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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes movie review - 9.5/10 -

     Rise of the Planet of the Apes was surprisingly one of the best movies of 2011, the year it came out. It was a very emotional movie with a completing storyline with a very thick grey line put in the middle. It beat my expectations as every one of it moment got to my attention and got me more excited for what would happen next. It gave a lot of potential for a great sequel, and now, three years later, with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, we have one. I am expecting a lot from it, but does it deliver?

    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes took place ten years after Rise. It showed how humanity was taken to the bottom after the Simian Flue, and are in need for more resources to survive and maybe find other survivors. However, the resources they need are far outside their territory, which is taken over by a race of advanced apes lead by Cesar, the first genetically enhanced ape. So, in an attempt to gather those resources, a group of five humans were sent to negotiate with the apes within a few days, or war would ignite between the two species. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes truly took advantage of that concept as it really showed how the apes advanced and lived with each other. It showed a civilization blaming and another falling, and seeing that on screen really brought the movie’s theme to life and showed how similar intelligent species can be.

    Like the original, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes really utilized what it was and took it beyond comprehension. It was a movie about two different societies interacting, and it showed a lot by sticking to that theme. The movie had a ton of different characters, even at the apes’ side, where each ape developed his or her own personality and was able to develop his or her own way. The movie was emotional as well, many of its moments had me on the edge of my seat and questioning who I should support, humans or apes, as both sides would have me emotionally liking or disliking them. The movie was also unpredictable, every time when you’d think something would happen the movie just took a different turn, and that made the movie really entertaining, and, all of that of course, is carried over by the excellent casting, especially Andy Serkis’s role as Cesar, who, in my opinion, like the first movie, deserved an Oscar for being such a believable monkey who could barely speak but get the people watching the movie rooting for him. That is not an easy thing to do for a character with very few lines. Though, one thing I wish the movie did was utilize the cast completely, I felt like Gery Oldman’s character had more character than depicted, and I wish the movie showed that off. Though, aside from that, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was incredible.

     Hands down, this was the best movie of the summer so far. It was emotional, thematic and philosophical in a few ways. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes never took a predictable direction and it kept me hooked onto watching it throughout. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was a lot better than the already stellar Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and was, in my opinion, a sequel worth remembering. It built on everything the first movie started and did so in great fashion.

  + Emotional

+ Very thematic

+ Character development

+ Unpredictable

+ Oscar-worthy performances

- Cast not fully utilized 

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Watch_Dogs game review - 4.5/10 -

        This game was delayed so many times. Watch_Dogs, Ubisoft’s latest open-world adventure, has been delayed twice in 2013, and once this year, until, it finally came out in the 27th of May. Delays don’t often serve a game well, unless, of course, the game is up to the expectations it gains while the delay occurs. I really want that to happen to Watch_Dogs. I want it so succeed and be worth the delay. I don’t want it to flop, but, there is always a chance of that. So, let’s get into this and see if it was worth the year-long delay.

     Watch_Dogs is an open world game set in a modern Chicago where the entire city is run under one operating system. It basically deals with a hacker, Aiden Peirce, taking advantage of that technology by hacking into it to find the people responsible for killing his niece. Watch_Dogs defiantly had the story on its side. It’s originality in the setting was its best part, no other game I remember utilized modern technology like this one did. In terms of the story itself, it may seem a bit clichéd, but it was actually pretty good. Aiden was a bit of a dull character at times, and at others he was interesting, but the side cast more than makes up for it. Almost every time someone more interesting than the last shows up. The characters are what kept this story going and the fact that Aiden got involved with the city’s underground while conflicting with an idea of justice pushed the character. Watch_Dogs was a bit underwhelmed in terms of i’s story, but because of its themes, setting and side characters, things were able to move towards the right direction.

     Not many games are set in Chicago, which resulted to this being a refreshing setting to explore in. The city was big, plentiful, and it was just gorgeous to look at, though, outside the exploration and the variety of things to do in Chicago, Watch_Dogs really starts to slow down. While the mechanics work very well, nothing else really delivers. The game really has no mood outside cutscenes, driving is clunky at best, there are limits to what the character can do in the world, melee does not seem to exist in the world of Watch_Dogs, and hacking, which is the game’s centerpoint really becomes boring at one point of the game. While the game has a lot to do, hacking does not provide that same variety. Halfway through the game, you will probably see everything that you can do while hacking, so you just end up using the same strategy over and over again. Now, Watch_Dogs did give the player an option, most of the time, but due to the efficient yet clunky mechanics, I just went for the easier ones. I needed to sit down and make myself finish Watch_Dogs. I wish I could say otherwise, but the game was, how do I put it, dull, in terms of most of its gameplay and presentation.

     I hate to say this but Watch_Dogs was simply demotivating. While the story, side characters, and setting were on the game’s side, literally nothing else was. The game would have been much better if it at the very least had some color outside its cut scenes, but, it didn’t. Watch_Dogs was just so dull to the point where nearly everything felt slow and boring with it. Don’t get me wrong, Watch_Dogs is not a bad game, it’s not a terrible game, it was mediocre. Maybe if the game had some sense of emotion to it, things would have been better, but it was a boring piece of mediocrity, and considering what I was expecting from the game, even if wasn’t facing constant delays, it was disappointing, about as disappointing as the first Assassin’s Creed game. If Watch_Dogs has a sequel, I do hope it fixes things. We’ve seen it happen before and I truly hope that isn’t a once in a blue moon type of thing.

