Top 10 Geek YouTubers

YouTube is possibly the internet's second most well-known website to us all, with the first being Google. With that being said, I think it's only fair that I give credit to some of my personal favorite YouTubers that I love to watch and hopefully you will too. This is my own list and as such my top 10 will obviously differ from yours. But I hope you give some of these people a watch and find some of your own new favorites. let's get to it!

HONORABLE MENTION

Witless Reviews

I cannot count how many times I watched VH1 where a band would count down their favorite bands, only to put themselves at #1. oh the arrogance. So I'll put myself in the honorable mention section and make a genuine Top 10 list with WR not on it.

10) DigitalRev TV

https://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalRevCom

If you're like me and you love your photography then I can't think of a better Channel to Subscribe to than DigitalRev TV. Videos generally vary in length and but are always worth watching thanks to the charming and funny hosts. informative and interesting, DR is a must for photography enthusiasts

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Giving professional photographers cheap cameras to test their skills

9) Planet Dolan

https://www.youtube.com/user/DDTop20

I've been watching Planet Dolan since he hosted the channel simply as Danger Dolan and was hooked on his videos thanks to Dolan's dry sense of humor, the weird and often morbid countdown lists and - since his collaborating with fellow YouTubers - his  fairly high upload rate.

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Learning about the creepiest things you could ever want

8) batinthesun

https://www.youtube.com/user/batinthesun

When your fights are better than portrayed in the movies, you know you're doing alright, and batinthesun is surely doing alright in my books. Watching your favorite heroes and villains fighting characters they'd never normally meet is a treat for the eyes and I love it. I'll admit that I only watch the fight videos and none of their other ones because that's all I really want to see. but those videos alone were enough to keep me hooked. 

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: The original Green/White Ranger Jason David Frank is excellent as always

7) HarshlyCritical

https://www.youtube.com/user/HarshlyCritical

John from HarshlyCritical makes you feel like you've invited your friend to come round and play video games with you. Covering games from triple A titles like Until Dawn, to classic games like the King's Quest series. HarshlyCritical uploads regularly and isn't annoying like many other YouTube Gamer channels.

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Watching Cult-hit games like Call Of Cthulhu and King's Quest V.

6) TheReviewSpot

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheReviewSpot

Spot from TheReviewSpot is one of two YouTubers that made me want to start recording YouTube videos. So he had to make this list somewhere. I've been subscribed to Spot since his early days and have still yet to watch all of his videos. He's an uploading machine lol. With a family-friendly theme and content from monthly boxes of snacks, all the way to cult horror video game figure, TheReviewSpot covers all Toy enthusiast areas.

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Generally mid-length videos with an inviting, friendly host. 

5) JonTronShow

https://www.youtube.com/user/JonTronShow

The second YouTuber that made me want to create content is JonTron. I struggled to decide which should get the #5 spot, so basically consider numbers 5 and 6 to be interchangeable. 

JonTron is without a doubt the funniest Gaming reviewer on the internet, and yes I know about AngryJoe, Spoony, AVGN, Boogie, and many many more, and still JonTron is the funniest on that list. With a mixed modern sense of humor that mixes pop-culture with Cult hit jokes and surreal jokes such as his references to 2001 A space odyssey, Jon's videos are a sure hit and clearly others agreed as JonTron has only grown more popular in his fairly short time as a YouTuber.

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Jon's Nightshade video showcases everything best about his channel

4) PeanutButterGamer

https://www.youtube.com/user/PeanutButterGamer

If there's one thing I love, it's Zelda. if there's another thing I love, It's surreal humor. if there's one more thing i love it's old games and T.V Shows. combine them all and you've got PeanutButterGamer. PBG's videos are always funny and the content feels like it was made just for me (It wasn't lol) I already said that JonTron is the funniest, but I think PBG is a close second. 

