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quinnmjohnson
Reviews
Akumajô densetsu (1989)
Some of the things that make this one of the best CV games ever.
Having always been a fan of monsters and spooky things in general, as well as the action genre, this game holds a special place in my heart. It was the game that really made me an obsessive fan of the Castlevania series, which I believe to be one of the richest, coolest, and overall best quality game series out there. Some of the things that make this entry in the series stand out:
-it introduced Trevor Belmont, the famous Simon Belmont's ancestor. When the game was released and for many years afterward, Trevor was described as the first Belmont to ever fight Dracula. Eventually the canon introduced Sonia Belmont (in Castlevania Legends) and claimed she was the first, but most recently Leon Belmont became the end-all official first in the Belmont bloodline to fight Dracula (in Lament of Innocence).
-It introduced three other playable heroes, greatly increasing the game's re-playability. These included the wall-climbing pirate Grant DaNasty, the sorceress Sypha Belnades, and Dracula's own son, Alucard, who eventually became a very popular hero in his own right when he became the protagonist of Symphony of the Night.
-There were several points in the game where your path split, and you had to choose which way to go. This totally changed what levels and bosses you'd encounter on your way to fight the Count, as well as which of the other three heroes you would run into and could then take with you.
-Great music and graphics. Apparently there was a special chip added to the game cartridge to enable even better graphics than the NES was supposed to be capable of.
In short, this game is totally awesome. Even after all the years and all the advances in technology and the many fantastic games that have come out, this remains one of my favorite games ever. Great gameplay, great atmosphere, great action and monsters, etc. A shining moment in the already incredible Castlevania series.
Equilibrium (2002)
Why this movie rocks
Why does this movie rock? This was the movie that turned Christian Bale from a guy I remembered in smaller movies like Newsies and Reign of Fire into one of the coolest actors around. He ably steps into the role of physical action hero, with some amazing fight scenes, but also shows off amazing acting prowess. Throughout the whole movie he perfectly captures every tiny facial expression, every subtle physical motion, to convincingly portray a man cold to emotion to one who becomes scared of his emerging feelings, to one who must then hide these feelings from his superiors, to one who revels in the feelings and the strength they give him. His performance in Equilibrium got me pumped to have him play Batman in "Batman Begins." Also the action scenes are awesome!! What could have been yet another Matrix copycat instead utilizes its own unique camera moves, shots, etc. to make adrenaline-pumping and balletic symphonies of destruction (that was me being dramatic). And his switchblade guns are AWESOME!!! The whole concept of the Gun Kata is really unique and cool and some of the action scenes where the technique is used are amazing (hand-to-hand fighting with guns? Totally sweet!). So this is an awesome movie. It blew me away, and 99% of the people I've shared it with have the same reaction. They always ask how such a great movie totally flew under the radar. That's why we gotta spread the word, yo!