Virtual Tourist - Wolfenstein The New Order 11/12/17

Morning!

Mini Movie Review - Murder on the Orient Express:

I've watched the 1974 version of this film numerous times. It too had an all-star cast. This new version is as good if not better than that one! Awesome performances, beautiful vistas, loads to love!
I'm trying something a little different this week. Not actually sharing every last picture I took. I will attempt to be more particular on what I put in here. I always end up with way more than I use. I have a trigger finger with regards to photos. Lol.

Wolfenstein The New Order

Once again, there is no question as to whose place we are in. :P That is one solid door.

Some famous personas.

A few more...

Loved these! Yeah, I have a thing about fixtures. Lol

Still being restored, but this is a beautiful hallway. The indirect lighting is awesome. :)

This would be General Deathhead. A very, very nasty man. As I will soon discover. (This painting is also a secret door! Sweet!)

The cool windows and the rays of light. Lovely!

A nice view of the nearby ruins. Too bad so many people are trying to kill me, or I would be more impressed. Lol.

This is where I realized that there is NO WAY kids should play this game. Deathhead is evil, evil, evil. Pictured above is some of his handy work to obtain brains for his automatons. Brrrr.

This is when we realize that running into this room was a terrible mistake. Eek!

Hope you had a good Veterans Day!

Virtual Tourist - Dishonored 2 12/4/16

Morning!

Hubby was sick during the Thanksgiving holiday so I detoxed from all the overtime and stress at work with Deus Ex. :P Hubby though had already purchased Dishonored 2 for both of us, so I started it this weekend. (He's already finished both!)

Dishonored 2

Spiffy loading screen. Dishonored 2 is set 15 years after the first game. You also end up with the choice of playing Corvo again or his daughter Emily. 

Tutorial Section

Whales are still very much a strong motif in the game. :P The tutorial is from Emily's POV as she's being trained by Corvo. Emily is a bit of a whiner. lol.

Whales are still in all their decorating! lol. 

The art for the city is lovely. Great attention to detail.

That is one gruesome whale. Look at those teeth!

Game Beginning

Emily and Corvo are about to enter the main hall at Dunwall tower. It is the 15th Anniversary of Emily's mother's assassination. The prior empress. 

The people are still rather rough looking. lol. That's Corvo's profile on the left. He's Emily's Protector as he was for her mother.

The party pooper - Delilah. An unseen yet major player in the first game. Thought we were done with her, but somehow she's managed to come back. And so the troubles begin.

She has some major sorcery going on. Since I chose to play Emily, she's wrapping Corvo up in a stone skin.

A piece of artwork in the tower. Time for me to make my escape.

Have a lovely Sunday! 

Virtual Tourist - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 11/20/16

Work overflowed this week. I'm behind again. :( (And this one blew up and never did post. So I am posting it now. Wah!)

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Had hoped to merge pre-new graphics card photos with post-new graphics card photos when I posted them but I failed. So here's some pre ones for when Jensen first for to Prague. 

Overhead view of the trains in Prague.

First look at Prague at the station. Eliza is back. Or is she? :P (Eliza 2.0)

Is that Koro Sensei in the background? :P You can see how the entrance to the central station have been segregated for augs and natural. Yes, things have gotten pretty bad since the incident.

Mid explosion at the station. This is the starting point of a whole heap of trouble.

Took a similar pic the second time around, but this one is way better. Truly poignant scene.

First thing Jensen sees when he wakes up in his apartment in Prague.

Ack, now the uploader is giving me issues with the site. Guess this will be it for this week! :P

Movie Review - The Legend of Tarzan

The Legend of Tarzan

Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Christoph Waltz, Margot Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson, Rory J. Saper, Christian Stevens, Sidney Ralitsoele,  Djimon Hounsou, and more.