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Ghost Ride The Whip

3) ashens

https://www.youtube.com/user/ashens

Stuart Ashen's dry wit and cynical nature is played out perfectly in his videos and his content just happens to be comedy gold, from Engrish instructions to vomit-inducing century eggs. It's hard not to find something funny about Ashens. It's also nice to have a fellow brit who has done so well on YouTube and his Movie, Quest For The Gamechild was well-made and genuinely fun to watch.

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Tasting some of the most disgusting foods I've ever seen

2) DidYouKnowGaming?

https://www.youtube.com/user/DYKGaming

DYKGaming has been going for a little while and has what I believe to be the kind of formula that could make for a television or Netflix series. Filled with facts that are genuinely not-known by the public and even to some of the more hardcore gamers, DYKGaming features all the most popular games and even some of the lesser known ones' deep dark secrets. 

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Guest hosts that you already follow teaching you about your favorite games.

1) Cinemassacre

https://www.youtube.com/user/JamesNintendoNerd

If DidYouKnowGaming would make for a great series. then Cinemassacre would make for an entire great T.V Channel. From AVGN, James and Mike Mondays, to my personal favorite, Monster Madness. Cinemassacre has taken leaps and bounds on the internet and has endured for years thanks to James Rolfe's genuine love for old games/movies and culture. It's also only fair to give Mike Matei credit for all his hard work on AVGN and many other Cinemassacre-related projects. 

Cinemassacre's content is so all-encompassing that it really could fill an entire TV channel and deserves the #1 spot on this and many other lists. 

CHANNEL HIGHLIGHT: Monster Madness and Board James. 

I hope you've enjoyed my latest blog post, please give the above YouTubers a try and see if they're your sort of thing. You wont regret it. 

Have a great rest of day. 

WR.

S H Figuarts Luigi Video Review

My video for the S H Figuarts Luigi is up and online on YouTube. Check it out now!

Patreon Abuse

The following is a short rant on my personal perspective not on the concept of Patreon, but on many of the Internet celebrities that use it.

Money is a great motivator, if that wasn't obvious enough from the idea of a job, then you'll no doubt be aware of the greed that many people complain about in our society. And in my mind, fewer places are filled with more greed than YouTube. Now there is nothing wrong with monetising your content to reap a bit of reward for your work, I do it, as does any YouTube channel that has an advert on it. It's common knowledge and generally, for doing what is in essence a hobby, YouTube pays fairly depending on view count. But this isn't enough for some people who believe that they need more money, and so go on to try and coax you into spending your hard earned money on them by donating through Patreon, A site that acts like Kickstarter and funds people with a vision but not the funds to reach that vision. Some causes are worthwhile such as funding an up-and-coming Game developer or non-profit charity's. But then there are many YouTuber's who have these Patreon accounts and beg for you to donate... for what is in effect, nothing!.

I won't name names as that's not being a good sport. But I will point out that I have followed some of these people for many months or sometimes years and then been annoyed to see that they've opened a Patreon account where they'd like to be given money for the most bone idle reasons I can think of. You may see some YouTuber's state something like 'Donate $10 and you'll receive the video days before other people” which doesn't sit right, because surely if you could upload the video early, you would do so to please your viewers whom earn you money by watching the video in the first place.

But the biggest annoyance with YouTuber's and Patreon comes in the form of the following statement “Your donations will keep [NAME] going for longer and will make it possible for me to improve my video quality for you” or as I like to think of it “Give me your money because I want it, and I won't tell you how the quality will be improved”. I don't think I'm being cynical when I say that it is just rude to your viewers and followers to beg for money with thinly veiled half-truths and generalised sweeping statements. A lot of popular YouTuber's with Patreon accounts are Vloggers... Vloggers who's only necessary requirement is the camera they already record on... no other equipment is needed, so why would a Vlogger need donations.

