Off the Chain

The title both works as a pun and a decent description of Quentin Tarantino's latest foray into the film society, Django Unchained. Controversy surrounded this movie to no end and continues even now (oh, China, it's only full frontal male nudity). Yes, Tarantino was a bit liberal with the use of that certain word used during that certain era. Yes, Tarantino probably hooked a fire hose up to a vat of fake blood. Yes, Tarantino probably doesn't give a f*ck what people think of his films. He just bitch slaps the critics with his Oscars and moves on. 

If the above paragraph wasn't any indication, the Academy Award-winning Django Unchained has hit shelves today. I have my copy from the friendly neighborhood Best Buy who so happened to stock a special edition to their shelves. This certain edition, packaged in a custom sleeve, comes in a tri-fold case with the Blu Ray, DVD, and Bonus Features disc along with the Ultraviolet/Digital copy. 

For those unfortunate few that never saw the film in theatres, Jamie Foxx stars as the titular character hellbent on rescuing his darling wife from the hands of the whack-ass crazy slave owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his aging master-of-the-house (sort of), Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson). Django is initially enlisted by Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a professional bounty hunter and delightfully hilarious German immigrant. Waltz steals the show as Schultz in an Academy Award-winning performance (he took away Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role) and I never had a single complaint on the subject. This isn't to say Foxx, DiCaprio, and Jackson fall short on their roles. As with nearly every Tarantino film, characters are brought along well throughout the film and deserve their fitting ends whether fatal or not. As much as I loved the film in theatres earlier this year, I will definitely/highly recommend this as a must-have for film buffs or Tarantino fanatics (such as myself) to add to their increasing film collection. 

 Exterior of the edition showcasing Django, Schultz, and Candie

Interior showing off the signature chain displayed in the poster art

From left to right: Blu Ray, DVD, Bonus Features

Django Unchained wasn't the only new release today. Sadly, today marks the last big release for me until The Last of Us hits in mid-June. Oh, Naughty Dog, you brilliant bastards. Stop teasing already! Anyway, Injustice: Gods Among Us has landed and it's a solid touchdown. Netherrealm Studios has taken Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, cleaned up/polished the graphics, tightened up the controls, simplified the combos, and FINALLY wrote a clever story worth paying attention. I simply cannot remember a Mortal Kombat game that had a fantastic story. Injustice, however, kind of re-introduces the idea of Superman giving up on humanity and attempting to bring the entire world under his "protection", but we all know what that means: complete and total "F*ck you" subjugation. Similar to Superman: Red Son (which came as a pre-order bonus at Gamestop), various superheroes rise up against Superman such as Batman who forms the Insurgency to remove the One Earth government. Where the story greatly differs is the temporal displacement that creates a somewhat brilliant inter-dimensional rift causing superheroes from the normal dimension you, me, and everyone else knows in which Metropolis doesn't really have a good day and throws them into the One Earth dimension with Superman trying to fight off his performance anxiety. 

I'll stop there to avoid major spoilers surrounding several characters and get into more. The gameplay is split up into various categories offering multiple ways to enjoy the game. You have the standard Story mode to experience the plot and unlock quite a bit of goodies. Multiplayer opens you up to versus and arcade mode to see who's top king among your friends. S.T.A.R. Labs brings in a pot load of mini games and Q-T-Es for even more unlockables. The Hero card gives you a chance to show off your gamer swag with all of the emblems, backgrounds, and character cards you've obtained. It's a nice touch to multiplayer, but nothing more. 

Now, don't worry if you're cannon fodder when it comes to fighting games. Trust me, you're never alone. Injustice allows you to tag whatever move you fancy to the screen so you don't have to go back and forth to remember each combo. The special moves themselves are relatively easy to memorize, so pick a character and start training. Flash is my home boy right now and his moves are perfect for gamers like me who can't handle heavy characters like Bane or Solomon Grundy or even mid-tier characters like Deathstroke or Ares. His moves are fast, easy, and dish out a modest amount of damage if you can string combos well. 

Every character has their own set of moves and super combos. On the PS3, once your meter's filled, pull down L2+R2 for some killer hits. Flash circumnavigates the globe to come back and deal out the pain with a swift upper cut and bitch slap to the ground. Superman winds up, smacks his opponent into the stratosphere (and then some), and finally back down to the cold, hard ground with a well-placed "f*ck you" to the face. Ares' is both easy to pull off, crowd-pleasing, but ultimately dishes out the least amount of damage. For all of you 300 fans, Ares teleports his foe to the fields of ancient Greece (in a place closely resembling Thermopylae) and, quite literally, rains a mess of arrows down something like........this:

You had to say it, didn't you?

All-in-all, Injustice is a solid game, but it's nothing ground-breaking or revolutionizing in the fighting genre. There's still quite a substantial bit for me to tackle, but in no way am I imagining the task a daunting chore to complete. I've enjoyed the game thus far on Day One, my friends have similarly enjoyed it, and it should make for an excellent party game in the near future. Most likely, The Last of Us will be the next recipient of The Crashed Moose award. DC, Netherrealms, you've done us well this time. 

Before I depart, allow me to leave you with tidings of great joy: the third installment to the Arkham series has been announced. Batman: Arkham Origins is slated for an October release. Get your $5 pre-order ready! 

And, as an added bonus, the Injustice: Collector's Edition statue since I still can't organize a small-ish film crew for an unboxing. 

Who's the bitch now, Bats?!?!

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