Lego Batman 3 Review

Lego Batman 3 is the newest installment in the Lego franchise. With more characters than ever, Lego Batman 3 expands it's Batverse with a ton of different DC characters. Some you've never even heard of! With all the improvements and the huge roster how does this game do?

Gameplay
The gameplay is solid. With many improvements since the previous game (Lego Marvel Heroes) you'll find flying around as Superman to be a lot easier. The game also has a lot of new suits or transformations for different characters as well. To change your character into a special suit is easier than ever thanks to the selection wheel. When a specific suit is needed you can change into it by pressing B in the right area. However when you use the bumpers to switch suits the order is out of whack sometimes. That can get annoying when your being attacked and count on the right suit in the click of a button. The fighting mechanics can be a little bit crazy sometimes. The game auto-targets enemies and sometimes you end up not hitting anything despite your best efforts. However fighting as different characters actually has some variation. Take Frankenstein for instance. He uses his gun from a distance with awesome animation, but up close he takes out his massive sword and makes combos using both weapons. The fighting animations were thought out very well this time around. When flying as Red Tornado his body does have a tornado making him fly. It's a nice touch. Also the VR missions are exceptionally fun! They're the most replayable parts of the game. Unfortunately when it comes to vehicles you're not going to be happy. It actually deserves it's own section, so here goes...

Vehicles/Open World
A lot of people ask "does this game have an open world?" and the answer is a... kind of. The Watchtower, Hall of Justice, and Batcave are the first areas you'll probably explore. They have a lot of small missions in them too which is great until you finish them all. The game also has different Lantern planets where you can freely explore. When I played the game, even after I beat it I had no clue how to access these planets. There was no mention of it at all and that was frustrating. Once you get to the planets there's a number of races and activities for you to do. However, you can only fly or run, no vehicles unless you go to Oa. While the activities on the planets are fun, they are also short lived. Once you finish them there is NOTHING to do. There aren't even enemies. The planets have ZERO interesting places to journey to. They all try to have one spot where you enter and explore a tiny area in-depth but even there, nothing. You can fly in circles and break stuff, which begs the question. How much of an "open world" can it be when you're the only one in it? It really isn't fun anymore and lowers the replay value drastically. Each room you enter your greater by Conan O'Brian. He is HORRIBLE. He couldn't be more annoying if he tried. He ALWAYS talks, and ALWAYS says the same things! That can get tired really quick. The planets amount to barren wastelands. They remind me of Will Smith in I Am Legend, just without the zombies to fight. Then there's OA, the one place where you can use your vehicles. There is nothing on Oa. No other cars, no other people (except Conan) and it's not very big. It doesn't have twists and turns to make driving fun and it's very linear. The only thing you see is green. It's such a letdown because the vehicle roster is so impressive. You can even drive the Tim Burton Batmobile from 1989! But what fun is it to drive in circles with random ramps scattered around. Oa is SMALL. Which really hurts the flying vehicles. Again, they have great vehicles to fly in! They even have The Bat from The Dark Knight Rises. But, how fun can it be to fly a plane in such a small area. You try to pick up speed and you hit an invisible wall. You try to turn back into the playable area and your stuck on that invisible wall. It's so frustrating. You can tell that was an afterthought. It truly is one of the most disappointing aspects of the game. With all the characters, GREAT characters brought into the game, what's the point if your the only one on the planet?

Story
The story was very well done, with Braniac being the main baddy. He's not as bad as he in in the comics. He's actually a pretty light character. The bad guys overrun the Watchtower and the Justice League (and Robin) are out to take them down. Then Braniac appears and shrinks different cities to add to his collection. His plan is to steal power rings from the different Lantern Corps to fuel his shrink ray and collect Earth. When his plans fail and the Lanterns he kidnapped are released, the energy gets in contact of different league members and they're now heavily influenced by the emotion of the Lantern energy that hit them. Now the group must journey to the different Lantern worlds to get a sample of the Lanterns power for a shrink ray for themselves to use on Braniac. The story was fun although the attention deviated away from Batman after a while. It ended up being a Justice league game, but since Batman was clearly the main character it wouldn't be fair to call it a Justice League game. The story has some strong levels that would be fun to replay and others that weren't that fun. Some levels have hidden areas that are pretty neat, like the Fortress of Solitude. Adam west is also in distress this time around and adds a ton of awesomeness into the game. The level based on the classic Batman series was extremely fun to play!

