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REVIEW -- Marvel's Agents of SHIELD - Season 2 Premiere, Episode 1: Shadows


Marvel's Agents of SHIELD returned Tuesday night (September 24, 2014) with its highly-anticipated Season 2 premiere on the ABC Network, hot off the heels of the events of the Season 1 finale and the events in the wake of Captain America: The Winter Soldier that shook the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe at it's core.

Cast:

Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May
Brett Dalton as Grant Ward
Chloe Bennet as Skye
Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz
Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons
Nick Blood as Lance Hunter

Overview: (Spoilers)

In 1945, Agent Peggy Carter and her team raid the last known Hydra base led by Daniel Whitehall, and confiscate the weaponry and technology that they possess, including the Obelisk. In the present, Coulson's team monitor a deal revolving around the Obelisk, which quickly goes awry when Carl Creel arrives, killing the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent offering the intel, and then escaping with it. Back at the Playground, Skye interogates Ward and learns that Hydra is using communication channels not monitored by S.H.I.E.L.D., which the team trace to discover that Hydra has simply returned to the shadows. Soon the team realizes that General Talbot is in trouble and rush to rescue him from Creel before abducting Talbot. Using Talbot's fingerprints, the team breaks into a military facility full of confiscated SH.I.E.L.D. items and locate the Obelisk. Agent Isabelle Hartley (Lucy Lawless) grabs the Obelisk, which begins killing her. Skye and Triplett steal a cloaked quinjet and escape, while May takes off on a motorcycle. Lance Hunter leaves with his team of mercenaries enlisted by S.H.I.E.L.D., only to be ambushed by Creel, causing their car to flip, killing Agent Hartley while Creel takes off with the Obelisk for an ageless Whitehall.

The Verdict:


First of all, let's give Lucy Lawless a hand... Oh wait, TOO early to make that joke, huh? Seriously though, I enjoyed her as Agent Isabelle Hartley in this season premiere episode. I doubt that she's going to stay dead though - who really does though in the Marvel Cinematic Universe other than villains? Plus, it seems like she was a bit too fond of becoming a cyborg too...

While we're on the subject of villains, it should be known that the HYDRA figure who keeps polishing his glasses is none other than Daniel Whitehall, who is known in Marvel Comics as the HYDRA villain known as the Kraken. For a second there, I thought he was Baron Wolfgang von Strucker until they called him Whitehall. I geeked out a bit to see the HYDRA soldiers in their full uniforms and garb in the flashback that accompanied the start of this episode. Many people will regard this flashback as a minor teaser for the upcoming Agent Carter spin-off series, featuring Peggy Carter herself. I was skeptical about that series at first, but now I'm interested to see how that series is going to pan out and how SHIELD's humble beginnings associate with it's current reconstruction.

It was cool to see Agent Coulsen in his new Director role, but it seems like the stress is already taking it's toll out on him. Ming-Na is still the epitome of bad-assery as Melinda May, even though she has some strong competition with Lucy Lawless' Isabelle Hartley in this premiere. The new hardened, battle-ready Skye was a welcome improvement over her character, but I'm still not too crazy about Agent Antoine Triplet (B.J. Britt). He continues his subtle flirting with almost all of the female leads, other than May and Hartley in this episode. I don't know what to think about Lance Hunter in this premiere, so the verdict is still out on him. Keep in mind that we can't trust all of these newcomers, especially in a post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier world full of potential HYDRA agents. That's one reason why I found it was very smart of Coulsen not to meet with everyone in briefings other than his trusted allies, such as Jemma, Skye, or May. I thought it was stupid to keep Ward around though, especially in their new SHIELD base of operations - no matter how "secure" they think it is.

I still have a CRAZY theory from the first season that I think that May is secretly Skye's mother. She seems to have that motherly, "tough love" vibe to her relationship with Skye. I'm waiting to see if this pans out.

While we're on the topic of Skye...

Did anyone notice that Skye is laying on a table full of those sketches/weird equations that both Coulsen and John Garrett were writing in last season's finale? Hmm... I still think it's a blueprint of some kind. Speaking of Skye, I love how we're still in the dark about The Rising Tide as we were in the previous season. That has to be something I hope they shed light upon in this season since it wasn't entirely explored in the first season.

Fitz' relevation about him losing his sanity and his intellect really had me feeling sorry for the guy. I think Fitz is going to reach his breaking point and snap (if he hasn't already) or loose his edge completely. I hope Jemma comes back though. Their bond was just too adorable in the first season. 

One of the treats for long-time Marvel Comics fans in this premiere episode came in the form of two antagonists of the Incredible Hulk making their first appearances in this episode - Carl "Crusher" Creel/The Absorbing Man and General Glenn Talbot. I hope this leads into a future cameo from big green himself before Avengers: Age of Ultron. Alternatively, we could end up seeing Thor making a cameo appearance in this season as he has been known to exchange blows with The Absorbing Man as well.

With the introduction of this new foe, I can appreciate Agents of SHIELD's bigger budget as their special effects are finally up to par with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to make their already great action scenes look even better.

I loved how this episode ended for Coulsen's team. Coulsen established his new team's merit and devotion to the cause, showing what extremes they are willing to go to see this mission to the end. If that's not loyalty to SHIELD then I don't know what is. Coulsen is definitely off to a good start as the new acting director.

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD is off to a good start for Season 2. "Shadows" set the gears in motion for many things to come in this season. I'm giving this episode a slightly above average score of 8 out of 10.
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WWE Night of Champions 2014 -- Results & Afterthoughts


On Sunday, September 22, 2014, WWE held its annual Night of Champions Pay-Per-View event, where ALL WWE championships would be defended from top to bottom. After the last month and half of god-awful Monday Night RAW broadcasts, I haven't been enthusiastic about this event in the least. I told myself going into this event (along with the ones that follow) that if it blows, I'm going to consider reducing the amount of time in a week I torment myself watching WWE programming.

Preshow - The Peep Show (w/ Chris Jericho and Randy Orton)

I was glad to see WWE finally finding a use for Christian, who was still sidelined with an undisclosed injury, but managed to host this segment. It was an added bonus to see him and Chris Jericho trade quips before being joined by Randy Orton who referred to the duo as the Canadian Brad and Angelina...

As for the preshow panel, I'm was surprised that it went on for roughly an hour this time around. WWE is really taking this concept seriously as a vital component of these events hosted on the WWE Network. For that, I applaud them.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match - The Dust Brothers (Goldust & Stardust) def. The Usos (c) to become the NEW Tag Team champions


This was a solid match to kick things off for tonight, but I'm sure the Tag Team division are getting sick of opening almost EVERY WWE PPV nowadays. The Usos don't have anything to be ashamed of here. I wouldn't mind if they pick up the gold again later down the road to keep this feud alive since the Dust Brothers seem to be the only other team being pushed right now.