+ Variety

+ Mechanics work

+ Story

- Dull

- Demotivating

[khalidreviews]

Game of Thrones The Children review - 10/10 -

    The fourth season of Game of Thrones is finally over, and after watching the first nine episodes, I could comfortably say that this was the biggest and best season to come out so far. So much happened this season in King’s Landing, the North, the Riverlands, the Eirie, Mereen, Beyond the Wall and a lot more. The fourth season of Game of Thrones was big and eventful, to say the least. A season like that needs an ending just as big, so, will the season finale, The Children, properly end this huge and complex fourth season?

    The Children summed up many of the storylines that were not only started at the beginning of the season, but rather, at the beginning of the series. Stannis starts his real campaign for the Iron Throne, the battle between the Night’s Watch and Wildlings comes to an end, both Bran and Arya’s paths come to an end, Danny makes some crucial decisions after what happened the last time we’ve seen her and Tyrion’s fate is discovered. I’d like to think of this episode as the start of a transition from phase 1 to phase 2 of the Game of Thrones saga, and, needless to say, thanks to a lot of interesting scenes, surprises and great pacing, it was done really well.

   Let’s make a list of things I loved from the Children, shall we? I loved this sense of completion the episode gave towards the end of it. It’s like every storyline came to end in preparation for a very new one. The emotional impact the episode had was also really well done, as usual. The series did an amazing job making me feel for the characters and what they’re going through, especially Tyrion and Jon, at that note. The episode was full of surprises as well, even as a book reader the way things were executed kept me surprised and excited despite a few changes and the decision making in this episode was defiantly worth watching. There were no decisions made to just make the story interesting or suddenly draw interest towards a character. The Children was simply a reaction to what happened towards the entire season, which was just one thing that added to the huge list of amazing things that happened this season.

     The Children was definitely the best finale the series had so far, maybe the best episode of the series and for sure the best episode of the season. It had a lot to cover and it did with an impact so great that the viewers just know that a lot of things the series started with are wrapping up at this point. This was an ending worthy of a season so big and complex, and needless to say an ending that’s there to make me beg for the next season.

+ Character arches

+ Decisions

+ Full of surprises

+ Huge emotional impact 

[khalidreviews]

Edge of Tomorrow movie review - 6/10 -

     Tom Cruise has seen a decline in his career lately. For the last ten to twelve years, Tom Cruise’s movies have been falling in terms of quality. Vanilla Sky was awesome, but after that? There was a huge streak of mediocrity. Now, I’m hoping this slump will end. I enjoy Tom Cruise’s acting and I loved his older movies, but I want something new that’s good out of him, and now, Edge of Tomorrow is out, so let’s hope it’s a good movie that would end his streak of mediocrity.

     Edge of Tomorrow followed the idea of “Live, die, repeat”. It essentially followed the concept of Tom Cruise’s character getting into war then after an accident cannot die and constantly repeats the same day over and over again. It was an interesting concept, and in terms of story progression there was a lot of it as every time Tom Cruise comes back to life at the beginning of the day he fixes small mistakes he did the last time he lived. I like that sense of progression, and that’s one of the things the movie did right. Edge of Tomorrow had a very good story because it was handled and progressed really well.

    Edge of Tomorrow did not have a lot to support it outside its smart storyline and excellent use of repetition. Sure, it was funny at the same time, it didn’t take itself seriously, but it wasn’t a great movie. Why? It really dragged on. At some point that element of repetition actually got boring and the fact that the movie’s ending followed a big event in a monument like all other alien movies pissed me off. It felt unoriginal and corny. Another thing I disliked was Tom Cruise’s character. Sure, he was a likeable guy and all, but he was so clichéd at the same time. It was a typical coward turned hero story in many ways, and while that could sometimes be inspirational, this time, it was not. It was actually in your face as it constantly reminded you. Edge of Tomorrow really showed how cliché a character like that could be, and because of that along with it dragging on I felt like the movie wasn’t as good as it could have been.

    Edge of Tomorrow was a watchable and enjoyable movie at best. While it did benefit from its repetitive nature, strong ideas in its first half as well as its action, it didn’t live up to what it should have been. Eventually that sense of repetition the movie had going dragged on and Tom Cruise’s character was, as I said, likeable, but clichéd. Edge of Tomorrow was better than most of Tom Cruise’s recent movies. It did end his streak of mediocrity, but while it was good, it wasn’t as great as Tom Cruise’s films once at one point. Though, if, assuming this wasn’t a small budge up the curve for him, this may be a sign that he is ready to go for a steady improvement. Who knows.

+ Action

+ Funny

+ Repetition

+ Progression

- Tom Cruise’s clichéd character

- Dragged on 

[khalidreviews]

X-Men: Days of Future Past movie review - 9/10 -

       The X-Men movies have lead up to this. Everything that happened in every X-men movie is now connected and holds complete and total relevance to the franchise. Everything could change now, and we have seen that happen before in other movie franchises, only issue? They never work, though, this time, I have faith, why? It’s Bryan Singer making an X-Men movie. The first two were great, and First Class took the cake. All three were directed by him, and now, he is directing the next installment, the future altering Days of Future Past. I have faith in it, so let’s see if it delivers.

   X-Men: Days of Future past was a prequel-sequel-reboot movie, which means that it took place after the original trilogy and takes place in First Class’s timeline as well. It featured both, the original and younger cast, and was about the X-Men along with Magneto sending Wolverine back to the 70s to end the war between mutants and humans before it would ever happen. It had a lot going for it. The original cast, the younger cast, a bunch of new characters and new storylines. Days of Future Past aimed to change the entire course of the X-Men franchise and it did so in great fashion. The two timelines were connected excellently with a lot of emotion and details. Sure, a few things were questioned, like how was Xavier alive, but those were minor plot points that were a part of a bigger narrative, a narrative so big that a few mistakes could be looked past.

