Monday, June 30, 2014

Transformers: Age of Extinction Review


Storyline: As humanity picks up the pieces, following the conclusion of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Autobots and Decepticons have all but vanished from the face of the planet. However, a group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his cross-hairs. The epic adventure and battle between good and evil, freedom and enslavement ensues.

My Thoughts: The Good: I enjoyed all the explosions. I loved seeing Optimus Prime on the big screen. Seeing him larger than life never fails. I enjoy hearing the sound of the transformation as it occurs. They had to end it with the opening to make another movie. Can we just end it already? The movie did raise some questions and added some background history. Best moment of course was when Optimus Prime was riding the Dinobot. 


Best Chuckle Moment: The Romeo and Juliet Law moment was the best. I will not spoil that part for you so if you check it out you will know exactly what I am talking about.

The Bad: First things first the movie failed my RLS test. Which basically mean that my legs get restless and I start fidgeting in my chair because the movie went too long and I felt that it was too long. There is nothing wrong with a long movie but you have to keep me engaged enough that I did not feel that the movie was long. Other problems with the movie included but not limtied to the ridiculous billowing black coat scenes. It made no sense that James Savoy's (Titus Welliver) coat was the most interesting part about his character. There were also ridiculous moments of the humans being thrown in the air and caught multiple times and never hurt. That is statistically impossible.


The Acting: Mark Wahlberg (Cade Yeager) played his typical macho guy role except that he had a daughter to watch out for. It was not much of a stretch for him. You have his cute daughter and her cute boyfriend but their names do not matter as they were just some nice eye candy. You had the cliché hot Asian chick (Bingbing Li) that knew how to fight. You had the concerned archeologist. You had the money hungry company man (Stanley Tucci) and you had the jilted army guy (Kelsey Grammer). Frankly James Savory (Welliver) and Harold Attinger (Grammer) should have been combined as having two separate characters made it hard to see the depth to either one of them. Another problem with Grammer is that his voice was too gravely and he sounded too much like Optimus Prime. I am not sure where they were going with that but it was the wrong way. 


Overall: The movie was okay. It was visually fun like only Michael Bay can do. He makes desctruction an art form in my opinion. So I would say check it out if you are a Bay fan or you love explosions. Save your money if you are looking for a story or substance.

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite

Friday, June 27, 2014

Scalped Volume 5: High Lonesome



So I recently read that the best part of a good Noir story is the inevitability of the characters. You know that gumshoe is going to get into trouble way over his head. You know that the beautiful woman is only going to cause trouble. And you know that convict that just came home from prison is on the fast track back. In a good Noir story there really aren't many surprises, you know everyone is going to take a fall it’s just a matter of when and where.

 In Volume 5 of Scalped, the halfway point of the series, we get a look into the past of the various characters of the series and it has the feeling of a roller coaster slowly clicking up, up, up until you’re at the peak looking at the fall before you. And just like a roller-coaster at the peak of its highest drop you finish this volume with your stomach dropping into your nether regions and your heart in your throat.


Volume 5 is a split between stories of a Con Man coming to the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation’s casino to run card counting scams and flashbacks to a few of the characters pasts. He’s more than happy with hustling blackjack tables until he sees a drug addled FBI Agent Dashiel Bad Horse and threatens to expose him as an undercover agent unless he helps him rob the casino. We then go to a flashback of the life of the other undercover agent on the Rez, Diesel. We get to look into his early life and how he coped with dealing with people who refused to accept his mixed ancestry. Next is a look into Agent Nitz’s past and we get to see how the murder of his two fellow agents on the Rez over 30 years ago has consumed his life and left him filled with nothing but rage and a desire for revenge. Finally we get a flashback to that faithful day in 1975, the day that the two FBI agents were murdered on the Rez. We finally get the answer to the series question of, “Who murdered those two agents and why?” The answer was a twist I wasn't expecting.


This volume was a good setup for the rest of the series and made me excited to dive into the rest of the volumes.  High Lonesome was a great read and the payoffs for the first half of the series made me excited to see the inevitable falls for the characters that the future volumes will hold.

