How Amazing Is This Spider-Man?

Celebrating the release of the bluray, I thought it would be the perfect time to have a look at The Amazing Spider-Man. 

Spectacular visual effects...

Spider-Man is amazing. And the same can be said about the extensive visual effects. Sony Picture Imageworks garnered tons of respect for their work on Men In Black 3 and this one shouldn't go by unnoticed. All the web-swinging action shot in native stereoscopic 3D is breathtaking. There is this one particular shot of the Oscorp Tower from above which, when seen in 3D, is particularly jaw-dropping. I myself haven't had the best of experiences with post-converted 3D but there's a huge difference. And for those of you that really don't care when it comes to 2D or 3D, lets just say that Amazing Spider-Man is best-watched in 3D.

Andrew Garfield plays a true-to-the-comics Peter Parker...

I don't know about you but I prefer Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker way over Toby Maguire's. He plays our friendly neighbourhood geek in the most convincing manner. Unlike Toby, Andrew reacts much better when faced with his fears and overcomes them while keeping his innocence intact. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed watching him stand up to a bully. This is a Peter Parker who already has a 'superhero mentality' even before he's bitten by a radioactive-steroid-infused spider. 

Not too keen on Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy...

I'm not an Emma Stone fan, okay? And seeing as how I'm not an Emma Stone fan, I can't judge her acting. Essentially, I think any actress could have played her part and done a great job. Aside from her hair, I don't think there was anything particularly interesting about Gwen Stacy - aside from the fact that she is Peter's love interest...and her father is always at Spider-man's throat as the Head honcho of NYPD. Probably because her presence wasn't very noticeable in the earlier Spider-man movies so there's no material to contrast to. Anyway, she's cool. 

The Lizard is the single greatest thing about this movie...

Yep, you read it here first. Rhys Ifans plays what will go down as one of the greatest villains in comic book history: The Lizard. Dr. Kurt Connors, a colleague of Peter's father is on the brink of evolving the human species through scientific means. And that's where it all goes downhill. Having spent his life's work on research that will apparently turn humans into a better species---wait did I say that already? I mean't lizards! Yeah, lizards! That is Connors' idea of a perfect species. 

Rhys Ifans plays a Connors as if no one is more capable of doing so. Despite the Lizard being all CG from top to bottom, you can see the character beyond the scaly skin. This Lizard has a personality; a plan. And his plan is only one small step for an amphibian, as you'll see in the movie. Spider-man barely poses a threat to him, and that's not cool. On one side we have a hero that's being hunted by all of Manhattan's finest. But on the other hand, he literally gets squashed like a bug. 

The film concludes with a lot of emotion. Obviously, I won't give it away. But for those of you planning to pick up bluray copies, be willing to sit through a not-so-happy ending. 

That's it for my take on The Amazing Spiderman. Cheers! :)

Abraham Lincoln: Underrated Hunter

I can't help but feel that I lack creativity - blame the mediocre title of this blog post. I know I suck at this but you shouldn't care. But you SHOULD care about Abraham Lincoln. 

When the film was announced, I thought that the whole premise of the film was unnecessary, lame, stupid, dumb, and the list goes on. Unfortunately I was oblivious to the fact that it was based on a book - which people still don't know! 

Soon they launched a bunch of epic trailers such as this one: 

             

Lincoln (Benjamic Walker) giving the Gettysburg address. 

As it released unto the masses, Vampire Hunter received a bunch of negative reviews. Everything ranging from stupid to the-director-was-really-drunk - it was clear that half the people didn't know it was based on a book (which was honestly far better) Nevertheless, I for one had the guts to go out there and sit through this movie with a friend in an empty theater (save for that one guy sitting all the way at the front) - it was empty probably because it was nearing it's end at the box office. 

Not gonna lie, I thoroughly enjoyed this gothic and grim take on honest Abe's life. Who would've thought he'd be so bad-ass as a vampire hunter? But then again, I'm not a reviewer so, here's my take on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter's visual effects. 

Vampire Hunter makes good use of the legendary slow-mo effect - regardless that there's loads of slow-mo to be marveled at in this flick. The movie has a comic book feel to it - seeing as how the whole premise of the film is very 'comic-like'. 

The first half of the film was excruciatingly painful to watch because it was so badly paced out (yes, a tad worse than John Carter) but then as things progress, the plot turns ugly and with it comes the intensity and the tension that I was waiting for all along. There were instances where I went, 'Holy Sh*t!'. 

Lincoln riding a horse in pursuit of a fleeing vampire

A lot of the landscape sort of shots - like the horse stampeded as seen in the trailer - look like something out of a Playstation 2 game. But this shouldn't be a problem because the movie needs to be looked at in light of it's premise. In other words, surreal and otherwise absurd plot = surreal and otherwise comic visual style. 

Here's a short breakdown reel: 

             


I was overpowered by the feeling of disgust when I saw those reviews as they missed the point of the film by a long shot. Thus, I will, from now on, avoid taking the ratings too seriously because of their mediocre and false opinions on great movies. TAKE THAT FLIXTER!

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Cheers! :)

1 Of The Best Camera Apps on iOS - Snapseed

Smartphone photography has taken the world by storm and even people that once didn't care about snapping photos on-the-go are now avid photographers.

For all you iPhoneographers out there, here is 1 of the best photo editing apps available on the App Store

SNAPSEED

It's plain and straightforward interface is something you shouldn't underestimate. Snapseed is packed with features that allow you to intuitively and selectively edit any area of the photo you desire.

Snapseed is very responsive, whether tapping on a single portion of the picture or applying changes to a full-sized image. Rendering the effects takes a fraction of a moment. The changes can be previewed as quickly as you drag your finger across the display.

