The Video Game/Movie Review Blog

From here on out, I want to start this review by saying that any future Wizarding World themed movies, including this one, were directed by the same man, so they have a more unifying vision, and most of the time, David Yates' style of directing works well, especially in this one. Somehow, this story takes the Harry Potter saga in an even darker direction. The story opens up with Harry getting expelled from Hogwarts for defending himself and his non-magical cousin from a pair of dementors. Obviously, this doesn't stick, and soon Harry and his friends are back at school for the fifth year, but that initial scare is indicative of the Wizarding government's attitude toward Harry after Voldemort, played by Ralph Fiennes, returns. The minister of magic refuses to believe this is what is happening and so uses his influence on the press to discredit Harry, Dumbledore, and anyone who may believe in him. The worst thing he does, though, is send in a sadistic ministry mole named Dolor...

I knew that going into this movie was definitely going to be, well, a different take on this film than most people would. I went in hoping to enjoy myself, but...well, I really didn't all that much. The story focuses on four siblings, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, played by William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, and Georgie Henley, who, after having to leave their home due to World War II, end up finding a wardrobe that leads to a mystical land known as Narnia. From there, they are supposed to fulfill a prophecy and help the king of the land, a lion named Aslan, voiced by Liam Neeson, defeat the villainous White Witch, played by Tilda Swinton. While this sounds like a fun plot, so much of the execution of all of this feels surface level and it didn't really leave any lasting feelings at all. Compare this with Lord of the Rings where I felt like I knew the world, why things were happening, and who the characters were. In this one, stuff just kind of happens with lit...

If Prisoner of Azkaban was the beginning of Harry Potter getting more dark and mature, then this film is where it leans into it completely. Everything changed with this one, and the events of this story, more than any other, especially the final portions, inform how the final four films will play out. The story follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who return to Hogwarts for their fourth year of school, and from the beginning, with Harry having a dream of Voldemort killing an old man in cold blood while plotting with his followers to do the same to Harry, you know things are about to get real. And get real they do, because he, without his knowledge, is entered into the Triwizard Tournament, a wizarding competition between Hogwarts and two other wizarding schools where the champions involved have to compete in three deadly tasks. This film is definitely not only showing the darkness of the world around Harry, but also the beginning of, as any coming of age story has, our leads starting to l...

How do you show the fall of a character that is said to be heroic? How does a film take someone who has the potential for good and has them take a hard turn into evil? The answer is this film, it isn't the best villain origin story I have seen, but it is certainly a pretty good one all the same. The story concerns the end of the Clone Wars, the fall of the Galactic Republic and subsequent rise of the Galactic Empire, and, most importantly, the destruction of the friendship between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, as the former becomes the sith lord known as Darth Vader. The story has the most bittersweet ending of any Star Wars film, I'd say, as most of the film is all about everything falling into evil and ruin, but with a small amount of hope at the very end. This film is clearly the darkest of the Star Wars films up to this point, and while some of the acting can be hit or miss, and the fact that this movie has inspired lot...

This film has been considered by many people to one of the best, if not the best film, in the entire Wizarding World franchise. Now, I will agree it is definitely one of my favorites as well, and also represents a turning point for the series going forward. The story centers on Harry, Ron, and Hermione, played once again by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, as they attend their third year at the wizarding school Hogwarts. But this time, the stakes are higher, as Harry is being stalked by one of the dark wizard Voldemort's followers, a dangerous killer named Sirius Black, played by Gary Oldman. In addition, Harry begins to bond with his new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, a kind yet mysterious man named Remus Lupin, played by David Thewlis. The thing that impresses me the most is that this is the first time the Harry Potter story goes in a more dark, mature, and serious direction, as you can see from my brief plot description above. Having the threat of a kille...

I have so many emotions right now. This movie is the culmination of everything that the previous films built up. It was amazing, beautiful, heart-rending, and everything that you want the ending of a sprawling saga to be. The story of this film is all about Frodo and Sam, played once again by Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, finally making it to Mordor, but the Ring has been gaining more and more control over Frodo to where it is unclear whether he'll be able to destroy it when the time comes. Meanwhile, the rest of the party helps to rally the rest of Middle-Earth for a final stand against Sauron and his forces. That is the simplest way I could talk about this, since this movie is 3 hours long, so there is so much covered, with a satisfying ending and one of the most airtight plots in all of cinema. This film features some of the most epic battles, such as Sam's fight against the giant spider Shelob and the Battle of Pelennor Fields, where the lands of Gondor and Rohan team up agai...

Once again, I am blown away by this film. Somehow they managed to make a sequel that manages to still keep the spirit of the first film, while at the same time expanding on the world of Middle Earth. There is a lot more happening, storywise, and it is split into three separate subplots this time. The first one follows Frodo and Sam, played once again by Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, as they continue to journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring, and along the way, they run into the creature Gollum, played by Andy Serkis, who promises to guide them there, but at the same time, he has his own designs. The second one follows Merry and Pippin, played by Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, as they escape capture from the orcs and encounter the ent called Treebeard. The third one involves Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, played by Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, and Orlando Bloom, as they try to rally the rest of Middle-Earth to their aid to stop the armies of Sauron. This film felt more expansive ...

Once again, it is very nice to be able to go through a movie I actually enjoy after the nightmare that was Attack of the Clones. This one definitely builds upon the story of the first Harry Potter film in ways that feel interesting and the character development is on point. The story follows Harry, Ron and Hermione, once again played by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, as they go through their second year at Hogwarts, but, as can be expected, not everything is sunshine and roses for our heroes. After Harry receives a cryptic warning from a house elf named Dobby to stay away from Hogwarts. It turns out these warnings ring true after a mysterious message appears on the walls announcing the opening of the mysterious Chamber of Secrets, followed by the systematic petrification of students by an unknown creature. As you can see from my plot outline, this film definitely is darker and the stakes are higher than the first, with the whimsy beginning to falter just a bit as we g...