  X-Men: Days of Future Past may have been the best X-Men movie to come out, and I have many, many reasons why I say that. The first, and biggest reason was because it was so big and it was done so well. As I mentioned earlier, the movie had so much to tackle and the fact that it hit almost every single point was impressive. Another thing I loved was Xavier’s character. Looking at his character in the 70s it’s interesting how he changed and developed. He was at his lowest point, and having him follow a path to be a better character was interesting. How other characters were handled was another high point. Wolverine wasn’t the center character this time around, giving a focus on Xavier, Magneto and Mystique, which was an excellent turn. Wolverine being a side character was actually enjoyable as all the other characters were so great. Also, the acting performances added to that as well. McAvoy, Lawrence and Fassbinder were excellent, Jackman is a better Wolverine, which he always seems to become and Dinkledge stole the show. The acting performances were excellent and displayed the movie’s excellent writing and direction perfectly. There were a few weak plot points here and there, as I said, so the movie wasn’t perfect, but it sure was really well done.

    As I said, best X-men to come out. I think I said everything I could love about this movie without spoiling it. The fact that it was done in such a huge scope so well made me love it even more. X-Men: Days of Future Past was a fulfilling movie. It reached my expectations and may just be the best movie of the summer. The course of the X-Men franchise have completely changed here, and I don’t mind that, because if the rest will be as good as this, the X-Men franchise has a lot to look forward to.

+ A lot to appreciate

+ Xavier’s complex character

+ Wolverine not being the main focus

+ Mystique being a major character

+ Peter Dinklage

- Plot holes 

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Game of Thrones The Watchers on the Wall review - 10/10 -

     The 9th episode has always been a shocker. The first season started off with the beheading of a certain favorite, the second had the Battle of Blackwater Bay and the third had The Red Wedding. Episode 9 has always been a shocker, and with the fourth season’s ninth episode, The Watchers on the Wall, approaching, we need to ask, can it live up to that expectation?

    The Watchers on the Wall was a unique episode. It did not jump around geographically and it did not focus on a huge arch of characters. It was directed by Neil Marshall, the same man who directed Blackwater. The episode only took place on the wall and followed the events of the long awaited battle between the Night’s Watch and the Wildlings. The episode basically jumped around Sam, Jon and Yegrette as each’s part of the battle was told from each of their point of views. It was a unique concept for an episode, and I loved that focus. The lack of characters and plot points here worked out very well at a battle so big and grand.

   This episode only took place in one region, but that did not stop it from having so many great things. The Watchers on the Wall enjoyed a lot due to its focus. Jon Snow had a real leadership role as it was viewed on full scope. Sam and Gilly’s relationship was a huge highpoint as I actually felt like the two had feelings for each other. The action sequences were some of the best in the series, the visual impact the episode had both bolstered into making this episode huge as giants, mammoths, wildlings and a huge army fought against the Night’s Watch on front of and behind the wall, and last, but not least the emotional effect The Watchers on the Wall gave was fantastic to say the least. I found out that I cared for characters I didn’t think I’d care for. You know an episode is good when that happens, in fact, you know an episode is excellent when all of that happens.

    The Watchers on the Wall, a traditional episode 9 shocker? No, it was not much of a shocker, though that did not stop it from being one of the more outstanding episodes of the series. Sure, it wasn’t as good as Blackwater or the Rains of Castamere in terms of comparison but the impact it had was still great. The Watchers on the Wall was one of the best episodes of the series. While it didn’t capture the essence to be one of the very best it still was in the series’ long list of incredible episodes.

+ Jon Snow’s leadership role

+ Sam and Gilly

+ Action sequences

+ Focus on the wall

+ Emotional impact 

[khalidreviews]

Game of Thrones the Mountain and the Viper review - 9/10 -

     It’s high tide. That time of the season when every second counts, when every story is about ready to hit its climax. It was a success every season. Every eight episode was a setup for the last two episodes, and generally speaking, they have been huge successes every season. Can the same thing happen with this week’s The Mountain and the Viper?

     The Mountain and the Viper jumped all over the place. The Wildlings get closer to the wall and sack Mole’s Town, Arya and the Hound arrive to the Vale, Littlefinger deals with what happened in last week’s episode, Tyrion and Jamie share a brotherly moment, Danny makes a huge decision, Greyworm and Missande’s relationship develops and the Mountain and Obryn get into their fight towards the end. This episode was one of the most exciting in the series as each story had something interesting. Many of the scenes showed an emotion of some kind and each contributed in some way to each character’s development. Though the episode felt so disjointed. None of the stories were even tied to each other in any way, which made the episode feel unbalanced as it did not have any sense of geographic balance.

      The Mountain and the Viper did so much more than a set up episode usually does. It was really shocking, mostly because of the end of the episode. That moment caught me by surprise and was one of the most gruesome scenes of the season. Other than that, Obryn and the Mountain’s scene was excellently thrilling. Arya laughing at what happens says a lot about her current character. Danny’s scene with Jorah was heart-melting. Tyrion’s scene with Jamie was an excellent emotional moment and the scene between Sansa and Littlefinger was also another big shock. The story wasn’t only great here but the dialog was the best it’s been in a while. I loved it here as some real mental effort was put into writing it. Despite its lack of connectivity, The Mountain and the Viper was a great episode.

      As a setup episode, The Mountain and the Viper was excellent because it was able to give a setup without feeling like it is because of the amount of shocks it had. The Mountain and the Viper was about being shocking, but it was also about the emotional connection the viewer has with the character. This episode of Game of Thrones could have been one of the best, but its lack of connectivity gave enough of an uncomfortable feeling to make it an excellent, rather than a masterful episode.