Post by Sam
Twitter: BigSam425


Thursday, June 26, 2014

Gamer Corner: Z Game Productions

Welcome to this week's installment of Gamer Corner, where Fangirl Review interviews a gamer and gets their thoughts on the gaming world and learning what he is enjoying at the moment.


Tell me a little bit about yourself? What rig do you currently game on? What kind of gamer do you classify yourself to be? ie. PC, Console, Tabletop, LARP as well as Hardcore, RPG, etc.

Well, we here actually like playing more with Playstation consoles. We don’t classify as Hardcore gamers, but more like we’re addicted to video games and we also like PC games.

What is your first memory of gaming?

Most of us in ZGP for short have many memories with Atari, Sega and Nintendo. 



What game are you currently playing right now? Do you enjoy that game, why? How’s the overall game play and graphics?

We mostly here like to play the new Watch Dogs. We enjoy this game as it is very epic in gameplay, because it mixes up real life and science fiction. The best thing about that game is graphics and the gameplay.

Would you recommend it, why?

We would recommend Watch Dogs as it is very awesome, when hacking into Chicago’s network, as we said it mixes reality and fiction.

Are there any games coming out that you are looking forward to?
Well, as we are a game production company, we actually look forward to better software and 3D gaming engines.

If you could design your own game what would it be like?

Well we did design our own game, but it turned out to be very bad, so we are keeping on to go to the next level of gaming entertainment, as we are trying to mix styles from very famous games and adding our own ideas in.

Thoughts on this new generation of consoles – Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One?

Well, our thoughts on the next gaming generations are that, maybe Microsoft and its Xbox will win, as Sony is bankrupt. We would assign that Wii U is indeed BAD.

What are your plans in the gaming industry?
Well, we are trying to get more famous people to work with and work with some of gaming websites and other stuff.

10 years from now, where do you see the industry? Are you happy with that direction? If you had the power, what direction would you have the gaming industry go?

Well, 10 years from now I see Sony “Dead”. Probably Xbox is going to be the most played console. So if we would choose a direction, we would than actually make games for the XBOX console.

Favorite Game (can include tabletop) of all time and why?

Favorite game… hmmm… Probably Super Mario Bros. or Another World and Zelda. 


Additional Thoughts and Comments?

We began actually as an idea for a game which turned out to be our first game. Then we got many other gaming ideas and we didn’t want to create indie games so it turned out for us to become a game production company.

What is the contact information for your company?

Website: http://zgameproduction.webs.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZGameProduction

And of course Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/1/b/104570369069078316793/104570369069078316793

Thank you to Z Game Productions for a fantastic interview. If you would like to be interviewed for Gamer Corner please contact me at fangirlcontact@gmail.com.

Post by Vikki

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Teen Wolf S4, Ep. 1 "The Dark Moon" Recap


Important Moments:  Stiles and Lydia are in a little town in what I am assuming is South America. Show starts with great banter between Stiles and Lydia that we have come to love. They walk into an exclusive party. They visit with a woman, Araya, and say they come for Derek Hale. (We saw her last season talking to Argent) They brought the crew of Malia, Kira, and Scott. All their eyes do a cool glowy thing which was pretty awesome if I must say. They set up those shots pretty well. So with the additional back up to make sure they are not given the run around Stiles tries to play hard ball. I must roll my eyes at the pointless girl on girl dancing between Malia and Kira. 


Deep moment to discuss what a Dark Moon is (dealing with loss). I like that this show always explains why they named the episode, I wish more shows did this. Fight sequence in the middle of the party. Kira has pretty cool rave nunchucks. Unfortunately they end up gassed. Scott realizes that Araya does not know where Derek is right before he is shocked and passes out. Flashback - they find a shell cassing with the mark of a group of hunters from Mexico. Lydia uses the collection of cassings to make a connection to Derek. Lydia cannot tell if he is dead or alive. 


