#plot-twist: lucas is the big bad he's gonna go kill all the guides.

[oklucasbright]

who: open !​​ what: lucas... are you ok... where: outside of audrina’s orchard maze

he was gone. and life still moved on.  the cycle of life and death was just the way the world worked, lucas knew that. but a middle-aged man in a hospital bed, while tragic, was still far removed from a kid with a knife in his abdomen. if it weren’t for his mother and daiyu - ‘day’ - he would wonder what there was ( who there was ) to go on for.  but the story went as it always did: the story kept moving. the story went on. so time went on. so the town went on. so he went on -- slowly, a slug’s pace, but... he was there, wasn’t he ? and that was one small victory in a pool of ‘what ifs’ and a side of ‘why this.’ standing at the edge of the maze, he nodded to it and mused aloud, “ someone could totally go, like... that movie with johnny ? ” the shining, lucas. the shining. and it’s jack. “ eh -- anyways, someone could totally just, like... i don’t know, kill those guides and, like, it’d be too easy to get away with. ”

[arabian-bloodstream]

Why I love ‘Attack of the Clones’

I think that Attack of the Clones is the underrated gem of the Star Wars universe. Yeah, I said it. And here is my review of the film and why I think so!

The beginning of the film sets up the rest of the film so well. It's beautifully done. We begin with Amidala's attack, which is a neat reference to how Padme had her bodyguard/double all throughout The Phantom Menace. From that we get the concise, digestible explanation of the Separatist vs. the Republic, and why the Jedi Knights are needed and why Amidala specifically needs Jedi protection as well. It wasn't ham-handed, it wasn't confusing, it flowed so naturally. By the way, it also proved how wrong the Machete Cut is (which cuts out TPM). You *need* TPM for the moments between Amidala/Palpatine to work, and boy, do they work.

Speaking of Amidala needing Jedi protection, what that scene also gave us what further insight into Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship. Further insight because our first introduction to the two with Anakin as a young man was fantastic. Say what you will about Hayden Christensen's acting–and, no, I don't blame him, I've seen him in other things, he's been good–but he and Ewan MacGregor are fantastic together. Great chemistry, wonderful ying and yang. Their quick ride in the elevator showed a bit of sibling, but also a touch of a father/son vibe, with a dose of mentorship. Overall their friendship shone through. Ah, until that scene with Amidala when the mentorship came into strong play and whoo, boy! that little "discussion" about what a Jedi mandate is and is not right in front of Amidala and her entourage was the very definition of AWKWARD! It set up the differences right off the bat between Anakin and Obi-Wan and really Anakin and the Jedi.

OK, fine, the scene could have been better (as so many in this film--but the same could be said for Revenge of the Sith) had Hayden Christensen done a better acting job. However, as I wrote above, it's really not that Christensen is a bad actor, it's that he's an actor who truly needs direction. For example, Samuel L. Jackson is not a bad actor. At all. And, yet, he's kinda dreadful in these films. Frankly, I never thought I'd think that SLJ is a bad actor. However, He is in this Prequel Trilogy and that's because George Lucas is not a strong director for actors. So Christensen's acting woes can be laid at the feet of Lucas. MacGregor, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid are simply the types of actors who can deliver a performance without the aid of director to guide them. Some can do so better than others. Christensen isn't one of them. So essentially I just accepted that I could harp on the less than stellar acting coming from the co-lead thanks (or no thanks) to the direction or enjoy the overall storytelling, the brilliant weaving together of the threads and how well the characters, the plots and the action pieces worked.

Yes, the actions pieces... like the chase sequence with Obi-Wan, Anakin and Amidala's would-be assassin. That was awesome. Thrilling, sharply-directed and I just loved the humor. The banter was just top-notch between Anakin and Obi-Wan. When Obi-Wan asked what took Anakin so long, had he stopped with just saying he was looking for a speeder he liked it would have been eh, a one-liner without any punch but he kept it up while Obi-Wan was giving directions, with bits about what he liked in a speeder which gave just enough resonance that it had the feel of a long-running joke. This gave it a touch of realism, familiarity to their relationship. It was great, and, again, Christensen and MacGregor are just so good together. Lucas wrote these two so, so well.