Nik Software has stepped up their game big time by adding selective adjustment.

"Instead of adjusting parts of the image using masks or layers, the app intelligently detects what you want to edit based on the control points you've dropped, a feature we found rather ingenious." - Laptop Mag

You can select a section of the photograph to adjust it's color, and then pinch to expand the area covered by the control point.

Of course one of the most popular aspects of photo editing is photo filters. You'll be glad to know that Snapseed has a wide selection of filters that you can - as with any adjustment you make to your photos - tweak to your liking. Whether you want to pop in a texture overlay or simply intensify the lighting, it can be done as easily as saying 'Snapseed'. 

I've included a link to the app if you fancy buying it off iTunes - 

3 Reasons You Can't Wait For The Walking Dead Episode 5

If you've been following Telltale's critically-acclaimed video game adaptation of The Walking Dead, then you are as excited as I am! Which means you really can't wait to get your hands on that last episode! Here's 3 Reasons why...




1. Who has Clementine been talking to...?

So at this point in the game you've bonded with the little girl Clementine. You've been through thick and thin with this child. Specifically, you've been her barber, taught her how to use a gun and had her crawl through tiny spaces to get doors open from the other side. In essence, you're her guardian. But soon you realize your group is being stalked and there's some whack-job on the opposite end of Clementine's Walkie-Talkie. Who is he and what does he want?

2. Lee's fate...

Words can't describe how original this character is. Lee is a man convicted of murdering his wife and a victim of circumstance from the very beginning. You've been seeing all these unfortunate events unravel through his eyes, and have gotten close to some of the members of your 'group' (based on the decisions made throughout the game) - its either that or you've grown to hate them ...all of them...except for clementine. [Spoiler Alert] Now that he's been bitten and no one knows (except you and him), what lies for Lee ahead?

One of the most emotional moments I've ever had during a game...

3. What lies ahead...?

We've been through a lot of sh*t. Admit it. I for one, shed tears at what happened to Katja, Duck and Carly. It was uncalled for but certainly brought me closer to Lee as a fully dynamic game character. So now you're probably asking yourself what happens next? You're expecting some clever way by which the ends meet. I kid you not, episode 5 will be amazing and a joy to play through. Can't wait!

Telltale has crafted a game that defines decision-based gameplay. The choices you make, and the responses you give truly shape the outcome of the game and fate of the characters. This, combined with the intensity and emotion at which the story is delivered - the voice acting, sound effects, comic book-like art directing - makes for a game with incredible replay value.

Great job Telltale, and all those who used their creative vision to make this happen. Thank-you so much!

Assassin's Creed Revelations - Does It Deliver...? [Non-Story Review]

Assassin’s Creed has not only introduced the world to the incredible potential of next-gen gaming, but also to the visually spectacular work that can be produced under strict timeframes. It goes without saying that the AC franchise hit the ground running after unveiling Altair’s saga in November of 2007. However, as of 5 years ago, we as core gamers have come to expect more from the franchise. Some of our expectations include: less linear gameplay, a larger variety of side missions, better and smarter AI/NPCs, and much less diluted and more ‘eye-poppingly’ accurate environments that beg you to free-run through them.

The Good

Fortunately, Revelations has all of that and MORE! That’s right, Ubisoft’s latest instalment in the Ezio storyline has so much to offer that you’ll find yourself glued to your TV for hours on end. With little bits and pieces here and there that cap the long-awaited return of Altair, Desmond goes out of his way in search of answers donning his seemingly older-looking ancestor, Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. 

Gorgeous!

Ubisoft’s Anvil Engine is capable of rendering beautiful crowds of 100s at a moment. Needless to say that this is indeed an improvement to Scimitar – used in the first AC. Anvil was also used in the second game, but I suspect that Revelations pushed the engine to its limits; adding a noticeably improved day and night cycle – softer shadows with smoother shift (unlike Assassin’s Creed 2), more vibrant vegetation (bushes and gardens look utterly stunning - haystacks not included), and far better cloth physics - the joys of gliding through the air under a parachute after jumping off a minaret have yet to be realized! Oh and whizzing past Templar guards on rooftops on your zip line with your new hookblade is also boat loads of fun.

Istanbul is huge!

For one, I found it puzzling why you only got to explore Istanbul (for the most part), but it plays into the hours you spend grinding through the game. The city of Constantinople is literally bursting with gorgeous architecture with no apparent texture pop-ups. The amount of time spent polishing the game is evident as it probably took concept artists several trips to museums, historians, piles of reference images and of course, Turkey itself.  

All in all, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations makes for some pretty fun gameplay and delivers on its hype. I haven’t had a chance to experience the multiplayer completely as of yet, so more on it’s possible bugs and fixes in another review coming up! So, what’re you waiting for? Go! Go out and buy it!

The Bad

One point only: TOO DAMN SHORT! :(

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Weta's Masterpiece of 2011

Just last night I watched Rupert Wyatt's installment in the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise. The film kept me glued to the edge of my spot till the very end. It was magnificent, period.

The Oscar-nominated movie has a very creative, technical, and tedious background to it as one might expect. So I went over to CGSOCIETY and found this behind-the-scenes production focus.

Andy Serkis took his already-renowned talent as a mo-cap actor to an amazing peak by playing the most badass ape ever, Caesar. 

Lighting was obviously one of Weta's major concerns, “Because we were doing live motion capture of Andy (Serkis), and that was being translated into Caesar, We had Andy 

there on set as a reference for lighting. We spent a lot of time focusing on highlights in the eyes and making sure the eyes read really well.” Serkis was dressed in the motion capture suit “which gave us an idea of what certain values were. We could also look at his skin tones to reference to Caesar’s skin.” 

For more, check out: CGSOCIETY.