Scott wakes up to find himself with the Scooby Gang. They realize that the hunters still have Lydia. Malia has the response of a coyote and not a human. I love that she is the wild nature child. Lydia is brought in and sees Scott. They use Kira to torture Scott with electricity. Scott goes full Alpha and breaks free and says Kate's name as the person who took Derek. We see Derek wrapped up in wolfsbane being held by Kate. The Scooby Gang is released. It was a test the whole time as they already knew it was Kate. Araya lets Scott know that she will hunt him if he ever bites anyone. The Scooby Gang is being led to where they think Derek is by Braeden (Mercenary chick). 


Scott, Lydia, and Stiles fill in the others on the story of Kate Argent. They Mexican hunters took Kate when they realized she was turning. They gave her the option to kill herself instead she killed a lot of people to get out. (She had green eyes). Scott foreshadows saying a person takes the form that they are inside so we now know that Kate will not be the average werewolf. Awe - cute Scott and Kira moment as the group separates due to car problems that were intentional. 


Bradean takes just Scott to a church that is the only thing left standing after a town was swallowed by an earthquake. The church was built on an Aztec temple (cheesy anyone?).The Aztec temple was for werejaguars. Malia and Kira take off after something odd that they see and are quickly separated. They are reunited and Malia is cut and run back to the jeep when they hear it starting. Bradean and Scott venture further into the church as weird things begin to move around them. They encounter a weird bone creature. Cute moment between Malia and Stiles. Scott does a massive roar at the creature causing it to stop and for a doorway to open. (Very Indiana Jones like) They find the wall that Derek is buried behind.  Stiles and crew finally arrive to the church. They find Derek but instead young Derek is in his place. I guess that is why Lydia couldn't quite sense him. 


My thoughts:  A coyote, a fox, and a wolf walk into a bar. - Sounds like a bad joke right? Yet it works so well on this episode. It was great to see all the characters coming together and its a new Scooby Gang. There were moments that were so well done.  I love Malia so much. She is so much fun and is very honest in her view points. Stiles and Malia together are great as the comedy works so well and I must say even a better dynamic than him with Lydia.
I am speechless about them introducing a young Derek. I am confused about how he became young again. What exactly did that temple do? Hopefully they do not leave us hanging too long in explaining how he is younger. Also we need to know why Kate made him younger.

What were your thoughts. Leave a comment.

Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Hardcore Gamer: What is it?


Okay so I at first was not going to approach this topic but I figure after E3 2014 it is time to share my thoughts on what a Hardcore Gamer is. I know some will not agree so leave your thoughts in the comments. I know some of you will agree with me, if so attack the naysayers in the comments. :-)

1. Hardcore Gamer buys more video games and video game related items more than the average gamer.

2. Hardcore Gamer plays more hours than the average gamer.

3. Hardcore Gamer appreciates the gaming industry as a whole. 


4. Hardcore Gamer recognizes the greatness in all gaming systems. (including Nintendo)

5. Hardcore Gamer recognizes that graphics do not make a game.

Okay so that is my list. Frankly I am tired of gamers calling themselves Hardcore Gamers when they limit themselves to just one system or one type of game or to games with a certain amount of frames per second you are not a Hardcore Gamer. I am tired of people putting down another system because they consider it for Casual Gamers. Let's be honest, if you cannot appreciate the wonders of the PC, PS, Xbox, and Nintendo than you are not a Hardcore Gamer and you need to remove yourself from that title. Frankly the fanboys are destroying the Gaming scene and making it useless to have a gaming discussion because they quickly lose their minds. 


These are my thoughts. Share yours in the comments.

Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite

Monday, June 23, 2014

True Blood S7 Ep.1 “Jesus Gonna Be Here” Season Premiere


Recap: Picking up where last season left off, some crazed Hep-V vampires attack and kill many, including Tara, at the vampire-human mixer.  Many others, including Holly and Arlene, are kidnapped.  Sookie can hear many people’s thoughts and they are blaming her for the vampire problems they are having.  Humans are escorted home by their assigned non-infected vampires.




Jessica stands guard at the Bellefleur house to protect Adilyn.  Adilyn drinks Jessica’s blood, so she can always know when she is in trouble.  Adilyn invites her in so she doesn’t burn at dawn.  Jessica stops herself from biting her.  Pam searches for Eric in North Africa.  Sookie and Alcide have an argument because she read his thoughts and he was thinking that the vampire attack was her fault.  