Well, I know I said this about the last Star Wars movie I reviewed, but this was also...definitely a movie. Now, unlike Phantom Menace, this has a few more moments of brilliance in it. The story follows Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, and his apprentice, the now grown Anakin Skywalker, played this time by Hayden Christensen, who are sent to protect the senator Padme Amidala, played once again by Natalie Portman, from assassination by the mysterious separatists. After an action packed opening scene, the story splits off in two directions. The first, and arguably the more interesting thread in the story, concerns Obi-Wan looking into the assassin going after Padme and ends up running into the leader of the separatists, Count Dooku, played by Christopher Lee, as well as learning of an army of clones made for the republic to fight against the armies of the separatists. It's a good mystery, with some great action, and Ewan McGregor is always just fun to watch on screen. As for ...

There is a lot to unpack with this one. First thing is that I love this movie so much. It is probably one of my favorite fantasy films of all time. I highly doubt I'll be able to really explain the scope of this film but I'll try. As can be expected from the beginning of an epic fantasy tale, the story is complicated, which is also due to this film's nearly three hour runtime. After learning of the history of the One Ring, which was created by the now defeated Dark Lord Sauron to control the fantasy world of Middle-Earth, and how it ends up in the hands of our protagonist, a hobbit named Frodo Baggins, played by Elijah Wood, the story then begins in earnest. The main story concerns Frodo, along with his friends Sam, played by Sean Astin, Merry, played by Dominic Monaghan, and Pippin, played by Billy Boyd, as they attempt to take the One Ring to somewhere Sauron's forces will never find it. Eventually, however, once they reach the Elven city of Rivendell, it becomes clea...

Sometimes, after all the craziness of something like Star Wars, it's kind of nice to just enjoy a film that is all about how amazing magic is. This film definitely nails that, and it is a lot lighter in tone than Star Wars. The story concerns a young orphan named Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe, who lives with his abusive relatives. But on his 11th birthday, he learns that he is a wizard and that he has been accepted to the wizarding school known as Hogwarts. Once there, he makes friends with two other aspiring wizards and witches, Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint, and Hermione Granger, played by Emma Watson. Not all is good, with Harry learning the dark truth about his parents' deaths, and the dark wizard who caused them, supposedly dead, still inspires fear to the point where people refuse to speak his name. This film, while definitely having a story, albeit a fairly simple one, is more concerned with showing how wonderful and amazing the world of magic is, and it...

This is definitely a movie. Now, a lot of people tend to say this is one of the worst films in the Star Wars franchise, and I can see where they are coming from, but I have always thought, that, even if this is the worst of the prequel films, this is not the worst film to come out of the franchise. Let's explore what this movie is about. The plot is a little complex, but basically, it involves a planet called Naboo having its trade routes taxed by a rival group known as the Trade Federation, which is obviously causing disputes. The main story concerns two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, who, along with Padme, the queen of Naboo, played by Natalie Portman, they plan to overthrow the Trade Federation and bring relative freedom back to Naboo. It's not exactly the most exciting plot out there, and the biggest connection it has to the original trilogy of films is that, while pursued by the Federation, our heroes stop of...

What an adventure this has been already! Getting to finish the original Star Wars trilogy again always fills me with joy because I'd argue that those three movies provided the best story in that universe, and not very many follow-ups have come close to this. The story starts off with Luke Skywalker and Leia, played once again by Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, heading back to the desert planet of Tatooine to rescue Han Solo, played once again by Harrison Ford, from the evil gangster Jabba the Hutt. Once that plotline concludes, the main story starts in earnest, with three plotlines running at once. The first involves Han Solo and Leia attempting to take down the shields on the Empire's new weapon which is...another Death Star for some reason, which is powered by a generator on the forest moon of Endor, which is populated by a race of primitive teddy bear like creatures known as Ewoks. The second has Luke heading to the Death Star to confront Darth Vader and the Emperor, played b...

I know this is probably not going to shock you when I say this, but this film is my personal favorite of the Star Wars series. A lot of the other films have merit, but this film has the best story, a solid level of character development, and some amazing action sequences, in my personal opinion. The story follows the rebellion, which is still being pursued by the Empire, led by Darth Vader, who has an obsession with capturing Luke Skywalker for some reason. After our establishing moments with the characters and a fun action sequence on the ice planet of Hoth, the story splits in two directions. The first follows Luke as he is led by the ghost of Obi-Wan to the swamp planet of Dagobah where an ancient Jedi master named Yoda resides who will teach him the ways of the force. This is where I feel the mysticism of the Force begins to come into play in the franchise, with it being a part of literally everything and the Jedi tap into it to help in their battle against the dark side. The secon...

After a long hiatus with a couple of odd reviews here and there, I have finally found the current direction I want to take with my reviews for the time being, and that is fantasy films. I'm a big fan of fantasy, and I got this idea both from recently watching the premiere of The Rings of Power and from a YouTuber called Sean Chandler, who did a ranking of these same movies in something called 31 on 31, so without further ado, let's get this started! The story behind the film follows a farm boy named Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill, who comes into the possession of two droids that end up holding the plans to stop the Death Star, a deadly weapon created by the evil galactic empire that is capable of destroying planets. Along the way, he is helped by a mysterious old man named Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness, who is a Jedi Knight, so basically a wizard with a lightsaber, a cocky smuggler named Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford, and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca, and...