God of War: Ragnarok
God of War: Ragnarok is in my top two games of 2022 (right behind the masterpiece that is Elden Ring) and probably high in my list of favorite games of all time. It’s a direct follow up to God of War (2018) which acted as a soft reboot for the franchise. And wow oh wow was this game incredible. The closest comparison to be made would be to the two most recent Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame in that there’s a massive amount of action and spectacle while at the same time you have this incredibly deep, grounded, and emotional story that tugs at your heartstrings. And yes, the story is incredibly powerful and engaging but it wouldn’t be a game without the gameplay and even that is firing on all cylinders with small tweaks since the last title. I mean, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? As a duology, there are very few games out there that can match storytelling and game design punches of this one.
9.5/10
Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Short and sweet is how I’d categorize this holiday special. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, by telling a breezy, light hearted story about Christmas wrapped around by the MCU with just the perfect amount of heart to keep it feeling special. I feel like the short run time of 45 minutes definitely works in its favor. And the fun addition of an in-universe Kevin Bacon who’s been referenced in multiple movies at this point was a fun meta touch. My only critique was that we didn’t get to have this be a whole group romp as it mostly focuses on Drax and Mantis’ efforts to save Christmas for Quill. But that aside I thought it was a fun enough detour within the Marvel canon.
7.5/10
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Sequel to 2019’s A Plague Tale: Innocence, Requiem continues Amicia and Hugo’s story as they search for a cure for his disease known as the Macula which is revealed to have been the cause of the various plagues throughout human history. The first game was almost completely within the stealth genre as you sneak past the Spanish Inquisition to make your way to safety and other than the addition of a crossbow with limited ammo, there’s not too much of a deviation here. For the most part I thought it was satisfying with an interesting enough story, however, the writing was like nails on a chalkboard. Just incredibly cringey and wooden dialogue that had me wincing nearly the entire time. Cliches abound as everyone stuck to well worn tropes and character motivations making no sense, either for good or bad. It felt like watching a weird 90’s era action movie at times with how stereotypical the depictions were getting.
7/10
Black Adam
I honestly can’t believe I watched this. Absolutely garbage movie. I watched it for free and I’ll never get those two hours of my life back. Stay away, do not watch. Only possible reason would be to check some fight scenes on YouTube maybe, but at that point, what are you doing with your life?
2/10
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Because I had loved Knives Out so much back in 2019, I watched this movie during the one week it was available in theaters before it pops back up on Netflix in December. And generally, Glass Onion delivers. It has a new eclectic cast of despicable characters, all of whom seemingly have a vested interest in having a particular someone die. And rounding them all out is once again, Daniel Craig’s charming portrayal of brilliant Detective Benoit Blanc with his now unmistakable Southern Accent. It’s definitely a massively fun roller coaster ride from start to finish with larger than life characters and life or death stakes. My only main issue with the movie is that while some of the mysteries are plain to see for those sharp of eye, a lot of the reveals come based off of information that was never made available to the audience so they tend to feel a little cheap. It’s like Blanc and some of the other characters are in on it while we’re left out of the loop. The immediate shock value of some reveals can’t be denied, but there’s no substance behind them.
8.5/10
Sources:
Playstation: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/god-of-war-ragnarok/
Disney Plus: https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/the-guardians-of-the-galaxy-holiday-special/5HUc4iuAVplq
Epic Games: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/a-plague-tale-requiem
The Illuminerdi: https://www.theilluminerdi.com/2022/09/28/black-adam-movie-comic-poster/
TV Insider: https://www.tvinsider.com/show/glass-onion-a-knives-out-mystery/
From the Tales of Wars and Rings 