I hope the rumors of The Ascension being moved up from NXT aren't true as the main roster already has more than enough tag teams they aren't using - Rybaxel, Los Matadores, Kofi/Big E, Slater Gator (Heath Slater & Titus O'Neil), Adam Rose & The Bunny (facepalms...) and especially the Wyatt Family's Luke Harper & Eric Rowen.

I would love for a gif of Stardust rolling around the ring during the post-match celebration. I swear I love that dude's entrance theme TOO damn much.

United States Championship Match - Sheamus (c) def. Cesaro

Cesaro came out to this match looking like he got dressed in the dark wearing both Taz and Lord Tensai's entrance gear. As for the match itself, I found it hilarious that people were raving about this match on social media as they were in COMPLETE shock that it was amazing. I said it on my predictions on Facebook that this was going to be one of the sleeper hits of the evening and boy, did it deliver big time. 

If you want your match to look like a million bucks, you fight Cesaro. Sheamus isn't a bad champion nor a bad wrestler. It's just that most people (myself included) forgot that he was STILL the US Champion period. That's just bad marketing on WWE's behalf. I wish WWE would make people care about this title again, much like how The Miz and Dolph Ziggler are making people give a damn about the Intercontinental title. 


I love how Cesaro and Sheamus went out there and pulled out a few new moves out of their arsenals, especially that Judgment Slam counter to the Brogue Kick. 


After this match, they aired the Sting reveal commercial for WWE 2K15, like people haven't seen this already... 

Intercontinental Championship Match - The Miz (w/ Damien Sandow) def. Dolph Ziggler (w/ R-Truth) to become NEW IC champion

Let's be real here, Florida Georgia Line ruined this match on commentary as WWE did their best recreation of the mess that was Wrestling Society X's horrible commentary. You would think WWE would have learned from them, but nope. Having musicians who know next to NOTHING about a wrestling match call it from ringside does nothing but distract from what is going on in the ring.
Lawler: "I had a job at a concrete company, but the work kept getting harder and harder."
The puns start there and only get worse, folks. Fortunately, Ziggler and Miz's "stunt doubles" (R-Ziggler and Mizdow) provide more than enough comedy relief in this match. I'm sure there are a million memes and gifs of Sandow on Tumblr writhing on the ground, mimicking Miz post-match. I'm not going to lie, I HATED the finish to this match. If they were going to do that, they should have just had this match the following night on Monday Night RAW. If you're reading this article, you should already know that Miz lost the title to Ziggler the next night anyway, so losing here didn't make much sense at all.

Seth Rollins calls out Roman Reigns - Dean Ambrose returns

Seth Rollins moves from one feud with one of his former Shield teammates to a filler feud with the other former Shield teammate once Dean Ambrose was written off television to go film a movie. Now that Roman Reigns had emergency hernia surgery, WWE had to rush Ambrose back into the picture to continue this feud where they left off. If you don't know that timing is EVERYTHING in wrestling, then this is the perfect time to learn. I shudder at the thought of what WWE would have done here if Ambrose didn't already wrap up filming that movie he's going to be in. I love how everyone had a million and one jokes about Ambrose not even stopping to pay the taxi driver after arriving to the arena.

Did Ambrose pay the taxi driver? "Nope."
My issue with this "open challenge" was that it would have been better if they had one of the NXT guys, namely reigning NXT Champion Adrian Neville or Sami Zayn, fight Seth Rollins in a match on this PPV only to have Ambrose to interfere when Rollins would try to cheat to win. That way the talent on NXT gets some exposure to the non-WWE Network subscribers and Ambrose's return isn't so damn obvious.

As for Ambrose and Rollins' brawl, I didn't mind it but I tire of how many times they have done this in their feud. I'm guessing they are going to finally let them cut loose in a Street Fight or some sort at Hell in a Cell to get this over with. On a side note, WWE is REALLY trying to hit the analogies to Brian Pillman home as commentary consistently refers to Ambrose as a "loose cannon". I personally see Ambrose as the new Stone Cold Steve Austin who just doesn't give a fuck about Authority (the stable) or actual authority at all.

(Laughs) Stephanie McMahon came to the event wearing her Sunday best, not even bothering to change clothes after church...

Rusev (w/ Lana) def. Mark Henry

If you follow me on Twitter or read my other blog, Method to Madness, you should know from my discussions about Captain America that I don't like overly patriotic characters - not in comic books, films, television, or any other media. I do understand that WWE is trying to maintain this legit USA vs. Russia hype behind this match - I just don't have to like it. I just NEVER liked the mindset of "my country is better than yours" to rile people up. I felt sorry that Mark Henry was actually legitimately crying during Lillian Garcia's performance of the National Anthem at the start of this match.


I'm not going to lie, but I personally felt the best thing going in this match was high slit that was cut into Lana's already shorter-than-short mini-skirt. I was enjoying ogling her at ringside than watching the action in the ring.

Speaking of Lana, you have to give her props. She's one of the VERY few people in WWE who have legit heat with audiences with their on-screen persona. I've said it once I'll say it again - without Lana, I'm positive that Rusev would have been as forgettable as Vladimir Kozlov and Luther Reigns in the role he's in currently.

As for the match itself, it wasn't bad at all. You would expect these powerhouse vs. powerhouse matches would be boring but Mark Henry managed to make it interesting with his feuds with The Big Show and Sheamus when he was a heel and he recreated some of that magic with Rusev here. Speaking of Rusev, he's one of the better "big guys" that WWE has had in a long time. He's extremely mobile for a guy for his size, yet doesn't allow his speed hinder him like other typical powerhouses. My biggest complaint about this match was that they hyped up Mark Henry like he was going to be the one to put down Rusev for good, but he tapped to Accolade like a bitch, just like EVERYONE before him.
Everyone's predictions of Rusev being fed to Cena to end his streak is looking more and more to be the obvious outcome, especially since WWE has to be careful when and how they eventually have John Cena tie or surpass Ric Flair's 16-time championship record. We'll discuss Cena's title wins a bit later...

Randy Orton def. Chris Jericho

This was another match I felt that was point-less going into the PPV. Unlike the Rusev/Mark Henry feud, it wasn't given a ton of TV time but was setup in a knee-jerk reaction to the conclusion of Jericho's feud with Bray Wyatt. Speaking of the Wyatt Family, I have to wonder why they have been left off of WWE programming after Jericho and Wyatt's program ended. You would think that Harper and Rowen would still be in the Tag Team title picture, but nope.

Back to the match at hand though... This match served as Jericho's curtain call to his current run with WWE as someone has to put over Orton as a legitimate threat again after being reduced to Authority's low-tier henchman, behind Seth Rollins and Kane.