+ Shocking

+ The mountain and the viper

+ Dialog

+ Arya’s laugh

+ Jorah and Danny

- Not connected in any way

[khalidreviews]

Godzilla movie review - 8/10 -

      Godzilla has a huge legacy. He is the world’s most famous and most dangerous monster. He is one of the first monsters to really be an icon in the big screen, so a Godzilla movie is usually a big deal. Expectations will always be set high, and sometimes, they will disappoint, such as in the notoriously disappointing 1998 movie where Godzilla is the antagonistic Jurassic Park dinosaur and SHE, yes, she, has babies. That was a bad movie, and a bad take on the character, but, this year, under director Gareth Edwards, things seem to be going right, I mean, the monster seems to look right, so let’s see how the movie goes.

      Godzilla surprisingly wasn’t focused on the monster. Godzilla, instead, was focused on the human story behind the Godzilla monster attack. Godzilla basically followed the story of Ford Brody, a Soldier who tried finding his way home as these monster attacks happen after his father, played by Brian Cranston predicted it, and while he tries finding a route Godzilla and the other monsters are introduced, which honestly was an excellent backdrop for the events of the movie and the emotion behind it. Godzilla was still a monster movie, and was still disastrous in many ways, but it was done in a more humanistic direction. There was a lot of heart put into the movie and the human aspect was the focal point, and that, I think, made for an emotional story despite it not being why I went to watch the movie.

       The human aspect wasn’t the only thing that was strongly plausible in the movie. It’s scary and thrilling theory helped a lot as well. I would really get into the movie when a monster is on screen, because when one is there it was usually a tough scene which got me hoping that the people would get out of there alive. You know a movie is done right when that happens. Speaking of which, the fight between Godzilla and the couple of monsters towards the end of the movie completely stole the show. It was intense, gipping and it kept me at the edge of my seat. Godzilla teased a lot, and I mean a lot to get there, but to be quite honest, the teasing was well worth it. Sure, all that teasing through news reports and so on got annoying at one point, but it paid off at the end. The problem was that this teasing gave the movie a bit of an issue with its balance from being human based and action based. There was a bit of a balance, but if the setup towards the end was handled differently from the monsters’ point of view it probably would have ended up balancing out in a better way towards the end of the movie.

    Godzilla was a great movie. It wasn’t exactly what was expected but it still was a very solid film. People who enjoy human driven dramas will love this, people who enjoy monsters fight will not, but they would towards the end. If it wasn’t for the teasing, Godzilla would have been a stand-out film, but, it was solid enough to make me forget about that horrible 1998 movie as well as keeping me excited to see the monster come to life again. Godzilla was a very well handled piece of work, but if it was balanced out a bit better it would have been one of the year’s best.

+ Human aspect

+ Monster fights

+ Emotionally getting to you

+ Scary

- Teases too much

[khalidreviews]

Neighbors movie review - 6.5/10 -

      Seth Rogan has pretty much been involved in the same movies over and over again. The humor is always the same, his character is always the same and the way things align is always the same. It’s happened over and over again and quite honestly, that really showed in last year’s The World’s End, which was a funny, but overrated and dated movie. Now, I learned what to expect from a Seth Rogan movie, and with Neighbors, his new movie along with Zach Efron. I just want to see a sense of evolution, so did it at least provide that?

    Neighbors had a simple but eventful storyline. It was about a fraternity moving into a neighborhood and next to a couple who have a baby. So the couple, Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne, who have a baby, try to get the fraternity, led by Zach Efron and Dave Franco, who constantly party and are too loud for the couple, which basically led to the couple trying to make the frat’s life hell to get them out of the neighborhood and the fraternity responding with pranks of their own. The movie was just prank after prank after prank after prank, which was funny but unoriginal. Neighbors did have a lot of great moves but it was also very similar to every other movie with that basis. Neighbors did not build on that idea in any way, and I guess it’s forgiven because the movie is meant for the laughs, but, it is one sign that the movie really did not evolve on Rogan’s usual movies in any way.

     Neighbors gave what it was supposed to give, and nothing more. It was funny. It’s back and forth comedic style worked out excellently despite its lack of originality as it’s jokes and references were put in and timed perfectly. The chemistry between every cast member was excellent as Efron, Rogan, France and Byrne all exchanged lines with each other excellently, and the plot actually had a sense of progression. I felt like the plot is trying to make a point, but, only trying. That deserved some credit. The movie’s lack of evolution still ties it down though. It felt like any other Seth Rogan movie. He played the same character and he was surrounded by the same people. It was only in a different setting.

     Neighbors was funny, but not smart. It was a good comedy, but not a great one. To make a great comedy a movie has to be funny and smart, and while Rogan’s films used to be smart in terms of their jokes and laughs, things got old. For now they’re just funny, in fact, looking at it in hindsight, we were lucky that this movie was just funny, because if it wasn’t? It really wouldn’t have much going for it. Neighbors was a good experience. It made me laugh because of its most basic jokes but excellent comedic timing. However, if Rogan’s style does not change to the slightest in his next movies, this may very well be his last decent one.

+ Funny

+ Chemistry

+ Progression

- Everything has to work out

- No sense of evolution

[khalidreviews]

Game of Thrones Mockingbird review - 9/10 -

    Things are starting to hit their climax now in Game of Thrones’ fourth season. Needless to say, things are worse than ever for Tyrion, Danny is facing lots of complications, Arya is developing to become a real threat, Sansa is stuck in the middle of everything and the Lannisters are struggling with Jamie’s return. This has been an excellent seasons so far, and now that it’s all ending. I do hope it ends how it started: On the right direction, and given how things are going now, I have no doubt that this episode, Mockingbird, will keep things on the right direction.

