All posts by World War Joe

Videogames

No Man’s Sky: A Redemption Story with Limitations

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Before its release, “No Man’s Sky” promised an unparalleled gaming experience. The journey from a disappointing debut to its rise in popularity has been well-documented by The Internet Historian, and it’s indeed an inspiring story of dedication and persistence. However, having delved into the vast universe of the game, I find it boring.

Yes, “No Man’s Sky” is visually stunning. The sheer variety of planets and their unique landscapes can be breathtaking, and space battles are entertaining. Yet, at its core, the game revolves around mining. While the concept is intriguing, the repetitive nature of the task tends to overshadow the brilliance of its aesthetics.

Though its expansive universe boasts countless planets, there’s an underlying feeling of monotony. The lack of a compelling storyline or memorable gameplay elements makes it hard to find a reason to revisit.

While many praise its phoenix-like resurgence, for me, “No Man’s Sky” remains an interesting, albeit incomplete, experiment. Perhaps future updates or additions will change that perception, but until then, it remains a once-explored galaxy in my gaming universe.

World War Joe

Movies and Shows

Was “Shang-Chi” a Success or Flop?

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Shang-Chi garnered considerable attention upon its release. Despite being a couple of years late to the discussion, many wonder whether the movie was a financial success or a box office flop. Let’s dive into the numbers and dissect its profitability.

Box Office Numbers: According to data from The Numbers, Shang-Chi raked in $432,224,634 at the box office, along with an additional $14,436,748 in video sales, resulting in a total of $446,661,382.

Profit Calculations:

  1. Theaters typically take about 50% of box office earnings, so after this split, the movie’s revenue stands at approximately $223,330,691.
  2. Subtracting the reported budget cost of $150,000,000, Shang-Chi’s net profit amounts to $73,330,691.

One notable aspect of Shang-Chi’s financial performance is its relatively modest marketing budget, which was $11.2 million. In comparison, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” had a reported marketing budget of $140 million. Removing the marketing expenses leaves us with an estimated total profit of around $62,130,691.

However, it’s crucial to acknowledge the ongoing lawsuits Disney faces regarding box office numbers and production budget costs. Some sources suggest that Shang-Chi’s actual budget could be as high as $200 million.

If we assume the budget was indeed $200 million, the profit figure needs to be adjusted to account for this larger expense. This adjustment results in a profit of $12,130,691. The critical question is whether the lawsuits surrounding box office and production budgets are valid. If they prove to be accurate, it raises the possibility that the movie may have incurred financial losses.

The financial performance of “Shang-Chi” is a topic of debate due to the conflicting reports surrounding its budget and ongoing legal disputes. While the initial numbers suggest a modest success, it remains uncertain whether the movie ultimately turned a profit or faced financial challenges. Only time and the resolution of legal matters will provide a clear answer to this intriguing question.

World War Joe

Videogames

JoJo’s All-Star Battle: A Disappointing Stance

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Given the immense popularity and cultural impact of the JoJo series, a fighting game made the most sense. However, from the moment I booted it up, it felt as though I had been transported back over a decade.

Rather than feeling like a fresh, 2022 release, the game seems reminiscent of something from 2012, both in aesthetics and gameplay mechanics. Its lack of inventiveness, sluggish pace, and unimpressive visuals make it stand out—for all the wrong reasons. One can’t help but wonder: what could have been if the developers had partnered with renowned franchises like Tekken or Street Fighter? A crossover reminiscent of “Marvel vs Capcom” could have revitalized the game with superior graphics and gameplay physics, not to mention tapping into the fan bases of these established series.

In its current state, “JoJo’s All-Star Battle” offers little to no redemption. A score of 0/10 might seem harsh, but it’s truly reflective of the experience. Die-hard JoJo fans might find some solace in WWE 2K23’s Community Creations, which offers the chance to don JoJo skins and immerse oneself in a far superior gaming environment.

