Gaming Reviews: Spider-man.

Release date: September 7th 2018.

Type of game: Action and superhero.

Story: Peter Parker is having a normal type of life. He has broken up with Mary Jane (now an investigating reporter), he has a new job working with a scientist named Otto Octavius (working on robotic artificial limps), And his aunt May is working for a homeless shelter. But his life as Spider-Man is mainly the same. Swinging around New York city, fighting crime, and taking on supervillains. But things begin to change when crime boss Wilson Fisk (a.k.a the Kingpin) is finally sentence for his crimes and a new villain shows up.

My thoughts: This is an amazing game. The characters, the visuals, the graphics, and the story are great. You can unlock different costumes for Spider-Man to wear and there are even some DLC's that contain a separate storyline (which involves Black Cat, Hammerhead, and Sable). The villains are impressingly designed as well. And there is an uneasy feeling that you helped create the final villain. Another element that I like is that you can play as two other characters (Mary Jane and Miles Morales) in stealth missions where you have to avoid being caught while investigating. Which to me, makes a great change to swinging around.

Any dislikes?: The villains don't have health bars and it sometimes takes forever to defeat them. Also some of the side quests can get annoying at times. Especially the Screwball ones. Also the are stealth mission like in the Batman Arkham games. Where you as Spider-Man have to sneak around and pick off random enemies one by one. I didn't like this mainly because...

1: It was done better in the Batman games.

2: You can easy slip up and get spotted.

3: When you got rid of every single there is, more then rush in and are instantly aware of where you are no matter how well you do. Especially when you are trying to clear out an enemy hide out.

What I would like to see in a future update or DLC: I would say more costumes but there is enough of them to keep anyone happy. But I would like to see a DLC where you can play as the villains and or perhaps one where we can create your own costume.

My score: Five stars.

Film Review: Bon voyage Charlie Brown (and don't come back!)

Release date: May 30th 1980.

Story: Charlie Brown, Linus Van Pelt, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie have been selected for a school exchange program. So the four of them (including Snoopy and Woodstock) are setting off to France. Meanwhile Charlie Brown receives a letter from a girl in France who somehow knows about him and invites him and his friends to stay at a Chateau. Who is this girl and how does she know about Charlie Brown? Watch the movie and find out.

My thoughts: I actually consider this to be my favourite out of the Peanut movies. Mainly I like traveling movies. There is even a segment where they stop of in London, England (how on earth did Snoopy and Woodstock managed to get pass England's strict laws that state that any animal that arrives in England must be placed in quarantine for some time I do not know) where they have to catch a hovercraft in Dover. There is even a sort of sequel to this in the form of a TV special named "What have we learned Charlie Brown?" which told that while on the way back home, Charlie Brown and the others come across Omaha Beach (one of the landing places during the D-Day invasion during World War Two) and the poppy fields of Ypres in Belgium (the site of many battles during World War One). This special was released during Memorial Day and one week prior to the 39th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Like I said this is a great cartoon and I would recommend it.

My score: Four stars.

Film Review: Race for your life, Charlie Brown.

Release date: August 24th 1977.

Story: The Peanuts gang (along with Snoopy and Woodstock) arrive at summer camp. While there they take part in a raft race and beat the local bullies. Can they active it? What the movie and find out.

My thoughts: This is my least liked of the Peanut movies. Mainly because I felt that the bullies let it down (with the fact that they are opening cheating in many of the camps events and get away with it. And also their slightly psychotic cat). But it is uplifting when Linus deals with them by whipping them with his blanket.

My score: Three stars.

Film Review: Snoopy, Come Home!

Release date: August 9th 1972.

Story: One day, Snoopy receives a letter from a girl named Lila. Saying that she is in the hospital and would like to have Snoopy visit her. Snoopy then immediately leaves with Woodstock (his closest friend who is a little yellow bird) accompanying him. Who is this Lila and what connection dose she have with Snoopy? Watch the movie and find out.

My thoughts: This is the second feature length film with the Peanut characters. Like the previous film, it has recycled segments from the comic strips that crop up now and then. The songs and musical segments are great and you can find yourself singing along with them. This is one part road trip movie (with Snoopy and Woodstock traveling to the hospital to visit Lila) and one part mystery movie (with Charlie Brown and his friends trying to find out who Lila is while also missing Snoopy). This is a good movie and I would recommend it.

My score: Four stars.

Film Review: A boy named Charlie Brown.

Release date: December 4 1969.

