Amazing Spiderman 2

- Film starts with Peter Parkers parents being attacked on a plane, too kill the attacker Peters dad brings the plane crashing down, but not before he uploads some files to another device. They were apparently escaping from someone.

We're in present day now as Spiderman is swinging around, must say I thought the effects were beautiful. He chases a truck which is robbed by some Russians who he takes care of. During the chase he saves a man named Max Dillion (Jamie Foxx), also Spideys ringtone is an instrumental of the Spiderman theme.

Pete attends his graduation, this is where we get Stan Lees cameo, also when Pomp & Circumstance played I thought of jumping up and going 'Ohhh Yeaahh!'. Pretty soon though Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) break up, it's over his promise to her dad that he'd keep her safe from Spiderman business, which happened in AS 1. We hear radio clips playing now of people commenting on wether Spiderman is a hero or a vigilante, one of which is Max Dillon who is pro-Spiderman after he saved him and is pretty much obsessed with Spiderman now but in a stalker way not a villain way.

 At home Peter finds his dads briefcase and throws it in the cupboard, he thinks his parents abandoned him. Harry Osborne (Dane DeHaan) returns to his home to see his father Norman Osbourne (Chris Cooper) who is all green and on his death bed, they dont have a real nice conversation but Norman gives Harry an object which he wants Harry to use to help him find a cure to what is killing Norman as it's genetic then Norman passes away.

 Max is at Oscorp, where we see a Mr. Smythe, he sees an electrical fault but nobody comes to fix it when asked so he decides to attempt it himself but disaster as he is electrocuted and falls into a container filled with Electric Eels and he is seemingly dead now. We see Harry holding a board meeting which is notable for the appearance of Felicia Hardy, who will one day become Black Cat, Harry leaves the meeting and has a catch-up with Peter Parker who has come to pay his respects.

 In a morgue now as Max is alive, when he comes of the slab his skin is almost like a shell which breaks away and we see that he is now all blue and electrical. Peter and Gwen agree to be friends, then Gwen reveals she intends to move to England and go to Oxford. Suddenly Peter feels somethings up, his Spider-Sense is tingling. Electro is in Times Square taking power from cables, he is surrounded by police but says it's not his fault, at this point I felt sympathy for Electro which is a touch I didn't expect, he says everyone now sees him, a nice touch as earlier Max Dillon was classed as invisible because no-one ever noticed or cared about him. A sniper shoots at Electro which makes him angry then soon everybody is talking about Spiderman which annoys Electro. There's a great bit where Spider-Sense kicks in and Spiderman manages to save people as Electricity was a danger to the people. Electro has a power surge but Spiderman hoses him down and Eelctro is seemingly captuered.

 Peter is back home now and starts looking into his dads research. Harry Osborn is looking into his dads research and hears about a spider which is the key to the experiments as they can self heal. Harry tells Peter that he needs Spidermans blood, he asks Pete as he had been taking photos of Spiderman for the Bugle. Gwen is looking into Oscorp files about Max Dillon but security come after her, the file suddenly disappears as well claiming no such file exists, she finds out that they are covering the accident that 'killed' Max.

 We see Electro is being held captive and shocked. Petes Aunt May tells him that apparently his dads research was valuable and he betrayed his best friend Norman Osborn. Spiderman visits Harry but says he cant have his blood as they might not be compatible, Harry tries to buy it but Spiderman leaves the apartment. Peters back home now, pretty sure I saw a RAMONES poster, he smashes his dads calculator then finds coins. Felicia Hardy tells Harry that Venom from the spiders was saved before they were killed and it's somewhere in Oscorp. Whilst looking into Oscorp Harry finds people have logged into 'Special Projects' as him which is when he finds out about Max Dillons accident., they do this so it looks like Harry himself is hiding things which leads to him being over thrown from Oscorp.

 Using his dads research Peter ends up in a disused subway, which was apparently built for President Roosevelt to get around easier away from the public. A train/carriage appears full of equipment, Pete watches a video of his dad, which I think is the one he uploaded on the plane at the start of the film. The video states that Norman turned on Richard Parker as he didn't agree with Norman and that the experiments cant go further as he put Parker blood in the spiders.

