Super Freakin' Parody Rangers THE MOVIE (Part 1)

Here is a funny parody of Power Rangers the Movie (1997).  Warning; this video does contain some crude language and some twisted humor.

8 bit Avengers Age of Ultron

You know, the new Avengers of movie is supposed to come out in just a few weeks from now and there have been several different trailers out and here is a very humorous 8 bit trailer of that movie featuring NES characters and sprites.



Few notes:

- Mario seems to be portraying Thor

- Mega Man as Tony Stark and Iron Man (Mega Man is somewhat fitting for that role considering that he too has his own mechanical suit and armor)

- Donkey Kong as Hulk (pretty funny, especially when he takes on Mega Man).



8 bit can definitely make funny parodies of various movies and shows.

The Avengers - 8-Bit Cinema

Here is a short 8 bit version of the first Avengers movie.  Pretty funny to watch.  Seems to use mega man style sprites

Big name movies coming out this year

This year is definitely going to be an intersting year for movies.  Last year, there was the third and final hobbit movie, Iron Man 3,  Guardians of the Galaxy (interstingly, the guy that played Starlord is from the Lake Stevens area here in Washington), Teenage Muntant Ninja Turrtles reboot (still have yet to see that movie) and even Captain America Winter Solider (btw much of the Agents of Shield episodes since the movie have dealt with the aftermath of that move with the revived Agent Coulson being named the new director of SHIELD after Nick Fury stepped down), Lego Movie and even Interestellar (I thought that movie was as blast to watch, especially at night in theaters).   This year, more movies are slated to be released.  Here are some movies I am looking forward to:

Movie 1- Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (should be coming up in May)

It looks like Marvel is going to be starting this year off with a bang with the release of the anticpated Avengers 2 Age of Ultron.  This movies seems like it is going to be significantly darker than the first movie and brings the heroes back in a seemingly more chaotic world, especially with SHIELD in ruins and pretty much in civil war mode in the aftermath of Captain America 2 as well as unfolding events in Agents of SHIELD (given the hydra situation as well as now the so called "Real SHIELD") group too that has arisen (tough to tell the good guys from the bad guys too sometimes).  By the way, at comic con this year, I decided to dress up as Nick Fury (had the trench coat and eye patch) with the new movie coming out.  Interestingly, Age of Utron is supposed to mark the end of "phase 2" and being the "phase 3" marvel movies.  Apparently, it is also supposed to tie into Captain America 3: Civil War (apparently the Civil War storyline is going to be shown in that movie), though it is not clear on how the events will lead to the marvel civil war.

Movie 2: Ant Man (currently set to come out in July sometime)

This movie will start the storyline in the Marvel Cinematic universe version of Ant Man (aka Hank Pym).  He had a much bigger role in earlier versions of Avengers (such as Avengers Earth's Mightiest heroes, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Marvel's Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2 movies).  Interestingly, Hank is not supposed to appear in the New Avengers movie considering past versions of Ultron were Hank's creation.

Movie 3: Fantastic 4 Reboot

Who here saw Fantastic 4 back in 2005 with Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans (also known as Steve Rogers from Captain America), and Michael Chiklis portraying the Fantastic 4 characters?  Well, it looks like we are about to be a reboot version of that movie, this time portrayed by different actors.  Will the infamous Doctor Doom make a return in this movie?  Only time will tell.  It will be interesting to see how this version compares with the 2005 version.

Movie 4: Jurassic World

After a long hiatus in Jurassic Park movies, the franchise is about go get yet another sequel.  This movie is supposed to be set about 22 years after the events of the original movie and a new dinosaur theme park is built in place of the old one.  It appears a new mutant dinosaur is supposed to make a debut too?  I still remember when the earlier version of the movies when they came out in the 1990s and early 2000s (especailly Jurassic Park and Lost World).  By the way, where is Turok the Dinosaur (from the N64 game Turok) hunter when you need him should the dinosaurs go on a rampage once again?

Movie 5: Terminator Genysis

  

Interestingly, the 5th installment of the Terminator is slated to be released later this year and Arnold Schwarzenegger is supposed to make a return into the franchise once again, after being absent from Terminator Salvation (aka Terminator 4) probably as a result of him being governor of California at the time.  Interestingly according to an article I read apparently, he wasn't too wild about Terminator Salvation (see http://www.fashionnstyle.com/articles/56098/20150409/terminator-genisys-news-arnold-schwarzenegger-slams-terminator-salvation-says-glad-didnt-have-appear-fourth-movie.htm), though I suppose having less say in the movie was a small price to pay for not being in that movie and being governor instead that year.  By the way, while I have seen Terminator Salvation, I haven't seen all of the other 3 movies yet.  Will have to watch the other movies sometime.