Story: Charlie Brown can never get a break in life. His baseball team keep loosing, he can never managed to kick the ball cause Lucy Van Pelt keeps pulling it away at the last second, and has a lot of faults. But one day his friend Linus Van Pelt inspires him to enter the school's spelling bee contest. Charlie Brown decides to enter (despite the other kids saying that he will fail) and is surprisingly good at it. Until that is when he gets picked for the National Spelling Bee contest in New York City. Will he win? Watch the movie and find out.

My thoughts: This is the very first big screen appearance of the Peanut characters by Charles M. Schulz. They recycled a lot of the original comic strips in the first act but the main story starts shortly afterwards. Being a fan of Peanuts and have a huge collection of books of the strips, I think that this is a good film. This has some jokes in it that will make you laugh and will make you root for Charlie Brown all through out the spelling bee.

My score: Three stars.

TV reviews: Banana Man

Release date: 3rd October 1983 - 15th April 1986 (Three series. Forty episodes. Each five minuets long).

Story: Eric Twinge is your average British boy. But when ever trouble comes along to his home town or the world, it is up to Eric to save the day. For when Eric eats a banana, a strange transformation occurs and Eric becomes Banana-man. A superhero with the strength of twenty men and is always ready to combat the forces of evil.

My thoughts: I came across this cartoon after learning that the characters are voiced by the Goodies (Tim Brook Taylor, Graeme Garden, and Bill Oddie). The show is ok. Banana-man himself is like a hybrid of DC comics Shazam (a kid who can transform into a adult superhero) and Popeye (a character who is granted superhuman powers after eating healthy foods). The villains I found to be impressive. They are General Blight (a long nosed mastermind in a military outfit. He is the main villain in the cartoons), The Weatherman (a man who can created storms and other bad weather from his blimp), Doctor Gloom (a mad scientist who has a Peter Lore style voice), The Heavy Mob (a group of criminals led by Eddie the Gent. The worlds most polite criminal), Cream-man (a being that resembles a cream bun), King Zorg and the Nerks (A alien race), Auntie (General Blight's aunt and the worlds most deadliest assassin), The snowman (who is a living snowman created by the Weatherman and then became a villain of his own), and Appleman (a sort of evil clone of Banana-man). Other characters include Eric's cousin Samantha, Police Chief O'Reilly, Banana-man's trusty sidekick Crow, and news reporter Fiona. 

The episodes are five minuets long which I find to be too short. Mostly due to the fact that the stories had some interesting elements to them. In one episode, Banana-man is being interviewed by Fiona on live television, only to change back into Eric. This could have made an interesting episode with Eric going into hiding and the villains teaming up to go after Eric's family (who apart from Samantha, they are never mentioned or shown up). Also there's an episode where Doctor Gloom had created a cloning machine and creates an exact copy of Banana-man. Cow manages to point out the copy by telling it a trick question and then after the real Banana-man defeats it, the episode ends. I thought that Banana-man would have tricked Doctor Gloom into thinking that the real Banana-man had been defeated and then capture him and take him to prison. Most of the humour in the show is mainly puns (mainly from Crow but mostly from the other characters). Like I said before the show is ok and if you want to watch it, then you can find it on Youtube or you can get the complete series on eBay and other shopping websites.

My score: Three stars. 

Film Review: Blade

Release date: August 21st 1998.

Story: There is a secret society of vampires that inhabit our world. And like most monsters, they prey on humans. But there is someone who protects the humans from them. A being that has spent years hunting them and slaying them. To them he is known as the Day-walker. But to us... he is known as Blade.

My thoughts: I like this movie a lot (Although my favourite out of this trilogy is the second movie). It blends both horror and action well with a bit of humour thrown in. Blade himself is a cool character. A human/vampire hybrid who helps mankind against vampires and other demonic creatures. Also this movie made the modern superhero movie what it is today (after Tim Burton's Batman proving that superhero movies can be taken seriously). Like I said this is a great movie and I would recommend it.

My score: Four stars.

Film Review: Dick Tracy

Release Date: June 15th 1990.

Story: Warren Betty stars as top crime fighter Dick Tracy as he fights crime lord Big Boy Caprice (played amazingly by Al Pacino) in order to rid his city of crime. With his trusty kid sidekick named Kid.

My thoughts: This is a good movie. There is a feeling that you're watching a comic book (seeing that this was based on a comic strip) with the bright colours and villain features. Along with Warren Betty and Al Pacino in the all star cast are Madonna, Dick Van Dyke, Dustin Hoffman, and even veteran character actor Ian Wolfe plays his last ever role in this movie. Disney was hoping to make a franchise out of Dick Tracy but due to poor box office results this was quickly scrapped. It is a shame because I would like to have seen where this franchise would go. It is a good movie and if you are a fan of action, comedy, crime fighting movies then I would recommend this.

My score: Four stars.