World War Joe

Movies and Shows

Djimon Hounsou’s Hollywood Discontent

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I read a recent article about Djimon Hounsou and how he’s unhappy with his current status in Hollywood explaining that its hard for him to earn any money now. I have been a big fan of Hounsou’s work for a long time and was a little curious of why he wasn’t getting bigger roles, so I decided to do a quick dive into his movies and see what’s the problem. After a 30 second search I instantly found the issue with his career. Hounsou has an agent that seems to only cast him in side roles.

He started acting in 1998 and the first role I remember him in was Gladiator in 2000 where he played Juba, a side character.

Biker Boyz, a movie that I’ve seen dozens of times, yet I can’t remember him in it.

Tomb Raider which I don’t remember him in.

Constantine, which I again don’t remember him in.

The Island was great and I actually remember his character, but it wasn’t one of the main characters.

Blood Diamond is where it gets interesting. One of my favorite movies and I’m surprised Hounsou didn’t walk away with an Oscar that year, but that is the kind of movie that starts the rise in stardom for most actors. BUT he followed the role with Eragon which he wasn’t the star and the movie wasn’t good.

Never Back Down he wasn’t the main star.

Push he wasn’t the main star.

He was T’Challa in Black Panther…the cartoon show. How to Train Your Dragon 2 he was the villain who didn’t get a lot of screentime. Gurdian of the Galaxy he was random robot man.

 Seventh Son was bad and he wasn’t the star.

Furious 7 he wasn’t in the main group.

Legend of Tarzan he wasn’t the star.

King Arthur he wasn’t the star.

He reprised his role in Dragons: Race to Edge for one episode.

Aquaman he was a voice over.

Reprised his role of Robot Man in Captain Marvel

Shazam his character was Wizard.

Charlies Angles he was Bosley.

Quiet Place 2 he was Man on Island…..not even a name.

NBA 2K21 he was Coach Bishop

Invincible he was Martain Emperor, not even a name

Reprised his role again in What If as Robot Man

 The King’s Man he wasn’t the lead

Paw of Fury: The Legend of Hank I didn’t see, but since his role was Sumo, I imagine he wasn’t the lead

And lastly Black Adam and Shazam 2 he came back as Wizard for both.

One hand, he has been in a lot of big budget and highly successful movies. On the other he is always the bridesmaid and never the bride. So what is causing this? Is it a bad agent? Is it a lack of roles? Is this just a cry for attention?

If I was in his position and I felt like I’m not getting the roles that I earned, I would make my own movies or try to be casted in some emotional movie kind of like The Whale. Maybe step into the writing, directing and producing chair and make the movie you always felt you earned. He does have an interesting story. Grew up in Africa, moved the France, became a model and then went into acting. That would be a pretty interesting movie.

So instead of complaining about your place in Hollywood, maybe take a look at how far you’ve come over the years and use that motivation to propel your career to new heights.

World War Joe

Movies and Shows

No One Will Save You: A Missed Opportunity

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Around the 22-minute mark of this movie, I started writing this elegant silique about how this movie reminds me of 80s action flicks where it was just good guy vs. tons of bad guys. We didn’t need a massively overcomplicated plot, and all we needed was good entertainment, but the rest of the movie jumped between “Wow, that’s cool” to “Wow, this is terrible”. No One is Coming to Save You suffers from identity disorder, where it doesn’t know what it wants to accomplish.

The story revolves around Brynn, a woman living in a remote small town, grappling with her anxieties. The film attempts to explore her inner struggles and relationships with others, but it loses its focus. At its core, “No One Will Save You” could have been a modern-day “Home Alone” with a twist, where a woman uses household traps to fend off aliens and gather supplies. Instead, it wastes time with unnecessary subplots, including Brynn’s interactions with an older couple and her deceased friend or ex-girlfriend.

The aliens were perfectly done. Loved the simple design of them. I don’t imagine the budget for this movie was in the Marvel 300 million range, so making the scenes darker would hide any CGI errors. My only criticism was that the aliens were telepaths, and I didn’t like that because that’s a Game Over power. There is no reason for any alien to try to overpower Brynn when they can just pull her with their minds.