Directed by: David Yates Screenplay and Story by: Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer Based on the Novels/Stories by: Edgar Rice Burroughs Cinematography by: Henry Braham Music by: Rupert Gregson-Williams 

Premise: Lord Greystoke is invited by the King of Belgium to tour the innovation and advances put in place in the Congo in Africa. Greystoke turns the invitation down. Until an American convinces him it would be the perfect cover to investigate growing rumors of slavery there. Unbeknownst to Greystoke (aka Tarzan) there is a deeper plot afoot - one in which he plays a major part. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Alexander Skarsgård, and Margot Robbie all gave great performances for the film. They made for a great cast combination.  Everyone involved did a great job. Due to how the story unfolds, Mr. Skarsgård show us different facets of Lord Greystoke. Including the battle he wages internally between the life his parents wanted for him and that which he lived in his youth. Margot Robbie plays the American raised in the Congo and Tarzan's love, Jane. Fighting her own battles during the adventure, Margot does a great job going toe-to-toe with Christoph Waltz. Samuel L. Jackson added a lot of the comedic touches as well as pulled out pieces of Tarzan's story for the audience. Watching him deal with his wounded pride as the 'ignorant natives' prove much more hardy and crafty than he expected was fun to watch.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Multiple companies were employed for the special effects and they were well worth it. The gorillas, the elephants, the lions, they all looked fantastic. The head rubbing scene between Tarzan and a lioness he'd know as a cub was awesome to behold. (I was so jealous!) 

The Mangani apes were fabulous. Each was distinct enough the audience could easily tell which was which. Kala's, Kerchak's and Kala's ape son's expressions and body language spoke volumes. 

The scene with the ostriches was cool and a lot of fun. All the animals were amazing. The fog special effects in the region of Opar were very well done. Several explosions, a ton of bullets, and some massive destruction filled the special effects docket. :)

But the most impressive special effect, in my opinion, had to do with Tarzan's hands. Living among the apes since he was a baby, Tarzan's muscles and bones developed differently from the human norm. The hands appear more like a gorilla's. Though an unspoken thread in the plot, the fact Kala gave him a rock to help him shape his hands so they could be more effective makes a large impact. It is quietly referenced several times and is a facet of his inner struggles. 

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: Per the Edgar Rice Burroughs website there have been 41 Tarzan films and 57 one-hour television episodes made. So rather than do the expected origin story in this film, the writers took a different route to get us acquainted with the characters. One that I think made the film different from other retellings and worked well to craft a good film. 

Rather than as the Lord of the Jungle, we meet John Clayton as Lord Greystoke. He's been years away from the Congo and has been serious in taking care of his duties as the heir of Greystoke. John has embraced the land of his birthright as if he'd never been anywhere else. He is refined, well educated, intelligent. With small flashes back to his time in the jungle, we do get bits about his origin. But they take a back seat to the overall story arc, so it enhances what is going on, but doesn't over shadow it.

Jane's love for the people and country she was raised in was a lovely surprise. Her relationship with the small village her father taught in was bright and heartfelt. You could feel they were all family.

There are hidden bits of homage and in-jokes sprinkled through the film for both the books and the previous films/tv shows. There are also bits of humor interspersed throughout. (My favorite was the warriors leaning out of the way on the back of the train. lol. You'll know when you see it. :) ) 

A lot of themes are explored. The meaning of family, not quite fitting in, what it is that makes us who we are, how actions have repercussions, and more. 

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: While many of the stunts are CGI, there were still plenty of real stunts to keep the department quite busy. Fights, gunplay, avoiding stampeding animals - they had plenty to keep them occupied.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Between several locations in England and those in Africa, there is much to delight the eyes. Add in some CGI and all the vistas were quite impressive. Long panned views of the grasslands, aerial shots of the jungle, or just pockets in the trees - every shot told its own story. In fact, towards the end, they actually do.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: From presenting Lord Greystoke in his finery to slowly divesting him of clothes, the department did some nice costuming work. The makeup was excellent as well. They gave the different tribes their own distinct looks, helping to show their diversity. The work on Tarzan's bite from both the special effects and makeup department was outstanding. 

Conclusion: The Legend of Tarzan is a lovely new take on the old tale. There is lots of action, cool vistas, villains, and heroes.  All the fun things that have made Tarzan the icon he's been since the first story hit the stands back in 1912.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Pay Full Price to See Again!)