Characters
The game has A LOT of characters, and even more coming with the different DLC packs. The main cast had great voice work and a great script. You're going to want to watch the cutscenes in this. Robin is such a charming character and extremely likable. A lot of designs changes to the new look of The New 52, and it looks great. Batman looks better than ever. I would have preferred Damian Wayne be Robin instead of Tim Drake. Or even have Tim's Robin suit change too but that can be forgiven. Cyborg is an awesome character to play with and his upgraded design looks great. The Flash controls much better in this game as well. The classic Wonder Woman theme has also been added when the character flies, which is a nice touch. The games Big Figs are great too! They can also fly this time (they couldn't fly in Lego marvel). Some small figs can change to the bigger ones too, like Bane. They included some characters everyone may not know but for a DC fan they're dreams come true. Even Batcow made it into the game. Which brings up the question. You have batcow, but no Damian Wayne? For a Batman game that reflects The New 52 to not even have the current Robin playable, yet have his cow is pretty odd. Also they have Kevin Smith in the game. They have characters like Polka Dot Man and Condiment King, but no Red Robin? No Earth 2 characters? No Guy Gardener? No Arsenal? I feel like before you start throwing in obscure characters or Kevin Smith there were really some that should have been in the game that were skipped. Damian was in Lego Batman 2 so they have the character model. Still he's M.I.A. I was surprised that Azrael Batman was in the game through the DLC, which brings us to the next section.

DLC
The DLC available so far has been pretty fun. Some better than others. The 75th anniversary pack had a pretty fun level and you get tons of different Batman incarnations to play with. They even included The Dark Knight Returns Batman as a Big Fig. Azrael Batman is playable and is awesome. Small details like him shooting Batarangs from his hands and lighting up show how much love went into each character. Some DLC gives you vehicles, which would be great if you had more than Oa to use them in. The Dark Knight Trilogy pack gave you some nice characters and the story was fun to play. The Man of Steel pack had you play as Jor-el on Krypton trying to send Kal off into space. It was funny seeing all the guys shooting at me while my wife holds a baby. It was a fun level, and you get the Man of Steel Superman, Zod and a few other characters too. I look forward to the next set of DLC (The Batman Beyond DLC was supposed to be released, however it isn't available on the 360. Lego Batman 3 has yet to respond to questions).

Conclusion
It's a solid game. The characters are great and the story is fun. When the main game is over there's a lot to do, however that comes to an end quick and you end up in an empty world with nothing to do. Where Lego Batman 2 and Lego Marvel triumph is with the content in the open worlds. The Lantern planets are a good step in the right direction, but once you get to the planet there's nothing there. Not even people to fight. Vehicle use just sucks but the characters are so much better than any other lego game, it's sad there's no place like Gotham City to show them off and create your own experiences with them. I do recommend getting this game even though the replay value goes down the tube. When you have stuff to do the game is awesome. The Lantern planets, while still pretty bland have more life and you see the benefit of having something like that in future games. There's a lot of room for improvement and I hope the devs learn from their mistakes, though I do applaud them for trying something new. Next time I'm sure the issues will be fixed and the foundations will be built to their fullest potential.

7/10

The Flash (Pilot & Episode 2 Review)

Finally, another Flash TV series is here, and it's awesome! Played by actor Grant Gustin, the flash has never been more alive! This is a review of the two episodes that have already aired.

I'm a big fan of the flash so I really enjoyed how the show isn't afraid to give it a really comic feel. Hell, Professor Zoom was there (albeit blurry) in what looked like his iconic yellow costume. I'm glad they didn't go the route of Smallville for this one. Or Arrow, as I felt like Arrow was like (we can't bring Batman to the small screen so we'll adjust Green Arrow to be very...Batman-ish). Nope! Gustin plays the Barry we all know and love. The first episode really exceeded my expectations. There were a lot of easter eggs (Killer Frost, Vibe) and that was awesome! It wasn't shoved down your throat either so it felt like part of the world more than an easter egg too. Iris is also African American like in the new 52 so it's pretty neat seeing things straight from the comic world right away.  The way Barry uses his abilities were well done and believable on screen. It didn't feel like they were "showing off" or just trying to be flashy. When Barry was running around the tornado it had such a classic comic book feel visually as he would run. The appearance of Eddie Thawn also confirmed that  Reverse Flash is there, and he's all up in the woman Barry loves! I'm sure that's going to bring up even more bad blood later on!

