In Which The Warlock Rattles Off Reviews...

With the massive "30 Days of Gamemastering" behind us, I feel like I've somewhat fallen behind on my geekly duty of reviewing the assorted nerdity that's come out in the last few weeks.  It's time we remedied that!  So, let's take a quick, encapsulated view of some of the comics-based items that have been out in the past few months:

Better than the first one, but not flawless.
I'm holding out more hope for Captain America 2.

Thor: The Dark World:  While I enjoyed the first Thor movie, it played something of a weak sister to Iron Man and Captain America: The First Avenger, settling on a bog-standard "hero learns humility" arc.  The movie was serviceable, but the sequel's promotion promised raised stakes and a more nuanced plot.  Really, Thor: The Dark World didn't disappoint.  While Chris Hemworth's Thor is solid, Tom Hiddleston's Loki is the again the real star, chewing the scenery with aplomb.  Unfortunate, Christopher Eccleston is utterly wasted as dark elf villain Malekith the Accursed, whose motivations are enigmatic at best and whose lines are few and far between.  Seriously.  Darth Maul got more face time than Malekith

Overall, I really enjoyed Thor: The Dark World, but I left the movie feeling that certain character beats were just missing.  I really look forward to seeing the Blu-ray/DVD release, as I wouldn't be surprised to see extended versions of certain dialogue scenes, particularly between Thor and Loki.  It's not a perfect movie, but it's a great addition to the Marvel Cinematic stable.

Give it time.  It's getting better.
Plus, Tahiti is a magical place...

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD:  I've really had high hopes for this show, hoping that it'd provide the "connective tissue" linking some of the Marvel movies and hinting towards an ever-expanding universe.  So far?  Ehhh.  Individual episodes have been somewhat hit or miss, with real winners like "The Girl in the Flower Dress" and "F.Z.Z.T." but also several mediocre filler episodes.  While Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson is still an inspiration--particularly as he slowly uncovers what really happened to him following his "death" in The Avengers--the remainder of the characters feel like they've been ripped straight from TVTropes.

But, there's promise.  Victoria Hand, played by an inspired Saffron Burrows, provides a unique glimpse at a darker, more covert SHIELD, seeming to point to the turmoil upcoming in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  An upcoming episode features the Extremis-enhanced Mike Peterson (J. August Richards) joining the core group, implying a greater focus on the superheroic universe.  This is a show that, more than many others, has been suffering from "First Season Syndrome".  Once it finds its niche?  It's going to roll on all cylinders.  I'll keep watching.

Poor animation, a middling plot, and
unnecessary gore keep this one under par.

Justice League:  The Flashpoint Paradox:  Ouch.  Just ouch.  While the DC Animated Universe has trounced Marvel's handily for the past decade--probably the only multimedia arena that DC has unequivocally won--this one left me utterly disappointed.  Based on a Geoff Johns plotline which led into the "New 52", the Flash's nemesis, Professor Zoom, alters the timeline such that the world sits on the brink of war between Atlantis and Themyscira.  Thomas Wayne has become Batman, following the death of his wife and son.  The Flash is left to navigate the chaos, track down Zoom, and find a way to restore the original timeline.

While the voice acting in Flashpoint Paradox is quality, the character designs and animations are clunky and ill-formed.  Many of the masculine characters are overly muscled and veiny; Aquaman, at times, appears to have no neck whatsoever.  Female characters, notably Wonder Woman and Lois Lane, are given "anime eyes" that look almost detached from the rest of the character model.  The art here simply is not of the same high quality that the DC Animated Universe has established thusfar.

Worse, though?  The level of violence in The Flashpoint Paradox is utterly deplorable, particularly for a film rated PG-13.  While I'm not averse to violent comics or the like--I enjoy Sin City, The Boys, and pretty much anything else by Frank Miller or Garth Ennis--this film is marketed to a younger audience, for whom it is utterly inappropriate.  Aquaman flat-out executes individuals on screen.  Dismemberment is rife.  Justice League mainstay Cyborg is literally ripped apart in one of the final fight scenes, while another scene shows Batman use a pistol to shoot another character...through the bloody hole in that character's skull.  The violence in The Flashpoint Paradox is gratuitous, distracting, needlessly gory, and totally unnecessary for the plot.  I can't recommend it.

Mechanics and theme clash drastically
in this disappointing board game.

City of Remnants:  I had high hopes for this game, after being given the elevator pitch by Sean while we were up in Columbus for a game night.  Imprisoned by an oppressive alien force, players took on the role of gang leaders, attempting to carve out a niche for themselves beneath the noses of their alien overlords.  The game promised cutthroat conflict, conniving, backstabbing, and underworld dealings.