    Like the last few episodes, Mockingbird did not have so much content in it, which was a trend that followed up through most of the season.  The episode gave an update on Podrick and Brianne as they look for Sansa. It gave a bit of an emotional connection between Arya and the Hound as he explains what the Mountain did to him. Littlefinger plots, as usual. Danny discusses war plans while um, getting it down with Daario. Jon Snow still tries to convince the Night’s Watch that the Wildlings are dangerous and Tyrion tries finding a champion. This may sound like a lot of content but believe me, it’s not. The episode felt focused as it didn’t jump around so much and when it needed to give an amount of attention on a character’s story arch, they’d just stick to it without adding more to the episode. This has been something that was consistently improving throughout the season, and it shows here.

     Mockingbird had a lot of great things to deal with. Arya and the Hound were excellent, but this time emotionally, watching them connect was a nice surprise. Podrick and Brianne continued to make me laugh. Littlefinger just gets creepier by the second as a lot of unexpected things happen, and Danny finally admits to Daario, Jorah, as we all know, did not like it and it showed. Though one thing I did not enjoy was the fan service, particularly during Brianne and Podrick’s scene. A character shows up, and while I like the character it made Westeros feel so small. I feel like Brianne’s search should take longer as well. It’s only been two episodes since the search started and they have a major lead. That storyline is moving too fast and I feel like it’s to keep fans happy, but otherwise, I really enjoyed what the episode had to offer.

     This wasn’t the best episode of the season, but it did have a lot of great elements. Mockingbird was an excellent episode which continued the strength this season had to offer. The episode was emotional and it had a sense of hopelessness. The characters were focused and while there was a bit of unnecessary fan service, things were still done really well. Mockingbird was a good way to kick off the last phase of the season, and to me, it hints that the end of the season will be as big as I, and probably everyone else is expecting.

  + Arya and the Hound

+ Brianne and Podrick

+ Littlefinger and Sansa

+ Danny and Jorah

- Fan service 

[khalidreviews]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie review - 8.5/10 -

      The Marvel Studios phase 2 is almost at its end at this point and it’s needless to say, so far I prefer the phase 1. Given, Iran Man 3 was better than Iron Man 2, but was it better than the original? Not at all. Thor: The Dark World was not as good as the original Thor, despite it being enjoyable and now, the Captain America: The First Avenger sequel, The Winter Soldier is out. So let’s see how it compares to the original and if it brings something significant about The Avengers 2nd phase before their next movie, Guardians of the Galaxy is out.

     Captain America: The Winter Soldier brought a lot in the table, and in a good way, but, I can’t really say what the movie is exactly about because the thick of the movie is much more enjoyable if you go in the movie oblivious of most of what’s going on, but, what I can tell you is that the movie is, more or less a buildup for the next Avengers movie for the most part, and it did it in a way so well that it feels like it will be the movie’s spine. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had an emotional and shocking storyline that I’m sure, most, if not all Avengers fans will look at with awe and amazement.

      There is a lot to talk about when it comes to this movie. First of all, the amount of Marvel Cinematic Universe lore mentioned in the movie was ridiculous, and I mean that in a good way. It felt like something that would happen in the universe that would only include Cap, and they did it in a way that didn’t shoe-horn all these references in, ala Iron Man 2. Another thing I loved about the movie was the fact that every character was given some kind or rule. There were no character who were just there to provide comic relief or something like that. Every character played some kind of role here and they fit in the story, which made things flow very smoothly, though, despite this movie being an excellent piece of work in terms of story and character drama there was one thing I did not like about the movie and it was the fact that it gave me no time to breathe. Something big would happen in this movie then something else that’s big would happen without any sense of pause in between the two. I wish I’d just have time to get over the first big thing before the second rather than go from huge point to huge point like you’re jumping over obstacles, but, otherwise, I loved everything Captain America 2 had to offer.

       Captain America: The Winter soldier was the best standalone Marvel movie since the first Iron Man, and quite honestly, it’s about time Marvel had a movie this good after the Avengers. Phase 2 was okay so far in terms of Marvel’s cinematic universe, but, Captain America: The Winter Soldier provided some hope that phase 2 is on the right direction. Thus, in return, giving Guardians of the Galaxy some pressure to compete with while keeping things going after the success this movie had.

+ Interesting storyline

+ Characters all had something to do

+ Strong ties to the Marvel cinematic universe

+ Gave a proper vibe

- Gives too little time to breathe

[khalidreviews]

Game of Thrones The Laws of Gods and Men review - 9/10 -

    We’re now at the endpoint for the middle of the fourth season of Game of Thrones. Things seem to be at their worst, hope is at an all-time low and excitement is at an all-time high. That’s how I like my Game of Thrones and the middle of this season is no exception. Everyone is in some kind of issue and at this point. Things are getting ready to climax. So let’s see how things go in this episode, The Laws of Gods and Men.

    The Laws of Gods and Men focused on a small group of characters, which, again, is always good, because it gave the characters it focused on a lot of time. In the Dreadfort, Theon’s sister, Yara begins her attack to get her brother back while Reek shows his true colors. In Mereen, Deanarys faces the difficulties of being a ruler. Stannis and Davos discuess loans with the Iron Bank in Braavos, and in King’s Landing, during the episode’s focus, Tyrion is in trial for the assumed murder of King Joffrey. The Laws of Gods and Men rarely jumped all over the place and that’s what I loved about it. It was small, concise, and ridiculously interesting.