The cast was phenomenal. They all did stand out jobs, except however the main villains of both episodes did not. Weather Wizard (Clyde Martin) had no personality, no story, and didn't seem to have much motive in the end when he created his huge tornado. Multiplex (Danton Black) had a bit more personality, but also I never really got the feeling of (go that's why he's doing what he's doing so it makes sense). It made me think, if I ever got screwed over BADLY and got powers to duplicate myself the first thing I would think about wouldn't be getting back at my boss, or to hide in a barn and make tornados. They need to give the villain a little more screen time, and more speaking roles. They sacrificed that for more screen time with Barry's personal life, and that screen time was great. I feel bad he's being friend zoned so bad by Iris. I also love the relationship between Barry and Joe West. Especially in the second episode where Joe really came off as a father figure that wants what's best for his son. He also understood that Barry can do amazing things and it's not bad to want to help people with your abilities. Barry's relationship with his father was also very deep. The ending of the first episode where he saw his father in jail was moving even for me. I like that personal touch these episodes have. I also can't wait to find out more about Dr. Wells and just who he really is.

Look, this is an amazing show. Once it fixes the issue with it's villains and make them more memorable the show will be TV perfection. If you've ever heard of the Flash you won't want to miss a day. If your new to the character and just want some good TV, this is also for you!

9/10

Gotham: Episode 1 Review

If you read Batman comics, you know the characters often describe how they feel about Gotham. They talk about it like it's alive. They all have their own take on "their" city, what it offers, and what it takes away. That's exactly what this show has accomplished.

I was extremely skeptical about the show before it aired. I worried it would be more "cop drama" than anything. Boy was I wrong. From the start of the show, seeing a young Selina Kyle living on the streets I felt like the direction was trying to stick to the lore. When Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, It felt fresh, because I knew it wasn't a flashback like we've always seen. Finally the story of this Gotham is being told. The interaction between the characters in phenomenal. The way Gordon interacted with a young Bruce Wayne really set the tone of the show. It wasn't a cop drama. It quite literally is a show about Gotham, as though it were the living, breathing person like it's described in the comics.

Gordon gets the spotlight in this show. However, it's almost as though he co-stars with the city itself, which is a great feat. Gordon is the cop who doesn't break. He's the cop who can watch a man shoot his daughter, and be tortured with it, and still choose justice over vengeance. That's the Gordon we got in this show. he best part was it didn't feel forced. The character was portrayed as though you understand the type of person he is, not the person the actor is playing.


Gotham is corrupt. But the corruption digs deep into the foundations. It's not black and white. Gordon's partner Harvey Bullock understands this. His character showed what a twisted place Gotham is through his own actions. He's a corrupt cop, because the corruption is what keeps the foundations together in the city. He plants evidence to kill a man for something he didn't do. Why? Because that's what Carmine Falcone wanted. Not because it was a crime he committed, or because he was covering up for somebody. It was to keep Gotham happy, so it's day to day activities can continue, good or bad. That was really a strong point in the episode. They chase down these leads trying to find this man behind the murder of the Waynes. They run into mob bosses, more crooked cops, have a roof top chase. Frame a man! To find out the killer is just a regular guy in the city, and the cover up was for the city itself, not any one person.

The characters were portrayed in excellent form. You have Edward Nygma who works with the GCPD. He isn't the Riddler yet, but he's a young man with a compulsion he can't help and from the brief moments you saw him, you know it's starting to become more of a problem than a quirk. Young Selina is a child being raised by the streets and fending for herself. Oswald Cobblepot stood out the most here. He isn't the Penguin, not at all. He hasn't begone to transcend into that person. Right now he's a child of Gotham playing his part, which of course goes wrong. He's a character I can't wait to see more of and how he becomes who we know he's going to be. Then there's Bruce Wayne himself. In the beginning he's a child. Then he becomes a victim. He tells Gordon how he should have acted, something many Batman fans have seen him say on many occasions. Then we see him at the funeral, and while still grieving, he's more stern. Then we see him at the mansion and he's no longer the scared child he was in the beginning. His childhood is gone, and he's begun the steps to make himself the most dangerous man on the planet. This is exciting because the show gives the feeling we'll be seeing Bruce's journey as well. Seeing Bruce at that age unfold into the man who leaves his home to train and become the Batman is a gift to all Batman fans. Poison Ivy made an appearance too, though I felt like she shouldn't have been there. It was like "look who it is!". It didn't have the genuine feeling like the other moments in the episode and I hope we see a lot less of her. I can't wait to see more Alfred and Bruce interaction to really see the role he plays in Bruce's life as he becomes a young man. The character Fish was also a stand out. I'm excited to see what's going to happen between her and Oswald.