 Harry finds Electro and agrees to release him as long as he helps him get into Oscorp then he can have Spiderman as long as he makes him bleed, he tells him that draining NYC of power will bring Spiderman on the scene. Electro and harry are at Oscorp, Electro now has a suit on. Harry and the man who overthrew him are in a secret area, we can see Tentacles and Wings behind glass, Doc Oc and Vulture anyone? Harry injects himself with something but it accelerates the Osaborn gene defect it seems as he is now Goblin-esqu in appearance, he gets a suit and the Glider.

 Spiderman and Gwen are all oved up again when suddenly the power goes form NYC. Gwen tells Pete to use magnetic stuff to combat Electro. Showdown time as Electro beats up Spiderman until Gwen runs Electro over in a cop car. They plan to overcharge Electro so he'll blow up. Spiderman reconnects the power grid which Gwen charges up, it hits Electro as I think he was webbed and blows him up, bye-bye Electro and the trouble's over .... oh wait no here's Green Goblin, he sees Gwen and puts all the pieces together and works out that Spiderman is Peter Parker. Goblin steals Gwen then drops her but Spiderman makes the save. They're now fighting and Spiderman puts a web around Goblins neck which is then puleld tight as it's in cogs. Gwen is hanging in the building from a thread but it snaps causing her to fall, Spiderman eventually manages to web her but the whiplash effect or something from being pulled by the web kills her. Gwen Stacy is dead and she died just as her dad feared - due to Spiderman. Goblin simply got KOd.

 Harry Osborn is back to normal for now, a man approaches, Harry asks if he's found any suitable candidates, the man says a Russian Man has volunteered then we see The Rhino suit. Peter is watching Gwens speech from Graduation, as Rhino is now rampaging through the streets so Peter decides to don Spiderman costume again, he quit after Gwens death. Rhino is the Russian from the start of the film. Rhino and Spiderman charge at each other and as Spiderman swings a manhole cover at Rhino the film just ends.


- A lot of reviews have been negative or at least called the film average but I actually quite enjoyed it. I had sympathy for Electro at first which I didn't expect from a villain. We had Gwen die which kept in line with the comic books so I'm happy with that, though I have enjoyed Emma Stones portrayal of Gwen. We had the foundations laid for Sinister Six, though I'm not sure of them all (Goblin/Doc Ock/Vulture/Rhino then possibly Black Cat, Felicia is an Oscorp member and the 6th villain i'm unsure of but my money's on Venom).  The one bit I didn't like was the ending as Rhino was used in promotion but the movie ends as his fight starts .... could Sinister Six film have a cold opening carrying the fight straight on? I'd recommend the film as I personally enjoyed it.

Jusitce League Movie

 I found out via Twitter that Zack Snyder is directing the Justice League movie, which is coming after Batman/Superman here's my thoughts on these two films.

Batman-Superman - I'm a Superman fan but in terms of big screen he hasn't been right since Superman II. III and IV just weren't very good, Returns just depressed me and Man Of Steel was boring, though unlike a lot of people I wasn't annoyed by the act of Superman killing as he had killed Zod and his cronies in the comics by exposing them to kryptonite, I just found the film as stated boring, Jor-El isn't needed beyond the Krypton scenes but Russell Crowe seemed to pop up in all scenes through out the film.
 The studio may of been going for a serious/dark tone like the Nolan Batman trilogy (recently read a list of most disappointing comic films and DK Rises was above Spiderman 3, what!) but Superman doesn't work in a dark setting, the guy is bright coloured for a start and Clark is generally a jolly kind of guy, they should've played to Supermans strengths and not tried to go dark.
 In terms of Batman he did work well in a gritty dark setting as that's what he is basically from his parents deaths etc. the one problem I have with the Nolan Trilogy is Christian Bales Batman voice, though I wasn't a huge fan of the Scarecrow film. I probably wont be watching Superman/Batman though due to 3 reasons - Superman films haven't been very good, Lex Luthor is the villain I believe (I'd of preferred say Brianiac) and the big issue - ben affleck is in it.

