MOVIE REVIEW: SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)

Suicide Squad starts poorly, has a few isolated moments of mediocrity before ending poorly. It once again proves how much the DC cinematic universe tries to take shortcuts. It has all the markings of executive meddling as they try to follow the “make-it-fun” formula.

Suicide Squad follows the story of Amander Waller. She puts together a team of bad guys who are meant to take out meta-humans (like Superman) if they go bad. And this is where the dumbness starts. What on earth is Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn or Deadshot meant to do against Superman.  I am not sure and the movie never bothers to try to explain it either.

Their first mission is then a self-created problem (stopping the Enchantress and her Brother). Here are where the moments that try to pull it up to mediocrity. There is a scene at a bar where the characters actually have some personality and interaction. The first fight scene shows people using their skills and abilities. And the scenes with the Brother always make him feel like a threat.

But every time that the movie threatens to find its feet and be mediocre instead of awful, you get the dumb parts. The Joker’s scenes are forever annoying. Him and Harley Quinn mostly remind me of the people that try far too hard to be eccentric, with the I’m So Random tag thrown in. El Diablo deciding he wanted to fight was unexpected and shocking. The great scene from the trailer where Harley steals a bag, stating they are bad guys, feels like it was cut and thrown in so randomly it feels like whiplash.

This all feels like it was cut to make it fun. Suicide Squad feels like a mess. Where they should have made a dark comedy movie, they tried far too hard for a fun movie. The DC Cinematic Universe once again falls over into a pile dog faeces, after everyone had such high hopes. I guess DC once again waits for the next movie before becoming at least mediocre.

1 out of 5 Suiciding Waffles.

MOVIE REVIEW: DR STRANGE (2016)

As (I believe) the last major sueprhero movie release of 2016 and touted Marvel's most ambitious project to date (although I think that is arguable at best), Dr Strange ends up being a pretty good way to finish the superhero year. However, the movie is marred by some of the imperfections which have started to become common in the Disney Marvel cinematic stable.

Dr Strange follows the story of, well, Dr Strange. This feels like a step back in the Marvel universe, but a good one at that. This feels more like an Iron Man origin story than a galaxy-threatening story. Dr Strange is an arrogant surgeon, he can't do surgery anymore and instead becomes a sorcerer after learning some lessons which lead to him stopping the bad guy. Al

In fact, the story is very simple. However, it seems to be in such a rush to get to the big set-piece battles that Dr Strange's education and character development seem a little rushed. I am not sure if they cut some scenes out but I could have done with less big battles and more introspective moments of him learning magic and humility.

If they cut out one or two battles (no spoilers but I have two definitely in mind) for some more learning time, I think this would have been one of the best movies Marvel has produced. As it stands, it is just really good and I am looking forward to exploring the Sorcerer's universe more.

4 out of 5 Strange Looking Waffles

MOBILE GAME REVIEW: REBEL SKY (2016)

Rebel Sky is a semi-unique game that I played. It is a free fee-to-play game that is a mixture of real-time strategy and lane attack/defense (similar to Clash Royale). It does some nice and interesting things but, full disclosure, I have already uninstalled it.

In Rebel Sky, you choose a commander from one of three factions (Marines, Junkers and Robotic Angels or something like that) and then build up a deck of units from your faction and mercenaries. During a battle, you cycle through this deck and use energy (like elixir in Clash Royale to deploy your units). Once deployed, they march towards the enemy, attacking targets and the enemy base until they or the opponent die.

The first interesting thing is how you deploy your units. You can either deploy straight out or construct as a factory (takes 30 seconds) which would then spawn a unit every 30 seconds. It is an interesting choice for instant units versus long term gain. The other interesting change is when time runs out, it comes down to last unit standing. All this would make you think that the game would be interesting.

However, the progression and paywall hit this game way too soon. After unlocking some basic units, the rate of unlocking slows down to a crawl. When you keep facing higher end units, and you keep trying to use the weaker mercenary units to plug the holes in your forces, it starts to grate. Although, like with Clash Royale, you can mitigate this with skill to a certain extent.

For those who don't mind paying and advancing on the semi fee-to-play, then this game is a unique game I have played that has an interesting mix of mechanics. However, the paywall came far too soon for me and the grind was too much.

3 out of 5 Rebellion Waffles

MOVE REVIEW: MAGNIFICENT 7 (2016)

The Magnificent 7 is a remake of an old western which is a remake of an old samurai movie. The original movie is considered a classic, and the new movie is quite long. The question is if the new movie is any good. The quick answer is: yes, it is really good.

For the sake of brevity I won't bother comparing it to the originals but let it stand on it's own merits. In this, Denzel Washington is a bounty hunter (warrant officer) who gets involved in a battle against a mining magnate who is trying to take over a town and killing people in cold blood. In his quest, he recruits 6 other highly-skilled men to help take back the town.

Of course this is achieved through violence. And the cast does not disappoint. All the seven are really good and get their own personality and style of fighting. They also all have their demons and pasts, but this movie doesn't make the mistake of dwelling on these. Instead, it simply alludes to them and keeps the movie going at a good pace.