If there's anything to take away from this match, take note of the stellar ring psychology from bell to bell here. Orton methodically wears down Jericho like a predator to his namesake, while Jericho sells this brutal assault but comes back for more. Not many people can work this well with Orton and make him look this good. I hope Orton appreciates this much-needed blessing that Jericho gave him on the way out of the door. Orton hasn't had a match this good in ages. 

Much like the previous match on this card, my biggest gripe with this match was the finish. You could see that RKO coming a mile away, especially if you're an Orton fan. What happened to the days when you didn't see it coming at all?

Regardless, this match turned out better than I expected. See ya during WrestleMania season, Jericho. Enjoy the well-deserved break.

WWE Divas Championship Match - AJ Lee def. Paige (c) and Nikki Bella to become NEW Divas Champion

From the SHEER amount of people on Twitter raving about this
spot obviously don't know that this is NOT the first time the
WWE Divas have done this before...
I'm going to do an extensive article on the things that WWE can do to tweak each of their divisions, especially the Divas Divison, to make them better with the talent pool they already have, but I want to go on record and say that this match was MUCH better than I was expecting going into this. I'm glad to be proven wrong on a lot of these matches on tonight's card that looked bland at first glance. First of all, Paige's promo that was aired again before this match from the Preshow was VERY damn good. It's things like that pisses me off about how WWE handles the Divas Division. If WWE took the initiative to do things like that with Paige when she first debuted, then WWE wouldn't had to drag AJ Lee back into the mix and toss her right back at the top of the Division. Let Paige - and other Divas talk - give us a chance to get to know their personalities. I don't care if you love or hate the Bella Twins feud, but we can all agree that WWE has to start somewhere if they want to start building other stars in this division other AJ Lee.
I have to laugh at how you knew Nikki Bella came into this match ready for a fight - symbolized by her hair braided up in a cliched MMA/girl-fight manner. I hope all of the people who thought that she was going to drag this match down feel stupid now - Nikki took a lot of insane bumps and hung toe-to-toe against WWE's two top Divas. I don't know about anyone else, but she seemed more deserving of this opportunity than Brie Bella was last year when she was granted an one-on-one opportunity against then-champion AJ Lee. If Nikki Bella can keep up this level of intensity on a regular basis, then I'm perfectly fine with her being the Divas Champion again at some point in the near-future - despite the disgust from the IWC (internet wrestling community) on anyone from Total Divas holding the title.
As for AJ Lee and Paige, it was fine that they continued their pseudo-lesbian romance in this match as part the ring psychology, but Nikki Bella continued to come between them before their interactions came to a climax - no pun intended. I was glad to see AJ get more offense in for once instead of flopping around the ring like a ragdoll. Another thing that I noticed was that AJ's application of the Black Widow isn't as sloppy nor half-assed as she executed it in the past.
Like I said on my predictions on Facebook for this event, I feel like AJ Lee regaining the Divas title was the worst case scenario. Whether you are an AJ Lee fan or not, you CANNOT deny that the Paige/AJ feud is growing stale. Something has to be done to change things up here. Making Paige into the wannabe AJ Lee to compensate wasn't working and making Paige change back and forth from the Anti-Diva gimmick isn't going to work either, especially if WWE isn't going to stick with it. It's the same recycled and rehashed trend they are doing with AJ Lee. One week she's crazy another week she's calm and collected at ringside on commentary. Is it a little too much to ask for some consistency here? I like Paige just as much as anyone else, but c'mon people. How can she call herself the "Anti-Diva" when she's still doing photo shoots and glamour shots like just like every other Diva on the roster? That's the harsh reality I want ALL WWE Diva fans to see - they aren't so different. It doesn't matter if they are on Total Divas or not. What matters is their ability to go into that ring and bring it.

While I could rant on my personal suggestions on how to improve the Divas division as a whole, I'm just going to save that discussion for another day. Otherwise, I would be ranting about this all night.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match - John Cena def. Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) via DQ; Lesnar retains as a result

While I understand that WWE had to allow John Cena to win here to bounce back from the vicious beating he received at Summerslam last month, but I felt like a draw would have been a better conclusion to this match. They didn't need to destroy the ring to do so, but I felt like audiences would have been spared from Cena-Mania Running Wild as he magically brought Lesnar into submission until the inevitable interference from Seth Rollins.


I like to think that WWE's writers are smarter than they seem from their booking decisions at times, and that's why I'm positive that John Cena is NOT going to reach 16 championship wins to tie with Ric Flair - let alone surpass that number, until WrestleMania season. If built-up properly, this could make a really good storyline/angle to market WrestleMania 31 with or at least kick-start WrestleMania season with. Remember they did the same with unifying the championships before Royal Rumble last year. WWE has to handle that situation carefully as there's a LOT of people they could potentially piss off if they don't make this particular milestone significant. At the same time, I'm not going to be one of those people who are going to get upset over Cena surpassing that record. With The Undertaker's Streak broken, that merely proves that NOTHING in wrestling is sacred anymore - not distinct finishers/signatures, winning streaks, nor title records.

Say what you want about Lesnar but he sold that like a pro... Rollins must have
a death wish or something though.
While the match as a whole wasn't bad, it dragged on a little too long for my taste. The lack of involvement from Paul Heyman was rather strange as well since he did nothing when Seth Rollins came into the ring ready to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. Heyman is usually a LOT more animated in his ring-side involvement during matches.

Closing Words

Was this is a bad Pay-Per-View event? No, but I find it rather odd that the bulk of WWE's fans were tossing the ENTIRE card underneath the bus with the exception of Dean Ambrose's return and AJ Lee regaining the Divas title being the only highlights from this event. I'll admit I wasn't in the best of moods while I was watching this event live on Sunday, but that's why I waited until I re-watched the PPV with a clear head later that week before writing this article. I don't know what drugs everyone else was on, but this was a pretty solid event, with almost everything on the card being well worth watching (the Divas title match, US title defense, Jericho v. Orton, and the Tag Team title matches standing out above the rest) but I couldn't shake the feeling like this was merely an action-packed, high-profile edition of Monday Night RAW. 
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REVIEW -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2014 American science fiction action comedy film based on the franchise of the same name. This is a reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series. The film is directed by Jonathan Liebesman, and stars Megan Fox, Johnny Knoxville, Pete Ploszek, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Alan Ritchson, Danny Woodburn, Tony Shalhoub, William Fichtner, and Will Arnett.

The film was announced shortly before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Peter Laird sold the rights to the franchise to Nickelodeon in 2009. It was produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

The film was released on August 8, 2014.

