Warcraft

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: An orc story? How can you even think about it? This is a no-orc zone around here.

Vampire Bat: It is a humans against orcs tale.

Vampire Owl: Whatever it is, I just can’t stand these orcs. They don’t even smell good.

Vampire Bat: Why do you try to smell them? It is totally unnecessary.

Vampire Owl: It is not intentional. We just come across one or two of them at the Goblin Market all the time.

Vampire Bat: Why do you go to the Goblin Market?

Vampire Owl: What? I just love their special fruit juice.

Vampire Bat: Dude, they are not healthy drinks. You should just stick to the natural vampire drinks.

Vampire Owl: Still healthier than those human-made things like Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

Vampire Bat: Well, I can agree to that.

[Gets three cups of masala tea with banana chips].

Flashback to the game :: As all of you would know by now, Warcraft is an adaptation of the game of the same name, just as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Hitman, Max Payne, Need For Speed, Alone in the Dark and Prince of Persia had been, among the others. But what Warcraft has achieved here, is that it has gone on to become the highest grossing video game adaptation of all-time, thus creating a fine record, despite what the critics have been saying. We know that the critics are never fond of a movie made from a video game, as they are all sitting there waiting to blame the attempt. But Warcraft has a longer history for me than any other game, as Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is the first real-time strategy (non-turn based) or any strategy game that I had ever played, thus making way for more strategy games getting into my head, from Age of Empires to Caesar, Age of Wonders, Age of Mythology, Disciples and Civilization. Therefore Warcraft has a special place in my mind, as for many others.

What was the game about? :: The game had orcs entering this dimension through a portal, and after the initial raids, were slowly making their way more and more into the human lands. The first game, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, even though it might look too simple for the gamers of this age, had a firm base for the battles established, which Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness nicely used to its advantage with new additions. Winning a good number of awards during the year of its release, the second game was nothing less than top quality fun. In the game, even though orcs have the superior strength and keeps on gaining brutal victories, there are interesting units on both sides. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos which comes much later introduces two new races, the Night Elves and the and Undead. It was followed by the expansion, The Frozen Throne. Then there was World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, and with a number of expansions, the saga continues – so can the movie live up-to that?

What is the movie about? :: The orcs are in a battle for existence as their world is almost near extinction – they look forward to finding new lands for their people, as Gul’dan (Daniel Wu), a powerful orc warlock opens a portal to the human world, and invites all tribes of orcs to join forces for one purpose, to claim new lands for themselves. Durotan (Toby Kebbell), the chief of the Frostwolf Clan is a man who believes in honour and fairness, and he also joins the first group of orcs who come through the portal as he is looking for a better place for his family to thrive. With the brutal raids from orcs destroying villages, Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer), a mage finds the evil magic of fel in the bodies of the dead, and warns the knight Sir Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel). King Llane Wrynn (Dominic Cooper) chooses to call for the Guardian, Medivh (Ben Foster) with whose help, they capture Garona Halforcen (Paula Patton), a half-orc. But things are more than just about a battle between the two races.

The defence of Warcraft :: There is one thing about Warcraft that everyone should agree on – it is an amazingly good-looking movie; with visuals which will make one feel the fantasy world with all its beauty. There are shots from the top which often reminds one of the game itself, not just the one this is inspired from, but also about many other strategy fantasy games. The visual effects make sure that the magic combined with swordfights create even better impact. Among the characters, it is the half-orc played by Paula Patton that steals the show. The movie’s message is sacrifice throughout its run, as both the races got the respective leaders striving to make sure that it gets better for their own people. Even in an effort to survive, there is no loss of honour on the good side, and there is no missing pieces of evil on the other side, the dark magic that comes in between the two races. Fans have waited for this movie so long, and so they should like it without doubt.

The claws of flaw :: There are places where Warcraft could have been better and less predictable. It could have had more races in the battle scenes instead of just being present there. The orc characters are actually better than the humans too, winning our respect, while the humans trail – it is surprising that the orcs decide not to finish off the human knight, but they allowed their own cheftain to be killed earlier; there is something strange in the working in totality. The two main human characters, the guardian and the commander knight become flaws of the movie as they keep losing strength all the time. Well, it is the time for orcs to have some fun – the hobbits had so much of the same, and the undead have been enjoying too much; let the orcs get their due too. There are times when one wonder if the movie could have used more of the games, and there will be the question if the special effects were overused.