Bill and Andy go out searching for Holly and Arlene.  They come across some dead bodies in a spot where the Hep-V vampires have been nesting. Vince puts together a vigilante team to hunt vampires.  They run into Bill and Andy.  Andy has a chance to kill Bill, but decides not to.  He gets the vigilantes to leave instead; saving Bill’s life.


Review: On a positive note, True Blood is back!  This episode was pretty boring though.  The season usually starts off slow and gets better as it progresses.  I like Sookie being with Alcide, but I’m sure that won’t last.  I have been sick of Tara’s character for a long time, so I can’t say I’m sad to see her go. 

Let’s hope the next episode is better than this one.

Please let me know what your comments or thoughts are.

Veronica Fitzpatrick
Twitter: @RonnieLauren

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Gamer Corner: Abdul

Welcome to this week's installment of Gamer Corner, where Fangirl Review interviews a gamer and gets his thoughts on the gaming world and learning what he is enjoying at the moment.

Tell me a little bit about yourself? What rig do you currently game on? What kind of gamer do you classify yourself to be? ie. PC, Console, Tabletop, LARP as well as Hardcore, RPG, etc.

I'm 29, been gaming for about 25 of those years. I am currently gaming on the trusty 360. I'm somewhere between casual and hardcore, depending on the game and who I have to play with. I'm mostly a single player gamer these days, since they seem to be the only ones that hold my interest. I'm a very story based gamer so that's what I look for.

What is your first memory of gaming?

First memory of gaming, hmm? Has to be playing Super Mario Bros. on the original NES and who could forget Castlevania, lol... Good times, smh.


What game are you currently playing right now? Do you enjoy that game, why? How’s the overall game play and graphics?

I am currently rocking pretty hard on the RPG's these days. Bouncing back and forth between Eternal Sonata, Lost Odyssey, Skyrim and Mass Effect (all of them). Lost Odyssey being my favorite right now. I love it, reminds me of the FFVII days (it is made by the same guy). I love the depth of the characters. The graphics aren't bad, not perfect but, adequate. There's almost a hand drawn feel to them, very texturized which I happen to like. I don't generally like when graphics are to "smooth". The gameplay is reminiscent of Legend of Dragoon from the PSX, it's turn based and there's a target reticle you have to hit to do more damage. In any case, the storyline is amazing.


Would you recommend it, why?

I highly recommend both Lost Odyssey and Eternal Sonata for those of you who enjoy JRPG's they either dying out or mediocre as hell these days so, when you find a good one hang on to it. Characters that you'll feel for and get to know, like playing a good book. Revenge and retribution. It's all there and the graphics lend themselves well to the storylines and the gameplay, each is gorgeous in its own right.

Are there any games coming out that you are looking forward to?

There is only one game right now that I can say I'm truly anticipating and that game is Destiny (I refuse to get the X1 before its release). It's such an ambitious idea/project and I'm chomping at the bit for it. Big time.


If you could design your own game what would it be like?

I like the idea of a rewards based game, feeling like the decisions you make really effect the world around you. Active combat is EPIC but, I'd go with turn based because it is slightly more balanced in my opinion. I like the open world feel so, that would be a part of it as well. In my head I'm thinking a crazy mix of World of Warcraft, Mass Effect, XCOM and Final Fantasy. Sci-Fantasy storyline, magic and science, maybe a war between the two factions. Class based each faction with it's counterpart. Sounds like gold to me.

Thoughts on this new generation of consoles – Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One?

I think this new generation is mainly a transitional generation. The X1 is at the top for me, mainly because of the level of integration. It's moving forward with new ideas and new ways to use the old. The Wii U is second mainly because while Nintendo still fails to capture the "hardcore" audience they are trying new things and in the end, that's what progress is about. *sigh* PS4 is at the bottom of my list. They haven't done anything truly new or groundbreaking, they simply made a stronger PS3. I feel like Sony relies very heavily on the familiarity of their previous generations to carry them and in the long run, it will hurt them. It's the generation after this one that I'm really waiting for.

