Daredevil Raises Hell on Netflix

On April 10th, Netflix released the first season of Daredevil. A remake of the famous vigilante/lawyer who lost his sight in an accident when he was a boy. Now uses his heightened senses to save Hell’s Kitchen from various factions at night while being an attorney during the day. Unlike Bruce Wayne who has an endless revenue stream of money for gadgets, Matt Murdock only has his wits and his fighting styles. This is what makes him unique among the superhero community and has been an inspiration to those who are disabled in certain ways.

The last time Daredevil was introduced was in a movie adaption starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, and Michael Clarke Duncan. While it brought people’s attention to the talents of everyone listed above, the movie was a horrible flop and it buried the hero until now. This time Daredevil is brought to us by actors Charlie Cox as the vigilante and he plays opposite Vincent D’Onofrio as his nemesis, Wilson Fisk or The Kingpin. A villain who controls all the crime in Hell's Kitchen and rules the underground of New York with an iron fist.

Also joining the cast is Rosario Dawson, Deborah Ann Woll who is famous for her role as Jessica in the vampire hit show True Blood and Elden Henson whom you may know as Fulton Reed from Mighty Ducks. While it may not be considered an all-star cast things will surely change in time as the popularity will soon rise. As the show progresses you see two separate stories unfold with one being Matt Murdock’s rise to becoming a lawyer by day and becoming Daredevil at night. The other is Wilson Fisk and shows how he rose to being the Kingpin of crime while at the same time, trying to enjoy his personal life as well.

Unlike the movie adaption, this Daredevil goes all out with intense choreography fighting and in depth character building as Matt Murdock is constantly fighting a two front war. The legal one where the Kingpin has every cop and judge in his back pocket and the one on the street as his persona begins to take shape. A bloody trail is left behind with screaming victims with broken bones as Daredevil tries to bring Wilson Fisk down but first he has to go through the local Russian mafia and Triads. In the season finale, everything comes full circle as Matt Murdock is able to get ahold of information that will bring the truth to light while at the same time find someone who will bring the devil out of the darkness.

Another difference from the movie adaption is Michael Clarke Duncan’s portrayal of Wilson Fisk who was very confident and outspoken. Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of Fisk is shy and introverted who has only known loneliness, misery and pain. While Duncan’s Fisk is also just a murderous mobster, D’Onofrio appears to start out with good intentions by wanting to rebuild Hell’s Kitchen for the better by using terrible means. The similarity between them is they share the characteristic that the Kingpin is a man of size and strength and is a force to combat Daredevil. In the finale, the two will have a great fight that will leave the door open for more sinister enemies to appear.

Marvel hasn’t gotten a lot done right as of late with animated movies and television shows but this time they did something right. Daredevil is one of a four show deal that will eventually collaborate into the famous group known as The Defenders. Think of them as the Avengers only not as powerful and they handle less serious threats. The other shows are Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones and hopefully they will be just as good as the first defender. For comic nerds like myself, Daredevil is our Orange is the New Black.

Mortal Kombat X-Rated

Well it’s time to answer my friends out there that may be gamers and recently I finished playing the story mode of the recently released Mortal Kombat X. I also played a few classic game modes with my favorite characters Raiden, Sub Zero, Scorpion and Reptile. This game has come a long way since the classic arcade days and after years of wanting to see drops of blood come out of characters. This is hands down the bloodiest Mortal Kombat to date with several fatalities and brutalities that overflow the flat screens with gore. The last time I saw this many heads flying every after being cut off was in a classic Kung Fu movie.

Now there’s good news and bad news for religious players of this franchise and the good news is the game play is virtually the same. If you don’t understand then the actions to perform a fireball or lightning strike is the same. The bad news is you can’t have all the moves at the same time because each character has a different class set. For example, Scorpion has three different fighting classes that lets him use different characteristics. One class gives him full access to his fire capabilities and my personal favorite Ninjutsu class gives Scorpion access to his weapons. There are two or three moves that are set between all three but only a few are accessible in each class.

The other bad news is not all of our favorite baddies are back in the newest installment like our favorite all powering emperor Shao Kahn and the fearsome sorcerer Sheng Sung. When you play the story mode it will explain why so there is a new man at the top of the towers to beat. That man is the corrupted elder god known as the infamous Shinnok. The elder god who originally was Raiden’s father and turned on Earth Realm to gain additional power in order to overthrow the other elder gods. In this game they threw the family ties out the window and just made Shinnok a psychopath working with the dark sorcerer Quan Chi.

Now with some good news, there are new additional characters that are attractive and fun to play. There’s a bug queen by the name of D’vorha that is half insect and half human from Outworld. Kotal Kahn, the new leader of Outworld but no relation to Shao Kahn. Kung Jin who is a cousin of Kung Lao and his is part of a task force assigned on Earth Realm’s protection. That task force is led by the daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, Cassie Cage. She also leads the group with the daughter of Jax Briggs, Jacqui and the fourth member is Takeda who is the son of Kenshi. While going through the story mode you will find out about each other’s past and how they came to join the task force.

The story itself is very strong with a great opening with introducing the new members but was weak on certain key issues. Now if you’re fans of any particular character then I have to warn you that you may be disappointed because the story mostly revolves around the new characters, you don’t play certain veterans. The game also has a few fights with veterans like Sindel and Baraka while some classic fighters just show up in the story like Fujin, Nightwolf and Stryker. The story was a great way of “passing the torch” to the new characters but die-hard fans may have a problem with the story.