Movie 6 - Star Wars Force Awakens (aka Episode 7)

   

You know, who would have thought that there was going to be a third Star Wars trilogy in our lifetime.  I remember George Lucas once saying that he wasn't going to make any new Star Wars movies after episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith).  However it seems like he had a change of heart and let others directors continue the Star Wars movie storyline.  This movie will officially mark the beginning of the 3rd trilogy and will see the return of old favorites (portrayed by the original actors and actresses), including Luke Skywalker,  Han Solo, Princess Leia, etc.  This storyline is set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, though even I am in the dark on what the new movies are going to be about.  Originally I thought that the Expanded Universe (such as books, comics, games, etc) were going to bridge the gap between the original trilogy and the new trilogy but it looks like the producers are not going to use those versions of events (no longer considered canon) and the new movies will be all new, so it is pretty much uncharted territory now.  There is some speculation though considering that there were some loose ends ins the storyline after Return of the Jedi (especially in light of the prequels).  Some questions I might have includes:
1) Does Luke restore the Jedi council (remember it was decimated during the events of Revenge of the Sith, especially once Order 66 was issued by Palpatine).
2) Does Darth Sidious Make a return despite his apparent death in Return of the Jedi?
3) What happens to Coruscant and the fallen Old Republic?
4)   How about Han and Leia?  In the book version of events, they get married and have kids (Jacen and Jaina)
5)  Does Boba Fett escape the Sarlacc monster?  In the expanded universe, he does?
6)  Is Luke married?  In the book version of events, he gets married to a lady named Mara Jade.  Interestingly, if you read the Thrawn Trilogy, initially she wanted to kill Luke as a result of Palpatine's death, but I don't remember seeing her in the prequel trilogy, so I don't know if she will be in the movie or not.
7) Does Obi Wan Kenobi make a return as force ghost
8) Does Leia become a jedi?  Remember in Return of the Jedi she just begun to realise her powers (much like how Luke was in Episode 4).
9) How about Luke and Leia's origins (not sure how much they knew about Anakin and Padme).
And many other questions.  Of course right now, one can only speculate.

Well, that is all for now.  I am sure there are many other movies set to be released this year.  How about you, are there movies you are anticipating this year?  Next year (2016) we will see more big name movies, including Captain America 3: Civil War, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Reboot (bringing back all of the original characters portrayed by new actors), Superman vs Batman (interestingly, when Man of Steel came out, I had to do a demo at the Walmart in South Everett where I literally had to dress up as Superman and try to get people to buy tickets for the debut screening of the movie, it will be interesting to see if Walmart stores do a similar promotion for the next film), and Independence Day 2 (yes, Independence day is getting a sequel at last).  By the way, all of these movies coming up are already giving me ideas on what to dress up as to next year's Emerald City comic con.  Could go as superman again, Batman, a power rangers character (doing a Bulk and Skull cosplay might be fun, though I would have to get someone to dress up too and get a punk outfit to look authentic), or even a Star Wars character.

Star Wars Battlefront 3 2015 Talk: Singleplayer & Force Awakens DLC; Mus...

It looks like the latest Star Wars Battlefront game is going to be coming out this year.  I remember playing through the first 2 Star Wars Battlefront games too.  Will definitely consider buying this game when it comes out.  Interestingly, it looks like there might even be content in the upcoming Star Wars Force Awakens movie too (aka Episode 7).

Lego Movie Xbox One Review

Who here likes Legos?  I remember playing through both Lego Star Wars (prequel era Star Wars) and Lego Star Wars 2 (based on the original trilogy back in the day) and thought they were pretty fun to play through.  It is Lego and Star Wars after all.  Fast forward to Christmas season of 2014, there is now a game based on the classic Lego Movie that was released earlier last year.  In case if you don't know, Lego Movie was a movie that was released back in February of 2014 and was basically about an average Joe worker, named Emmet who had been living a seemingly normal and comfortable life.  However, unbeknownst to Emmet, the world he was living in was basically a global dictatorship lead by the evil Lord Business, who was pretty much ruling the world with an iron fist and secretly wanted to "cragle" (or anhilate everyone).  One day Emmet stumbles across a prophecy that would spell the end of Lord Business' regime and soon gets caught in the middle of an ongoing conflict between Lord Business and his cronies (such as Bad Cop) and an ever growing group of rebels that want to overthrow his regime and it is up to Emet to help save the day.  I won't spoil how the movie plays out and ends (assuming some of you haven't seen the movie yet), but if you want to see the movie, you can probably buy it on Amazon or maybe even Netflix (not sure of it is on Netflix or not).  See link below for the lego movie.