The show seems to encompass what exactly Gotham is. It's not chasing down some criminal. It's not a bunch of cops busting in and taking down the mob. Gotham is much deeper than that. Gotham is where the police and the mob frame someone for a murder, even though they don't know the killer. It's the reasoning behind those actions. It's what becomes of the different players as they become intertwined in the city they live in. I will definitely be tuning in weekly. I didn't think they could do it, but they proved me wrong. They actually made a show about Gotham herself, in all her dark glory.

8.5/10

Batman Arkham Origins: My Review

Arkham Origins, the "Prequel" to Rocksteady's popular Arkham franchise has been out for long time. Fans are still split on if they love it or hate it. Some reviews were just ridiculous (Gamespot) and others seemed to get it. So here's my take on the game.

I'll start with this. The game is not better than Arkham Asylum or Arkham City. Asylum brought this amazing take for the character set in a hospital/island. City took everything from the previous game, made it better, and added to it. The studio really payed close attention to detail to make sure the game was better than its predecessor. This game however does none of that. It made no effort to advance the franchise or make it stand out at all. That's not to say it was bad! The game was developed by WB Montreal this time so keep that in mind. Let's break down different aspects of the game to see how each was was.

1. Story:

The story for this game was fantastic. The character development was executed wonderfully. As one event was leading up to another I was genuinely invested in what was going on, and I felt that was throughout the entire game. The characters were interesting for the most part. It was disappointing to see most of the characters reduced to side quests. When the game was being marketed as Batman going up against assassins that's what I thought was going to happen. It didn't feel that way. Batman fought Deathstroke, Bane, Firefly, and Copperhead. They were actually somewhat important to the plot. The rest of them just seemed like additions. When the time came to go deal with them i really didn't care. The story shifted to a Joker story after a while and that was fine because it was done so well. His scenes in this were amazing. The game did a fantastic job helping players understand the complex dynamic between the two characters.

2. Gameplay:

The gameplay was pretty solid. It wasn't as good as the previous game however. It would be SO frustrating gliding around and trying to grapple to a building but the game just wouldn't let you. Or gliding and getting stopped by a building top for seemingly no reason. Places you wanted to grapple to you couldn't. So that meant you had to go all the way around a building instead of just going over it. This just got worse and worse over time. You would think that with a bigger area to explore buildings would be taller so you could grapple higher and cover more ground. NOPE! The combat was back from the previous game with nothing much new. The new martial artist baddies were  a fun addition. Batman also got a claw that could pull two objects (or bad guys) into each other. Other than that it was a re-skinned line launcher with much less functionality or use. You also got a type of stun grenade that stuck to enemies. This was useful during combat but to try to use it to sneak past or attack in a stealthy situation it just wasn't useful. A batarang was way more effective. The fighting was pretty much the same. Sometimes however combo's failed for no reason, batman would start punching into a place where there were no enemies. Other than that it was the same thing from the last game. Nothing new, nothing innovative.  They even had the nerve to make the ice grenade the "glue grenade". Like come on! And it did the exact same things as the ice grenade. Just a cheap re-skinning.  However, the gameplay elements it copied from the last game were the solid. Who doesn't enjoy the fresh combat and gliding around the city?

3. The characters:

The characters were somewhat disappointing.  I did however LOVE Deathstroke. He was awesome and his boss fight was fun and approachable in different ways. I do wish there was more of him because after that, he was done. The "assassin" ninja baddies were back, re-skinned from Arkham City to, i guess, use whatever they had. I could have done without them. I got a feeling the game was trying to play off the popularity of the recent Nolan Batman films with the 2 main villains in the game, The Joker and Bane. The Joker was done extremely well in this game. Mark Hamill didn't return to do his voice this time around so the role went to Troy Baker, who did his best to mimic Hamill. And he did an excellent job. If his roles as the character after this game he has gotten better in my opinion. His reveal in the game was awesome. The writers really got his character down and Baker brought it to life. The character felt young and new which is great since it's his "origin" in the game. Bane's personality was very well done. I much prefer this design to the Asylum one, though the Asylum bane had titan in him. Bane was smart, goal oriented, and formidable. However by the end he became a hulking, dumb brute monster. This kind of contradicts his history with Batman in the other games. The bane in the beginning of the game is the one who would break Batman's back. Yet he doesn't and becomes a mindless brute first. And it is stated in Asylum that Bane broke Batman's back. I don't know why in different media's they're afraid to make this happen. Thank you Dark Knight Rises for being brave enough to have him do the dead. On to Batman himself. This did not feel like a younger, inexperienced Batman. For being so far into the past he shouldn't have had half the technology he did. Some of which was better than what he had in the future games, which was what? 20 years into his future? They tried to give hints to his youth with the Batmobile still being designed, yet he's flying around in a Bat Jet. That's like playing L.A. Noir and someone pulls out an iPhone. Other than that he was actually a pretty good Batman. I was extremely disappointed when it was revealed NONE of the Batfamily would be in the game at all. Or anyone else to play as. It felt like a step backwards. Then to put Robin in, and only on multiplayer was a slap in the face. They even had the nerve to give him different costumes. You can play as Deathstroke in the challenge maps, although even he wasn't made to be anything special. The developers just recycled moves from Robin and Nightwing from Arkham City and gave them to the Deathstroke model. That was a cheap move. For that they should have just put Robin in the challenge maps. I'm surprised they didn't, yet they have him in multiplayer. It also really got to me that if I didn't have a PS3 I would never get to play as Azrael batman. That was cheap and angered a lot of people. Even down the line it was never available.