And he knew how to twist the knife! Obi-Wan to Anakin: "Why do I think you're going to be the death of me?" {SOBS}

OK, so I wrote above about how if one can put aside Christensen's acting issues it is very possible to see the good of this film. A shining example of this is the juxtaposition of Kamino and the Lake Country on Naboo. Firstly, let's just talk about the awesome of Kamino itself. I simply cannot get over how GORGEOUS everything about Kamino is. The aliens, the design of the infrastructure, the costuming, it's just all top-notch gorgeous. I love every single, solitary moment of the Kamino stuff. The creation and history of the clones, Boba Fett's backstory, him being a clone of Jango–the one who wasn't changed or accelerated, how it so naturally fit into the introduction of the Clone Wars. So brilliant. And also how Jango and the clones were tied into that exhilarating open sequence/attack on Amidala. Aah, just so good.

Now, let's tie that brilliance in with Lake Country... because it *does* tie into Kamino and that is a big reason why I just can't hate on the love story as presented in Attack of the Clones. Because of *how* it's presented. By giving us Anakin and Padme falling in love in the Lake Country at the same time we (through Obi-Wan) learned about Kamino and the clones we saw love and war side by side. It made perfect sense juxtaposing the Lake Country and Kamino. You have the two young lovers falling on the one side, and the Clone army, set up for war, on the other. We know that Anakin falling in love with Padme is going to eventually lead him to take the Dark Path, and the Clone Army is going to turn on the Jedi somehow. Having the introduction of the clones and the introduction of the love story juxtaposed is brilliant because here you have the two key forces that BRING THE JEDI DOWN: Order 66 and Anakin Skywalker falling in love. It's so perfect.

Yes, yes, again, the love story section probably features Christensen's worst acting, but again, I blame Lucas. As for the actual scenes themselves (outside of his acting), well, I like them. I'm fine with the over-the-top dialogue. I don't think there was anything wrong with it. Was it extra? Yes. Is he a Skywalker? Yes. Are Skywalkers extra? Is the sky blue? It's who he is, he's gonna go overboard with his exclamations. It's completely in character for the Skywalkers and for Anakin Skywalker. Totally. Also, in addition to his over-the-top exclamations of love, these scenes also showed us that before he went fully Dark Side, yes, Anakin already did believe in the idea of someone like the Emperor. That idea was something he was for.

Oh, and biggie here, I absolutely think that the "I don't like sand" was a fantastic line. It was about Tatooine and all that it represented, and like he said the opposite of what Padme was. It just meant so much and was (a) a callback to his childhood as a slave, being owned by someone, and the freedom that his mother never got, and (b) foreshadowing for what was to come with Shmi's death because "sand" was representative of Tatooine. *sigh* Yeah, Shmi. Man, oh, man. Shmi's death scene just guts me every time. Seriously, it makes me cry. Now, this... this is easily Christensen's best acting in the entire trilogy. The love and connection is just immediately there between them and when she's gone his devastation is so real and that switch from pain to anger is just ON! Ugh, and when he starts killing and then it swipes to Yoda and we hear Qui-Gon crying out "Anakin! Anakin!" it just breaks my heart. This is one of the best scenes in the entire Saga.

And then were back to the action. The "machines making machines" set piece and the arena sequence are both awesome and fun, with Anakin, Padme and Obi-Wan showing off their skills, wit, bravery, bravado and just overall awesome. And in between the two, oh, I loved, loved the scene between Anakin and Padme before they were brought out into the arena where she confessed her love ("I truly, deeply love you"). It was a beautiful scene, my favorite Anakin/Padme scene. I don't think that Christensen and Portman had the best chemistry or that Anakin/Padme love story was the best written, but this scene was one that I think showed the best promise of what could have been had a better director (sorry, George) and a better love story writer had taken on that aspect. Anyway, back to the action, past the arena battle where the trio were losing despite a valiant effort before the Jedi showed up was awesome, but then they were losing too... until Yoda showing up with the clones and took over and that was awesome!