How it finishes :: There can be many claims against Warcraft, but the truth is that it manages to be better than many other movies which doesn’t have the backup of a video game – just because this is based on a popular game, this has been given too much negative reviews. But Warcraft is better than all that, and along with being the highest grossing video game adaptation of all-time, it also has enough in it to gain the attention of those who are not prejudiced. With the chance for a sequel open, we can be sure that this can expand into a fine franchise, as long as the sceptics won’t bother us with more of the prejudice saying that this is from a video game and so it can’t be good. This one has almost all that one needs in an entertaining movie without going through the path of some dumb fun. Therefore, it needs to be shown some appreciation that it deserves.

Release date: 10th June 2016
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: Duncan Jones
Starring: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Robert Kazinsky, Daniel Wu, Ruth Negga, Anna Galvin, Callum Keith Rennie, Burkely Duffield, Ryan Robbins, Dean Redman, Terry Notary, Michael Adamthwaite, Glenn Close

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Dracula Untold

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Do we need extra horror after Annabelle?

Vampire Bat :: No, its Dracula special. We made a promise to Uncle Dracula. Remember?

Vampire Owl :: But we will end up with an overdose of horror here.

Vampire Bat :: There is nothing like an overdose of horror. It is part of our daily lives. And this one won’t scare us at all, as the genre is different.

Vampire Owl :: I hope we can recommend this to Uncle Dracula.

Vampire Bat :: We have to watch it whatever happens. It is the only English movie in the local theatres now.

Vampire Owl :: I wish they had released these movies on different dates. This is more of a collision which will damage both these movies.

Vampire Bat :: Only if there was no stupid Bang Bang! last weekend. Annabelle might have come earlier.

Vampire Owl :: See, this Bollywood is the source of all evil.

Vampire Bat :: I have known it since Dhoom 2 and Besharam made me certain about it with enough support from Dhoom 3 and Krrish 3.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: The tale of the vampire begins with the man, a prince of Transylvania who is ruling his world in peace as a kingdom giving tribute to the Ottoman Empire. But things change as the Sultan asks for thousand boys from his kingdom as a tribute to be part of their slave army so as to conquer the whole of Europe. Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans) cannot agree to his demand, and as requested by his wife Mirena (Sarah Gadon), decides to save the boys from doom as he takes up arms against the huge Turkish army. As he understands the stupidity behind his own decision, climbs a mountain which is supposed to have ancient evil within it, and asks the creature inside the cave which had killed a number of Turkish scouts for help. The creature is actually one of the most evil emperors of all time turned vampire, Caligula (Charles Dance), grants him vampirism for three days during which he will have the vampiric abilities and certain weaknesses, but have to control his thirst for blood; in failing to do so will turn him into a vampire forever.

Positives and Negatives :: Dracula is our favourite vampire, at least for most of us, and here we have an origin tale rather than the usual bloodsucker story. Unlike what some people were expecting, Dracula Untold is not packed with horror – one has to wonder why were people so sure about the same? Even the director himself had said that this was more of a drama with elements of action and adventure. The last battle is a little overdone with vampirism, but other than that, the special effects are amazing, especially the effects of bats, dark clouds, impalings, transformations and the Gothic atmosphere that has been successfully created. May be they could have added more innovation and removed the predictability factor, as we know what would happen to the prince already. There have been many types of vampires and Dracula, and there is Luke Evans. It is he who controls this movie with a brilliant performance. Sarah Gadon is also stunningly good in her character of faith and hope, while Dominic Cooper makes a nice villain.

Soul exploration I :: Dracula, the hero against the empire :: The age of empires does sound awesome as a computer game, but otherwise, it is a bloody case of cruelty and brutal subjugation, which doesn’t end in just a conquest. The case of one country extending its domain over another through war is nothing less than a permanent ill-treatment of a future generation, as what the Ottoman Empire does in this movie is nothing different, and there is no empire on Earth which is not built on the blood of the innocent. Here, Dracula is a man of the people, and even as a prince of his small kingdom, he has known the life of someone worse than a common man, as he was taken by the Turks at his early age to be part of the Janissary – an elite infantry unit made of slaves recruited by the Sultan from the Other. He stands up against the ill-treatment of his people in a desire for equal value of human life. He automatically becomes the symbol against imperialism and brutal power.