4. Multiplayer:

This was a horrible experience. It was a horrible idea. It's absolutely no fun at all to play. Your either team Joker, team Bane, Batman, or Robin. The team tries to kill each other, Batman and Robin. The heroes try to take other players down. First of all, the controls are terrible. It's a 3rd person shooter so clearly nothing like the games controls. You'd think they'd give you a practice room or something to learn completely new mechanics for the game. NOPE! They just toss you in with a bunch of other confused players. The levels are so cluttered it's hard to move around. The chances of even playing as Batman or Robin are slim. There's literally no reason to play it. I don't even know where the disk is. If this was removed from the game completely it's score would go up. That's how bad it is.

5. DLC:

The DLC was pretty nice. We got tons of cool skins, though none as cool as the Jean Paul Valley Azrael Bat PS3 owners got, but there were nice ones. You also got to do challenge maps with young Bruce Wayne before he became Batman. Those were also fun. Finally we got the Mr. Freeze DLC. It gave us a new suit, some new things to do, and a new story. The story was pretty neat. I hated Mr. Freeze's voice. It was so annoying. The fight wasn't anything like the one in City so that was good. It was a solid DLC. This was an opportunity to involve Robin in something too and of course they didn't.

Over all the game is a re-skinned Arkham City. With added area that's a pain in the ass to get around. Some performance issues and nothing really new. If things in the game weren't so cheap (glue grenade) it would get a higher score but those things really made it feel like a cash in. The story however shines through a lot of the negativity. The story is one of the most important elements of this kind of game and it was done extremely well. Since they just copied all the controls and moves for the most part you get the same excellent combat from the previous game. The remote claw is an awesome weapon, though only useful in combat. All in all, this is a re-skinned arkham city that, while not as good, was special in its own way.

8/10

iOS 8: Thought and Recommendations

iOS 8 has finally been released! It's definitely a welcomed change to the iPhone. On the surface it looks pretty much the same, but once you dive in, the additions just take this OS and makes it even better.

iOS is the best smartphone operating system by far. From the sleep design, to the features, to how it integrates into your daily life other than normal phone functions. So to make this amazing OS even better is no small accomplishment. Let's start with some standout features:

1. The Camera: To the untrained eye you may not notice a difference immediately.  However there are TONS of new features. The new timer is a welcomed addition. Other 3rd party apps had this before but now that it's integrated into the OS it feels at home. There's also Time Lapse. Time Lapse is remarkably fun to use and serves it's purpose very well. Once you take a photo you can select it and bring up the new edit options. The look is clearly different with new effects and features to adjust light, color and black and white. If you tap the circle on the top left, you see an awesome new feature. The phone recognizes different editing apps on your phone, and lets you access their features from here.

2. The Notification Center: This is BIG. The ability to add widgets is a feature many have always wanted and complained about (since android has had that feature). Now iOS has it and shows how widgets should be used in a smartphone. Immediately apps emerged that let you add different widgets that do make life so much easier. In my notification center I can tap a face and send a text, i have access to a calculator, I have a countdown for New York Comic Con going. The possibilities are endless and I can't wait to see all the unique apps that will utilize this feature further.

3. The Keyboard/3rd Party Keyboards: The keyboard is much improved. Sending an audio message feels at home and I've used it a lot since the update. As well as the suggested words that comes up above the keyboard. The iPhone always had suggestions on your words but never with click-able options.  The amazing part is that it's recognizes how you type and the different words you type (even if they are out of the norm) and help integrate them into your conversation. It's just getting better and better as it "gets to know me". The 3rd party keyboards are also awesome. Though the best keyboard I've found is the normal Apple one, other additions are pretty cool with cool features and it's nice to switch it up from time to time.

