just blindly follow the villain, without any sign of a conscience.

And, even though I do not think this movie is the masterpiece it is being made out to be, it is still a lot of fun.
Thor: Ragnarok is one of those movies that is just entertaining the entire way through, due to its constant comedy and action scenes.
If you go to see it, you will definitely have a lot of fun.
It may not be a masterpiece but it is still a good watch.

Daryl is the real monster in this week’s episode of The Walking Dead, Monsters.

SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 8, EPISODE 3.

The Walking Dead Season eight is still going strong with its third episode, Monsters, being released last night.
Season eight is a definite step up from Season seven, which often felt very drawn out, while season eight feels exciting and fast paced.
Even in its quieter moments every scene in this episode is brimming with tension.
Specifically the scene between Rick and Morales.
It was nice to see these two catch up, even if it was at gunpoint.
Morales learning that Glenn had a wife and him calling Rick “Officer Friendly,” (a callback to season one) were definite highlights in this scene.
Unfortunately, this ends when Daryl shows up and kills Morales, without a second thought, despite knowing who he is.
Originally, I found it very annoying that they brought Morales back, only to kill him an episode later.
I wanted Morales to have a big part in the story and contribute in the All Out War story arc.
However, despite this, I can still see that Morales coming back and dying did have a point.

For one thing, he called out how violent Rick has become and even asks him, point blank, if Rick had a gun on him, would he would have pulled the trigger.
Secondly, it also helps to show how far Daryl has gone.
He holds absolutely no sympathy for the Saviors and it does not matter if they surrender to him, he will kill them no matter what.
Another scene that shows this is when Daryl executes an unarmed Savior, who is surrendering, despite Rick’s promise that he can live if he does so.
This not only highlights how far Daryl will go when it comes to the Saviors but it also shows how Rick is seriously beginning to question the group’s morality.
His interaction with Morales has begun to show him how morally unethical they themselves are becoming and all this is shown through a look he gives to Daryl, after he executes the Savior.
Andrew Lincoln does a fantastic job in this episode, visually.
Two other important things happened in this part of the story.
First we have the death of Eric.
Now, personally, I preferred his comic book death because it shows how quickly someone can die in war but this was a good death too.
Eric’s heartfelt goodbye to Aaron was sad and really made me feel for them.
However, I did not like how they were not very clear that Eric had actually die.
All we get is Aaron seeing a Walker in the distance and assuming it is Eric.
I would consider it a possibility that he was still alive had the writers not confirmed his death.
It would have been better if they had actually shown the Walker was Eric.
The second important thing that happened in this episode was Rick going back for Gracie, the baby he orphaned in the previous episode, who Aaron offered to take back to the Hilltop.
This open ups the possibility of a crazy fan theory to happen, which will be interesting to see if it comes true.
I will not state this theory because I do not want to potentially ruin it for people but I can say it will be one of the best twists The Walking Dead has ever done, if it does happen.
The other storylines in the episode are also really good.
First we have Morgan, Tara and Jesus transporting the prisoners from the outpost to the Hilltop.
After a group of prisoners, including Jared, try to flee, Morgan starts executing them but is stopped by Jesus.
This leads to a great fight sequence between the two, ninja against ninja.

This was one of the most thrilling parts of the episode, however it did end with Morgan leaving, which I am concerned about.
Hopefully it will not turn out like Carol’s storyline from season six and seven.
Then we have the Hilltop storyline with Gregory arriving and begging to be let in.
This scene was hilarious, especially the interaction between Gregory and Kal.
“I did not eat those pancakes,” Gregory yells.
Xander Berkeley does a really great job of selling Gregory’s cowardice and pathetic nature.
Then Jesus and Tara arrive with the Savior prisoners who Maggie eventually decides to let in, despite the danger.
I wonder if Gregory will collude with Jared and the other Savior prisoners to take over the Hilltop.
The final storyline sees Ezekiel and Carol leading an attack on another Savior outpost.
Ezekiel was another standout in this episode, with his over confident nature backfiring at the end of the episode and is sure to continue to bite him, in the next episode.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger with Ezekiel’s men shielding him from gunfire.
We are certain to see the effects of Ezekiel’s over confidence in the next episode.

But, despite how much I did love the storylines in this episode, there was still one problematic scene, along with Morales abrupt death and Eric’s confusing one.
This scene was a gunfight between the Alexandrians and Saviors, at the outpost Rick was attacking.
In this scene the editing is a bit choppy and I did not recognize anyone from Alexandria or the Saviors so I could not tell who was who.
I was unable to tell if the Alexandrians or the Saviors were winning.
Still, this and the other two problems I previously mentioned were very minor in comparison to the rest of the episode, which was very exciting and enjoyable.
Season eight is off to a much better start than season seven and I am eagerly awaiting the next episode.