Cast:

Megan Fox as April O'Neil
Malina Weissman as young April O'Neil
Will Arnett as Vernon Fenwick
William Fichtner as Eric Sacks
Alan Ritchson as Raphael
Noel Fisher as Michelangelo
Pete Ploszek as Leonardo (motion-capture performer)
Johnny Knoxville as Leonardo (voice)
Jeremy Howard as Donatello
Danny Woodburn as Splinter (motion-capture performer)
Tony Shalhoub as Splinter (voice)
Tohoru Masamune as Shredder
Whoopi Goldberg as Bernadette Thompson
Minae Noji as Karai
Abby Elliott as Taylor
Taran Killam as McNaughton
K. Todd Freeman as Dr. Baxter Stockman
Paul Fitzgerald as Dr. O'Neil

Plot: (FULL Spoilers)

April O'Neil, a reporter for Channel 6 news in New York, has been watching a mysterious organization called the Foot Clan terrorizing New York. She stumbles upon a robbery they are committing one night and notices a strange looking figure having foiled it. She tries reporting back to Channel 6 about her findings, but no one believes her.

The Foot Clan then terrorizes a subway next. She goes to the scene again in an attempt to find the vigilante and find evidence towards his existence. She sees four vigilantes this time, as they all fight off the Foot Clan and then disappear. She manages to spot them climbing atop the rooftop however, and tries to take a picture of them with her camera to prove to her co-workers they are real. The turtles Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael discover her and delete the camera images however, and tell her not to tell anyone of their existence or they will personally find her. She asks them who they are before they leave, and they claim to be "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

She returns to her apartment and finds some footage from July 1999 in her camera of a laboratory she was a part of when she was a little girl. She notices that the turtles she took care of from the laboratory 15 years earlier seem similar to the mutant turtles she had seen on the rooftop. She also remembers that her father was testing a type of mutagen in the laboratory. She continues doing more research and eventually pieces together that the Ninja Turtles were the same ones from the laboratory.

She tries again to explain to her boss Bernadette Thompson at Channel 6 news about the existence of the Ninja Turtles and that they are fighting secretly against the Foot Clan. Bernadette gets so infuriated that she fires April. April thus tries explaining to her co-worker Vernon Fenwick, whom also has strong romantic feelings towards her, about her findings, but he also does not believe her. He does agree to take her to the old laboratory where she first owned the Turtles however. She finds her father's lab associate there Eric Sacks.

April discusses the Ninja Turtles and how she believes they are fighting against the Foot Clan and shows an image to him of them. Sacks explains to her the history of their experiments with the mutagens, and that he and her now deceased father were planning on using them for healing properties. He realizes what must have happened and that the mutagen must have somehow affected the turtles when the laboratory was exploding and caused them to mutate into human like beings.

Meanwhile in the sewers, the Ninja Turtles tell their master, Splinter the truth about April having spotted them. Splinter orders they find April and bring her to their lair, as she is now in great danger from the Foot Clan since she made contact with the Turtles.

The Turtles find April and obstructs her view with what looks like a sack so she will be unaware of their lair's location. They take her to Splinter, who explains to her how she saved their lives from the laboratory by rescuing them from the fire and releasing them into the sewers. She tells them that she told her father's associate Eric Sacks about them and was unaware that Sacks was actually allied with the Foot Clan's leader, The Shredder, whom Sacks then relayed the information to. Now that Shredder knew of their existence, he and his Foot Clan minions go into the sewer to capture them so they can use the mutagen in their blood in Shredders scheme to spread a deadly virus throughout New York. Splinter and the Turtles fight against them, but are ultimately defeated and their home destroyed. Shredder kidnaps Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo and leaves Splinter greatly injured. Raphael was not captured because the Foot Clan believed he was already killed in the battle.

April who managed to hide from the destruction attempts to dig Splinter out from under the rubble. Raphael emerges from the rubble too and joins April in digging Splinter out also, and then April attempts to tend to Splinter's wounds. Splinter instructs Raphael and April to save the other three Turtles before Shredder can extract the mutagen from them that he plans to use in his scheme to poison New York. April calls Vernon to give them a ride to the laboratory where the other three Turtles are being held hostage.

When the trio arrives, April frees the other three Turtles while Raphael fights Shredder. After they are freed, they join Raphael in fighting Shredder. Shredder escapes after defeating them again and April leaves with the Turtles and Vernon to return to the Turtles' lair for a new plan. During the escape, they are pursued by Shredder's Foot Clan in trucks but eventually manage to defeat them.

The Turtles plan that they will attempt to hold off against Shredder on the rooftop of Sacks' building before he is able to finish setting up the device to release the toxin onto New York, while April and Vernon attempt to gather the mutagen from inside the building. April eventually manages to acquire it and heads onto the rooftop to give it to the Turtles. While the Turtles and April hang from the fallen tower, they manage to give April the momentum she needs to kick Shredder off the tower, finally defeating him as he falls to the ground greatly injured. After the Turtles retreat back into the sewers, Shredder is seen touching some of the mutagen.

The film ends with Vernon attempting again to catch April's heart with a new car he had just bought, but the Turtles arrive in a new car they had just built and accidentally destroy Vernon's car when Michelangelo sets off a missile. Vernon starts getting upset as April gently sways him away while the Turtles offer her a ride in their new van, which she kindly rejects.

The Verdict: 


For those who know me personally will be happy to know that I didn't give Michael Bay my hard-earned money to see this, I had the "pleasure" of watching this through other means. I wasn't too thrilled to watch this to begin with and even more so to write this review on it - hence the lengthy gap between the release weekend and the time I actually got this review posted when I actually already had this handwritten (along with my review for Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction) for a while now.

That being said, let's do this review a bit different. I'm going to start off with my issues with the film, then end on a positive note.

The film starts off with the Foot Clan being attacked by some shadowy figures that we all know that are the Turtles, but we, the audience, don't actually see the Turtles until about roughly 30-40 minutes into the film because the film decided it was a brilliant idea to follow April O'Neil around on her failed attempts to get her career as a news reporter kick-started. Eventually, April swoops too deep into the Foot's operations and finds herself right in the middle of one of their heists, but the Turtles save the day. She gets a glimpse of the Turtles on her camera phone and hilarity ensues as the Turtles are forced to reveal themselves to her. You've seen this scene play out in the million and one trailers for this film and it's no different. Bay has the Turtles oogling Megan Fox's beauty, much like Sam in the Transformers films. We get it already - she's hot. Moving on...

This series of events forces the Turtles to bring April to their lair where their origin story is revealed.

I don't even spoil how stupid the "remix" of the Turtles' origin is because I literally burst out laughing when I watched the scene. It's really THAT bad. You have to see that part for yourself. The only thing that I'm going to say is that I seriously doubt anyone could become a master ninja just from reading a book someone threw in the trash... Also, to say Master Splinter isn't even Asian in this continuity that's pretty fucked up to stereotype him like that. I can't say I'm surprised, especially given Bay's track record on the Autobot's stereotypical personalities in ALL of the Transformers films to date.

Much like my issue with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 where the film decided it was a great idea to make the origin story "predestined" in terms of how these heroes got their powers, I feel like this type of storytelling kills the awe and magic that made their origin story special. That's like the military telling Bruce Banner that "yeah even if you didn't push the kid off the testing field, we were going to push you out there anyway to make sure you became the Hulk. There wasn't no accident..."