OK, we're reaching the end now and still we're continuing to get those signs of what's to come. Anakin is truly caught between love over duty, wanting to save Padme over going after Dooku and Obi-Wan is witness and has to really push to keep him on the right path. But wait there's more goodness ahead! Oh, yeah, the triple header of a lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan and Dooku! But wait! There's even more! And better! I just... man... I will never not love the Yoda/Dooku lightsaber fight because, dude, Yoda in a lightsaber fight is AWESOME!

Finally, we reach the end and for those who have seen the Original Trilogy we know where this all leads and so it's perfect. This wedding of Anakin and Padme with no dialogue, just the two at the Lake Country on Naboo where they fell in love. It's perfectly done because it should be a happy occasion, but it's a somber affair. Even during their wedding kiss, neither is really smiling. The final long shot of the two, with R2 and C3P0 as their only guests on the balcony where they shared their first kiss against that gorgeous backdrop is so lovely... ah, but we know, we know there is no happy ending here. As the overall feel of the scene tells us despite the visual beauty of it.

So, yeah, this is why I love this movie. This is all the good, the great I see in it.Attack of the Clones: Underrated gem of the Star Wars universe.

[kitsunesbooks]

Everything Wrong with Resident Evil 7

SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED RESIDENT EVIL 7 TO COMPLETION, DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE

When you really look at it, it is kind of surprising that Resident Evil 7 built up as much hype as it. did. Probably the only thing that generated the hype was the rather fantastic demo that basically took inspiration from the even better PT. The hype is also kind of understandable when you take into account that Resident Evil 7 is meant to reboot the franchise. Given the absolutely campy garbage fest that was Resident Evil 6, I can see why a reboot was necessary. However, the game STILL suffers from some really poor writing. The game opens incredibly strong but after awhile it falls flat. And there are some glaring issues in the game’s story that I want to talk about. In this article I hope to explain everything wrong with Resident Evil 7.

So, to get it out of the way, the game has some positives in its writing. For one, the Bakers are a lovable bunch of bat-shit crazy lunatics. Each member of the family is, for the most part, fleshed out and has a great personality that definitely helps to add the suspense of the game. The problem lies in the fact the chaser mechanic is abandoned half way through the game in favor of scripted jump-scares and a homage to the SAW franchise. It is ridiculous to me that you would throw away such a key part of the gameplay, especially when the alternative to the Bakers is the Molded, who are bland, boring, and not scary. The Molded straight up look like those horrible CGI abominations from the 1995 film version of the Langoliers. They aren’t scary at all, especially when they are problem easily solved by one round of buckshot to the face. It makes no sense that a game, which is clearly inspired by games like Outlast and Amnesia, would remove such a key mechanic. Part of what made Jack Baker scary was the fact he simply could not be killed. No matter how many times you tried, he would not die. All you could do was slow him down. That way the arsenal that you build up doesn’t feel too empowering. Personally I feel like the old Silent Hill games handled gunplay really well by making the use of firearms feel like a choice you had to make. You could easily dispatch enemies in that game with firearms but resources were scarce which forced you to rely on a slew of improvised melee weapons to conserve ammo. In Resident Evil 7 it feels like ammo is not nearly as scarce as it could be and the game on a whole seems to resonate more with the fourth installment as opposed to the originals like Capcom intended. This emphasis on action also makes the boss fights less of a struggle from what I’ve seen. Almost every boss can be solved by just shooting the weak spot. While it's passable for the first “real” fight with Jack, using the same formula again and again make the bosses forgettable.