Cover Reveal - Charity and Sacrifice

The final cover for Charity and Sacrifice has been approved! So that means I can now share it!

The 10K word novelette, which will be published by Uncial Press, will only be available as an ebook. The cover looks pretty snazzy though!

I love the big, fat X on the husband. Bwahahahaha!

They'll be sending the novelette out for reviews soon. So I will share those as well as they become available. Publish Date is still set for Oct 2016!

I've added the blurb and an excerpt again to keep the it fresh in your minds for the future. BWAHAHAHA!

Trapped in a loveless marriage, will Elizabeth’s sacrifice to regain Robert’s love be in vain?

All Elizabeth hoped to do was to rekindle the love in her marriage. Yet despite ignoring her social obligations and immersing herself in her husband’s important work, somehow this only made things worse.

Her last hope is her unborn child — a source of unrequited love to fill the void inside her. But that too is taken from her. How? Why?

Her doctor avoids her. Her husband berates her. And there are whispers — whispers telling of things that cannot be.

Yet the more Elizabeth ignores the rumors, the more they press on her to seek the truth, so she concocts a plan to find it. To find it and hopefully exonerate both Robert and herself. To discover the reason she’s lost all that’s dear to her. And she will do it, even if she must venture into Whitechapel to do it.

Excerpt

“Dear, you have to eat something. Don’t you want to get better?” Ada once more offered a spoonful of porridge.

Propped up with hard pillows, Elizabeth could sit at an angle. Millie, her personal maid, had come by earlier and brought her a proper dressing gown as well as a brush and pins. The proprieties must be maintained despite the tragedy. She knew Robert would expect it. And it was the only armor left to her at present.

Chastised, she opened her mouth to take the offered food, though she wasn’t hungry and felt mortified to be treated like a child. A child…

Elizabeth’s eyes teared up but she refused to be embarrassed further by her own weakness.

“Has he been to see you yet?” The nurse’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“To whom do you refer?” She suspected, but she wouldn’t help feed the rumor mill any more than necessary.

“Lord Stainton, your husband.”

Elizabeth refused to meet her gaze. “I’ve been sleeping a lot, but I am sure he’s come. He wouldn’t wake me, knowing I need the rest.”

Ada’s eyes widened with feigned surprise. “Oh, that could be it, couldn’t it?” She fed Elizabeth another spoonful.

“He’s a very busy man.” Elizabeth wanted to bite her own tongue, knowing the excuse for what it was, and well aware the nurse did as well. “I’ve had enough, thank you.”

“Are you sure, dear?” Ada leaned forward as if to feed her again, except she left the spoon in the bowl. She stared intently at Elizabeth, her next words voiced in a whisper. “There are things you should know that you’ve not been told.”

Elizabeth’s eye twitched. The hollow hole inside her pulsed with need and apprehension. She presumed he was receiving news of her condition from the nurses as well as using them to pass on his orders.

Her gently worded requests for him to visit were just as gently denied. The suspicion something was being hidden from her had hardened into solid fact. Yet she still possessed no information.

To be forced to gain it from the likes of Ada … Everything that ever poured from the woman’s mouth was suspect. She’d watched her long enough to learn that much.

But how else was she to even glean a hint as to what was being kept from her? “Is that so?”

Ada leaned forward a little more. “I could get in trouble sharing what I know.” The nurse smiled at her, expectation tightening the lines on her face. “But a token, a valuable token, would go a long way toward easing my concerns. Think of it as a bit of charity to someone less fortunate than yourself.”

Charity? Extortion was more like it. Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to grab her bowl and shove its contents in the old hag’s face. Yet something in the back of her mind niggled at the word. It had been used in her presence recently… “I might have something at home which would satisfy you. I’ll have it brought for the morrow.”

Ada stood up to go. “My old heart bleeds with gratitude, milady. I’ll be sure to tell you all I know, once your charity has been received.”

Elizabeth clutched her blanket until her hands went numb, sure the nurse was laughing at her as she bowed her way out.

Coming Soon!