Mister Jack

Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (Spanish title Psychonauts) Birdboy is a movie that you can't just take in on a surface level. It clearly has something to say and is filled with symbolism, but is subtle enough to not be obvious. I can see people getting different meanings out of this film. The story takes place on an island populated by talking animals that has turned post apocalyptic after a factory explosion decimates the land and kills all the fish. The titular Birdboy, possessed by a demon after the explosion and hunted by the military, lives isolated in an abandoned lighthouse after the death of his father and regularly takes dangerous drugs in order to keep the demon at bay. The adults are all either drug addicts, religious fundamentalists, violently militaristic, or violently anarchistic. Three animal children band together and formulate a plan to escape the island by buying a boat that will take them literally anywhere else. One of the children, a mouse named Dinky, is also in love with Birdboy and wants him to run away with her, but at the same time she doesn't know how to save him. This is a sad film full of struggle and heartache, but it isn't hopelessly bleak. There are many things you could take away from this movie, but I think I personally see it as a hopeful message that children don't have to repeat their parents' mistakes and that losing your childhood innocence doesn't mean you should give up on the world. I wouldn't be surprised if someone got a completely different perspective on it though. This is definitely a movie you should discuss with someone.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle I watched this at a friend's insistence and it was actually pretty alright. I mean, it's not great and the plot is predictable but it got a few pretty good laughs out of me and the chemistry between the leads is quite enjoyable. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Rock's performance the most. He really sells the idea that he's a nerdy, insecure little dweeb trapped in a beefcake's body. It was honestly kind of adorable. It's corny as hell, but it's a charming kind of corny that isn't taking itself too seriously and just likes to have fun with a goofy premise. I still like the original film more, but this isn't bad for a movie night with your friends.

So I take it that Trump has no grounds to sue Daniels for 20 million dollars? I mean, I didn't think he did, but I'm no lawyer.

God I am so sick of seeing people on the internet who don't understand how free speech works. Being banned from someplace for acting like a douche, whether it's a forum or a game or even a movie theater, is not a violation of your rights. All these things are privileges, not rights you fucking idiots.

Geez, this was less than an hour away from me.

What is wrong with me

Bring on the Octolings!

Can you believe it?! Mike's on the cover of a magazine!

John Wick 1 and 2 I was hanging out with a friend today and when I told him I'd never seen these films he insisted we watch them and yeah, they're pretty good. They weren't what I expected. I was expecting some kind of over the top Jason Bourne thing with motorcycle jumps and crazy kung-fu and whatnot, but it really isn't that. John Wick's style of fighting is fairly grounded and realistic, at least compared to most action movies. He's just got really good aim, really quick reflexes, and he knows a decent amount of grapples and throws to use when someone manages to get the jump on him. I actually kind of appreciated the change of pace. He's less about flashy fights or finishers and more about just killing anyone who stands in his way as quickly and efficiently as possible as he goes from point A to point B.

Moss This is probably my favorite VR game so far. Rather than playing a first person perspective as usual, you play the role of an observer as you guide Quill the mouse, whom you also control, through a puzzle platforming adventure to save her uncle. Quill is very well animated and lifelike, and she frequently acknowledges you as a presence in her world. If you are stuck on a puzzle she will point in the general direction of the solution. You can also pet her, spook her for a prank, pick her up when she's hurt, or even high five her after a particularly complicated challenge. By the time I got to the ending I felt quite attached to my little mousy companion. The puzzles are clever and often require simultaneous cooperation between Quill herself and your ability to manipulate the environment. Combat is simple. There's an attack button and a dodge button. Best of all, because each area is on a fixed camera there's virtually no motion sickness to be had. You can lean around to view the room from different angles to find secrets, but that's as far as it goes. My only problem with the game is that I beat it in about four hours total. Considering they ask for thirty dollars, that feels a little steep. They tease a part two at the end, but I don't know if it's going to be a sequel or DLC. If you own a PSVR, definitely pick this up when it goes on sale.

Okay, this is my last splurge for a while. I'm gonna save the rest of my refund. This is the Galaxy Tab S2, which isn't the newest model but because of that I was able to get this and a smart case for it in a bundle on ebay for a little over 200 bucks. It's usually around 300 just for the tablet but this was labeled as "New - Open Box." Honestly, if they didn't say it was open box I never would have noticed because when I got it in the mail earlier it looked like it had come fresh from the factory. Still had all the protective plastic on it and everything. My old Google Nexus 7 still works pretty well, but it's from 2013 and I wanted something newer and faster so I just plan to sell the Nexus 7 on eBay to eat some of the cost.

N I N T E N D O P R E M I U M

What fucking year is it? I can't believe the White House put out this video and actually wants us to take it seriously. It actually kind of pisses me off, not because I'm worried about games getting banned or something because I already know they won't be, but because it's so obviously a shameless diversionary tactic to try to distract everyone from the gun control issue. I mean they're not even trying to be subtle about their intentions here.

I honestly see no need to port the first Splatoon to Switch, and I say this as someone who really enjoyed the first one. The second one has all the same stuff the first one does outside of the original campaign, and having two games would just split the playerbase. Plus, they aren't doing splatfests on the original game anymore anyway. They gave it a finale of sorts with the Callie vs. Marie event. At best they might put the original levels in Splatoon 2 as an update or something.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Out of all the PSVR games shown at e3 last year, this one intrigued me the most. It has pretty good word of mouth so I figured I might as well. I mean I bought the damn headset. It's a bit pricey for a VR game ($30), but I don't need Bloodborne or Ratchet and Clank anymore so I did a trade to bring it down to about 10 out of pocket.

I hope it wasn't much for a house that tiny.

I don't think we need to worry about the AI Singularity anytime soon.

Dead Space (the original) is free on Origin right now. If anyone ever didn't get around to downloading the PC version, there you go.

60% off on the eshop. This one supposedly has switchable combat styles for each weapon, so it'll be just different enough from World to not feel like the same thing all over again.

I need a new keychain already. My old one broke and I'm constantly in need of some kind of tool, so this was a nice 14 dollar solution. I used to have a pocket knife I really liked, but the friggin TSA took it a while back when I forgot I had it in my bag. This was 12 bucks.

Don't get me wrong, I get it. It's still kind of a bummer to lose out on something, though. If we can get better PS4 games as a trade-off, however, then that will make up for it.

Bloodborne and Ratchet and Clank are the PS+ games for March! On the downside, PS+ will be discontinuing support for PS3 and Vita next year.