    A lot of what happened in this episode can be considered Game of Thrones at its very best. The episode’s focus on Tyrion’s trial gave a lot of that as it showed how corrupt things can be, how much Jamie is willing to do for Tyrion and Peter Dinkledge’s incredible acting performance at the end of the episode which was probably his best in the series. Other than that focal point the scene in Braavos was excellent as it showed an old favorite and showed how serious Stannis is about taking the throne. Also, Theon’s transformation to Reek was also something to note here. At this point, he’s scared of everything and is officially convinced that he is Reek, which is something spine chilling and one of the best things about the season. The only thing I did not like here was how rushed Yara’s scene was. It felt like it just happened, it just started and ended at a flash. It wasn’t what I felt like would happen when she decided to go save Theon last season. It showed Reek’s character, but it wasn’t up to the buildup, but otherwise, I really had no problems with this episode.

    The Laws of Gods and Men can be pinned down as an excellent episode despite its minor setback. It had a strong dramatic feel to it and it did not hesitate to limit things to just four major plot points. Things mostly felt concentrated and fully up to their dramatic meaning as acting performances were pulled off in their all-time best. The Laws of Gods and Men may not be the best episode of the season, but, it is certainly a really strong episode.

+ Tyrion’s trial

+ Jamie and Tywin

+ Braavos

+ Reek

- Too little Ironborn 

[khalidreviews]

Game of Thrones First of His Name review - 9.5/10 -

    Last week’s episode marked the start of the middle of the fourth season of Game of Thrones. You know what that means? Some plot points really start to come alive and reach their ‘transmission’ stage from beginning to end. Now, at the exact middle of the season, those transmission plot points hit their full effect. So let’s see how they go off in this week’s episode, First of His Name.

    First of his name went all over the place geographically, and interestingly, it was balanced out excellently between its regions. The episode opened in King’s Landing where Tommen was crowned king then Tywin and Cersi discuss strategic plans. The city’s outskirts, Brianne and Podrick exchange lines, shall we say. In the Eyrie, Little Finger and Sansa meet up with Lysa, Catlyn’s sister. In the Riverlands, Arya and the Hound have their screentime going back and forth at each other as some information gets cleared up. In Mereen, Danny and Jorah discuss strategic plans, and in the north, the Night’s Watch battle the mutineers while Bran attempts to escape. The episode jumped everywhere and it was done in a way so well that things just flowed naturally from one scene to the other.

   Along with the smooth flow came a lot of memorable stuff about this episode, and the first thing to point out was the callbacks to past episodes. Syrio was mentioned at one point, the red wedding was mentioned, Cersi’s daughter being sent to Dorne was mentioned and the Battle of Blackwater was mentioned too. The little details were all there, and that’s something to really marvel in a show like this. Secondly, the political planning was something I really enjoyed watching. Danny and Jorah’s scene hit that very well, as names were dropped and the events happening in Westeros were mentioned. Cersi and Tywin had some political plotting as well as the future of the family and their alliances throughout the land were discussed. The episode had a light hearted side as well. Arya and the Hound were, as usual, a lot of fun to watch, and now, Brianne and Pordick may get into the mix as well. Watching them exchange lines was among my favorite parts of the episode and I cannot wait to see more of the two. Also, given all the positives, there was one to beat them all, which as the action driven second half of the episode at the north. That entire half was choreographed excellently as not one, but two deaths that happened will go down as two of the best in the series. The fight between Jon Snow and Karl was excellent and the way it was all set up was marvelous. However, despite everything that went right here, there was one thing that I wasn’t so proud about here, which was the fact that the episode had a few big events going on, but it didn’t feel intense. An episode like this should have felt more intense than light, but, hey, that didn’t stop me from fully enjoying the episode. It was still very well done despite this one very minor issue.

    First of His Name was a lovely, lovely episode. Things went their way for the most part and when they didn’t? The issues were so minor that they didn’t stop the episode from being something spectacular. The season hit its mid-point with a flash, and is so far forming out to be the best season the series had. Let’s hope Game of Thrones keeps this up for the remainder of the season, because, if it does, we are in for a treat.

  + Light hearted side

+ Action sequences

+ Callbacks to past events

+ Political planning

- Didn’t match the intensity of the season so far despite having big events

[khalidreviews]

The Amazing Spiderman 2 movie review - 7/10 -

    This is an unpopular opinion but I loved The Amazing Spiderman. It felt accurate yet modernized and it did what it was supposed to do, which was tell a story about a nerdy teenage boy finding his meaning in life. Andrew Garfield fit the role perfectly, Ryan Ifans did well as the morally confused villain, despite the fact that it could have been done better, and Emma Stone played an excellent role herself, making the relationship between her and Peter Parker one of the highlights and something that actually mattered in viewers’ hearts. Director Marc Web did very well with the first Amazing Spiderman movie in my opinion. Let’s see how we does with the sequel.

      The Amazing Spiderman 2 had a lot to follow up to. It opened up showing that Peter loves being Spiderman and how his life was going the way he wanted it to go. Fast forward later in the movie, Peter has his problems with Gwen as he remembers what her father told him while he tries figuring the mystery behind his parents out. Harry Osborn is back in his life and a new threat appears in New York known as Electro. The movie had a lot going on and that wasn’t a good thing. Sure, The Amazing Spiderman 2 was entertaining. It was interesting and emotional, but in terms of its storyline. It fails to find a focus, which made things feel really mixed up and unorganized despite the strong potential the movie had going.

