Dragon Age Inquisition - Multiplayer thoughts

I have obviously bought DAI when it came out but I have only signed up for Playstation Plus yesterday. Any past and subsequent Dragon Age games were and will always be epic single player adventures for me. I have never been a fan of MMOs either, no story, and I have never been a fan of multiplayer add ons. The Mass Effect multiplayer was fun enough but it lost its appeal fast for me as it was too repetitive and didn't feel like a Mass Effect experience. That is why I postponed playing the DAI multiplayer. I kept seeing all these multiplayer events popping up on social media and the DA team referring to players as agents and I was intrigued. How can I possibly enjoy the DAI multiplayer I thought? Oh boy. Do I enjoy it. The first thing that appealed to me was the similarity between the single campaign and the multiplayer menus and design. The crafting, the inventory, everything is streamlined to be more concise but it is the same clear and familiar design which is great. The chests are presented to you by an Inquisition soldier and in it you can find your usual loot items but they are portrayed on cards, as the DA world is now depicted. It's so easy and pretty and consistent it's perfect.

The starting characters are good and what you expect them to be. All the races are there and as you put more hours into it you will be able to unlock the best of them ie: Reaver and Arcane Warrior in my humble opinion. The best part is that you are feeling like the matches you do actually matter and are part of the Inquisition. They have added the voices of Cullen, Leliana and Josephine to make you feel like your are truly on a mission for the Inquisitor which is so welcomed. Also, I had the chance to play with people with mics who were wondering what the dwarf legionnaire was talking about when the line about the Deep Roads came up. What?? You don't know about the Deep Roads? Let me educate you! It was amazing to share my knowledge of Thedas with someone who just got DAI and who hasn't played through the whole series. I can't wait to put hours into this, participate in the weekend events, meet fans like me and just have a fun time playing in the Inquisition world, in Thedas, forever!

Better Call Saul - "Catering for Breaking Bad fans" is AMC new tagline

I obviously watched Better Call Saul last night. I suppose every Breaking Bad fan watched the premiere of the anticipated return of Saul Goodman. They even made history with the ratings which probably means some people who were not familiar with Breaking Bad tuned in as well.

I don't think there was a better character to use for a spin off than this "colorful" lawyer. Obviously, he was an iconic member of the Breaking Bad family but he was also the funniest and most interesting character to share Walt's secret. He had everything to build a great spin off with. What's his story? And that's what we get in Better Call Saul. 

The show starts off in Nebraska, where Saul is now working in a Cinnabon, just like he predicted at the end of Breaking Bad. Remember this line? "If I'm lucky, three months from now, best case scenario, I'm managing a Cinnabon in Omaha". And boy was he lucky! The question I am asking myself is whether this show can actually be picked up and enjoyed by non-Breaking Bad fans. Let's face it, when you see him in that cap and moustache in a Cinnabon at the beginning of the episode, it made your eyes water a little bit. Don't lie. It was so amazing to lead with that. But it obviously only had meaning if you watched Breaking Bad. There were a lot of references to it in this episode and a lot of meanings carried through for all of us but it must have been lost to everybody else. I cannot objectively judge this episode only for what it is, as a separate entity to Breaking Bad because right now, it is not. 

I don't know if I would have found this first episode appealing if I didn't know Saul before yesterday. I feel like these references will slowly disappear, they cannot keep up with so many, but still, I feel like this show is very much catered for one specific audience. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I mean, seeing Mike again was the highlight of this premiere for me. I screamed "Tucoooooo" at my TV and at my boyfriend at the end of the episode too. I loved every bit of it. As far as the quality of it goes, I thought the acting was, as usual, pretty exceptional. Bob Odenkirk is amazing and I would be happy if the show relied entirely on his genius this first season. The camera work was beautiful, especially for the first scene in Saul's condo. The writing was, and I am sure of it, always will be the highest quality possible. I already love this show but I know I do because I feel like I am watching the sequel to Breaking Bad. Unlike movie sequels however, I am pretty sure I won't be disappointed in this one.

The Walking Dead returns - with a deep message

The Walking Dead is back! TWDisback! Or however you want to say it, the most popular show on TV is returning from its mid-season break and everybody is pretty damn psyched because this season is by far the best of them all. There was death and drama and suspense and action. But everybody is super sad now. Well, Beth is gone and I was pretty surprise when it happened during the mid-season finale. Beth was sweet and didn't deserve to die. But that's also why she did. She was kind of the easiest non-secondary we-dont-give-a-shit-about-your-face character to kill off.

I loved that they showed the first 2 minutes of this episode prior to the premiere but to be fair, it was sort of a teaser trailer if you look at the way it was edited and everything. So the first few minutes of this episode served as a polished and aesthetically intriguing reminder of the horror they have been going through and the loss and the hardships of survival. The title of this episode is amazingly well suited for what you are about to watch. After the credits, you see part of the gang driving to somewhere supposedly safe and we get some character development along the way. Tyreese keeps sharing his deep voice wisdom, all through the first part of the episode. Thanks Yoda Tyreese! For the good it did him to be all wise and shit, am I right?