What I got?  A Euro-style worker placement game with elements of "Dominion"-style deckbuilding.  Unless the players actively engage one another in player-vs-player combat--generally a bad idea for both factions involved, due to the clunky mechanics of combat--there are few ways to even influence another player's actions, much less backstab or even interact with other players.  After losing a key piece of territory--I made a calculated risk that didn't work out--my influence on the game was utterly nullified.  The game went on for over an hour more, with no meaningful contributions on my part.

City of Remnants could have been a tactical, backstabbing good time, but its Eurogame elements really hold it back.  Rather than achieving victory by accumulating wealth or territory--items that would thematically be fitting for an organized crime game--the game insists on using a nebulous victory point system.  Instead of being able to interfere with others' operations--shaking down a casino, tipping off cops to others' activities--players have no real interaction unless they directly confront one another, which is almost universally a bad proposition.  The theme and mechanics of City of Remnants are utterly dissonant, leading to a misshapen, poorly designed game.  Give this one a pass.

In Which The Warlock Posts Some Random Thoughts in Bullet Point Form...

With all of the writing I've been doing (and the live-blogging from Origins!), I've been kind of remiss in some of my geekly duties.  But, since the PlatinumChick and I are headed out for my old stomping grounds for a few days, I figure that now is a pretty good time to catch up on some of those summertime thoughts that I haven't exactly gotten around to writing about yet!

• Green Lantern.  Boy, this one was a train wreck, wasn't it?  After such hype and so much cash spent on CGI effects, this movie really just fell apart due to poor writing and direction, an uninspired performance by lead Ryan Reynolds, and massive plot holes.  One of my non-gamer friends out here is a massive GL fanboy, and I've spent quite a bit of time trying to show him exactly why this movie failed so miserably, but he...disagrees.  *shakes head*  I keep hearing that the producers are trying to get a sequel green-lit, but I doubt that will ever happen.  This might have been DC's best shot to start a Marvel-esque "shared film universe" but that's gone out the window...
• Thor.  Whooo...how did I miss this one earlier?  While it's not quite as good as Iron Man, Kenneth Branagh brought a great amount of gravitas and depth to a movie that many--yours truly included--were worried about.  I mean, really, how do you make a hammer-wielding god-alien fit in with the super-science of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers?  Somehow, Branagh made it believable, with SHIELD playing a significant role, complete with a cameo from a certain bow-wielding solo agent...
• Captain America.  Speaking of Steve, I'm really jazzed about this one.  The latest trailers have shown something that I suspected since the beginning--that the "icebound" reveal will actually take place during the film itself, and not during the traditional post-credits Marvel Skeletor.  I'm not as worried about this one as I was Thor, primarily because of the grounding that Cap has in super-science and Marvel lore.  It's a lot easier to tie Cap to Iron Man and the Hulk than it is to Thor, for aforementioned space-god reasons.  Plus, Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull?  Inspired casting...
• The DC Reboot!  Ugh.  The PlatinumChick was being pissed when she heard about this travesty.  For those of you non-comics fans, DC Comics made an overarching decision to restart many of their comics, complete with an art overhaul that eliminates some classic costumes and changes to major characters (like Barbara Gordon, in particular) that destroy some classic character development.  While I fall on the Marvel side of the fence in this, I can see exactly what the PlatinumChick is mad about--ignoring or trying to wipe away some of the greatest stories in comics, when that's what draws people in, is folly.  Plus, it means that somewhere in Britain, Alan Moore will be putting on his face-fucking boots...
• Other Comics!  Matt Fraction, while writing fantastically on "Invincible Iron Man" has really frustrated me with Bucky-Cap (Spoilers!).  At least the new Deadlands comic line appears to be selling well, and was really entertaining.  Hopefully the creators will be able to keep it up.  Plus,  Ghost Rider is finally back!  The last series, while trading hands several times, managed to maintain a neat feel that alternated between Biblical apocalypse and grindhouse movie, which was a blast to read.  It still doesn't hold a candle to Garth Ennis' run...
• More Movies!  Okay, so Pirates of the Caribbean 4 was kind of a disappointment.  While amusing, it felt like most of the characters were just going through the motions.  Frustrating, considering the source material they used was an actual novel this time, but with Gore Verbinski jumping ship (teehee...ship!), what could we really expect?  Next up on our slate is Cowboys vs. Aliens, which has been hyped up beyond belief.  I'm hoping that Jon Favreau does us right on this one...he hasn't steered us wrong before. 

I think that's about all for now.  Stay posted for some updates on our now two weekly Deadlands games this Saturday!  Cheers!