This of course brings me to some of the glaring issues with the writing. While I love the Bakers, the gameplay, as well as the writing, does not capitalize on them. The first big issue with this is of course, Zoe. Zoe is the Baker that I honestly remove from the main three baddies. One, because she is meant to be your guiding force in the game. She is your Atlas in Resident Evil 7, without the plot twist. But, Zoe is far too enigmatic for her own good. For the first half of the game she is completely unseen, she is only heard. She speaks to you through telephones throughout the house that conveniently ring whenever the player completes a thing. How!? How does she know when to call!? Where is she calling from!? The answer: nobody knows. But, that is only the first problem with Zoe. The biggest crime committed by this character is the absolute bullshit moral choice that kicks off the climax of the game. First I need to give some context. So most of the game is spent getting parts to synthesize an antidote for Ethan’s (the player character’s) wife. When you finally rescue Mia (the wife), and Zoe, Zoe makes two antidotes. Then Jack shows up again and he has transformed into a massive Molded monstrosity in that typical campy Resident Evil style. Once Jack is dispatched, Zoe flat out tells you to use an antidote on him, because otherwise he is just gonna get right back up. And no, that is not an option, you have no friggin choice. So now that you have only one antidote, Ethan has to choose between Mia, his wife and the person who he came to the damn Baker estate to rescue, or Zoe, who has done nothing but run her damn mouth throughout half the game. And of course, as if we were watching the Walking Dead, Zoe gets all overly dramatic if you pick Mia. HOW IS THIS CHOICE DIFFICULT!? What’s worse is that choosing Zoe changes barely anything about the third act of the game. You still find the ship that Mia was working on at the beginning of the game. You still play as Mia for a bit. The only difference is that Zoe dies immediately after you make your choice to save her and you end up having to kill Mia as opposed to her sacrificing herself.

Thus we come to the big bad of the game. Eveline. The cause of everything in the game’s plot. Eveline had the potential to be a damn interesting villain, despite her incredibly tropey character. I was actually really intrigued by her when she first appeared. I have a thing for psychic children as villains. It is just a trope I find fun and enjoyable. Eveline was a great embodiment of that trope, but they messed it up so hard. While the ship level does an amazing job of explaining all of Mia’s backstory and her involvement with Eveline. The game comes completely full circle and gives as nice wrap up in that area. But the problem is it doesn’t, it doesn’t end there. Eveline still needs to be dealt with. Honestly the ship should have been the last part of the game. I would have loved to have seen Eveline become the Wesker of the new universe of Resident Evil games. Instead we got one of the most half assed plot twists I have seen in recent years. So throughout the game there is an elderly woman in a wheelchair that appears throughout the Baker estate. That silent old woman, is Eveline. Yes, the little girl that you see throughout the game is all grown up now. Somewhere I swear I can hear Shyamalan laughing maniacally. I was beyond enraged by this. It was the biggest cop out I have seen in a long time and it completely erased any intrigue that I had in Eveline’s character. It was like presenting me with a cheesecake, letting me have a few bites, and then taking it away and lighting it on fire. Eveline had so much potential as a series villain and a breath of fresh air for the franchise, and the threw it away. Judging by the ending of the game and the sudden appearance of Umbrella, it is not going to surprise me if we just get Wesker part two.

Overall, Resident Evil 7 isn’t a bad game by any means. Gameplay wise the game works, but it isn’t a masterpiece and it shows that the franchise still has a long way to go before it is able to recover from Resident Evil 6. The story has a lot of continuity errors that show a lack of communication between the writers of the main story and those responsible for the lore. For instance, the mention of Lucas not being a killer as said by the now cured Jack, despite evidence stating otherwise. Not to mention that entire vision quest bullshit that happens to Ethan where he is able to talk to Jack and Zoe and get some more exposition on Eveline, not that we needed it. Honestly the story has more issues than I can care to mention. But the game is still decent enough and it is still receiving DLC support so there is more story bits that could be fixed in the extra content. No disrespect if you enjoy the game, but I was not impressed by Resident Evil’s story. Despite the flaws, I believe that this game was a step in the right direction. Hopefully Resident Evil 8 will be better, because let’s be honest, they are gonna make another one. I hope you liked this article. There will be plenty more in the future.