Like I said earlier, some YouTuber's or content creators have goals, and some are for genuinely good causes (YouTube's Vet Ranch is an amazing cause that I love, I don't know if it has a Patreon account, but if it did, I'd see it as a perfectly valid cause) but there are other people out there who just want to do as little work as possible for as much money as they can get, and it is those people that I urge, I plead with you, not to give your money to. If a YouTuber says “You don't have to donate” don't!

Just because something is legal, doesn't make it right, and it bothers me to see fans paying their favourite YouTuber's money because they worry the channel might not be able to continue running or other reasons.

Thanks for taking the time to read this little rant of mine. I wouldn't make a video on this kind of topic, but a Blog is just for general thoughts and I appreciate you finding my thoughts worth listening to. If you like you can donate to me at the followi.... nah just kidding hehe.

Have a great rest of day.

Witless.

Figma Link Review

My latest video has been uploaded to YouTube. On today's episode I take a look at the Figma series Legend of Zelda Link. 

You'll have to watch the video if you want the full review

Have a great day!. 

Deadpool Movie Review

Our friendly Merc with a mouth has made it to the big screen but does he kill it or just flop like a severed regenerative limb?

My fiance and I decided to take an early afternoon trip to our local cinema and check out Deadpool the day after its U.K release. I've only been to the cinema in the early afternoon once or twice, but today we got there to be greeted with a horde of pensioners who were off to see their favorite films where the ODEON gives out tea and biscuits. I assumed that they were all going to see the remake of Dad's Army. But no, most of them wandered into see The Suffragette (A film I have no interest in seeing). So that was our start to our latest cinema experience, A slightly odd but sweet experience.

Onto Deadpool. We kick the film off with a freeze-frame of the car fight that was in all the trailers for the movie. as the camera cuts around the scene we're given the opening credits that feature lines like "Produced by some Asshats", "Starring a Moody Teen" and so on, This is our first indication that Deadpool is thankfully self-aware and straight away you feel pretty relaxed knowing that it's not going to be depressing and miserable like a certain six-clawed mans films have been,

This car fight takes up a lot of trailer time and to be honest, that's because the car fight sequence IS most of the movie. We cut to and from Deadpool's origin and the car fight sequence, which in all honesty, on paper sounds really annoying. But on film is actually really really well done,

From a cinematic technical standpoint, Deadpool is outstanding and beautifully shot. Even non-followers of the technical side of film-making will appreciate just how excellently this film was shot and cut together. The action sequences in specific are both perfectly choreographed and hilarious at the same time. 

Deadpool is a revenge story at its core, With Ed Skrein (The old Daario from GoT) as the primary antagonist of the movie. Skrein plays the role of Francis 'Ajax' Fanny as well as anyone could've hoped and handles the role perfectly. However, herein lies my problem with Deadpool... The villains. Deadpool is an excellent movie that unfortunately fails to include an excellent villain, Yeah Ajax is nice but he's very VERY generic, suitably evil but not so much as to be over-the-top, and is also some sort of intelligent mafia-esque shady leader. He's basically a stock villain given a Deadpool character's name, which kinda works, but also feels a little dull. 

Ed Skrein plays Ajax

Fans of Deadpool will love every single joke, nod and nudge to the both the Marvel universe and movie industry collectively. Deadpool himself breaks the fourth wall often and even references the actor playing himself in his own movie... which when you take time to think about, is really confusing. There's also lots of blood, boobs, beatings and well "beatings". 

All in all Deadpool is the little movie that could, and you can see just how much Reynolds loves the character of Deadpool. To be honest, it's just nice to see Ryan Reynolds finally get the role he's always wanted and was basically born to play. 

With jokes that work throughout the whole film, blood and gore that is well-done, action that pleases, and the titular character being lovable just for how mad he is, Deadpool proves to be a great Superhero flick that stands side-by-side with Iron Man, Avengers, and X-Men. Except Deadpool is much more adult than them. 

Deadpool gets a Witless Reviews rating of: PERFECT

Top 10 Hidden Horror Gems.

