Chris Smith

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Super Mario Wonder had me excited for another 2D Mario game. I avoided all reviews so I could have a fresh experience, and the game has its highs and some fairly major flaws. The pros of the game is that it's visually stunning. The controls are very responsive as well, and both the music and the power ups are enjoyable. Some badge power ups even give a new spin on the game However, the drawbacks aren't very forgiving. As many would tell you, the game is incredibly easy. The platforming isn't testing except for a few stages that just require repetition to see what's ahead. Many of the power ups offer a unique ability to cheese through some areas, but they unfortunately are woefully unutilized. The bubble flower gives you bubbles you can bounce off for some neat extra access, but you'll never really find places to take advantage of this. The drill head also offers tunneling which is hardly used to find secrets. Neat ideas but they feel hardly useful for more technical reasons. I didn't expect the Bowser fight to be really difficult, as it wasn't in any other game. But I think the lack of boss enemies made it a bit stale and repetitive. Even though they were hardly different in past games, they did have some semblance of variance in 3 and World. So overall I see a great game with potential to be even better. The extra character options is really appealing, yet I haven't dove into that just yet. The game is worth a try, but I hope Nintendo adds more content

If I were to describe the movie experience in one word it would be "fanfic." Optimus Prime had low T the whole movie and was anything but entertaining. There were quite a few plot holes Scourge has this move he uses once and then never again Inconsistent power levels of the various bots Somehow they inserted MegaMan They paid so little attention to details that in a 90's setting they have a walkie talkie that has worldwide range There are absolutely no Decepticons or Predacons Again, without spoiling anything since it's a new movie, it has a few moments that feel fun and impactful until they aren't. I wouldn't spend your money here and I'd suggest waiting if you wanna see it. It's not the worst but not really that great I had high hopes since I grew up watching Beast Wars, and they might as well have not even been there

I saw this movie for the first time today and I haven't stopped thinking about it. It's honestly a masterpiece. From the opening set decor, and the introduction of the king and his jester, I was drawn in. But when you meet Gwynplaine there's a bit of you that just reaches out. His child self running and finding a baby Dea in the arms of her dead mother shows that from being a child he had a good heart, that he would save her. Finding Ursus, and luckily for all three of them finding a family out of the tragedy that began the story. The acting was just amazing. Gwynplaine is such a relatable and sympathetic character. He makes others laugh, but he cannot love himself because he finds himself as ugly, and others just laugh at him because he's a clown, and that's all they see. All except his beloved Dea, who sees him as her everything, and she loves him more than anything. A misinterpreted instance I've seen some state was that he fell out with Dea when the duchess gave him attention, but I would argue that's not true. Dea was always the one he loved, but he did not love himself. So when he answered the duchess's letter he did so because he believed that if someone who could see him could love him then maybe he'd feel he's actually worthy of being loved, and when she laughed after reading the notice she received and seeing his lower face, he knew he had been foolish and he left without a word, only to be found by Dea by her feat where he allowed her to feel his face, and at that time he finally felt worthy of the love she had always felt for him. I would like to say I haven't read the book, so perhaps he wasn't as sympathetic as he is in the film, but the film shows him as someone on the edge of life. He strains so hard not to fall off, but everyone laughs at him, and nobody sees the person beneath the smile except Ursus, and his blind love. The movie continues with Gwynplaine being abducted and forced into nobility. He is ashamed of his face, and covers up. He's timid and afraid, but when he is betrothed to the duchess by the order of the queen he found meaning in his life. Meaning in the arms of Dea, the woman he truly loves. He manages to escape, and he finds the boat his family was aboard and we see what appears as a happy ending. I think the happy ending choice was a great place to end the movie. It was very touching and impactful. Though I've read that the book ends in tragedy, I am finding myself laughing and smiling at seeing him find himself, and returning to a woman who has always seen him, and who loves him, truly

I watched Alita: Battle Angel for the first time tonight, and it made me step back and consider what a dystopia really is. The world depicted is made to be a grim one where people are at one another's throat, and each of them follow this law that is manipulated by the main antagonist towards his ambiguous desires. The main antagonist remains a mystery throughout the movie. There is no clear motive he has except to destroy Alita, but it's otherwise unclear what his goals or desires are aside from his interest in interesting brains. The villain not being fleshed out is forgiveable because the story stays focused on Alita discovering herself. But when seeing the love she has for Hugo, it almost feels too real. A fantasy that my heart knows, but that reality seems to have forgotten. So it is touching in the best way when she gets excited for the idea of Hugo and her to be together, and her retribution burning when she loses him. Perhaps it is my own sense of loss that makes this an attractive aspect, or perhaps it makes me want to believe that a world where love can exist in such a way is less dystopian than our own where we are glued to our cell phones and meeting in person is becoming as difficult to convince people to do as pulling teeth without tools. The pacing of the story seemed decent. There were some curiosities that we're not addressed outright. Alita has a human brain, but she survived in the trash heap without being found for over 300 years. This seemed strange in truth, and I guess we're going to suspend our disbelief and assume her broken body and nuclear heart kept her brain alive without atrophy. If I recall correctly, the huge guy also ate people's brains in the manga. All in all, it's a good watch. I would recommend it