Anyways, as most people might expect: several games have been released based on Lego Movie and I was able to play through the Xbox One Version of the game.  After playing through the game, in my opinion it is definitely a fun and interesting movie based game to play through.  The game starts out with the prologue, where the wizard Vitruvius and Cleopatra teams up to take on Lord Business (much like he does in the movie) which comes in the form of a boss fight and ends with Vitruvius utters his prophecy about the downfall of Lord Business' regime. Then the game shifts over to present day and in the role of Emmet and in an open world environment.  Initially the game takes place in the City of Bricksburg, but other areas open up as you play through the game, inlcuding Flatbrush gultch (which petty much as an old west style theme), Cuckoo land (basically a city in the clouds) and later the Octan tower.  There is also a bonus room (there is nothing in there at first, but comes alive after you beat the story mode) and a secret area too I believe.  In each world there are a series of levels and storyline missions to play through.  Below is a video showing the first 9 minutes of the game.

I won't spoil the rest of the game for you (of course if you do not mind spoilers, you can get a full game guide at http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/722935-the-lego-movie-videogame/faqs/68687 that details the walkthrough of the entire game).  Overall, personally I thought the game was a very fun and great tie-in to the movie.  The levels and worlds feel like you are playing in an interactive version of Lego Movie, full of worlds, levels, cutscenes and voice acting that you would see in the movie.  It even has a huge boss fight at the end where Emmet and Hello Kitty team up in their final showdown against Lord Business.  I have seen some sources that seem to offer mixed reviews of the game, but I have seen movie game that are much worse than Lego Movie, but I am sure that Lego Movie will not appeal to everyone, though I am sure kids will love the game, though maybe not as much for older crowds.

Review Highlights:

Pros:
+  Plays out much like the ovie
+ Good replay value.  Like many lego based games, as you play through each storyline level, you will find that there are hidden objects and secret areas hidden throughout the levels and will definitely require revisits on Freeplay mode if you want to find them all.
+ Somewhat open worlds in Free Roam mode.  The map size is not too big, but there plenty of things you can do in each world, such as stocking up on lego pieces that can be used to buy red bricks or unlocking new characters.  Many of them even have hidden objects you can find and side missions you can do (for example, in Bricksburg one side mission has you finding cats around the city for a reg brick, and in Flatbrush Gulch there is a side mission where characters can help find and bring outlaws to justice).
+ Lots of cutscenes from the movie complete with voice acting and all from the movie.
+ Interesting characters you can play as too.  My favorites are: Batman, Superman, Bad Cop, Green Lantarn, as well as the guy that can throw dynamites at things, but there are plenty of other ones available.
+ Minigames (especially the hacker terminal games, which pretty much play out much like Pacman).

Negative aspects about the game:
- The storymode is relatively short and linear.  Though it is possible to stretch out the game to extend the gameplay
- Will probably appeal more to kids than adults.  While I thought the game was pretty fun even though I am 32 years old, I am sure the game will not appeal to everyone, though I am sure kids will love it.
-  Like many similar games, eventually, you do run out of things you can do and items to find and then  there really isn't much left to do.  Eventually you play through the storyline, complete the freeplay mode and complete all of the side missions in each world and then it is time to move on.  On the positive note, the game can be stretched out so that you don't have to do everything in one setting.
-  The game might seem to be too easy to some people.  When your character dies, he/she just respawns right by where he died and it just subtracts some of your lego money.

Overall grade in my opinon: A

Want the game, you can buy it on Amazon at:


Note that the game is also available for the PS4, 3DS, Xbox 360 and WII U as well.

Similar games:


Have you played Lego Movie?  Feel free to share your experiences with the game in the comments section below?  Feel free to like and share this post if you like it.  Your support would be most appreciated.

Commentary on the article: Cheshire, England: Schools Intend To Call The Police On Parents Who Let Kids Play Violent Video Games Pic

Here is a Big Brother is Watching you photo with Tony Blair (image source: flickr.com)

Picture of Halo 3, another video game that could be affected by the new rules

Here is an interesting and potientially controversial article I found on Inquisitr and at Infowars (http://www.infowars.com/schools-to-parents-if-you-let-your-kid-play-call-of-duty-well-call-the-cps-on-you/) worth talking about.  Apprently in England, some schools are adopting a new policy where if kids are allowed to play violent video games (such as Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto 4 / 5, Dogs of War, etc) or use social media like Facebook, schools can calls Child Protective services or even the police on their parents.  Here is the original letter posted on the info wars website:

(source: http://www.infowars.com/schools-to-parents-if-you-let-your-kid-play-call-of-duty-well-call-the-cps-on-you/)

My Commentary:

Who here have kids or even teenagers that play video games?  Talk about a Nanny State style system.  Can't you imagine this: you have a typical teenage son (say 16 or 17) and he plays Call of Duty Advanced War Fare with his buddies or maybe he does Halo Masterchief, Assassins Creed, or similar games (which I am sure many teenagers do) and should nosy school officials learn what games he is playing, they might call the cops on the parents.  Interestingly, the proposed rules would also prohibit kids from using Facebook (possibly twitter and myspace too) or apps like WhatsApp, apparently because they might encounter cyberpredators online (which is definitely an inherit risk people can take when online considering that you never know who you might meet online).  What do you all think of such policies?  Should schools or even the government be able to dictate what games kids or teens can play or wither or not if they can use social media like Facebook.  

Now, I have mixed issues when it comes to what kids can play and do.  Sure there are games that kids probably shouldn't be playing (especially games like Grand Theft Auto 5, where you pretty much control 3 different criminals in a huge open world environment that mimicks Southern California and gets into things like drugs, gangs, crime, murder, and similar elements that are likely to be offensive to some, especially kids and mothers).  On the flipside, you can get a grey area when it comes to video games and some people can handle violent video games better than others.  I remember when I was in high school, the Nintendo 64 and Sony Playstation were the style and I remember playing 007 Golden Eye on the 64 on many different occasions (even bought the 64 and golden eye back during my college years) which was very similar to Call of Duty in many ways, and definiely a predecessor game that probably helped inspire games like Halo and Call of Duty (especially the multiplayer modes).  Also, back then there used to be a flight similar arcade called The Otherside (which seems to have gone out of business since then) where people can pay $20/hour and play online games, such as World War 2 dogfight games, Duke Nukem, Quake, and similar games over a huge network.  So should teenagers (let alone parents) be punished by schools or even the government for what games they play on their game systems?  Also, would be restrictions just be aimed at MA 17 games or could they be expanded to T rated games too (such as the Sims 3 or say Mortal Kombat)?  

I found the Facebook restrictions interesting too.  By the way, according to Facebook, people have to be at least 13 or older to sign up for Facebook (though back when I was in high school, facebook and myspace did not exist and I did not sign up there till when I was going to Northwest University).  Sure there can be shady people on social media sites like Facebook, Myspace, etc such as trolls, cyberbullies, scammers, and even the occasional pedophile types.  Even I sometimes get random ladies online that I don't know trying to flirt with me on MSN Instant Messenger and Facebook too sometimes and I usually ignore them since I don't really know them and want to protect myself.  Last year I won't name names, but I met a random lady from Wyoming (she contacted me first).  She was apparently in her 30s, had 2 kids and no husband (apparently he died sometime ago) and she obviously seemed to be in a hurry to get into a relationship with me.  She wanted me to drive out to Cheyanne, Wyoming at least once or twice (which is definitely at least a 2 day away from the Seattle area) and even wanted me to call her, and even meet her at a state park in Montana once,  but obviously I did not know her personally and knew better than to rush into such a relationship (after all, I did know know what her intentions were).  Even if she was legit, I knew I wasn't ready to have kids of my own, which probably would have come with the relationship with her and obviously I would not be able to support them considering that I am only working part time and living on low income.  Luckily she unfriended me and moved on before things got out of hand.  Anyways, people like her do exist on Facebook and Myspace and people have to be careful when it  comes to meeting people online.  But at the same time, Facebook (and similar social media) can be used for more productive things too, such as connecting with friends, sharing photos they take, keeping in touch with people, etc.  Blogging sites, such as Blogger can be good to have too, as it can help kids develop their writing skills, which is pretty crucial to have, especially once they go off to college as writing quality papers do become a part of the daily routine in college and papers not living up to standards usually get Ds and Fs.  

By the way, while the new rules concerning violent video games and social media mainly affects England, I am sure it is only a matter of time before American schools take up similar laws and rules (after all, America and England are similar in many ways, even when it comes to politics and schools).  Also, this is not the first time schools have tried to impose their policies and rules to students even when they were not in school.  I rmember when I was in college at Northwest University, students were not supposed to drink alcholic beverages, even when off campus, so if students went to nearby bars and pubs, they ran the risk of someone noticing them and reporting it to school authorities (which probably could lead to susepensions or even expulsions in some circumstances).

1. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, a pair of 7th graders were expelled for the "crime" of doing airsofting in their own yards, not far from the rest stop.  I don't know what all lead up to the expulsions, but the kids were playing some airsoft in their own yard (which is somewhat similar to paintball, where you you shoot small airsoft pellets at targets or sometimes even each other which is pretty harmless, though they can leave bruises and welts much like in paintball) and a neighbor complained about it and somehow the school found out about it and expelled the kids apparently for "possession, handling and use of a firearm" (apparently airsoft guns are considered fire arms as far as the school was concerned and not allowed, even at home). Not sure if the students were able to overturn their expusions or not. By the way, if me and my brothers were in that district, we probably would have been expelled too considering that we used to do mock civil war battles with cap guns in our back yards, even went paintball and laser tagging on a few occasions too.


2. In another incident a student from Louisianna was arrested because he was using an app called, "Real Strike" to "shoot" fellow students. Real Strike is an augumented reality app for the Iphone that mimicks Call of Duty in Real life settings (much like how it is with Laser tag, where people can shoot harmless "lasers" at each other). Now while "shooting" fellow students was definitely inappropriate in my opinion, having the student arrested shows how far the zero tolerance policies can go.

       (above is Real Strike in Action, it is a similared game, where app users can "shoot" things in a simulated setting, though of course nobody really gets hurt).  By the way, the Windows Phone has a similar app where you can "shoot paintballs" at "targets" (you tap the screen, the phone vibrates and a virtual paintball splatters).

3. Perhaps a more disturbing story: Student getting expelled for refusing to wear an RFID tracking chip
In this story, a girl named Angela was expelled from school because her family wanted to opt out of the RFID program apparently for both religious (apparently she thought it was the prophecized Mark of the Beast from Revelation in the Bible) and privacy reasons.  It was apparently a chip embedded in student asb cards that can track student werabouts at all times (both on campus and off campus) and apparently kids had to check in with staff members to go over the RFID data.  Apparently it was also used to reduce truancy as well. Personally I have mixed feelings about the chips.  First off personally I doubt that the chip is the "mark of the beast".  From Christian standpoint, the mark of the beast system is not supposed to be implemented until when the end time events happen, probably around the mid point of the 7 year tribulation period (just before the great tribulation that is supposed to take place during the last 3 1/2 years before Christ's return) and will be imposed by the Antichrist himself (he is a prophecised world leader that will appear, probably in Europe or the Revived Roman empire as a charismatic leader that will impose a global dictatorship on the entire world and will eventually be indwelt by Satan himself, claim to be God and demand to be worshiped, which will also lead to the imposition of the mark of the beast system).  Most likely it will likely be some sort of microchip, tattoo, or similar implant that goes on the right hand or forehead and people won't be able to buy or sell without it, with the threat of death (probably by beheading) for people who refuse it (you can read the book of Revelation in the bible for everything you need to know about the antichrist, mark of the beast, etc).  Obviously people will want to avoid the mark of the beast at all costs (even if it means martyrdom) given the eternal ramifications for people who take it.  Anyways, last I checked, t he tribulation has not begun yet and the Antichrist is not on the scene yet, so I doubt that the RFID chip is the mark of the beast.  It could be a predecesor to it for all I know, but it is not the mark of the beast (at least not the present form).  As for privacy concerns, while the school officials may have good intentions for it, such as being able to tell where students are on campus (especially in the case of emergencies or fire drills) and even help find kids who go missing (which can be useful considering some kids do get kidnapped or lost at times), the technologies can definitely get intrusive too.  I can't imagine what it would be like going to a school or college where staff members can track your every move both on and off campus (for example, I wouldn't even think about going into a bar or pub the schools I went to tracked my every move).

I am sure this list goes on, but this article definitely shows how far schools can go when it comes to imposing their policies on students on and off campus and how more authoritarian schools are becoming.  Personally, I think big brother and zero tolerance policies is a dangerous mix when it comes to people's freedoms both in England and here in the US considering that many unsuspecting students and kids can easily find themselves caught in the ever expanding system, especially when there already does seem to be school to pipeline style system in place in many places across the country and taking a big brother approach to things could definitely lead to more people falling into that system, which would be terrible for society in my opinion.  Hopefully people will work on setting up checks and balances for school systems to ensure they do not get too much power over peoples' lives and reduce unnecessary suspensions or interactions with law enforcement agencies.   I will try to keep you updated on this story as I come across more.

What do you think.  Should schools be able to dictate what games kids can play or should it be left up to their parents?  Do you have teens that play games like Call of Duty or similar games?     Feel free to leave a comment below.  For fellow Americans, what would you do if schools inacted similar parties.

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