Review: The Avengers (2012)

When Iron Man came to theatres in 2008, audiences were given a surprise. Those who were patient enough to wait until the credits finished rolling were treated to an additional scene, which served to hype a film featuring a Marvel superhero team-up. Five films and four years later, The Avengers (2012) has final arrived. While it may seem impossible to live up to such an extraordinary level of hype, Marvel's The Avengers completely exceeds all expectations and may very well be the greatest superhero film ever made.

Tying many of the Marvel film franchises together is quite an ambitious project, one that I admit I had my doubts about. I wasn't originally a fan of the hidden "Easter egg" scenes that served as promotional ploys for The Avengers film -- which at the time seemed only like a fantasy. I felt as though connecting all the film franchises together cheapened each movie's unique experience, and in the event that The Avengers was terrible, it would taint those films completely.

While each Marvel film leading up to The Avengers had its own stand-alone value, I still can't help but feel as though each was made with future installments in mind. Through end credit scenes and some crossover characters, each film is linked together -- often in ways that came off as a little silly. 

Movie Review: The Raven (2012)

I’m going to assume by now that you’ve seen the trailer for The Raven, a film by V For Vendetta director, James McTeigue. You know the premise: a fictional Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) is helping hunt down a serial murderer, who seems deeply inspired by Poe’s work. This story is told through a series of chase scenes, shootouts, and other movie clichés.

To say that the plot unfolds without originality would be a complete understatement. This is a formula movie, and a very poor one at that. The Raven displays a visual style that seems to strive for mediocrity, and only succeeds at reaching that level some of the time. The film shows very little creativity in its visual style, and sometimes it looks downright ugly.

The cinematography is as formulaic as the film’s script -- every shot seems borrowed from somewhere else; every scene seems crafted around a stale idea from the past. While I expected to see a film heavily influenced by past “whodunits”, The Raven fails so completely to deliver anything original that it seems like little more than a cheap knockoff.

Movie Review: "The Cabin in the Woods" (2012)

The tagline to The Cabin in the Woods implies a level of deception: “You think you know the story.” I can honestly say that this film did not meet my expectations, though I did really enjoy it. It’s true that the story of teenagers isolated in a woodland setting, only to picked off by evil beasties, isn’t exactly a new idea for the horror genre. Luckily, the film doesn’t follow any formula very closely.

There have been several recent releases in the horror-comedy genre, most of which are satirical representations of classic horror formulas. When I arrived at the theater I expected to see a parody film along the lines of Drag Me to Hell or Wes Craven’s Scream. While it’s true that I was treated to some bloody laughs, Cabin in the Woods is not done in the same vein as the films listed above.

I think it is fair to classify Cabin as a horror-comedy offshoot, but saying that doesn’t describe the unique approach fully. It’s really hard to describe Cabin in the Woods, but I think that’s exactly what the filmmakers were going for.

Why Changing the Mass Effect 3 Ending Would Be Bad for Video Games

"With its compelling cinematic setting, the Mass Effect series stands as an example of how video games can be great works of art. Changing the ending only reinforces the beliefs of video game naysayers, who insist that games are nothing more than mindless entertainment." 

I'll start by speaking frankly: video games are not respected as an art medium. There's no doubt that gaming is on the rise; sales continue to break records year after year. Yet, video games still aren't getting the same recognition from the mainstream as other forms of media entertainment.

I use the word "entertainment" because I think that's how video games are viewed by a lot of people, particularly the older generations. Still, I don't think that gamers can solely blame crotchety old folks for being closed-minded to the medium. It's up to gamers of all ages to prove to non-believers that video games have evolved since the arcade era and are no longer just mindless distractions.

For every game that is made just for fun, there is another game that focuses on creative art direction. For every game with no story, there's another with a compelling narrative, filled with rich characters and themes. Video games are just as much of an art medium as film, music, and literature -- we just have to prove it. The first way to accomplish this is for the gamers themselves to treat video games as art, and not just view them as a commercial product. Yes, I think video game consumers share a huge chunk of the blame.

Recently a petition addressed to BioWare arrived in my inbox. The petition called for a new ending to Mass Effect 3, citing outrage over the game's actual ending. While I wasn't completely satisfied with the Mass Effect 3 ending, I didn't for a second consider signing such an asinine petition.