Butt holes are fractured in the newest South Park game.

Three years after the excellent RPG South Park: The Stick of Truth, the sequel, The Fractured But Whole (insert giggle) has been released.
I had been anticipating this game for a while because of how much I loved The Stick of Truth and how much I love South Park.
South Park is one of my favourite TV series and I even think it is better than The Simpsons.
I know I may receive some hate for that statement but it is just what I believe.
While The Simpsons started excellently, it is has been going on a downward spiral since season 10 and now, in its 29th season, it is no longer funny.
South Park, on the other hand, has not only remained great for years but has consistently got better as well.
It has only seen a recent drop in quality from Season 18 onwards, while The Simpsons drop in quality started much earlier.
However, even though I think the quality of South Park is starting to drop, this does not affect the game because South Park: The Fractured Butt Hole is a really good game.
It is no where near as good or revolutionary as The Stick of Truth was but it is still a good game.
You play the New Kid again and, after the kids switch games from fantasy to super heroes, you are robbed of your status and have to begin again and build your character up as a hero… while enhancing your fart powers along the way.

The thing I liked the most about The Fractured But Whole was how it improved gameplay from The Stick of Truth.
The gameplay in this one is much more intense and satisfying to play, with you having to think tactically about how to move forward in the game.
Every enemy has different moves and techniques that you have to think your way around, which I really enjoyed.
This all leads to some fun and intense boss battles.
The hardest boss in the game is easily Morgan Freeman.
I still have no idea how to beat him but thankfully he is only an optional boss.
Along with the improved fighting mechanics, your roster has also increased with you being able to choose from 12 allies to fight with you, opposed to the previous game’s six allies.
Every ally is unique and has their own set of skills.
It is incredibly fun to constantly swap out different allies for new ones to try different play stiles.
However, you may find yourself using more allies than others.
I, for example, constantly found myself choosing Scott Malkinson (AKA Captain Diabetes) as my ally in battle because of his great strength and shield ability, which made him able to live longer in difficult battles.

The customization is also great, with you being able to use increasingly hilarious objects to make your character stronger.
Even customizing your character generates a laugh, with the game’s difficulty being related to the color of your skin.
Lighter skin means the game will be easier, while having darker skin will make it harder.
As Cartman (AKA The Coon) puts it, “don’t worry, this won’t affect gameplay, just every other aspect of your entire life.”
It is this social commentary that makes South Park, and thus the game, really shine.
But you are not playing The Fractured But Whole just for the gameplay are you?
No, most people, like myself, bought the game for the humor.
South Park is a hilarious show so it only makes sense that the story would contain multiple moments of out loud laughter, right?
Well, yes and no.
You see, I did really like the comedy in this game but my problem is that it just feels very toned down.
The Stick of Truth was an incredibly controversial game, with many moments that pushed the boundaries of what could be shown.
It had anal probing, an abortion mini game and even a sequence of you fighting Underpants Gnomes under your parents, who are having sex.
This resulted in a lot of censorship in countries like Australia.

This gross out humor was pure South Park and made the game stand out.
In comparison the comedy in The Fractured But Whole feels very toned down, like the creators did not want to risk the game being censored, like in The Stick of Truth.
The game was still incredibly funny but it felt slightly lacking, considering it did not push the boundaries that its predecessor did.
There is one scene that slightly pushes the boundaries but otherwise they play it fairly safe, for the most part.
Another problem I had with the game was its glitches.
I felt like this game should not have been released for a little bit longer just so they could fix the bugs.
For the first five minutes of my play through there was no sound, except the characters talking.
There was no music or sound effects, which was very distracting so this did not give me a good first impression of the game.
Even worse the game froze on me twice in the middle of battles so I had to quit the game and then go back into it.
Thanks to the game’s auto save I could go almost right back to where I was but it was still very annoying to have to do this.
So it definitely felt like the game was not quite ready to be released yet.
However, despite my slight problem with the comedy and the occasional glitch I still think The Fractured But Whole is a really good game that is worth your time.
The gameplay is incredibly fun, the social commentary is spot on and, even though I was disappointed the game did not push the boundaries The Stick of Truth did, the game was still really funny.
If you are a South Park fan I would definitely recommend this one.