Soul exploration II :: Dracula, the superhero of the grey side :: Going back to the origins, our villain is still the hero, who has made one fatal decision which would make him a tragic hero, as he ponders over that question which have haunted Hamlet for such a long time, to be or not be (or to drink or not to drink) as he is caught in those stages of transformation into a vampire where he could be immortal in one of the two ways possible. He is neither good or evil there, and in that situation of the grey, he stumbles upon that incident which would turn him into dark grey. He is a man caught in a world of good and evil, where the grey has no position, or has to forcibly embrace the black, or the evil. Dracula is a man of our age, and we know that he could have survived better if lived a long time after his time of existence, and he was not the hero whom his world deserved. History rarely keeps grey characters as it praises only the victors, but we know that there would have been an abundance of them.

Soul exploration III :: Dracula, the villain of the night and darkness :: Dracula’s situation and his descend in forced upon him, but his voluntary decision to choose what he thought was necessary evil against pure evil would become the ultimate evil in more than one way. He becomes a lot like Faustus by selling his soul to the devil, and another Faustian tragic hero has his roots. But with the scope left for a sequel, and those words “let the games begin” reveal to us that we haven’t seen the final shade of this man to which Luke Evans has given another life. Even in his worst situation, Dracula is just dark grey, and his further passing down to the darkness hasn’t occured, which should not be interesting for a lot of people, but my request for such people would be to wait. Dracula is immortal, and this is just the beginning – you have a lot to look out for, and the ending does seems to connect with the style of the 1992 movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Yes, this is a good re-telling, and not another copy of whatever you see everywhere these days.

How it finishes :: Dracula Untold is not your typical vampire story, and neither is it something that will give you scares every night. Those who wish to see the fangs of terror riding high, as well as those who were hoping for the eternal Twilight style fake love story are going to be disappointed. This was never a horror movie in its core, and this origin story of the greatest vampire of all time, is rather what you can call Dracula Begins, and will work just like Batman Begins as a beginning and a pillar to bring on something like The Dark Knight. This is not a vampire attack tale either, but a preface to the vampire world to which we are to enter. So, if you needed a lot of blood sucking and marks on lots of necks, you would need to check one of those earlier movies which are closer to the Bram Stoker work, rather than going for this. It should be why the word “untold” is added to the title, not to look for those usual bloodsucker tales here. This is highly recommended for the fans of vampire mythology, and I doubt about its effect on normal people; work your intellect and think differently, may be this can work better.

Release date: 10th October 2014
Running time: 92 minutes
Directed by: Gary Shore
Starring: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Samantha Barks, Dominic Cooper, Art Parkinson, Charles Dance, Charlie Cox, William Houston, Ferdinand Kingsley, Noah Huntley, Dilan Gwyn, Zach McGowan, Ronan Vibert, Diarmaid Murtagh, Thor Kristjansson, Joseph Long, Damien Kivlehan

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Need for Speed

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Tennyson

* “Too much gaming details warning” for the first three paragraphs 😛

Games of the soul :: How much value does a movie based on video game have in this world? If we look at movies like Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, that should be zero both for the critics and the box-office, a fate which it never deserved – unlike DOA: Dead or Alive which was expected to have such fate. Then there are the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series which grosses a lot more than the critics see in them. Well, they don’t like my personal video game favourite Hitman, neither do they come close to being interested in Max Payne or Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time which were actually much better than what we are made to believe about them. If a movie based on a video game is somewhat like that game, can we blame the makers? Isn’t it how the movie is supposed to be? I am looking forward to the upcoming movies based on Mass Effect, Deus Ex, Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed. There is going to be a lot more to explore in them, especially the first one I mentioned. I have a feeling that it is that movie which will change the opinion about video game based movies.

NFS reloaded :: My first love for NFS series began with Need for Speed II SE which I came across at a time when I was actually playing more Road Rash than ever. I loved the game and decided not to retreat to the earlier version. I didn’t like Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit any better even as I spent quite a long time in it. Then came Need for Speed: High Stakes which I chose to hate, which made me take a small leap into Midtown Madness but that stayed only for a short time. Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed brought me back though. Then Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 made me realize that I was trailing in graphics card, and I had trouble with the speed of the game. After upgrading my system, I went directly into Need for Speed: Underground which remained my favourite until Need for Speed: Underground 2 made the whole thing awesome, with Brooke Burke around. From that moment, NFS remained my favourite racing game genre, and the stage was set for the greatest racing game I have ever played; Need for Speed: Most Wanted. I loved almost everything about it, and loved being chased by cops towards the beautiful sunset, except the fact that Josie Maran was no Brooke Burke.