Will Arnett's Vernon Fenwick (a character created specifically for this film and only related to the character from the 1989 cartoon by name alone) was enjoyable for the most part, but his presence felt forced in the last hour the film when his appeal would have benefited the stale opening 30 minutes of the film with Megan Fox's April O'Neil.

As for villains in this film, I didn't mind Sacks and I didn't mind The Shredder wearing armor like he was fucking Iron Man or the Silver Samurai from The Wolverine, but it pissed me off that they had Karai in this film in a role that was completely meaningless and forgettable. She wasn't established as Shredder's surrogate "daughter" or anything. She was merely a random high ranking Foot Soldier in Shredder's forces. That's it. She barely had any dialogue. If they were going to do that to her, I would have had her just be a nameless female Foot Soldier or one of the Purple Dragons. Karai is a vital character in the TMNT universe, especially with the Turtles' on/off rivalry with the Foot Clan. It's a damn shame to see Michael Bay completely waste this character in this film.

My last, but biggest gripe with this film is how the Turtles looked. In terms of computer-generated animation, Michael Bay has come a long away from the indistinguishable mess of metal and wires that was supposed to be Transformers in combat from that franchise to the the hulking brutes that are supposed to be the Ninja Turtles we know and love. To make matters worse, the film provides absolutely no explanation on why the Turtles look like this, ranging from Raphael wearing shades on his head that he never pulls over his eyes, Leonard covered in mostly samurai armor, Michelangelo covered in sea shells and beads as if he just came back from a cruise in the Bahamas, and Donatello being absolutely nerded out from head to toe - glasses, goggles and a photon pack that were possibly stolen from the set of Ghostbusters. I swear everything about Donny screamed, "NERD!!!" from the top of their lungs in this film. I get it - Donny's the scientist and resident geek of the group, but damn it was a bit overboard here. I know people complain about Donatello having buck teeth in the current 2012 animated series on Nickelodeon, but this iteration was far worse in my humble opinion.

I just can't fathom why Michael Bay choose to make the Turtles look like absolute nightmare fuel for children in this film when their previous iterations have all been far less horrifying. It didn't help when Mikey took off his mask to show April and he looked just like Shrek on crack.

(Sighs) I feel like everything I say about this film is going sound negative, but let's end on a good note, shall we?

There is a scene near the end of the film where the Turtles and April are falling off of a tower and Leo says: "I think this is it. Do you guys have any last words?" Donny replies with "It was me who licked the icing off the Pop-Tarts and put them back in the box!”  Mikey adds to the humor with, "I never understood the ending of Lost!" And then Raphael says: "If this is our final moments, I just want you all to know that all those times I pushed you, picked on you, bullied you, and pushed you beyond your limits, it was because I was scared! I was scared because I thought I would never be able to catch up to you and call you brothers! It’s because I love you guys! I love you guys so much!” He says all this while crying! The feels, man. THE FEELS!

This is a prime example of why I can humbly admit that the Turtles' personalities and the concept of Turtles' brotherly bond are intact in this film, despite their hulking, brute appearances. If Michael Bay got anything right, it was each of the Turtles' distinct personalities. Raph is rude and always inching for a fight, Leo is the fearless leader, Mikey is a goofball and provides the comic relief, and Donny is the resident dork who always has a plan. I found myself laughing at their dialogue and verbal exchanges more often than I thought I would going into this, but I'm sure there's TMNT fans who are far more critical of this film and of TMNT in general that they aren't even going to like this tidbit.

Another thing I loved about this film was the action sequences. I think everyone is going to rave about the battle against the Foot Clan as they all raced down the side of the mountain, but that sequence has been spoiled almost in its entirety in almost all of the trailers and commercials for the film, so there's little surprises there to get excited about. I thought the several encounters against Shredder were all well-done and kept up with Shredder's menacing demeanor in his portrayals in TMNT media as of late, especially the 2002 and 2012 animated series.

With the tease that saw Shredder reaching and touching the mutagen at the end of the film, I think we all knew that Michael Bay was going to get the green-light for a sequel, which is slated for a 2016 release. Despite the vast amount of negativity surrounding this film, it wasn't really THAT bad. Bay's original concept of "alien" Turtles was axed, but audiences still had to deal with the nightmare fuel that was comprised of Turtles' appearances in this film. If you can stomach their appearances, along with the 30+ minutes of Megan Fox/April O'Neil unnecessary drama, I can definitely suggest this to casual TMNT fans, who might just find something to enjoy here. To the hardcore (especially long-time) TMNT fans, I suggest avoiding this film like the plague. It's not TMNT: The Next Mutation-level bad, but there's more than enough here to piss you off.

Michael Bay's TMNT 2014 reboot gets an average score of 7 out of 10 from me. I had my closure with the TMNT I knew and love back with the animated feature, TMNT Forever, but I'm willing to give these new spins on the TMNT license a fair chance before I quickly discard it as trash. 
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DVD Review -- TNA Wrestling: The Best of the Asylum Years, Vol. 1


Welcome to another entry in my ongoing quest to provide you guys with notable wrestling DVDs and Blu-Rays worth (or not worth) adding to personal collections. This entry is the first non-WWE review when we take a look at TNA Wrestling: The Best of The Asylum Years, Volume 1.

Impact Wrestling.com describes this set as follows:
"TNA Wrestling has opened the vault and now you can see some of the best matches from the early days that helped shape TNA into the wrestling phenomenon it is today! The double-disc DVD contains over 20 rare matches from TNA's events at the Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee, from 2002-2004.
Witness the rise of TNA Wrestling, the start of the X Division with AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn, the emergence of tag teams like America's Most Wanted and Triple X, the war between Jeff Jarrett and Raven, Jeff Hardy's TNA debut, hardcore action with Sabu and Abyss and much, much more!"

Overview:

Note: This is one of the DVD reviews where I will NOT use my 5 star rating per match. There's a LOT of matches to cover on this set, so it's not going to hurt you to watch the ENTIRE thing. Most of these matches aren't present in their full glory, so take that into consideration as well. I didn't think it was fair to grade incomplete content.

Disc 1

MATCH #1: JULY 24, 2002
TNA-NWA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - SABU VS KEN SHAMROCK (c) - LADDER MATCH

This was a spot-heavy affair to the enjoyment of the crowd, but sadly, this DVD only includes partial footage to this match as the finish was cut out completely.

MATCH #2: AUGUST 28, 2002
THREE WAY LADDER MATCH - AJ STYLES VS LOW KI VS JERRY LYNN

Before the match, former X-Division stars and talent weigh in on how the X-Division pout TNA on the map and how it changed the landscape of what a main eventer looks like in this profession.

Unlike the first match on this DVD, this match is here in its entirety. This is a perfect example of what the X-Division is known for - high caliber performances.