On Today's WR Top 10, I'll run through my personal top 10 hidden horror gems. These are horror films that you may have missed but should definitely check out for some serious scares.
Without further ado, here is

TOP 10 HIDDEN HORROR GEMS

10) THE POSSESSION OF MICHAEL KING

There are A LOT of 'Found Footage' horror films, I'd say that about 75% of them are total rubbish and don't work. The possession of Michael King is a great little Found Footage movie about a skeptic of the paranormal who rather foolishly, undergoes rituals that apparently invoke evil. I won't say any more on the subject. But what I will say is that this film gets straight into the action and features a likable protagonist who at you root for if you are a non-believer. It has its faults (obviously stupid decisions made by King, some times there is too much shaky cam) but on the whole it's a solid horror flick.

9) FEAST

This is one of those films where if I tell you why it's good, it'll spoil the film. A horror/comedy that doesn't go too far in the comedic direction and that has some amazing special effects, clever plot twists and is generally well-made. It has sequels, but personally I'm not a fan of them, they just killed it for me. 

8) WE ARE STILL HERE

Horror is currently experiencing a sort of 80's revival and it is brilliant. With Synth-style music, Beautiful hand-drawn poster art (Above), Older plot devices such as the lone serial killer and more tongue-in-cheek acting, and I couldn't be happier about that as I see the 80's as they golden age of horror. We Are Still Here focuses on a group of people who stay at a haunted house where not everything is a simple as it may first appear. The CGI effects here work really well and don't go overboard, the acting is solid, the film does have the odd jump scare, but not so much that you'll get annoyed by it, and the tone of the movie leaves you feeling uneasy about what may happen next. plus it's from 2015 so it's not got that cheap 90's look to it.

7) GRAVE ENCOUNTERS 1 & 2

Both of these films need to be watched together as they compliment each other very well and are both equally as good as the other. Another Found Footage film that is in that 25% area of pure goodness, Grave Encounters features an abandoned asylum, Ghosts, well-timed jump scares and a creepy atmosphere. The acting is a bit up and down in parts, but in general both these films are real winners and will leave you appreciating the more 'indie' scene for horror films.

6) HOUSEBOUND

Housebound is as you may expect from the poster, about a house that has an unwanted guest. I'm not gonna say any more about that because the less you know the more you'll love. I want to say this film is from New Zealand but i may be wrong on that. This film is not gory at all and is more what I would call a 'Terror' film in the sense that it is creepy, genuinely scary, and doesn't rely on gore to keep the viewer hooked. The acting is good although you will hate the mother in this because she's just so irritating. This film will also have you checking your closet and loft to make sure you're not being watched. 

5) THE TUNNEL

Best way to describe this film? The Descent + Urban Exploration. my last Found Footage film on this list and another solid movie. Don't be fooled into thinking that you can expect lots of screaming by the poster, because more than anything, silence is our protagonist's ally here. No real gore to speak of but lots of claustrophobic moments and a whole lot of shaky cam.

4) HATCHET

The classic serial killer flick is back in force in Hatchet. Starring Kane Hodder (The Jason Vorhees) as Victor Crowley, the deformed hatchet wielding psycho, We go to the swamps of... Well I don't remember too well the name, I'll guess Louisiana, and run for our lives as Crowley hunts us done like pigs to the slaughter. This film is brilliant, Cheesy in parts, gory as all hell in others, and great in all the rest. This is the kind of film you can imagine taking a date to at one of those american drive-in cinemas. Love it. 

3)  IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS

There aren't many true to form Lovecraftian horror films, Sure there's Re-Animator, 2005's B&W Call Of Cthulhu, and that god awful Dagon from years ago. But there just aren't enough actual Lovecraft-style films - and no I don't count Alien or The Thing as Lovecraftian - until you look In The Mouth Of Madness (See what I did there). In The... The above film is simply put, Awesome. It's from the early 90's and is full of bizarre and surreal horror elements. When an insurance investigator looks into the disappearance of horror author Sutter Kane (Great name) he gets more than he ever could've imagined when he enters a sleepy little forgotten town. It's a shame that Rotten Tomatoes has this film rated so low on their meter because in all honesty this is what Lovecraftian fans want from a horror film. It's got this odd atmosphere that makes you instantly know that something just ain't right. and it tries to play with your mind (Which to the average moviegoer comes across as a plot hole, but fans of Lovecraft will view as something like the insanity meter from Eternal Darkness) It's a film that's got a lot going for it if you can get yourself in the right frame of mind.

2) BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON

A self aware horror film that gives away the ending voluntarily half way through and shows you every trick in the serial killer's handbook, yes please!. Behind the Mask takes every classic 80's horror cliche and turns it sideways, You actually follow the serial killer and y'know what? He's a funny funny guy who reminds me of Jim Carrey, Not to mention that the film has brilliant cameos from famous horror icons, a great soundtrack, a brilliantly scary mask, and perfectly done action. Behind the Mask would've taken my #1 spot. unfortunately for it, #1 was just too good to put anywhere else.

1) SHUTTER (2004)

In my opinion, Without a doubt, The best Asian horror film of all time. Shutter is a Thai film and blew me away when I watched it. From start to finish you feel at unease, sensing that, like many Asian horror films, the creepy girl is only one turn away. 

I love Asian horror, But I see films like Ringu and Ju On as early starts in the J-Horror scene, and while good, they are rough and the art hadn't been refined enough at that point. This is where Shutter shines. The film times it scares perfectly and builds upon a plot gradually and at a good pace without stumbling about. Yes there are Jump scares, but this is Asian horror, if it ain't a creepy white girl creeping up on you then it ain't Asian. 

DO NOT WATCH THE REMAKE! It fails at delivering the same kind of scare that the original does. It's not just the plot that is so unnerving about Shutter, But the setting, Location and shaky albeit believable acting that has you scared to turn the lights off. 

I've never seen the Dubbed version to say if it's any good or not but generally I'd advise against dubbed work because it never really fits and pulls you out of the immersion. 

Well that's it for another WR Top 10. I wanted to include films in this list that aren't as popular as you may expect - there's a lot of lists with It Follows, The Babadook, and others on them which are great movies, but are super popular - so that you can dig a little deeper and find yourself a great little horror gem.

Hope you've enjoyed this list. please check in next time for more Witless Top 10's.

Don't forget to check me out on YouTube to get more Witless more often

Click Here - Witless Reviews

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Top 10 Worst Movies

What's up guys and girls and welcome to a new Top 10. Where today we will be looking at the top 10 WOSRT MOVIES EVERRRR. Let's get going!

TOP 10 WORST MOVIES EVER

10) THE VILLAGE

Once upon a time, M. Night Shyamalan released the Sixth Sense and everyone was surprised by the twist ending. But then Shyamalan released a dozen more movies, each with a wild twist end, and people realized that he was a one trick pony. Now I'm not going to include Avatar: The Last Airbender on this list. Not because it's good, God no, it's horrendous. But because I don't want this whole list to be Shyamalan's failings as a director. So The Village. Twist here is that it's not actually set in the past, done. Why is this film so bad, Because it's utterly boring, the plot is stupid, the twist ending kills an already dull film, and in the end, It's just plain forgettable. 

9) A SERBIAN FILM

Let me start by saying that A Serbian Film is well shot and clearly had a decent budget behind it. The special effects are good and the film's acting is solid for the most part. Now let me follow that up with the fact that A Serbian Film is utterly without taste, goes for the most extreme shocks, has a wafer thing plot, and is generally too difficult for many people to stomach watching. I wasn't exactly shocked by what I saw because I've always held that what is real is more shocking that fiction. However I generally thought the subject matter was so dark that it was made for the sole purpose of trying to offend people, I won't go into the details, but basically this is not a film for average movie-goers. As a side-note, when the director was criticized for creating such a film, He doubled back and called it a film of social commentary. 