I don’t know if I’m right about this, but I think maybe the aliens aren’t the real threat, and they are being controlled by a parasite that takes over the body. Humans are being fed some mind-control-looking plant, so maybe the planet is conquering the galaxy by taking in all these hosts? I don’t know, but it’s never fully explained. A similar plot was done in the tv show Fallen Skies.

The ending was ambiguous, of course. I figured things were going too perfect initially to not end up as an artsy movie. It’s revealed that Brynn got into a fight with, I guess, her sister and killed her in anger with a rock and has been living with Trama….am I supposed to feel bad for her? Did the aliens pity her and reward her for being a murderer? If they stop by a prison, they’ll find many guys who feel bad for murdering someone.

The story ends with Brynn waking up happy, the sun shining, and everything seems to be back to normal. Brynn goes into town, gets a lot of happy waves, and dances in an old-time-looking Italian town…. then the camera pulls back, and we see the UFOs just hanging around.

So, what the hell is all this? Is she captured? Is she in the real world? Why are the aliens granting her this? I think it should’ve ended where she is in this happily ever after, and then you see that she’s just on the ship in a mind control field with the rest of the people on the dance floor, and that’s it. It’s just a wasted opportunity of a movie.

World War Joe

Movies and Shows

Cassandro: A Genuine Glimpse into Authenticity

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We see a massive pushback on diversity in Hollywood for a few reasons. The product is crap; the studios are shaming people into consuming it. Cassandro takes an entirely different approach, and it pays off.

Cassandro is about a man named Saul who wants to be a wrestler in Mexico. While Saul isn’t the biggest or fastest wrestler in the Lucha Libre world, he makes up for it by being entertaining. He dawns the name Cassandro and dresses up in makeup and flamboyant outfits. At first, the crowd hates the gimmick and yells homophobic slurs at him; however, Cassandro eventually wins over the crowd with his antics, and they start cheering for him. Even his promoter tells Cassandro’s opponents to let him win because the crowd is so into it.

Saul starts attending wrestling school more to become better at his craft. He starts winning more, and eventually, every stadium chants his name. He even earns a title match against famed wrestler El Hijo del Santo.

Outside of the ring, Saul is in a relationship with a man who is ashamed to be with him publicly or even acknowledge they’re a couple. Saul also wants to make his mother and family proud of him as a wrestler. The movie doesn’t preach. It doesn’t shame you for thinking Cassandro is a ridiculous-looking wrestler. And the point of this movie is that if you work hard enough and put together a good product, nobody cares about the other things. Cassandro failed because he was gay; he did because he was good at his job.

Its approach makes Cassandro stand out in the diverse storytelling landscape. It doesn’t exploit Saul’s sexual orientation for sensationalism. Instead, it treats it as a facet of his identity, no more defining than his love for wrestling or his commitment to his family. This distinction is vital. In a time where diverse characters are often reduced to their differences, Cassandro gives us a character whose depth transcends labels.

Similar things have been done in wrestling with varying degrees of success. In the WWE, the team of Billy and Chuck was massively successful, and the due were fan favorites for their time together. However, in AEW, Sonny Kiss recently got released because his gimmick was simply that he was gay and didn’t string together any matches of value or make the fans care about him.

In essence, Cassandro is a lesson for modern storytellers. It shows that audiences resonate with authenticity. Diversity isn’t just about showcasing different faces but providing genuine narratives that humanize, not tokenize. As Saul finds acceptance and success not just as a gay man but as a talented wrestler and a devoted son, we are reminded that real stories lie in the intricate web of our multiple identities, and it’s about time Hollywood took note.

World War Joe

Movies and Shows

Wish: Another “White Man Bad” Flop

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Why does Disney still make movies? They’re not good at it anymore. I just saw the trailer for their latest flop, Wish, and it checks off the diversity boxes:

-Brown female lead

-Chubby Asian diversity hire friend

-A white male villain who oppresses the people

The plot of Wish parallels a lot of things wrong with modern society. People don’t want to work for their goals. They want instant gratification and think they’re entitled to whatever they want.

The King of this land can grant wishes, and his daughter, Asha, uncovers that not every wish is granted and the king decides what wishes come true and says, “I decide what everyone deserves,” in a malicious fashion. Asha then wishes upon a star and, from what I gathered, can now grant wishes herself.