Like every Mortal Kombat before it, there is the classic tournament style game and several different kind of towers to keep things interesting. The more you play, the more “koins” you earn so you can buy graves at the always popular Krypt. Overall, I give this game an 8 out of 10 because it’s a great game for new gamers but if you’re a fanatic then you may have a problem with the style variations and the story. On the good side, the characters look great, the backgrounds look fun with interactive materials and the fatalities are awesome. Really looking forward to the release of their downloadable content because they’re bringing in Predator and Jason from Friday the 13^th. 

Batman vs. Superman Trailer Leaked and Reviewed

The trailer for the historic movie Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice was leaked late last night after the much anticipated announcement that it would be released soon. Someone was able to catch it using their cell phone so the quality isn’t as good but you could still hear everything and see the trailer well enough. As much as I didn’t want to watch it, I couldn’t resist because I’m a die-hard Superman fan. Guess you know who I’ll be rooting for when it comes out next year but don’t worry DC, I’m not going to spoil anything. I doubt that you’ll be able to find it now considering most websites have deleted the video but if you find it then enjoy.

As far as my opinion goes, this is going to be the movie of 2016 financially, whether it will be an epic movie remains to be seen. I know that’s a bold statement considering there are other comic book adaptions such as Deadpool in February as well as X-Men: Apocalypse and Captain America: Civil War in the summer. While X-Men and Captain America are sure cash cows, everyone has seen these guys and they’re sequels so people know what to expect. Deadpool will definitely be a big attraction but the fact is Deadpool isn’t a family friendly character and his movie will be bloody. Also in Captain America: Civil War, not all the characters in the famous saga can appear in the movie due to character rights so there are a lot of ways that this movie can get screwed up, we’ll have to wait and see.

The other reason I think this movie will dominant is because of the fact that this is new territory for DC Comics and Warner Brothers. For the first time, DC is putting Batman and Superman in one movie and these are the main favorites of DC Comics so that’s why I make that claim.  Just like Marvel’s The Avengers, when something is new, people are going to pay top dollar to see it no matter how it goes. The only difference is people know what to expect from Marvel because as much as I hate to say it, Marvel is doing better than DC as far as cinemas go. DC is way behind but after seeing this trailer, it seems they’re finally getting on track with things.

Here is what’s clear about the movie from what was seen in the trailer. The world is divided on how to feel about the man of steel and Batman, played by Ben Affleck is clearly against him. Believing that one man shouldn’t have god-like powers forces the dark knight to return to action and calls out Superman in an epic duel. It’s also clear that things will take a dark turn when Superman fails somehow and the people are chanting “Go back home.” What will become of Superman is yet to be seen but goosebumps will come when Batman makes a very bold claim at the end of the trailer.

This almost bares the plot of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace back when Christopher Reeves dawned the classic red underwear. For those that have never seen, this was hands down the worst Superman movie ever made with terrible special effects, poorly written script and a weak super villain in “The Nuclear Man.” However the comparison is the fact that in this upcoming movie Superman is trying to be the savior of the world and as learned in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, even Superman has his limits. With all of his powers and strengths, Superman can’t be the only one to give peace to the world and that’s probably why Snyder has chosen Batman to teach him that lesson. This is what will probably lead the way to the release of the two part Justice League movie.

I hated that it was only two minutes long and it sucks I have to wait another year to see the movie but it sure looks worth it. Zack Snyder has done a good job with always trying to stay true to what the comic fans want to see. His take on Superman with Man of Steel brought on mixed reviews from fans and critics but it was hands down the most successful Superman film to date financially and I have no doubt this will be no different. All we know for right now is this looks to be a non-stop superhero beat down between two of the top dogs in the DC universe. Place your bets.  

Wallace Grill: No Happy Hour Needed

I was visiting Orlando for the famous comic convention Mega-Con and was invited by the owner Tony Wallace to come over for dinner and it was a pleasure. Now being in Clermont, I was considering passing on the invitation because it was a drive from Orlando but changed my mind when I did my research. I arrived on Friday night and I have to admit that parking was a bit of an issue but I didn’t mind the walk. I arrived sometime between 9:00 p.m. and 10 o’clock, it turned out to be perfect timing because it wasn’t busy yet. Once I got in I fell in love with the pub like atmosphere.  

It looked like something out of an old fashion bar you see on the show Cheers or Archie Bunker’s Place. Very welcoming setting that isn’t clustered with too many televisions or any form of distractions that keep people from talking to one another. Mirrors in the back of the bar reflecting on the numerous amounts of alcohol they had with a classic brick layer setting. The light setting was perfect because it wasn’t too bright or dim. It was almost like candlelight only without the candles.  

The bartenders were friendly and had a great sense of humor. I noticed throughout the night how they were taking the time to get to know the patrons while they served drinks and cracked jokes about what’s going on. Very knowledgeable on what they were doing, they made excellent screwdrivers if you like to keep it simple like me. I didn’t order much for food considering I ate at Mega-Con but I ordered a batch of wings and French fries because that’s usually a popular at any bar. Both were good, can’t complain at all with the food.

The music was great, orchestrated by a DJ that played mostly popular music. When it got late in the evening is when people really got up to start dancing and getting in a good mood. Overall, I had a great experience visiting the restaurant and I’m glad I took time out to go and give it a review. I recommend a visit anytime if anyone is ever around 794 W Minneola Ave, Clermont FL. I only wish I had arrived on Saturday night considering that’s when they have their Latin Night event but it was ok because it’s a great experience none the less.