For example, that crazy ladder piledriver spot to Low Ki by Jerry Lynn is a must-see spot.

You definitely won't be disappointed here.


MATCH #3: APRIL 30, 2003
RAVEN VS JEFF JARRETT

Alexis Laree (Mickie James) accompanies Raven to the ring with fellow Gathering member, Julio Dinero.

I found myself laughing as I totally forgot how Raven looked like before he allowed himself to get out of shape in the later years of TNA.

This is one of the rare occasions where TNA audiences were treated to Jeff Jarrett doing high-flying moves consistently, while Sabu falls onto a random fan.

As for the finish, just watch this shit. Mere words won't do this justice.

MATCH #4: MAY 7, 2003
TRIPLE X (ELIX SKIPPER AND LOW KI) VS AJ STYLES AND D'LO BROWN

This marks a time when TNA gave D'Lo Brown a big push after WWE neglected him after the height of his Attitude Era run. D'Lo Brown formed a dynamic tag team with a young AJ Styles to challenge the rising stars known as Elix Skipper and Low Ki.

Nothing really out of the norm here from these four men, but great match nonetheless. I loved the Double Sky High finish.

MATCH #5: JUNE 11, 2003
JEFF JARRETT VS RAVEN VS AJ STYLES

By this point, you're possibly getting sick of AJ Styles and Raven matches, so don't expect anything new from this one.

Vince Russo screws Jeff Jarrett out of the title for AJ Styles to pick up the win after "The Franchise" Shane Douglas took out Raven.

This match marks the rise of AJ Styles as a main event player in TNA.

MATCH #6: JUNE 25, 2003
TNA-NWA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - TRIPLE X VS AMERICA'S MOST WANTED - STEEL CAGE MATCH

This was TNA's first ever steel cage match.

AMW defy the odds and emerge as the NEW tag team champions.

There's far too many insane spots to list, but if you're a fan of tag team wrestling or just love steel cage matches, then you're going to love this match.

MATCH #7: SEPTEMBER 17, 2003
HAIR VS. HAIR MATCH - RAVEN VS SHANE DOUGLAS

For the most part, TNA treats this match as mostly a traditional Street Fight from how much time Raven and Douglas are brawling outside of the ring and among the crowd. I personally suggest NOT to eat anything during or before this match because at one point Shane Douglas just starts randomly vomiting in the ring. Commentary tries to play it off that he's vomiting from the brutality of this match, but Douglas looked like he was legit sick to me. It grossed me out even more to see them still doing bumps and spots in the ring with the man's vomit right there on the canvas.

Sinn (WWE's Kizarny) and Slash come to Douglas' aid near the end, but Raven's Gathering (Julio Dinero and CM Punk; more on them later...) make the save. Raven has the match won with a top rope Raven Effect through a table but the lights go out just as the referee was about to make the three count. Vampiro (with Father James Mitchell) screws Raven out of the win to force Raven to get his head shaved.

MATCH #8: NOVEMBER 12, 2003
JEFF JARRETT AND LEX LUGER VS AJ STYLES AND STING

This match is used as the "rise" of Sting in TNA and I have to thoroughly disagree that this was NOT the most influential moment for Sting being in TNA. That goes to Sting's return at Final Resolution 2006 to his full-on "resurrection" at Bound For Glory that year.

If I'm completely honest, this match isn't really worth watching as it's false advertisement. Build-up to this chapter in the introduction makes you believe that it's about Sting, but it's more about "accepting" AJ Styles as a main event player and Sting putting him over to hang with the likes of Lex Luger and Double J.

That being said, Sting has VERY little involvement in the physicality of this match outside of the finish.

MATCH #9: FIRST EVER FANS' REVENGE MATCH - JEFF JARRETT VS "AMERICAN DREAM" DUSTY RHODES - JIMMY HART AT RINGSIDE W/ HAND-PICKED FANS AS LUMBERJACKS

This was rather strange that they would include this match on the DVD but don't have the full match in its entirety here. The match just ends abruptly before the closing narration of Disk 1. I personally got a good kick out of the irate fans beating the piss out of Double J with those leather straps though.

Imagine if TNA brought this match type back at the top of Dixie Carter's heel run or during the Aces & Eights storyline. I'm sure people would have been tearing down the ticket booths to come into their arenas and lay their hands on them.

BONUS MATCH:

AUGUST 6, 2003
AJ STYLES VS D'LO BROWN

What most people don't know about D'Lo Brown after he left WWE was that he had a VERY successful career in TNA. One of his stand-out feuds of the NWA-TNA years was against AJ Styles. They would act as rivals and even acted as a tag team for a while as well (as seen earlier on this disk).

Disc 2

MATCH #1: FEBRUARY 18, 2004

JULIO DINERO AND CM PUNK VS TERRY FUNK AND RAVEN


The first thing most people are going to notice here is a VERY young CM Punk, showing the seeds of what he is going to become in the future of this sport. For those so-called "fans" of CM Punk's fan base who aren't aware of his non-WWE exploits, will be shocked to see him continuously cursing and swearing at the top of his lungs from bell to bell of this contest.

The focal point of this chapter was hitting home the fact that TNA Wrestling wasn't regarded as an indy promotion any longer. They were attracting big names and Legends, such as Terry Funk, at this point. This match is more about Terry Funk helping put Raven and more importantly, TNA, at this point in their history. Terry Funk blades early into this contest to hit the point home on a physical level to sell the beating from Dinero and Punk and add to his noble sacrifice to take the taser shot from James Mitchell's stungun.

Keep in mind that CM Punk and Raven would have a lengthy feud in Ring of Honor a few years later that stemmed from their hatred for each other here.

MATCH#2: MARCH 17, 2004
LADDER MATCH FOR #1 CONTENDER SPOT - AJ STYLES VS ABYSS

Abyss credits AJ Styles to being one of his favorite opponents, due to their amazing chemistry together. This match was a perfect example of that. To say that this was still in the early stages of both of these wrestlers' careers, it was pure money to watch.

There's a lot crazy spots in this match, including a 450 Splash from the top of the ladder by Styles, a rolling powerbomb onto to steel chairs to Abyss, a running bulldog onto the railing of the ladder by Styles, and a crazy spill to ringside that causes AJ Styles to lose the match.

MATCH #3: APRIL 14, 2004
FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE - SABU VS MONTY BROWN

From bell to bell, this was a great match. It's spot-heavy, but you should know that going into a Sabu match, especially one in a hardcore environment.

MATCH #4: APRIL 21, 2004
STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR NWA-TNA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - JEFF JARRETT VS AJ STYLES


This match was pretty much Jeff Jarrett passing down his veteran experience to the rising stardom of AJ Styles. I wouldn't be doing this match justice if I didn't give props to Vince Russo for his promo that put AJ Styles into this match in the first place as NO ONE saw this coming at the time.