Justice League -
 Zack Snyder is confirmed as director of this movie, uhhh I normally dont care who directs something but he did Watchmen and Man Of Steel both of which bored me to near death, however I can't rule out seeing this as it's Justice League man. The roster will probably be Supes and/or Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman and possibly Aquaman who will come in handy if the bad guy's in a submarine/dingy/speedboat.
 The bad guy surely wont be Lex Luthor so I'm hoping it's Darkseid, which is likely as he's a DC villain and not character specific really for example imagine if Metallo was the big villain, though I wouldn't mind Brainiac as the villain or even a sub-villain. I just hope the film doesn't go for a dark style movie, dont get me wrong I dont expect people to fight with flowers and be all happy and smiley but I dont want a dark depressing film neither because right now DC is miles behind the MCU and if Justice League doesn't set a benchmark then Marvel will be the ultimate winners .... remember that 3 issue DC/Marvel mini-series where it ended by the heroes merging together, uhhhh.

Wales Comic Con 2014

 Attended my first Con this weekend (April 27th) at Wrexhams Glyndwr University and it was fantastic.

 Some of the pieces for sale were beautiful, there were some 3D artworks available to buy, I got a Joker one saying 'Welcome To The Madhouse' though others did tickle my fancy especially a Spiderman and Venom one. In terms of statue/busts/whatever there was a Zod one that cost £100, it was that nice that I was tempted to get it and I hate spending £1.00 let alone £100 and a nice Green Lantern one for £75, though I am biased as I dig Green Lantern and Zod.

 I purchased two photo-ops as well for £15 apiece one with Vader and one with Allison Mack (Smallvilles Chloe Sullivan), me and Vader may pass as father and son. I've been a wrestling and Smallville fan for a number of years so meeting these two was especially a nice touch to the event.

 Allisons photo was at 12:30 so I avoided the Main Hall until after the photo as I probably would've been still in the que. I did intend to go to the Wrestling Legends Q&A at 2pm but lost track of time, I did however get to go to the Smallville Q&A at 4 as I had regained my bearings by then, also got Smallville Card sets for seasons 7-10 meaning I'm only missing I think one of them now.

I ventured to the Main Hall, which is where the guests were, on a number of occasions and got personalised autographs off -
Allison Mack
Big Van Vader
Rikishi
Tatanka
Chris Masters
Danny John Jules (Cat from Red Dwarf)
Chris Barrie (Rimmer from Red Dwarf)
John Chalis (Boycie from Only Fools And Horses)

 It was a great event overall, with a number of fantastic people dressed up - Cap America and Winter Soldier were my favorites and a Patrick Stewart who I think was Patrick Stewart pretending to be a lookalike for a laugh. Even the rain couldn't dampen my spirits *cymbal clash*

 Wales Comic Con 2015 here I come!!

Captain America: Winter Soldier

 - Saving up for Wales Comic Con but took £7.50 out to see this.

 Film starts with Steve Rogers (Cap) lapping a man named Sam Wilson many times. First big scene is when a S.H.I.E.L.D ship is taken over by Pirates but Captain America, Black Widow and some SHIELD operatives take them out, the first movie fight is Captain America Vs. Batroc (pirates leader) and Widow takes info from a computer aboard the ship as she has a different mission to Cap. Pretty good all action start to the film.

 Cap is at SHIELD HQ with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who tells Cap about 'Project: Insight', we soon see Fury again as he cant get into the files Black Widow downloaded. he asks Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), who may be Furys boss, to arrange a vote to delay Project: Insight.
 Next big moment now as there's an attempted assassination of Fury by people disguised as police. They barricade his car and fire about 1,000 bullets at it, as the cars protection is running out he gets away after using a mounted gun, they chase him but he does manage to run some over. A figure appears in the street who flips Furys car with an explosive but he has seemingly escaped underground before being killed.