8) JAWS 4: THE REVENGE

First there was Jaws. then there was another Jaws that nobody cared about, Then Jaws went 3D with blue and red glasses and we all laughed. finally Jaws literally chased the Brody family to their new home in order to get sweet sweet revenge. Let that last sentence sink in. Jaws 4 killed the franchise worse than the previous Jaws and proved once and for all that a name alone does not carry a series. completely boring, totally stupid, and unfortunately stars Michael Caine in what could have killed his career as well as the titular shark. 

7) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

I am not forgiving this travesty. I could've put Epic Movie on this list in place of this film, but no, No because Epic Movie was meant to be stupid. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was made with the sole focus on being loyal to the franchise and carrying on the series. Here's what I like about this film, Andrew Garfield. Here's what I hate about it, everything else. The dialogue is stupid, Electro is whiny and annoying rather that funny and eccentric and his costume outright sucks. The Green Goblin is thrown in for absolutely no reason whatsoever and his costume though better than Electro's. features guy liner and Static sprung hair. Also Paul Giamatti plays the Rhino in this film for about 2 minutes and y'know what, he's awful as well, and I like Giamatti. Just forget this film exists. 

6) JACK AND JILL

Adam Sandler should retire from movies, TV, books. In fact he should just donate his money to the needy and move somewhere that no one will have to watch him ever again. Jack and Jill features every single annoying, lazy, unfunny joke and trope that Sandler could think of. People have long thought that Sandler has been phoning it in for the money since Happy Gilmore and I would completely agree. Jack and Jill isn't the latest mess from Sandler (That award goes to Pixels) but it surely proved to be the laziest film he's made in years. 

5) JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY

At this point in the series of Friday 13th Movies, No one knew what to do with Jason. So just kill him off 5 minutes in, why not? I'll tell you why not. Because it's such a cheap trick to sell tickets to people hoping to see the latest from their favorite bad guy. This film never should've been made. it did nothing for the series other than explain that Jason is actually some sort of evil worm thing and that if you eat his heart he'll possess you... WHAT?!?! We've gone from a supposedly drowned deformed child who's mum gets revenge for his apparent demise. To that same kid growing up to possess people and... Oh I don't even know!. but the cheapest trick? the title, there is NO mention of hell or anything hell-like in the film. Jason just dies and that's it. 

4)KEITH LEMON: THE FILM

Over here in the U.K we have a comedian named Keith Lemon (Leigh Francis) who hosts a Saturday night comedy panel show, which to be fair, is actually really funny albeit low-brow. So when Keith pushed his movie 'The Film' his fans went wild, unfortunately. Everyone else knew what would happen when a small time British TV comedian got given his own film. needless to say, said film turned out to be one of the least funny, most offensive (In an unfunny way) and most boring films to come out. Some people believe that British comedy is high class and done in good taste, if you believe that then this film will change your mind in no time at all. Avoid!

3) MOVIE 43

You have some of the best talent Hollywood has to offer, you have a reasonable budget and access to decent writers who'd kill to work with said talent. And with all of that in mind, you release film so bad that the some of the actors tried to pull out of their contracts.

I tried to watch this film from start to finish but just couldn't make it. This film is so bad that I genuinely felt sorry for the actors because you can see the shame in their eyes as they go through their lines. I would rather watch a documentary on how paint dries than sit through this film again. 

2) THE ROOM

I ain't even mad at how bad this film is. The Room is legendary for being one of the worst movies ever made and to be honest. it's almost so bad it's good. But it's still undeniably bad. The line "You're tearing me apart, Lisa!" is the most famous line from this flick and with 100% honesty here. It should be up there with the greats. 