4. Family Sharing: This is USEFUL. I bought a TON of keyboards after iOS 8 launched. I also bought a bunch of other apps and a few songs. I activated family sharing and in my fiance's phone, are those same keyboards I bought. This just makes life so much easier instead of buying the same stuff multiple times you share purchases. The only gripe is that it doesn't include in-app purchases. For example, in one keyboard I bought I had to pay extra for additional colors. When I put the app on the other phone from the stuff I purchased, I would have to re-buy the additional features again. That's ok though since that's up to the developer. You also need not worry, because activating family sharing does nothing to your own account. You still have your own iTunes account.

Since launch apps have been coming out left and right to utilize iOS 8. But which ones are any good? Are any of them worth money? Here I'll list some must have iOS 8 apps that I found extremely useful.

1. SwiftKey (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swiftkey-keyboard/id911813648?mt=8):
For a free keyboard this sure does take the cake. I use this keyboard the most since the feature became available. You swipe to the letters to form words. I didn't have high expectations for this because I used the feature before on a different phone and it just sucked. It works great on iOS 8. It won't really recognize those special non-normal words like the native keyboard does. It also doesn't seem to have access to emojis which is pretty sad. Other than that it's the app to get!

2. Flesky 99 cents (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fleksy-keyboard-happy-typing/id520337246?mt=8):
This is another keyboard with a beautiful design and a great "swipe left to delete" feature. The color options are great if you're willing to drop an additional dollar for them. The keyboard works great. The only issues I have or the suggested words and some bugs. After you type a word and hit space, the suggestion feature comes up. I have yet to figure out how it works, how to choose the next word or how to change the current. Also, if you switch keyboards for a bit and go back to this one it will reset to its defaults. Then you have to go back to the companion app and re-adjust it's features. However its only been out for 2 days so hopefully with enough feedback these issues can go away.

3. Camera Plus $1.99 (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/camera-plus-capture-remotely/id330803072?mt=8):
I don't usually get different cameras for my iPhone. Let alone pay for them. This was an exception. The camera is GOOD. The focus features and overall feel for this is amazing. It's standout feature however is that it can connect to another apple device and you can take photos through one device from the other. This is as fun as it is useful. You'll find many ways to utilize this feature. I would recommend this app to anyone.

4. Stocard (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stocard-rewards-cards-in-passbook/id444578884?mt=8):
This app isn't new but it has been updated for iOS 8. This app takes photo's of your store membership cards and organizes/stores them. Now with the update it's also become a widget in your notification center. You can go there anytime and tap the store your at and the card barcode will come up. It has become so much easier to use.

5. Launcher-Favorites at your Fingertips (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/launcher-favorites-at-your/id905099592?mt=8):
This app is made for your notification center. It gives you quick access to pretty much anything you want. You can put a contact there to call or text easily. It's extremely useful and free!

6. WDGTS (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id916103272?mt=8):
This is a MUST HAVE. It has a few needed widgets you will benefit from. It has a calculator for easy use, a calendar, lets you see different time zones. There are literally no negatives to having this on your phone. Get it immediately!

That covers it for now. If you haven't gotten the update yet I highly recommend that you do. If you don't have enough space on your phone, just plug it into your computers itunes and that issue is eliminated. As far as updates go, this was just amazing. Just wait until OS Yosemite comes out and reinvents your Macs. Then I'll have to do another one of these about how seamlessly the devices work together.

The Man of Steel Review

The Zack Snyder directed Man of Steel sought to truly represent Superman in all his glory. The previous films captured a different, much more family friendly version of Superman, which caused this movie some woes during it's release.

The story starts off on Krypton, with the planetary leaders not listening to Jor-el, father of Superman or General Zod warning of the impending destruction of the planet. This leads to Jor-el to infuse the codex of the entire Kryptonian race into his child's DNA and send him into space. General Zod however, didn't see Jor-el's child fit for the codex and the fight ended with Jor-El being murdered. Zod was arrested and sent to the phantom zone along with his followers before Krypton exploded.

Now on earth, Kal-El was found by John and Martha Kent and raised as a farm boy. His father worries that when people know of his powers he will be judged, and a ton of bad things can end up happening to him. Therefore Clark, as he's now called, has been raised hiding his abilities. Although when someone is in trouble, Clark will do what he can to save them, but as he got older he would expose his power under a fake identity and then disappear, as to keep his secret safe. On one of his "odd jobs" he runs into a Kryptonian ship and meets his fathers consciousness. Lois Lane, reporter for the Daily Planet, follows Clark into the shit and is wounded by the robotic security. Clark then saves her. Now, equip with a new suit, Clark decides it's time to try out his abilities. However, General Zod has come, and is threatening the Earth for Clark to surface and face him. Zod tells Clark of his plan to turn Earth into another Krypton and eventually send both Clark and Lois back to Earth. He then releases a "World Engine" to change change the Earth into an inhabitable place for Kryptonians, killing all humans in the process. The military try their best but can't seem to help, so it's up to Superman to save the day.