 Cap comes home to find Fury in his apartment. Fury tells him the place is bugged and that SHIELD is compromised, he cant reveal anymore information as he is shot by an assassin through the window, before he was shot though he did give Cap the memory Stick that Black Widow used on the ship.
 Cap is now with Alexander Pierce at SHIELD HQ who tells him that Fury set the pirates onto the ship as cover whilst he stole the data (Black Widows mission). Cap leaves the office but is suspicious whilst using the lift, which is soon overcrowded by people who then turn on Cap, he manages to fight them off but did take some shots, he escapes by jumping out  of the lift to the outside. Pierce tells his people that SHIELD are after Cap as he is withholding info about Fur and Captain America finds out from Black Widow that Fury was shot by 'The Winter Soldier'.

 Black Widow and Cap try too again decypher the memory stick and do get some info about a place in New Jersey.  When they get there Cap remembers that this is where he was trained many years ago, the place looks empty until they discover a secret basement in a hanger but all they find is a computer. As it turns out this computer is Armin Zola, who's body is dead but his mind lives on via computers. Big part of the film now as he tells them that HYDRA have infiltrated SHIELD for years at the very top, so SHIELD has never been what it was really. A missile blows the place up but our heroes survive the blast.

 Captain America, Widow and Sam Wilson, who now has a machine with wings thus becoming Falcon, have a man named Jasper Sitwell cornered, he was aboard the ship and is HYDRA member, they get him to talk and the most intriguing thing for me was that he mentioned Steve Strange. They now have Jasper in a car but here's .... Winter Soldier who pulls him out. This leads to Cap/Widow/Falcon Vs. SHIELD agents, Falcon helps Cap by picking off some SHIELD agents as Winter Soldier has gone after Black Widow, she uses a voice recording as a decoy.  Captain America shows up and fights with the Winter Soldier knocking his mask off in the process revealing him to be Bucky, though the Soldier doesn't know the name Bucky, who was Captain Americas best friend in the war , we did see him 'die' in Captain America: The First Avenger, the heroes are surrounded and captured but are saved in the van by an in disguise Maria Hill, she is high up in SHIELD.

 She takes them to a secret place where we see Fury is still alive, hurt but alive none the less. In the meantime we see Winter Soldier having flashbacks to Captain America. Back to Fury as he tells the heroes that 3 Helicarriers will go up in the air and kill millions of people unless they can use 3 chips to change the targets. Stan Lee cameo as he plays a guard at a Captain America museum. All employees of SHIELD find out over a tannoy from Cap that HYDRA have infiltrated them. This leads to a shootout between HYDRA/SHIELD guys as Pierce is caught by an in disguise Black Widow, she puts all of SHIELD/HYDRAs info on the internet which Pierce warns her will means everyone will find out about her past.

 Two of the Helicarriers have been changed leaving just one remaining. Winter Soldier manages to ground Falcon by breaking a wing leaving just him and Captain America. The fight between them seemingly ends when Cap chokes out Winter Soldier but alas when Cap goes to change the last Helicarrier he is shot but does manage to put the new chip in. We go to Nick Fury who shoots Pierce dead and now back to the Helicarrier with Cap and Soldier on, it gets shot down and part of the structure falls on Soldier but Cap saves him, Soldier returns the favour by punching Caps lights out though he refuses to kill him and ends up saving Cap after he falls into the sea as we see Winter pulling him out on to land. We also saw a SHIELD/HYDRA agent named Rumlow, who had been after Cap through the film, get pulled from a wrecked building, burnt badly but still alive none the less.

 We see Balck Widow in a court and Nick Fury replacing his eye patch with shades and burning things, symbolic maybe? Black Widow gives Cap a file which when opened shows Bucky. Captain America and Falcon agree to go after him as the film ends.

 Mid Credits scene showed Baron Von Strucker and two twins who weren't born with powers but given them by HYDRA, at least in this film cannon, they were Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

 - Film was fantastic as the action scenes were good but we got layers to the other characters (Fury, Widow) as SHIELD were prominent throughout the film. I'm not sure where we're heading as Fury and Widow may be in hiding, SHIELD is essentially no more and Cap is after Bucky. Will Falcon and/or Bucky show up in Avengers? I dont know about that but i'm pretty sure they'll be in Captain America 3. Also we saw Maria Hill having an interview at STARK so may be she will be in Iron Man 4, if there is one and going by the money Iron Man films have made it seems likely. Also I doubt Steve Strange was put in as a throwaway line so either he'll appear in Avengers or be in his own film, which may be a risk though I thought Iron Man was a risk at first. I'm intrigued as to where we go from here .... bring on Age Of Ultron.  9-10 / 10.