This match also serves as one of the perfect examples of Jeff Jarrett's bag of tricks to cheat his way to retain the gold. AJ Styles manages to survive everything Jeff Jarrett threw at him, including the kitchen sink

MATCH #5: JUNE 9, 2004
X-DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - KAZARIAN VS AJ STYLES

This was a great match, despite the slow start, but the finish was botched big time. If you're interested in seeing these guys in the early stages of their careers, this match is a good sample of what what they could do.

MATCH #6: JULY 28, 2004
#1 CONTENDER'S MATCH FOR NWA-TNA TITLE - MONTY BROWN VS JEFF HARDY

This match brought back fond memories for me as this was the time frame where I REALLY marked for TNA's product. In terms of matches for highlighting Jeff Hardy's "impact" (no pun intended) on TNA at the time, I would have selected AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy (it's in the Bonus matches though) or Abyss vs. Jeff Hardy. As much as I enjoyed the action here, I have to admit that the finish was weak with Jeff Hardy pulling out a win with a rollup to counter The Pounce.

MATCH #7: AUGUST 18, 2004
X-DIVISION STREET FIGHT - KID KASH VS AJ STYLES

In the DVD commentary before this match started, AJ Styles mentions that the balcony spot was VERY stupid to do in this match, especially when it wasn't the finish. I'm inclined to agree as it was a bit unnecessary to take that risk.

For the most part, this match is treated like an old school bawl throughout the arena among the live crowd.

The post-match attack is cut from this match.

MATCH #8: SEPTEMBER 18, 2004
NWA-TNA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - JEFF HARDY VS JEFF JARRETT 

This was the last match at the Asylum, with several stars watching this match transpire from the top of the stage, including Abyss, Vince Russo, Monty Brown, Dusty Rhodes, and Raven. You've seen about a million of these Jeff Jarrett title matches on this DVD set and this one is no different. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but if you've watched this entire DVD set up to this point you know what to expect. 

BONUS MATCHES:

April 28, 2004
SABU VS ABYSS

Seeing these two guys go at it is always a treat to watch, especially in a hardcore environment.

June 9, 2004
MONTY BROWN AND ABYSS VS AMERICA'S MOST WANTED

This was a weird pairing, but the duo managed to make it work with the natural excitement that AMW brought to TNA's tag team division at the time. For those wondering, this was set during the time where Goldy Locks was still manipulating Abyss to do her bidding.

June 23, 2004
AJ STYLES VS JEFF HARDY

This was a HUGE dream match for a LOT of people at the time. Jeff Hardy had left WWE by this point while AJ Styles has grown into TNA's hottest commodity. This first meeting between the two put even more eyes on TNA Wrestling as they were able to draw in yet another big name onto their roster.

July 7, 2004
MONTY BROWN VS D'LO BROWN

Much like D'Lo Brown's match against AJ Styles on the Bonus content of the first disk, this match serves as another example of D'Lo Brown's excellent post-WWE run in TNA.

The Verdict:

The Best of the Asylum Years, Vol. 1 serves as a refresher course for the days of yore in TNA's early years at the fabled Asylum. Is it the best collection of matches from this time period? No, but it's the best you can get if you're merely starting a collection of DVDs from TNA's early years. I would have loved a bit more commentary and insight from some of the competitors who were in the matches on this DVD on how it felt to compete for TNA at this crucial time, but it was the same few guys commenting about it on every few matches. My main gripe with this DVD set is that it tends to gloss over the historical aspect of this time period, but I think the TNA Wrestling: Year One DVD covers that aspect MUCH better. Don't worry, I plan on covering that DVD at a later date. 

As for this DVD set, you can find it easily online for roughly $8-10. That's more than fair for this content, despite the fact that this DVD set doesn't focus on all of the topics that it covers and subjects that it presents. Fortunately, if you're new to TNA's history in the Asylum or just a long-time fan looking to refresh your memory, this DVD set serves as a good entry point to start before moving onto TNA's other themed DVD releases, such as Best of the X-Division Vol. 1 & 2 and KNOCKOUTS: The Ladies of TNA Wrestling, Vol. 1 (this review is coming soon) or the wrestler-focused DVDs, such as Unstoppable: The Best of Samoa Joe, Phenomenal: The Best of AJ Styles, or The Best of Raven: Nevermore. 

I'm giving The Best of the Asylum Years, Vol. 1 a 7.75 out of 10. 
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Impact Wrestling: No Surrender 2014 -- Results & Afterthoughts


On September 17, 2014, Impact Wrestling held it's No Surrender Pay-Per-View on Spike TV in place of a regular episode of Impact. The show was still in the 2 hour format on TV, but that didn't hinder the match quality for one bit.

Havok wins #1 Contender's Over-The-Top Rope Battle Royal For TNA Knockouts Championship


This was straight-forward and to the point. Havok came in there and cleaned house. TNA didn't sugarcoat it or anything. We knew it was coming but it was cool to see win the right to challenge Gail Kim.

If memory serves me right from the reports, this was the match where Rebel broke her arm after taking a rather nasty fall to the floor upon her elimination in this match. Speaking of Rebel, I was surprised to see her last that long in this match, especially to say that she's still pretty green in terms of her training. If I were to guess their direction from here with Rebel, I'm guessing that she would have a program with Angelina Love or The Beautiful People would feud among themselves (Angelina's jealousy was obvious during the calendar reveal last week) before we find out whether or not if Velvet Sky is going to leave with Bully Ray after Bound for Glory.

I remember reading comments online and seeing people complaining that the other Knockouts didn't get to do much here. That was the point of this match - pure domination from Havok. I guess some fans weren't paying attention that all hope wasn't lost as Rayne, Taryn, and Velvet Sky held their own against the powerhouse briefly before getting eliminated, so it's not like everyone jobbed to her.


This post-match promo from Gail Kim is one of the reasons why I love her as the fighting babyface champion. See? You don't have to be a wannabe CM Punk-like heel to get over, ladies!

Chris Melendez (Sarge) def. Kenny King (w/ MVP)


MVP comes out with Kenny King to the ring to shoot a promo on Roode's chances of defeating Lashley tonight looking bleak and hopeless. Surprisingly enough MVP and Kenny King put over Sarge in their promo before calling him out for a match here tonight.
Don't get me wrong, but this was pretty boring to watch. Sarge gets beat up without mercy throughout this match, only to get a simple roll-up out of nowhere for the win. If TNA wants to impress me with this guy, I would like to see him getting some solid offense in there like he did in his debut. Kenny King goes for the Royal Flush post-match out of spite, but Sarge DDTs him the canvas. Sarge tried to shake K2's hand out of respect, but was shot down as King assaulted Melendez until Mr. Anderson made the save.

