Movie Monday: I am Legend

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with a movie that I have only seen once and will never, ever watch again. It’s I am Legend!

Plot Synopsis: In 2009, a genetically re-engineered measles virus, originally created as a cure for cancer, turns into a lethal strain which kills 94% of those it infects, mutates 5% into predatory, nocturnal and vampiric mutants, who are extremely vulnerable to sunlight, with only 1% immune. Three years after the outbreak, US Army virologist Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville lives an isolated life in the deserted ruins of New York City, unsure if any other uninfected humans are left in the world…

Plot: I really don’t like Horror movies, but somehow one of my college roommates convinced me to watch this. I hate that roommate for absolute destroying my ability to listen Bob Marley’s song Three Little Birds (Don’t Worry Be Happy) without bursting into tears. The irony of that fact is not lost on me, believe me. The story is okay, but honestly I will never ever watch this movie again.

Cast: The cast is okay, but with the majority of the screen time captured by Will Smith and the German Shepards who play Sam, they don’t get a bunch of chances to shine.

Cinematography: The special effects are pretty decent, but honestly it wasn’t even the most spectacular movie of that year for special effects.

Music: Like I stated above the music really gets to me, and not really in a good way. The music is good I guess because of that, but I can’t help but feel bitter about that fact.

Overall: A good movie, but honestly I can’t recommend this one to anyone who cares even a little about animals.

For those who like: Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic, Drama, Action, Will Smith, Good Special Effects, a very memorable musical score.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Video Game Tuesday: What Makes Good Seasonal Events

This week for Video Game Tuesday I’m covering a topic many MMO players will recognize! It’s all about What Makes Good Seasonal Events!

Seasonal Events?: I mean stuff like Brewfest in World of Warcraft, or The Rising in Final Fantasy XIV. These events come up every year and celebrate either a real holiday or a game related one, Brewfest is WoW’s version of Oktoberfest, and The Rising is FFXIV: A Realm Reborn’s launch anniversary holiday.

Okay so what’s an example of a good Seasonal Event?: Last year’s The Rising was an amazing event that brought the players and developers closer together than any other in game event I’ve ever participated in. To give some context, I did the “What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been” Achievement in WoW, twice (Switched mains right after Wrath launched.)  But more importantly it needs to allow spontaneous engagement and disengagement depending on the player. Having to wait to participate in the event sucks, and should be an open world thing. Not something locked behind a Matchmaking tool.

What’s an example of a bad Seasonal Event?: Sparrow Racing League from Destiny is a great example, to get anything useful out of the event, other than having fun, it took tons of races to unlock even decently relevant items and the dreaded RNG still might screw you over (I know it did for me!). Not only that, but SRL hasn’t returned since it’s one and only launch, despite constant requests by the community to reactivate it. Oh and it didn’t fulfill the above requirements, at all.

Here’s a list of my favorite in-game events: 1. The Rising, for reasons I linked above. 2. The Wrath of the Lich King Pre-launch event, aka The Zombie Plague (Yes it was a one time thing, but damn if it wasn’t some of the best fun I had in that game outside of ICC25H.) 3. Children’s Week, Because I loved to hear people complain about bringing the orphans into PvP for the achievement (Pro-tip: Do it on the very first day of the event, although I think they made it a Feat of Strength and it doesn’t count towards What a Long Strange Trip anymore.)

That’s it for this week’s Video Game Tuesday! Are there any fun Seasonal Events you love? Leave a comment below!