Now That's What Pat Calls Music

- If you dont get what the title is a take on then you dont get popular culture, though I haven't purchased a Now! since about no. 27. Anywho this is a list of essential songs that gets P.S.O.A (Pats Seal Of Approval)

- Under Pressure - Queen/David Bowie from Queens 'Hot Space' Album (1982).
 I dont like saying something is the best ever in it's field but this may be the best song ever. John Deacon supplies the bass, Freddie the 'Da-bi-di-ba-das and Bowie supplies what I class as the best verse in music because that last verse is aweinspiring.

- We Dont Have To Take Our Clothes Off - Jermaine Stewart - 'Frantic Romantic' (1986)
 I heard this for the first time a couple years back on an advert, Cadburys I think, any way this song as the kids (used to) say is wicked. Cant help but sing along to this one, though some may not like it as it's 80s poppy, cheery, almost cheesyish. Jermaine passed away in the 90s unfortunatly.

- Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones - The Ramones (1976)
 This is THE definitive Ramones track, most people who wear Ramones shirts probably only know this song. Starts like most with Dee Dees '1,2,3,4' then kicks into high gear from the off. Ramones seem to be respected, praised etc. by many musicians and credited with starting Punk Rock, though they have an almost poppy Punk Rock compared to say Sex Pistols, who I hate, but they never got the big hit they deserved. Joey (singer - 1999), Dee Dee (bassist - 2002) and Johnny (guitarist - 2004) are no longer with us sadly. (Editors Note - Sadly the last remaining original Tommy passed in July 2014)

- Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie (Ziggy Stradust) - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust (1972)
 If Under Pressure is the best ever song then this is no. 2 for me, though weirdly it's not my favorite Bowie, it rocks along nicely then we hit the chorus where it becomes almost sinister, also I love the ending as it's simply 'Ziggy Played Guitaaaarrrr!'

- Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor -
 This song was written by Prince and I can easily picture him singing it. Simplistic yet great video accompanies this song.

- Life On Mars? - David Bowie - Hunky Dory
 When I made reference to my favorite Bowie in the Ziggy bio this is the song I meant. First heard it about a year ago when BBC 4 played 'Genius Of David Bowie' which is an hour of his videos, great video and as with Sineads it is simplistic, just Bowie stood there singing in a light blue suit.

- With Or Without You - U2
 Uh cant stand U2 as hate Bonos preaching about charity etc. however I can for once overlook my dislike for someone as this song is fantastic. Many times I've sang this drunk staggering home from a pub, yes it's that good I remember the words when in-toxicated.

Sonic Vs. Sonic 2

- Playing the 4 main Sonic games, Sonic 1 to & Knuckles, and comparing them. First off is Sonic Vs. Sonic 2, I'll play them and to add some more info I'll do stats ie how long each level took and who was the toughest boss etc.

Sonic 1 -
 Sonic The Hedgehog has Six levels each consisting of Three acts then there's the Final Zone which is one level and is just vesus Robotnik. At the end of Acts 1 and 2 if you have enough rings you qualify for the 'Special Stage' where you have a chance at Chaos Emeralds, I think there's Seven in total. In a true Act Of Lameness I only qualified for one attempt during this run through and failed that. My main negative here is you cant Spin Dash!!

Level 1 Green Hill Zone -
 Green Hill Zone true to form is the easiest, I cleared the 3 Acts in 3:41 losing One life along the way. The boss here, which is always Robotnik, is simply him swinging a wrecking ball, the easiest boss there was, unless you count Labyrinth zone as a boss.
Finished In - 3:41   Lives Lost - 1.

Level 2 - Marble Zone
 This took me the second longest time to clear coming in at 9:42, a big part of that was Act 3 where you jump across these weights but if you miss one you go back down and have to jump up again. I died Five times doing this one due in large part to the lava that I feel in. Robotnik here drops Fire onto a platform and you simply hit him and jump to safety on the opposite side, fairly simple.
Finished In - 9:42   Lives Lost - 5.

