Rick

So yeah, they wanted to make a grounded, gritty, realistic, "virus based" Wolfman movie. It's awful. The acting is stilted and the plot is plodding. It is a sluggish bore trying to get through the abysmal first half, only to be subjected to the worst monster design I have seen in the last 25 years. The emotional core of "generational trauma" is handled with the subtlety of a brick smashing through a mirror. A dad that means well, is abrasive to his son whom he tries to protect. Okay? But that apparently makes him so bad that his son must leave. Flash forward thirty years, Dad is dead and son must take family (wife, daughter) to dead dad place. Enter naked mole rat man, scratches son and movie ensues. The rest of the plot is practically non existent. The wife runs around, apparently in shock? but walking around with little to no urgency AT ALL, even as her husband pukes up blood, can't speak, and scrawls "DYING". The design is atrocious. He looks like a naked mole rat sprinkled with pubic hair. The wolf man is literally my favorite of the universal monsters and this design is not good enough to be called an abortion of the original. I have no idea what they were thinking but the script is bland, the acting wooden and stiff, the plot is generic, and the monster design is atrocious. I would literally give this negative stars if I could. I think this might be the worst horror movie of all time. At least the Nightmare on Elm St remake tried. This felt like they punched in "write a scary werewolf movie script that is super good" into CHATGPT and this Abomination crapped out. Save your money and go watch the 2010 "THE Wolfman" with Antonio Banderas. Better yet? Go watch DOG SOLDIERS.

Not sure why this movie has so many negative reviews. It is a modern day Die Hard. Charismatic, sinister villain. Superbly casted and acted. This was a genuine surprise me and even more surprising was coming on to see how many people dislike it. If you are a fan of old school action movies like Speed, Die Hard, the Negotiator, this movie fits right in there with the best of them. Excellent cast, tight script, and palpable tension. Easily one of the best action thrillers I have seen in a long while.

I read the book. I have seen the original a few times, enough to remember it pretty well. The reviews for this would have you believe that it defiles the original and is up there with remakes like the abortion that is Nightmare on Elm Street (remake) but it is far from it. The actors are very believable and I think they did a fantastic job. The pacing builds tension and atmosphere while retaining a brisk pace. Character development is admittedly a bit miniscule but not so much that you lose the narrative. The camera work is gorgeous and the cinematography is very well done. Many times I commented on how beautiful a particular shot looked or how memorable I believed a scene to be. I believe a little more time fleshing out characters could have been slightly beneficial. But truly, it does little to impact the film overall. A solid, fun, albeit unremarkable remake that has some standout performances and memorable scenes that elevate beyond "forgettable". I would recommend it.

So after deciding that I wasn't going to buy this game because of the way Naughty Dog (a company whose games I have purchased since Way of the Warrior) treated people talking about the leaks on YouTube and the internet as a whole, it found its way to me via someone that wanted me to play for my opinion. I am not someone that enjoyed the first game. I thought it was tedious, slow, a rip off of the film "Children of Men" but with mushroom zombies. I enjoyed the graphics but the gameplay was plodding and slow. I had no love for either character, though I understand the development of the relationship and appreciated how it was fleshed out through the story. Here we are playing 2... The graphics are very nice. Lighting and shadows look and react like they should. Textures are okay in some spots but do not hold up to scrutiny in much of the game. Deaths happen and the violence is violent. There are multiple, drawn out, brutal sequences of killing involving dogs that is simply distasteful. It isn't clever or unique. It is disgusting and realistic. I don't give a damn that it is a video game, putting that in my head, making others have to experience it? Revolting. The point of it isn't "well it is supposed to make you feel uncomfortable" that is a cheap excuse to put something vile in your hands and tell you to lick it so you know how vile it is. The story makes little sense. If you set out on a quest for revenge and then fail miserably because... Why? Why, after killing dogs, horses, enumerous amounts of people, some of whom are pregnant women, do you just stop? You fill your plate with all that darkness and then don't get the resolution to the story? If Ellie is so hellbent on taking her revenge that she loses everything else in the process, why the hell doesn't she follow through!? It makes no sense at all. This entire game is an exercise in futility. The developers thought they were saying something by exposing you to all the brutality but in the end, your desensitized, your aggravated, and your out $65.16. Tl;DR As an outsider looking in, this game was a shameful, grossly violent slog that thinks your stupid and punishes you for playing it.