The gun fights are where the movie is best, but the movie recognises that having weight behind each shot is what makes them stand-out. The only weak character is Chris Pratt, but this is because the writers rely on him to get by on his charm and maybe give him slightly too much screen time compared to the others. This is not the fault of the actor, but outside of one random line about being haunted (which isn't followed through by his actions), the character he plays is perhaps the weak link in the movie.

However, even with this weak link, the rest of the movie is exceptionally strong. This is definitely a movie worth checking out and not just another remake relying on nostalgia. Yee-ha.

4.5 out of 5 Gun-slingin' Waffles.

BOARDGAME REVIEW: NAME OF ODIN (2016)

NSKN Games have released a game that seems to be in the latest in a spate of Odin games recently, In the Name of Odin. Funded off Kickstarter (as per most their other games), this game probably best exemplifies this studios strengths and weaknesses.

Name of Odin is primarily a euro-type, card-driven hand management game. You recruit Vikings and heroes, build a settlement and go on raids in order to get victory points. Everything is very abstract as you quest for points, but the theme really comes across from the artwork on the board and the cards looking suitably Viking-ish.

This game is a really pleasant game. There isn't really any player blocking or griefing other players as you instead focus on building your hand and settlement up to achieve points. As the cards are multi-use, you constantly have choices at to how play your turn. This leads to the game having a simplicity as you can plan your turns ahead but a depth as you have to constantly think how your hand can get you points this turn and set you up next turn (and whether you should sacrifice for this).

Unfortunately, the problems stem from what appear to be late design changes. The Viking minatures don't quite fit on the storage spaces (suggesting they might have been cubes at some stage). There is no player color marker on your player boards and no player aides (considering there are 9 different actions you can take, this is a critical oversight). And the end game can mean whoever takes the last raid ends of on negative points for lost raiders (suggesting points for leftover raiders was a late addition).

These are a real sham because the prototype copies reviewers had (i.e. Rahdo) had player aides and scoring tracks on the player boards (so you know who you are). I really like this game and the options it represents. It makes me think (like their other games) if a professional developer could've made this game great (more playtesting after the final changes to pick up these issues). As it stands, it is merely a very good game that perhaps highlights the dangers of Kickstarters for talented but smaller companies.

3.5 out of 5 Raiding Waffles.

BOARD GAME REVIEW: SCYTHE (2016)

Scythe is one of the big releases of 2016 and much anticipated. Set in a mech-filled world, each faction on the map is trying to take over by earning the most points (of course) by completing a bunch of different tasks.

The key to Scythe is effectively setting up your engine and trying to hinder your opponent as much as possible. The main form of hindering involves combat and blocking. Each player has a faction (with differing actions) and a hero (with differing powers) and some nice, unique looking mechs (which start the same but can have different powers).

The end game is triggered by completing 6 objectives (winning a fight, getting all your workers out, a hidden objective). At the end of the game, a bunch of stuff is scored with differing points based on your popularity. It all feels very prescribed and the point of the game is efficiency (as most Euros are).

Scythe is a brilliant game. The upgrade system (you move a cube and voila, an action is cheaper and more effective),  the combat system (with combat being a resource), the prescribed starting positions with each faction mitigated by the way each faction can break the movement rules (submerging for that game winning play behind enemy lines) is great. Combat is not all-encompassing but it is there and is a good tool to get rid of expansionists.

It is not a perfect game. It isn't quite the sandbox. Also, some of the objectives feel very forced to shoehorn making certain options viable. Finally, sometimes the whole thing can feel a bit heartless (especially rushing towards an arbitrary objective to trigger the end game). But compared to the good and how fast playing it is, these are minor quibbles.

4.5 out of 5 Riverwalking Waffles

MOVIE REVIEW: CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE (2016)

The Rock Dwayne Johnson and Chris Rock bring us this latest comedy offering. Being a pretty basic "buddy-cop/reluctant-partners" type comedy, this movie has the slight twist that the Rock is a buddy cop and Chris Rock is a reluctant-partner. Trying to mash together these 2 tropes, Central Intelligence does entertain but comes up feeling quite empty.

Dwayne plays a former bullied school kid who has turned into a CIA agent. The former School Captain Chris Rock is now living life as a middle-management accountant (after being voted most likely to succeed). Dwayne needs some help and goes to Chris Rock. However, other forces are also after Dwayne to bring him in.

This movie pretty much puts the two main characters in a bunch of situations and relies on them doing what they do best. Chris Rock is a fast-mouthed, reluctant hero cynical of allot of stuff. Dwayne Johnson is a bit of a muscled oaf but deadly underneath his apparent jovial demeanour. And their are a bunch of inside jokes about their careers and past roles.

However, after all the jokes, the movie just feels hollow. There is no real character arc (apart from a mid-life crisis which doesn't really go anywhere). At the conclusion, apparent arcs get resolved without any kind of resolution and the whole idea of the story just feels like lip-service. This movie entertains, but doesn't really satisfy at the end of the day.

2 out of 5 Undercover Waffles.