Level 3 - Spring Yard Zone
 This one has my favorite music. Took me 7:43 to finish this one, partly because I'd get stuck on the springy balls, which whilst increasing the overall score is annoying, and also the boss here is the toughest for me, even tougher than the Final Zone. When you get to Robotnik you're on about 8 blocks and whichever you're stood on here comes down and removes so when you jump to hit him you have to make sure you land on a block or you lose a life, I lost Five lives all of them against him.
Finished In - 7:43   Lives Lost - 5.

Level 4 - Labyrinth Zone
 The bane of my life, I hate this zone, not just due to playing this game recently I mean i've hated since a kid. Took me the longest time to finish, finally ending after 16:27, Act 3 took 9:18 alone, meaning I only had 42 seconds left. Some of this Level takes place under water which is part of the reason I lost 10 lives, an in game high. Robotnik on this level is more a chase as you have to chase him upwards whilst avoiding spikes and gargoyles that shoot at you, I think water may be rising aswell, when you get to the top you simply hit Robotnik once and it's over thankfully.
 Finished In - 16:27   Lives Lost - 10.

Level 5 - Star Light Zone
 I rememeber this level but I thought it was twilight zone. pretty simplistic level really, the annoying enemy being the bombs that'd explode, at one point about five are lined up. I finished Act 1 in 1:06 my quickest time since Act 2 of Green Hill Zone. Robotnik here simply dropped bombs on see saws and you had to sring them back at him. This is probably my favorite level from Sonic 1. I lost Five lives due to falling at times.
 Finished In - 5:27   Lives Lost - 5.

Level 6 - Scrap Brian Zone
 The final level before the last boss. Again Five lives were lost, this level consists of fire spurts, electricity and spinning steps all of which led to the lives lost total. the Third Act here is akin to the Labyrinth Zone and I had to re-do this level as it ended unexpectedly so I didnt jot down my time, you see there's no boss here you simply jump on a spring and the Final Zone starts. I'd say this level overall was the second toughest behind Labyrinth.
 Finished In - 7:23   Lives Lost - 5.

The Final Zone
 No rings, no problem. No other enemies here beyond Robotnik himself. There's Four crushers and Two come down at a time, you simply dodge them and hit whichever one Robotnik is in, on some occasions he isn't in any, after the crushers have dropped Four energy blasts come down and you have to avoide them, they're tougher than Robotnik himself, especially as you have no rings so one hit and you're dead.
 Finished In - 2:19   Lives Lost - 1.

 Final Thoughts -
Toughest level is Labyrinth Zone without a doubt, come on man I lost 10 Lives!
Worst boss I'd say was Spring Yards due to removing the blocks.
Favorite level for me was Star Lights, I would say Green Hill but that was too easy to do.
The music on this game was enjoyable as was the game really but is it better than Sonic 2?

Top Games

- Games has been the subject on my mind this week, specifically the N64 and Sega Mega Drive. Here's a list of games I liked, even loved, that I'd recommend you find and play.

- Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (Best Game Ever)
- Mario 64
- Mario Kart
- Mario Party
- Mario Tennis
- Banjo Kazooie
- Lylat Wars
- Yoshis Story
- Space Station: Silicon Valley
- Goldeneye
- Pokemon Snap
- Pokemon Stadium
- Vigilante 8
- Castlevania
- Wave Race 64
- Road Rash
- Lego Racer
- WWF Attitude
- WWF No Mercy
- WrestleMania 2000
- WCW/nWo Revenge

- Zelda: OOT and Mario 64 are Must Haves, an updated Mario 64 was re-released for DS but I prefer the original. These next list of games are Non-64 games that I liked as a kid.

- Sonic 1, 2, 3, Sonic and Knuckles and Spinball.
- Streets Of Rage 1-3
- Golden Axe 1-3
- Shinobi
- Alex Kidd in Miracle World
- James Pond
- Dynamite Heady
- Taz-Mania
- Cool Spot