We have seen similar plot points in Wonder Woman 1984 and Bruce Almighty, where everyone got their deepest desires granted, and then they had to have such a gift stripped away because of the chaos that would ensue.

We see a clip of the King granting a man’s wish to be a knight. The man is consumed by magic, and a knight’s outfit appears on him. That doesn’t make him a knight. A man must endure trials and tribulations to finally earn that title. You can’t just wish for it; you are bestowed courage and wisdom.

The movie, I think, has only one logical ending. For Asha to realize that her father is right. Not everyone should have their wishes granted. How noble the wish may be doesn’t matter, but can Disney be so self-aware? Can they say that the diversity hire is wrong and the evil patristical white man is right? I doubt it. Disney is committed to going down with the ship on their politics and ideals, but I can’t think of another ending. Maybe the King steps down and puts Asha in charge of granting the wishes for the kingdom, but in that scenario, Asha still has to approve or deny the wishes. I’m betting Wish will be another Flop in the failing empire that once was Disney.

World War Joe

Movies and Shows

Loki’: Mastery or Mere CGI

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In the season finale of Loki, we see Old Loki manifest an entire city out of nowhere, and fanboys online lost their minds. The monster Alioth and Old Loki quickly destroyed the city in the process. What exactly did he do again that was so impressive? Old Loki didn’t “actually” create a city. He simply created an illusion, an illusion that was easily swallowed by the creepy cloud monster, and that’s it. Was this merely a CGI spectacle, or was it a nod to a comic book arc? Either way, the scene surely evoked reactions from the audience.

World War Joe

Wrestling

Defending the Stun Gun Ending

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Wrestling fans and wrestlers alike seem to agree that Goldberg losing to Kevin Nash after getting tazed was a bad idea; however, I loved the ending and thought it made the most sense. At that time, Goldberg was 173-0 in his WCW career, and it would take a lot more than interference to make him lose at that time.

I didn’t hate the ending, but I hated what happened afterward. Kevin Nash lost to Hulk Hogan with the Finger Poke of Doom, and we didn’t see Goldberg get his title back. I would’ve ended Goldberg’s streak with the taser ending and then have him beat down worse than anyone ever has in WCW. Thrown through a table, every member of the nWo hitting their finishers on Goldberg and him being off TV for a very long time.

Then, have him return with a vengeance and reclaim his title, but that didn’t happen. Goldberg lost to Kevin Nash on December 27, 1998, and didn’t miss any time afterward. Not even a week, and Goldberg was back on TV.

As a wrestling fan, I’ve seen many matches end because of outside interference, but usually, they lead to something bigger and have a more satisfying ending. Moves like these ultimately led to the downfall of the WCW.

World War Joe

Movies and Shows

Monsters at Work: A Single-Season Triumph

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Disney+ has been home to numerous original series, but “Monsters at Work” stands out above the rest. Set shortly after the events of “Monsters, Inc.”, the show navigates the company’s transition from harnessing Scream Energy to Laugh Energy.

We follow the journey of Tylor, a fresh Monsters University graduate primed to begin his career as a Scarer. However, with the company’s shift, Tylor is thrust into the world of Jokesters. Starting in the maintenance department, Tylor undergoes a transformative journey, learning the nuances of making children laugh. Meanwhile, fan-favorite characters Mike and Sulley grapple with the challenges of leading the revamped company.

Every element of “Monsters at Work” was executed flawlessly, from character development to intertwining narratives. The series culminated perfectly with Tylor having mastered his comedic skills, eliciting genuine laughter from a child.

While the allure of a second season might be tempting, it’s worth questioning the necessity. Some stories are best told concisely, and “Monsters at Work” may be one such tale. Additionally, with Disney’s recent trend of shelving content for tax benefits, there’s no assurance that a hypothetical second season would even make its way to Disney+.

In sum, “Monsters at Work” is a rare Disney+ show that doesn’t ruin the original source material — a narrative beautifully wrapped in a single season, leaving a lasting impression on its audience.

World War Joe