I don't think it's possible to be mad at Tommy Wiseau. It's like he doesn't understand what a film is. The Room makes no sense, literally none. it starts, things happen for no real reason, it ends. But hey, it's got a really dramatic anger scene where Tommy smashes up the place. Unfortunately you could be forgiven for thinking that Tommy got really drunk, walked on set, stubbed his toe and just went ape shit on the set. Not really sure why it's called The Room either... hmmm

1) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Nope not a joke. I hate the Dark Knight Rises. I absolutely hate it. And here is why:

• Batman gets his BROKEN BACK healed with a karate chop 
• Bane went from being Mexican to English (Because every Mexican in a film has to be the stereotypical Cholo, sombrero wearing joke, and Bane being a smart strong unique Mexican villain is a big no no for cinema) 
• Batman somehow creates a bat symbol on the side of a building as soon as he got back to Gotham from god-knows where
• The action scenes are edited in a really ugly way
• Bane turns out to just be some throwaway character 
• A bomb... really, a bomb, That was the best you could come up with Nolan
• Cannot understand a word Bane or Batman are saying, they sound like the Godfather through a respirator. 

It really bothered me that TDKR was the last of Christian Bale's Batman films as the previous film was so incredibly well done that to follow it up with this jumbled mess does nothing to help the series and instead just weighs down the whole thing. 

Also think about this... When TDKR was released there was talk and rumors of a Justice League movie coming out. Now I know that Man of Steel was released a year later. But surely the filming of both movies occurred close to the same times. Wouldn't the ending have been so much butter if Batman surviving the explosion could be explained by Batman being rescued at the last second by the Man Of Steel himself, maybe that's just wishful thinking, but I'd have at least liked that more than the terrible ending the film actually had. 

Well I hope you've enjoyed this latest blog and I'd love to check out your comments below to know whether you agree or not with my list. Just like the previous list. This one is my own personal opinion.

Have a great rest of day, and I'll see you next time. 

WR

The Boy (Doll Movie) Review

 Hello and welcome to my latest Blog review where today I will be giving you my review of the recently released Horror movie 'The Boy'. Before I get started I'd like to point out that I mentioned in the title that this is the Doll Movie, and that is because 'The Boy' as a title is so generic that dozens of movies share that exact same title. Anyway, on to the review.

This review will be in two parts, spoiler free followed by the spoilers.

The Boy is about a woman named Greta whom reaches breaking point with her abusive relationship and ditches her Boyfriend to take up the job opportunity as a Nanny for a pair of unusual 'parents' that keep a porcelain doll as their son to remember the original son they'd once lost. But things start getting pretty hairy when the doll seems to be more than just a creepy suited lad.

As our protagonist, Greta is actually quite likable and is for the most part, relatable for many people. The concept of her trying to build a new life after escaping an abusive partner is one that is easy to sympathise with and explains the purpose of her being in the house quite nicely. Along the way she meets Malcolm, who again is also pretty easy to relate to and quite a down to earth character. But we didn't come to see a drama, no, we want a scary doll. And Brahms the doll is pretty much the show-stealer as one may expect. Now don't get me wrong, he's no Chucky. But he does want to play, provided you play by his rules. There's literally nothing I can say about an inanimate object's on-screen presence, he plays the role of scary doll pretty well, like he was born for it.

In terms of visuals, the film is shot pretty nicely and has some okay effects. If you're expecting the doll to get up and go on a murderous rampage then you'll be in for a let-down. The atmosphere of the movie however is always quite tense and you are left wondering how things are happening.

[Scroll down for rating]

>>SPOILERS<<

So how does the creepy little bugger do it... Well the answer is actually really not that special. Brahms the boy never died, he survived and grew up to be a not so healthy adult that lives in the basement and manipulates Brahms the doll when people aren't looking. Yeah not really what you were hoping for. Although it is an interesting concept... when it was done first in the movie 'Housebound' which achieved the desired scare factor much better than The Boy does.