     It’s no surprise that the Amazing Spiderman 2 did so much right, but my favorite part was Andrew’s portrayal of Spiderman. Like the first movie, Andrew made me easily love the character, especially when he’s in the costume. Spiderman’s wise-ass lines made me laugh and his emotional moments made me feel bad for him, something that I feel is a huge accomplishment. Another thing I strongly enjoyed off this episode was the relationship between Peter and Gwen, I know, Andrew and Emma are in a relationship, but it takes great acting to pull off the chemistry on screen. Like the first Amazing Spiderman movie, their relationship was ridiculously well made and one of the best things about it. It was one of the things I cared about the most in this movie. The villains saw a strong improvement as well. While I have nothing wrong with Ryan Infas’s Lizard portrayal, there was room for improvement, and that was executed excellently here. Jamie Fox’s portrayal of Electro was one defiantly worth watching as it gave him a creepy but at the same time sympathetic side. Dane Dehaan’s Harry Osborn was pulled off excellently as it gave him the role of a different kind of genius, something I loved seeing in the movie as well. Also, one more thing really worth mentioning here in the movie was the general execution. The fight scenes were done very well and web slinging saw a new kind of detail. Visually the movie was great to look at and the score fitted the scenes perfectly, as if they were built to be there. There was a lot to love about The Amazing Spiderman 2 and I found many reasons to recommend watching it.

    I know, there was a lot to be loved in this movie, but there was a lot to um, not love at all. The most annoyance I had with the movie was the fact that there was so much going on. While it was really cool to see everything the movie had to offer, it didn’t give much time to enjoy everything we’ve seen. There were so many references to characters in the comics, hints on what will happen in the future and so on, only issue? They did not get the screentime they deserve! I don’t even know why Rhino was in this movie. The end stretched out for about ten or fifteen extra minutes and the plot was so heavy with different details it did not even give the needed attention on the more important ones. The stuffed plot was a problem in Spiderman 3 seven years ago, but at least here you don’t see a dancing Peter Parker, pointless filler with Harry losing his memory, a complicated love triangle involving Harry, Peter and Marry Jane and a half-assed Venom shoved in for five minutes. Another issue with the movie was the fact that if felt cartoon-ee. That wouldn’t be a problem if the first movie was cartoon-ee, but, it wasn’t. The Amazing Spiderman went for a realistic vibe, while this one? Let’s just say it was much more um, illogical? I guess. The biggest example showed with Peter’s parents. The opening scene gave the movie a cartoon-ee start, giving a bit of confusion on the movie’s direction. Another example was with, again, Peter’s parents, but I won’t spoil it. That one scene just felt so out of place that it looked like the James Bond producers had a hand in writing his parents’ character and unraveling their mystery. It was just cheesy and cartoon-ee, something that was completely out of tune. The Amazing Spiderman 2 faced its issues, and yes, enough issues to form their own paragraph.

    I enjoyed The Amazing Spiderman 2. There were some elements I loved, and some I hated. Thank god for the ones I loved because I really, really loved them. The movie pulled off a lot very well, but it needed to calm a bit down with the plot details and stop making Peter’s parents live in an out of place sci-fi spy movie dream world. The Amazing Spiderman 2 was an interesting buildup for the Marc Webb Spiderman universe, and, it was also, as I’d like to see it, a much better version of Batman Forever and Spiderman 3 combined, but it won’t cut it as a great movie. The Amazing Spiderman 2 had some incredible elements, but its bad ones slowed it down and kept it from being close to as good as the first Amazing Spiderman movie.

+ Andrew Garfield

+ Peter and Gwen

+ Actually cared about the villains

+ Action and choreography

- Too much going on

- Felt overly cartoon-ee at times

[khalidreviews]

Game of Thrones Oathkeeper review - 10/10 -

     This season of Game of Thrones has been strong so far. A lot has happened, from Jon returning to the Night’s Watch, to Jamie coming back to King’s Landing unaccepted, to the Purple Wedding, to Tyrion getting to the lowest point of his life, to seeing Reek, to Arya trying to deal with the hound and so much more. Now, as we begin getting to the midway point excitement is high and anticipation always keeps me waiting, as it did in the first three seasons, so, obviously, I’m expecting a big gateway here to the middle of the season. So let’s see how this episode, Oathkeeper, does.

    Oathkeeper had a small focus, and that is always good for the series. The episode started off in Mereen, where Greyworm and Deanarys plan on sacking it. Then, it transfers to well, a ship, where Littlefinger explains what happened at the Red Wedding to Sansa and what will happen to her. After that, the series shifts to King’s Landing where Jamie deals with a few moral issues and offers Briane a chance to find Sansa and keep her safe. Then, in the north, Jon takes a leadership role as the Night’s Watch prepare for battle, and Bran gets into a bit of a difficult situation in the north of the wall. Everything that happened in this episode was relevant to the storyline and to what will happen later on, and I love that focus as half the episode took place north. Game of Thrones is at its best what its focus is small, when the series doesn’t give its attention to seven or eight different characters, and it really showed here. Every character who had his or her screen time really shined and were given the amound of time they’d deserve here.

     Let’s try counting what I loved in this episode, shall we? First off, let’s start with Jon’s leadership role. I love seeing this side of him. It brings the character some new flare. Also, the moment between Tyrion and Jamie really showed the moral issue Jamie is facing as he needs to choose between his oath and his loyalty to Tyrion. Bran’s segment here was the best I’ve seen from him. His segment in particular kept me watching, similar to the way the Mutineers sacked the Night’s Watch in Craster’s Keep did last season, and finally, that one scene with the White Walkers left chills running down my spine, and it’s funny because, the whole episode had that effect the entire time, even before the White Walkers showed up. Oathkeeper had some impressively unpredictable and gut wrenching stuff. It really differed from the books and I really didn’t mind that. I loved those changes. They made for a much more interesting episode.