X-Division Championship Match - Samoa Joe (c) def. Homicide to retain

I marked when I heard Homicide coming out to a variation of the original LAX theme. It was cool that Mike Tenay took the time to review Joe and Homicide's fabled history throughout this match to add to the drama. While I enjoyed this match (especially the Rear Naked Choke counter to the Gringo Cutter), I wouldn't rate it better than Samoa Joe's matches against Low-Ki over the past month. These matches are fulfilling their purpose though:
  1. These matches have been putting the X-Division back into the spotlight after taking a backseat on TNA's programming for a LONG time during the Hulk Hogan/Eric Bischoff takeover.
  2. TNA is slowly rebuilding Samoa Joe as a legitimate threat again. Whenever he does decide to move up back into the main event picture, he will be taken seriously as a major player like back in 2006-2007. 
Last but not least, after all of the complaints about Manik/TJ Perkins' costume, TNA finally changed it to suit his "transformation" to fit in with James Storm and The Great Sanada's stable when the trio attacked Samoa Joe and Homicide after the match. 

Match #3 in Best of Three Tag Team Series: Ladder Match - The Wolves def. The Hardys and Team 3D

Easily a Match of the Year candidate here. Each one of these matches in this Best of Three Tag Team Series has been better than the last. 

If you love tag team wrestling, do yourself a favor and watch this match in its entirety, folks. Words can't do this one justice. 

Bram def. Gunner

Let's be serious here, this was the "cool down" match after that insane ladder match. No offense to either of these guys, but I honestly didn't care much for this match. It just served its purpose to continue the ongoing Samuel Shaw and Gunner storyline/partnership. I'm just putting it out there, but if Shaw isn't interested in Brittany, send her my way. Holla at 'cha boy, Gunner!

TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match - Bobby Lashley (c) def. Robert Roode

I hope this match shuts up all of Lashley's critics. Much like Eric Young before him, TNA is maintaining this track record of building up legitimately strong champions representing their top prize as the face of the company. This was yet another great title defense from the "Destroyer." Roode put up a great fight but narrowly missed the margin to dethrone Lashley for the gold.
Fortunately, GM Kurt Angle already booked the rematch, along with the last match in the Best of Three Tag Team Series to be a Full Metal Mayhem match, for TNA's next set of live TV tapings. I don't know about anyone else but I would gladly pay to see this on PPV. Somehow, I'm thinking they have a triple threat main event in mind for Bound For Glory (set to be held in Japan) between Lashley, Roode, and Eric Young. All in all, No Surrender was solid show, with the Tag Team Match and main event being must-sees this week. 
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REVIEW -- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons


Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a downloadable story-driven puzzle-platformer adventure video game developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by 505 Games released on August 7, 2013 for the Xbox Live Arcade and on September 3 2013 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation Network.

Plot: (FULL Spoilers)

The story begins with a boy named Naiee paying his respects at the tombstone of his mother, who drowned at sea while he remained unable to save her. His elder brother, Naia, calls him to help their ill father reach the village's doctor, who in turn tells them the only way to save him is by collecting the waters from the Tree of Life. The brothers embark on their journey through the village, hills and mountains, while facing challenges like the local bully, a farmer's aggressive dog, and deadly wolves. They also help others along the way – reuniting a friendly pair of trolls, saving a man attempting suicide, and aiding an inventor.


Eventually they reach a giants' castle and free a badly injured griffin who helps them before succumbing to its injuries. The brothers press on through a valley of dead giants that went to war and save a girl from being sacrificed by tribesmen. The girl in turn helps them travel icy waters, avoiding deadly orca-like fish. They arrive at an old town that was in the middle of a battle before everyone suddenly froze to death in-place, and the trio have to escape from an invisible giant that stalks the ruins of the town. After successfully defeating the monster, the girl begins seducing Naia, and soon tricks the brothers to enter a cave, much to Naiee's dismay. Once inside she reveals herself as a monstrous spider and while trying to eat Naia, the brothers manage to thwart and kill her by pulling off her legs – but not before she mortally wounds Naia.

Nearing the end of their journey, the brothers at last reach the Tree of Life; Naia insists that Naiee ventures on to reach the top of the tree. He collects the Water of Life, but as he returns to the bottom, he finds that Naia has already died from his injuries. Unable to revive him using the water, Naiee buries and grieves for his older brother before returning to the village aided once again by a griffin.

Upon reaching the shoreline, Naiee must face his fear of swimming in order to get the waters to his dying father. His mother's spirit appears to comfort and motivate him, and with Naia's spiritual guidance – in-game, the use of Naia's interaction key – Naiee is able to force himself to swim to the village. He is finally able to give the doctor the water, and the father recovers from his illness overnight. A short time afterwards, Naiee and his father mourn at the tombstones of both the mother and Naia while the griffin flies on into the mountains.

The Verdict: 

If I was completely honest, these peaceful moments like this were
my absolutely favorite parts of this game.
This going to be one of my shortest game reviews to date, but in my defense, there's not much to talk about this game. 

The game has a VERY linear story without any branching off, unless you're an achievement/trophy hunter, but this game was easily a Game of the Year candidate back in 2013. I can humbly agree for the most part, but I personally found the obvious ending made the game lose a few points from me. 

Speaking of the ending, you must have a heart of stone or ice if you don't feel the brothers' bond throughout the game. This significant focus on family and working together made the ending hit pretty for most players, but from the halfway point of the game, I found it to be the predictable outcome for this game to end on. To say the game was stressing the two brothers working together so much, I knew there had to be something that would just shatter players' emotions to end with. In a gaming industry among hits such as The Walking Dead (The Video Game) and The Last of Us, you know developers aren't going to shy away from death. 

The dual analog stick control scheme (each analog stick controls each brother individually) takes a little getting used to, but works beautifully for the most part. I personally found it easy to lose track of whose who out of the two brothers while navigating the world. The game forces players to implement clever usage of teamwork to complete most puzzles and the FEW enemy encounters in this game. I wish that Starbreeze Studios took the time to add more of these puzzles and enemy encounters as this game would have benefited with another 2-4 hours of gameplay. 

That being said, this game can be completed in one sitting. It's not long at all. I would estimate it's less than 4 hours if you don't get stuck on any of the puzzles nor experience any glitches. To be honest, this is one of the rare occasions where I can't hold the game's length against it as the game paces itself like a movie. There's no filler nor bullshit - it's straight-forward and to the point. A few glitches prevent me from giving this game a perfect score, since they made particular puzzles impossible to complete without restarting the game or starting the ENTIRE chapter/level over and losing all of your progress. Glitches like this should have been caught during development, especially for a game that was as short as this.

At the end of the day, Brothers is one of those of games where you're either going to absolutely love it or hate it. Unique controls, a touching narrative, and breath-taking visuals were crammed into this compact, downloadable adventure, I'm giving Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons a 9.5 out of 10. 

Keep a box of tissues on standby. You've been warned. 
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