Movie Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

 

It's been a while since I've written anything in this personal space of mine - and it's been over a year actually since the pandemic began and we all had to shutter inside our respective bubbles and spaces! As a result of several lockdowns and shifts in several industries, the films and movies we'd typically enjoy watching inside cinemas were moved to streaming and digital platforms. While that made things safer and more convenient, it still wasn't the same as the theatrical experience - which films like Spider-Man: No Way Home greatly benefit from and absolutely need to be seen in the big screen.

With the return of cinemas in the Philippines last November, most of Hollywood's offerings for 2021 were able to make it to theaters - including Black Widow, Shang Chi, Dune, No Time to Die, and Eternals. Spider-Man: No Way Home was scheduled for release during mid-December 2021 in most territories around the world, but unfortunately due to other factors beyond our control - the film was delayed to January 8 this year.

Thanks to Columbia Pictures Philippines, I FINALLY got to see the movie a couple of days ago in a special screening along with fellow moviegoers, fans, and webheads, and to say this is the perfect and emotional love letter to Spider-Man fans of all generations is an understatement. Literally everyone who grew up loving all the Spider-Man live-action films NEED to see this - but since we're still in a pandemic and watching cases go up as of this writing, I advise everyone to be safe and weigh in their options before going out to see this film. Mask up and make sure you're vaccinated, and like Spider-Man always says - "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility".

That being said, here's my review - and SPOILER WARNING to those who want to avoid any!

Non Spoiler Game Review: The Last Of Us Part II (Playstation 4)

Before we begin - this review will not contain ANY spoilers or revealing details for "The Last of Us Part II".

I enjoy Survival Horror and Action Adventure games, and it's those genres I see next to Fighting Games as my go to preferences whenever I choose a new title to play. When the original Resident Evil (aka Biohazard in Japan) came out for the Playstation in 1996, I was immediately hooked - drawn to the story and the fact the in this kind of game, going in guns a'blazing won't work and you needed to plan things through in order to progress through the game. It coined the term "Survival Horror" and started a genre that would soon see other games follow - including the Silent Hill series, EA's Dead Space Trilogy, and of course Naughty Dog's critically acclaimed Survival Adventure darling - The Last Of Us.

Thanks to Playstation Asia, I was able to get a review copy for "The Last Of Us Part II" - the long awaited sequel and follow-up which, at the time of this write-up, is NOW AVAILABLE exclusively for the Playstation 4. In a time when eyes are set towards the "Future of Gaming" with the Playstation 5, TLOU 2 proves there's plenty more greatness in the PS4 - pushing the envelope even further to deliver one of the most technologically impressive games ever made. It's a work of art and a love letter to fans of the original and video games - but before we dive further we should recap some of the original game (especially for those who haven't played it and YOU SHOULD especially since "The Last Of Us Remastered" is readily available in the PS4).

Game Review: Resident Evil 3 (2020)

Resident Evil, better known as "Biohazard" in Japan, is one of my favorite video game franchises of all time. The first game of the series, released in 1996, was the title that convinced me to buy a Sony Playstation - and I was intrigued by its plot because the setting was in an isolated mansion and you had to battle your way through hordes of monstrous zombies and other biological monstrosities created in a secret laboratory underneath the premises.Since then I was hooked, and have been a loyal follower of the mainline series that started the genre of "Survival Horror" - until series director Shinji Mikami took things in a different direction in 2004 with the critically acclaimed "Resident Evil 4". That game was great and gave us a different kind of biological mystery in that universe - but it also started the "Survival Action" era of sequels that would be radically different from past RE games, with Resident Evil 6 serving as the entry that saw the series "completely lose its identity" until 2017's Resident Evil 7 brought things back to Survival Horror.

Fast forward to today's gaming generation, and we get a brand new Resident Evil game in the third installment of the remake trilogy - the "Resident Evil 3 Remake". Last year saw a triumphant return to old school with the "Resident Evil 2 Remake" - a perfect blend of the "Over-The-Shoulder" style action gameplay of RE4, the tension, inventory management, and puzzle-solving of the original RE games, and the power and amazing graphics of the "RE Engine" that was first used in RE7. What we got was a 2019 reimagining of the Raccoon City Outbreak adventure and new versions of Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they tried to survive and escape from the zombies and biological experiments that plagued the city. That game exceeded expectations and was a critical comeback for the series - but how does RE3 fair as an entry that follows over a year after this hit? Well depending on your preferences and stance as a gamer and Resident Evil fan, that answer may vary and may very well define your experience with the game.

As a long time fan and having played the original RE3 back in 1999, it was a no brainer for me to pick up the game - and I got it physically and digitally as soon as Pre-Orders opened. Thanks to my digital purchase of the Deluxe Edition, I got the game on Day 1 (April 3) and finished it the next day. It's relatively fast paced and I'll discuss it in detail below. Due to the trying times however, my Collector's Edition of RE3 with the Jill Statue will have to wait until things get back to normal. For now, here's my review... And SPOILERS will obviously be discussed on this review, so be warned and read on if you need some opinions coming from an RE guy.