When they arrive close to their destination, Rick decides they will go through the woods "just in case". Rick has truly become a rock and this force of nature you can rely on. He's the closest thing to a superhero this show will ever get. He's a leader, he makes the tough decisions and he's awesome for it. Obviously, everybody is on their guard and as a viewer, you know better than to hope for some "normal" people to answer the door. So you are as wary as they are. You just know there is a nasty surprise waiting for them. And no, it is not a safe haven. You feel bad for poor Noah, but you haven't known him long enough to feel heart broken. Noah takes Tyreese and the viewer on a tour of his house and damn, it's grim! There are walkers and there are scares but they are not so scary as they are sad and uncomfortable. And ew, that Tyreese scene, talk about having death starring you right in the eyeballs. That was unpleasant. The end was very thrilling too and pretty macabre walker wise.

Unfortunately, the town's demise also means the end of the very short lived dream for Rick and the group. Nobody truly believed anyway. Not the viewer, not the group, definitely not Rick. So hope is running super thin and now that they're all back together with no DC mission the question is, "what the hell do we do?" Michonne wants to stay put or at least, she wants a plan. I would want a plan in their situation too! So Washington is back on the map baby.

I found the cinematography and editing pretty genius in this episode, it was visually stunning but the pace was slow. Of course, there needs to be a beat, the characters need to reflect on what has been going on and take a breath. That's credible and welcomed. But it didn't come close to the quality of the season premiere in my opinion. I was blown away by Carole and didn't expect it at all whereas this episode didn't have any wow factor. Tyreese bitten? I saw that coming a mile away. But what this episode lacked in wow, it made up in feels. I enjoyed Tyreese vision, the writing was incredible, "Domino Shit", that's what I am calling this monologue. "You don't want to be part of it, but being part of it, is being now", that shit is deep. Is it better to die and to be in peace rather than live in this violent hopeless world? Is it worth fighting anymore? It's not a question of survival or morality anymore, it's a question of will. And Tyrese lost it.

The Governor was back (for 1 minute) motherfuckers! I am just all sorts of excited when I see this man. They should really pull a CW and bring him back to life. This episode reminded me that I was also going to miss Beth's voice, she was awesome. Beautifully written and edited episode, if slow, it was a good come back TWD.

Supernatural "About a Boy" - should have been called "back on track"

I thought I wouldn't talk about each episode of a show and just concentrate on season/mid season premieres and finales but I felt like this episode deserved a little something.

The episode started off pretty slow and I thought that there would be too much time spent on the mark of Cain and Dean being all mopey but it turned out they decided to leave this out of the way for a while to grant us a great Supernatural episode. There is a lot they did right in "About a Boy" and most importantly, this is the no-fuss Supernatural that we all love. It didn't take itself seriously, it was funny as hell and it was very entertaining. Do we care a lot about the tie in with the coven and the witches business? not really. It's a nice add-on and it's lovely to see the story go somewhere interesting but I would have enjoyed this episode as much if it was just a sweet stand alone treat. We are used to having funny episode, especially with Dean providing the laughs in Yellow Fever, The Mystery Spot, Changing Channels or The French Mistake. I was very surprised that this episode didn't feature much of Jensen Ackles and yet, the comedic timing was perfect. I find myself remember the episode and actually seeing Jensen on screen, not Dylan Everett. This youngster was fabulous, in my humble opinion. I thought he had the same gestures, mimics, way of talking than Dean. It was great acting all around. Props to him.


Props also to the writers who managed to keep Dean alive through his dialogue lines. You know a character is iconic and has personality when you can put his lines into someone else's mouth and they still sound right. I adored the writing in this episode and all the pop culture references they included, like Bieber, One Direction and Taylor Swift. I loved seeing Sam react to those the way the viewer also did, that was very satisfying.

All in all, this was great Supernatural quality, it was funny, witty and thrilling. They added a bit more insight into the overarching plot but they stayed focused on the boys and that was welcomed. You go on for 10 more years like that lovelies, I won't have anything bad to say.

Magic Mike XXL trailer - You're Welcome

I mean, come on! These boys are nice. I watched the first movie only once so I am not sure I consider myself a fan of either the genre or the film itself but I remember it being good entertainment and offering good visuals, if I dare say.
As it is the Hollywood habit, we get a sequel to these dancing, naked, oily dudes and apart from doubting the relevance of the story in this, I am not complaining. The trailer shows very little of what the movie is actually going to be about and I am sad that Matthew isn't going to be part of this new Magic Mike. However, what it showed concerned me slightly. Let's put the money shots of the bare chested hunks aside, I felt like I was watching a trailer for Footloose meets You Got Served. I don't know. I get that they are going to a convention and will take part in some sort of a competition but it seems all too "break dancing battle" to me. There is one particular shot that made me chuckle and that's what I like most in MM, and that's Joe Manganiello popping a soda can open from his crotch. The "You're Welcome" at the very end of the trailer is also a nice touch, that's how I know this movie won't take itself too seriously and will keep on playing on the sex more than the dance. That's what we want out of this. The poster Channing shared does just that, and it's funny and very clever. Let's hope it won't fall into the pits of the "competition" model which is unpleasant and unoriginal at best. I am hoping the same thing for Pitch Perfect 2....