The desire for speed :: Need for Speed: Most Wanted had set such a high level of racing game experience which was nearly impossible to overtake. It was one of the most interesting racing challenges ever, and it was that kind of a mission that you always wished to go for, or even more than was in our minds. The next game, Need for Speed: Carbon couldn’t match its predecessor in anything, and I decided to uninstall it soon enough. Need for Speed: ProStreet also came up with nothing special for me. Need for Speed: Undercover was last NFS game I ever played, and that was the end of my NFS life. Due to its alleged similarities with ProStreet, I decided against checking Need for Speed: Shift, and Need for Speed: Nitro was not made for PC which kept it completely out of the equation. Then there was the 2010 version of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed, Need for Speed: The Run, Need for Speed: World and Need for Speed: Rivals, not to forget the 2012 version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. But I had got rid of my graphics card by then, and the only games left with me now are the older non-racing ones.

What is it about? :: Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is a street racer and a mechanic who struggles for money. He is interested in Anita Coleman (Dakota Johnson), but due to his financial condition, that is rather impossible for him as she becomes more and more of a former lover. Still, he is having a pretty good time with his friends, enjoying the little things of happiness. But as one of his friends and Anita’s brother Pete Coleman (Harrison Gilbertson) get killed in an illegal race event involving the three, and the third person disappears without evidence, he is sent to the prison. With the help of Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) and a number of his friends who worked with him in the garage, he decides to take on Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper), the man responsible for the death of his friend. But as Dino has announced a bounty on stopping him, and also with so many cops on his tail, the question remains if he can make it to the big race where he intends to defeat, humiliate and expose the lies of his enemy. Even as this one is indeed a big race, it doesn’t remain just another race, as it is personal.

The defence of Need for Speed :: It is nice that they decided against using computer-generated imagery. Aaron Paul is good as the protagonist and he remains solid in his character, but the more impressive one is the charming lady who accompanies him, Imogen Poots who has the best moments of the movie with her, as she seems to bring such beauty and energy into the sequences which is rarely seen, and not to forget the fun – the best lines are there when she is there, and the same is the case of the incidents. One has wonder if she actually stole them with an irresistible charm! I haven’t seen a more lovable performance from any female character in any racing movie before. The cars remains awesome, especially the Ford Mustang which we have all driven in the game. Each actor who plays any of the hero’s friends make sure that none of them lags behind. The villain is without surprises, but manages to be a typical villain of a movie like this. The nostalgia that this movie brings is priceless. As we know which kind of audience will go for this movie, what more can they ask for?

The Claws of flaw :: The one big problem with the movie is that this could have been anything else – a random racing movie rather than being that NFS movie which the fans have been waiting for. There is no real speed in the progress of the movie, especially in the first fourty five minutes or so. It is so slow that one comes to the early conclusion that this is neither fast or furious, and nothing can match Fast & Furious franchise. We can’t deny that after watching this movie. There is almost nothing about it that can make it different from the usual racing movies of the past, and there is no imagination as the game franchise had. The plot is ordinary, concerning the revenge of a former street driver who is sent to jail for the wrong reasons against the man who is responsible for the same. There is not enough car races either. Nobody is going to enjoy this one more than the wonderful games in the super-hit franchise. One might often wonder if this was made due to the need for a movie based on this video game rather than based on the need for some speed. Yes, this movie needs more speed and a better imagination in story.

How it finishes :: Now I only play three games, Age of Empires II: The Conquerers, Age of Wonders III: Shadow Magic and Unreal Tournament, that too once in a blue moon. But Need for Speed is that game which refuses to go out of memory, especially the flare of awesomeness which was Need for Speed: Most Wanted. It was never really just a game for most of us, as it was a wonderful racing life supported by another world which was inside the game. Yes, there were many others which were to become my favourites later, including the big three action-graphics extravaganza; Mass Effect, Oblivion and Prototype, but NFS always belong to a different world, and its strength has been its supporters, as there have been almost no gamer that I have known that have failed to play at least one NFS game with some interest. There is always the Prince of Persia, Hitman, Age of Empires, Unreal Tournamet, Tomb Raider, Max Payne, Resident Evil and such franchises which become the all-time favourites of some people, and then there is Need for Speed which is liked by all who likes the others too. Lets hope the same about this movie.

Release date: 21st March 2014 (India); 14th March 2014 (US)
Running time: 130 minutes
Directed by: Scott Waugh
Starring: Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Scott Mescudi, Dominic Cooper, Dakota Johnson, Ramón Rodríguez, Michael Keaton, Rami Malek, Michael Keaton, Harrison Gilbertson, Stevie Ray Dallimore