This film FINALLY portrays the REAL Superman on screen. The Richard Donner films were great for their time, but couldn't really show what Superman can do, therefore felt very grounded and safe. Not here. Superman's back story was important. It really helped viewers understand why he is the way he is. How he was hesitant to be a "hero", why he was hesitant, and how he tried to overcome that hesitance. Clark believed in his father. Even though he is pretty much a God, when his father raised his hand for him to stand down he did. That's an important scene that really shows how Clark viewed his father and his fathers beliefs.

Lois Lane was finally shown to be a great reporter in this film. I liked how she knew Clark was Superman before he was "Superman". It killed the notion that she can be intimate with Superman yet look at Clark and have no idea who he is for all those years. they made a special type of bond, though the scene where they're in the desert staring each other down was pretty weird.

The camera just cut to them awkwardly standing there. I also felt their "relationship" was pretty rushed. I know he's Superman, but she really doesn't know him all that well and they built a different type of relationship that didn't really seem like a romantic one. I think if they didn't kiss, their relationship would have seemed more genuine.

The fight scenes in this movie were jaw dropping. Superman actually LOOKED like Superman. But Zod was still a military general. His followers were also trained. So Superman had the strength but they had the expertise in hand to hand combat and that was shown. Superman got his ass handed to him. He knew this, but that didn't stop him. It showed the lengths Superman was willing to go to in order to save people.

There was a lot of ridiculous backlash about how Superman destroyed Metropolis....*cough* world engine *cough*. Superman initially didn't "attack" Zod as much as push him away from his mother, which landed them in a town behind the cornfield. Then Superman was jumped by Faora, General Zods second in command. She was clearly in control of the fight. Superman couldn't fly away if he wanted to (as shown when he did and they grabbed him and smacked him back into the ground). The final battle happened in Metropolis, which was abandoned by those who were alive and able to escape. The buildings still standing were already ready to crumble due to the effects of the world engine in the heart of the city. Yet again superman had Zod in the sky, not on the ground where people may still be hiding. This fight sequence was awesome as well. Superman actually looked like a god, finally. So to say he destroyed the city or any stupidity like that shows those people didn't really pay attention, because when Superman arrived there was no city left.

Now, the controversial scene of Superman killing Zod. This isn't the family friendly Donner movies. This is a Superman movie, based off the Superman comics. To think him killing Zod destroys his character shows those people have no idea who Superman even is! Hell, he's killed Zod IN THE COMICS with little empathy!

I think him having no option other that breaking Zod's neck to save innocent people is going to play a big part in the hero Superman becomes. At the end of the movie, he's just a guy who was trying to help. He hasn't been molded into the hero everybody knows yet. However he still has the same values his comic book counterpart does.

General Zod was an exceptional villain in this movie. His motives weren't just pure evil like the bad guys in the cliche Marvel films by Disney. His actions were understood and his pain made sense. He wasn't a one dimensional character thrown into the film because it's pop corn heroes needed a bad guy.

Some things that bothered me however, was when Superman was on Zod's ship and they invaded his mind. That scene seemed unnecessary and it wasn't until watching the movie twice that I even understood what just happened. I also didn't get Zods interest in Lois Lane. She just proved to be a thorn in their side. However the unrelenting military presence was great. Some movies like to have Armageddon happening but not even a concerned cop shows up. So it was nice to see a film try to show how the world would really react to an event like an alien attack.

Through it's flaws The Man of Steel was what fans deserved and needed. The writing was  great and the direction phenomenal. The character development was also stand out and done properly. The changes to certain characters and relationships also created a breath of fresh air. DC really showed they know how to craft great, not just popcorn super hero flicks.

9/10

Iron Man 3 Review

Well, here's my review of Iron Man 3. As the name suggests this is the 3rd installment in the Iron Man film series and sequel to The Avengers (in a way). Iron man is trying to get back to his daily routine as Iron Man. There's a flashback to show Tony doing the deed with a woman named Maya Hansen in 1999, who has a treatment to let people regenerate after deformities or injuries. This guy Aldrich Killian wants them to work with him and is supposed to meet up with Tony, who never shows. So now in the present the country is being threatened by a terrorist called The Mandarin. Iron man has PTSD from what happened during the Avengers and is building tons of different Iron Man suits. His security guy gets into an incident during a Mandarin attack and Tony threatens the Mandarin on live TV. This leads to his house being blown up, him in Tennessee and befriending a child.