After Greta's abusive Ex tracks her down and breaks into the house she's staying at where she watches Brahms, he gets into an argument and does the unthinkable... he breaks the dolls face, shattering it against the floor. Immediately the Ex (Cole) regrets this mistake when the house starts creaking and shaking and the adult Brahms crashes the party via the full length mirror. Making an entrance where we the audience sit with our mouths wide open waiting to see what this ugly monster could look like. Turns out, not really all that bad. This is the point in the movie when everything goes downhill big time. The villain has made his way into the movie and now for the next 10 – 15 minutes the film turns into a chase sequence and the typical fighting between scared victims and mad killer. It all comes to an end when Greta soothes then stabs Brahms, potentially killing him. She pegs it and at the end of the film, the doll is being put back together. Dun dun dunnnnn.

>>END OF SPOILERS<<

The Boy starts off well and the second act carries on at a decent pace. I was never bored during the film. But the end is a Serious let down.

The problem is that after the third or forth jump scare you just stop getting nervous, and instead the creepiness is what you hope keeps you scared. Which it does sort of, although it's not quite as creepy and unnerving as one may hope.

Like I said though, it's the ending that kills it. The Boy copies another movie with its ending, however it just doesn't work as well in virtually any aspect. The doll that we are all supposed to fear takes a back seat in the end to the real villain, the Ex. And the story about Greta and Cole becomes the biggest worry for the viewer because the threat seems more present. Halfway through the film, Brahms doesn't seem as fearsome as he once did and that never changes until the end, but then when it happens, the whole premise about the scary doll is shattered both figuratively and literally.

All in all the boy had potential but fell flat. Honestly, the scariest thing about the film is the trailer that got everyone in the cinema in the first place. It's not a flop. But it's easily forgotten and the ending will divide many viewers.

The Boy gets a Witless Reviews Rating of: OKAY

Lucifer TV Series Review

Currently as of this posting we are 2 episodes into the new TV series adaption of the comic book Lucifer and although we've barely scratched the surface of this fresh new series, we'll find out if it is devilishly good, or a sin to television?

Starting this review I'll state that I've never read the Lucifer comic books because it was never really something that seemed too interesting to me. So I come into the TV series being completely untouched by the whole backstory. As such, you can expect me to know literally nothing on the series, cast or characters aside from the obvious.

So Lucifer is literally the tale of God's son Lucifer Morningstar, getting bored with ruling hell and taking a vacation on Earth with us mortal folk for a bit of entertainment. This premise alone gives the series a real kick that leaves me personally wanting more. Starring as the titular Lucifer, Tom Ellis is likeable and charming with just enough cheesy acting to give the character a comedic tone that doesn't overshadow the overall style of the series.

Of the two episodes that have aired so far, I can say that the camera work is nicely done and the series doesn't come across as looking cheap. There's clearly a nice budget behind this series and it shows. The soundtrack is a double-edged sword for me, with all the typical devil-related songs, mildly erotic sounding beats and a cool theme tune. All in all Lucifer is visually pleasing and not cheap or tacky.

The acting is oft times shaky at best, with Tom Ellis giving a reasonable tongue-in-cheek performance, but the surrounding cast doesn't stack up so well. Lauren German plays the role of Chloe Dancer with all the seriousness of a Law & Order episode but it doesn't work so well when she tries to come across as jokey, sarcastic or intrigued as she uses 'classic' cliché acting expressions such as overly obvious eye rolls and tuts. Perhaps it's just a personal issue but it throws me off when I see it and I notice it every time.

On the whole Lucifer has the makings of a good series and with 13 completed episodes ready to air so far I can see myself sitting through every episode weekly and getting hooked. However this could be a trap and like Constantine before it, which also had a great deal of potential and got decent viewers. Lucifer could see itself getting cancelled by season 2 if the station doesn't see it as successful. This isn't a huge issue, but fans of Constantine and previously cancelled series' may not actually invest their time in Lucifer if the fear of it being cancelled looms over it. Which is a vicious circle. Unfortunately, Lucifer has received average reviews from the more well-known critics an this could be its downfall.

Lucifer gets a Witless Reviews Rating of: GOOD