     Oathkeepr was probably my favorite episode of the series, why is that? It smarty displayed the characters it had. It showed a lot of character evolution and its smart writing kept me excited with my jaw on the ground almost the entire time. Four episodes in and I already have a series favorite. It’s good to see this season of Game of Thrones living up to what I wanted in the start of it. This is an excellent way to get into the middle of the season and one of the most memorable, if not the most memorable episode to come out thus far.

  + John Snow’s leadership role

+ Bran’s segment is his best yet

+ Very, very unpredictable and gut wrenching

+ White Walkers

+ Jamie’s moral dilemma

+ Greyworm 

[khalidreviews]

Turn of Cabbage and Kings review - 3/10 -

      Turn has yet to impress me, and I see that as a problem. Why? Because two episodes in, a show I’d consistently want to watch can’t constantly breach the point of just good. It needs to be better, that is, if it wants to get somewhere, because if Turn keeps this up it’ll lose a viewer by the end of the season. So, let’s see if this week’s episode, of Cabbage and Kings, can finally get this season going.

     Of Cabbage and Kings dealt with a couple of major storylines. The episode dealt with Abraham and his father attempting to sell a few goods to the British army while Tallmadge is stuck in an intense situation where anything could be in stake. One of the two storylines was a winner, and believe me, it was not Abraham’s, why is that? For the most part it was boring. Abraham’s segment had nothing really interesting except for him finally make a choice for himself, and that was a shame, because I had to sit through it while waiting for the battle between Tallmadge and a few traitors. This week’s episode of Turn felt longer than it should have been, and that is because it was slow and boring.

     There was a big loss in quality in Turn with this episode, but not only because it was boring, but also because of a few other factors. The most annoying thing was how disjointed the plot was. This episode kept switching between an intense fight and well, people eating dinner and discussing stuff, and that made things mind wracking to say the least, the episode was constantly going from one side of the spectrum to the other, and that lack of balance made for a lost and ripped apart plot. The time laps was another issue as well. A few things felt impossible in terms of timing, like traveling from New York to New Jersey in one night after so much happened. I’d think it’d take at least a day, making things feel a bit nonsensical. Also, I said this twice already so I don’t think this problem will be solved, but the lack of authenticity hurt this episode big time. Imagine constantly switching between a battle and a documentary about how traders dealt in the Revolution? That’s what this felt like. Tallmadge’s storyline had some great moments in it and the end of Abraham’s was surprising, but otherwise? I don’t see a reason to like this episode.

    Of Cabbage and Kings did not help the series at all, in fact, it made things worse. The boring disjointed storyline and the lack of authenticity took away from what could have been an episode just as watchable as the last two, but, because of these issues, of Cabbage and Kings was one boring episode which honestly, completely derailed me from watching. I’ll still be watching the next episode(s) of the season, but bearing lower expectations because, well, if things don’t get really good, this first season will be my last watching.

+ Abraham making decisions for himself

+ Tallmadge and the action surrounding him

- Disjointed

- Time-laps issue

- Boring

- Lack of authenticity hurts more than ever

[khalidreviews]

Game of Thrones Breaker of Chains review - 9/10 -

    So, we all know what happened in last week’s episode, The Lion and the Rose, and my one question is, how do you keep things interesting after such a big event happening so early? Well, a lot is still yet to happen this season as many of the storylines proclaim, but, will the shock value still be there? Will the push still be there as there are still seven episodes left? Well now, with this episode, Breaker of Chains, we will get our first piece of the answer.

    Breaker of Chains dealt with a lot more than the last episode. King’s Landing generally reacted to what happened in Joffrey’s wedding. Cearsi and Jamie had some time together, Tywin made some strategizing moves, Tyrion got to the lowest point and Sansa’s escape route took an unexpected turn. Outside the capital, Arya seemed like she was starting to have enough of the Hound as they stopped for food and shelter, the Wildings searched for Castle Black as the Night’s Watch got informed, Sam tried taking Gilly somewhere safe while Stannnis and Davos tried figuring out what to do next. Outside Westeros, in Mereen, Deanarys offered the people a chance to surrender but ended up having Dario battle their champion. The episode had a heavy set of events, and for the most parts it was handled well, as emotional depth was given to many scenes and a sense of surprise and intensity was given in others.

    Given what happened in the episode, it’s easy to say that there is still a lot of shock value mixed in., The Wildlings in action was intense, and slightly scary, Littlefinger’s scene was his best yet as he continues to give a sense of uncertainty, and Jamie’s scene with Cearsi was something unexpected, though out of character. Emotionally, the scene between Tyrion and Podrick stole the show. The two pondered on who was responsible for what happened and did it in a way that Tyrion seemed desperate, which indicated how low the character felt. However, an imbalanced sense still ran through the episode, Deanerys and Daario’s scene was pretty good, but cut short, why? Because of Sam and Gilly. The two’s relationship was interest, but somewhat irrelevant. I would have rather traded it for more seems in Mereen or more scenes with Arya and the Hound. Breaker of Chains had some really good points, but at some points it felt a bit lost.

    I enjoyed Breaker of Chains, a lot, but I felt like it could have been better. Sam and Gilly could have been cut shorter and Jamie’s actions felt out of character, but these issues did not affect the episode very much as Breaker of Chains still proved to be an excellent episode for the most part thanks to the fact that just an episode after a shock. The writers continue to keep things surprising. That’s a tough thing to do, and George RR Martin, as well as party the series’ writers and producers deserve a lot of credit for making a show that can constantly be surprising without slowing down.

+ Night’s Watch and Wildlings

+ Tywin’s moves

+ Some intensity

- Out of character moments

- Too little Deanarys, too much Sam and Gilly