This movie was BAD. I'd say this is the worst film Marvel has put out yet. The only saving grace could have been that the Iron Man suit is awesome but that's rarely seen either. The comedy in the movie was completely overbearing. It felt like a sitcom where after every sentence there was a joke, followed by forced studio laughter. It got very annoying after a while.

One of the worst parts were the choices made by the characters. I'm sure you've seen this image:

So the world knows who Iron Man is. He pays the price for this. Tony threatens the Mandarin, who knows Tony Stark has a history of going after terrorist organizations, and tells him to come find him, even gives him his address! Now I could see if after that he had his home surrounded by all those iron man suits he's been working on, had a radar to show low flying vehicles, and had some type of defense ready. Like missiles, guns, anything! Even some military presence since they know he will be attacked and he's still a civilian, Iron Man or not. NOPE, instead he just goes home and that's that. No defense, no preparation, no plan, nothing. So eventually he gets his home blown up. Some how those military grade helicopters can fly into NYC with no armed forces or even a police department noticing and intervening. I guess we should be glad the actual armed forces are competent in real life. 



The main villains were these people who became experiments and got the power to incinerate people along with strength and endurance. They were actually very weak villains. It's also mind boggling how they raise their body to such high temperatures that they illuminate yet their clothes don't burn.

 Killian's plan was also pretty confusing. His motives even more confusing. Tony Stark stands him up in 1999 and he gets so mad that after he builds a successful business, without needing Tony Stark, and a lavish life where he only got smarter and created scientific achievements, he makes a fake terrorist and kidnaps the President. THAT MAKES NO SENSE. A missile tot he chest and he would have been out, that's if the US Government gave a crap about these terrorists in the first place. The Iron Patriot suit, as cool as it was, did nothing. We didn't even get to see it fight! It got touched by some heat and shut down. Since when does extreme heat shut the suit down? Doesn't it have laser blasts in the palm of it's hands? Yet a touch shuts the whole suit down. However the suit can take blows, as evident by the previous films. So when the president is inside of it, so what if he fell. The suit would protect him.

The PTSD was just thrown in to tie it into The Avengers in some fashion. Iron Man met a God, fought him, joked with him and teamed up with him and WAS FINE. Yet all of a sudden seing different creatures that weren't Thor, who is also an alien, was too much for Stark to handle. He was kidnapped and held captive by terrorists and came out better than ever but a non-Thor alien gives him PTSD....sure.

The reveal of the Mandarin was disappointing. Not because it was different than the comics, but because that meant Killian, a poor excuse for a character with a grudge that makes no sense and a stupid plan, is the mastermind and that's just disappointing.

The final battle was about as ridiculous as it can get. The President in chains wearing a military grade suit THAT WORKS. Tony stark fighting fire people with his tons of unarmed suits that should have shown up half way through the movie. Looks like a big ploy to sell some toys and have a bunch of different ones to choose from!

Then the final showdown with Killian, who is beat up by Pepper! Here's a decision that makes no sense at all. This man has been hit by military grade armor. Yet Pepper hits him and they suspect that finished him off? Before even confirming he's dead, Tony blows up all his suits! Killian could have easily just blasted his head off since his line of defense was no more. But there's the even dumber aspect to all this! After these near indestructible beings have beaten armored suits, pepper hits Killian with a pipe and he dies? Maybe Tony should have just equipped himself with a stick and whacked Killian in the first place. Pepper also all of a sudden can fight and all this. Yes she got stronger and has powers, but she's still the same woman who stumbles around. I guess if it's convenient for its plot, or whatever you can call it in this case. Also, where were the police, or the military. The President of the United States is kidnapped and there's no military presence what-so-ever. Everyone was all sad when Colson "died" in The Avengers and it even inspired Captain America to fight the good fight. Yet everyone thinks Tony Stark is dead and no one gives a shit. Shield doesn't life a finger when the president is kidnapped. This is a shared universe, so when stuff on that grand of a scale happens and NO ONE shows up is just mind boggling.

The only redeeming quality the film could have had was cool Iron Man scenes, which it didn't even have that The character development was non-existent, and any attempts at changing a character was just horrible. So many things happened, or didn't happen, just to be convenient to its jumbled mess of a plot. There's so many plot holes it looks like the movie was a target in a shooting gallery. These plot holes were due to poor writing and poor directing. I can say it was a truly terrible film and it has no positive aspects.

.5/5 (Being Generous)