What are your thoughts on the gaming industry?

I think that in their attempt to make a profit they cater the lowest common denominator. Story and atmosphere just aren't a factor in the more popular games. Good graphics and a few "WOW" moments and BAM, we gotta game? This is in part due to the gamers, fair enough and they are trying to make a profit, I get it but, charging 60 bucks for a game with a sub par plot or in the case of TitanFall, no real campaign to speak of is just ridiculous. I don't feel like the creators make games to see their world come to life anymore. There's no love in it. No passion. When you played Bioshock or the first Halo you could tell the creators poured their souls into them. Honorable mentions to the ME series, the CoD: MW series (Price!!!).
10 years from now, where do you see the industry? Are you happy with that direction? If you had the power, what direction would you have the gaming industry go?

10 years from now, I expect total integration. I'm a fan. Motion and voice controlled. Holograms, probably asking too much but, I dug the voice commands of ME3 and I would like to see more of that in more games. Not just tacked on but, really in there. If I had my wish the "console wars" would be over and Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft would come together to make one mega console. A guy can dream, right?

Favorite Game (can include tabletop) of all time and why?

I have to give it to FFVII... I know, I know but, in terms of everything it was the first fully orchestrated soundtrack. It was the first time I truly loved a world and the characters in it,  wanted revenge when Sephiroth killed Aeris. I took that game to heart. Mass Effect also holds a special place in my heart, it was the first time you actually got to see you decision impact your world. I played all the games (and still do) inside and out and 6 ways from Sunday and still occasionally find something new no matter how small. The attention to detail was incredible, the characters/aliens looked like they evolved on the planets they came from. By far one of the most well thought out games EVER.


Additional Thoughts and Comments?

All of that said, you can still catch me on Halo 4, Borderlands 2, Gears 3, Dead Island, Super SFIV or Warface every so often. Besides that, I don't have much else to add but thanks for the opportunity and maybe I'll catch you on the virtual battlefield sometime.

Would you like to share your gamer tag and the system so others may add you?

XBOX Live: x AnWeeZy x

Thank you to Abdul for a fantastic interview. If you would like to be interviewed for Gamer Corner please contact me at fangirlcontact@gmail.com.

Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite

Game of Thrones S4 Ep.10 “The Children” SEASON FINALE Review


Recap: Jon Snow tries to negotiate with the Wildlings.   Stannis captures the Wildings.  He shows mercy because he realizes Jon Snow is Ned Stark’s son.  Bran Stark finds the man who has been watching him as the three-eyed raven.  Dany is forced to chain up two of her dragons.  One of the dragons is still missing after killing a three-year-old girl.  Lady Brienne defeats the Hound and allows Arye Stark to escape.  Lady Brienne is unable to find Arye afterwards.  Arye decides to leave the Hound to die a slow death and not put him out of his misery by killing him.


Cersei tells Tywin that she and Jaime are sleeping together and refuses to move forward with her arranged marriage.  Cersei tells Jaime that their father knows about them and that she doesn’t care who else finds out.  Jaime frees Tyrion from prison and arranges for his escape.  Tyrion finds Shae in his father’s bed.  He is hurt to find out that she has been sleeping with Tywin.  Tyrion and Shae fight and he ends up strangling her to death.  Tyrion kills Tywin with a crossbow and escapes by ship. 


Review: It’s about time Tywin got what he deserved.  It was hard to watch Tyrion realize that Shae had betrayed him.  Dany couldn’t control her dragons.  Now she has to contain them.  There’s no telling where the other dragon is.  I am so over Jaime and Cersei.  That’s just disgusting.  I guess we will see at least one more season of that nastiness.

I’m interested in where Bran’s story is going.  He won’t be able to walk again, but he will apparently learn to fly.  It will be torture waiting for the next season.  I wasn’t overly impressed with the season finale, but it wasn’t horrible.

Please let me know what your comments or thoughts are.

Veronica Fitzpatrick
Twitter: @RonnieLauren