5 Best Games of 2013

Honorable Mentions: The Stanley Parable, Papers Please, Dota 2, The Swapper, The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead: Season 2

Runner Up: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Technically this is a DLC, buy in reality it works as a standalone game. "Far Cry 3" was my favorite game from 2012, it was a giant open world of fun where I could kill a bear with a flamethrower; is there anything more a person could want? It turns out there is, and it’s killing a dinosaur with a minigun. "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon" is a standalone expansion where you play in an 80's inspired neon wonderland and like "Far Cry 3," you kill everything that moves in very fun ways. FC3's enjoyment came mostly from its over the top nature, and Blood Dragon cranked the craziness up to eleven without over doing it. With the bow hunting from FC 3 and RoboCop's gun, this is one of the most enjoyable experiences of 2013. And like I mentioned earlier, you kill dinosaurs and it is awesome.

5. Gone Home

Before its release, I hadn't heard anything about "Gone Home;" but after it came out everyone was raving about it, and I can now see why. The game was actually recommended to me by a friend, I asked what it was about and he said he couldn't answer that. He said it wasn't really a game in the traditional sense but related it to TellTale Games “The Walking Dead.” He said "while it's not a game you’re going to want to play through every year, but it's a game you'll be glad you played though  at least once;" and boy am I glad I did. "Gone Home" is a fascinating game that seamlessly blends gameplay with storytelling. While the game is kind of expensive as compared to it's length, I would say it's certainly worth the play through.

4. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

And the award for the most adorable video game of the year goes to "Ni No Kuni." "Ni No Kuni" is a Japanese role playing game where you are put into the role of a young boy whose mother is killed by her heart condition while she saves his life while he's drowning; not the most cheerful start but it does show this game is more than just adorable. You’re character then enters a type of fantasy world where you are pure of heart, and the only hope for stopping an evil witch. The problem with most JRPG's is that they are such a grind and get old real quick. "Ni No Kuni" doesn't suffer from that, there's so much stuff to do it never feels like a choir to level up. "Ni No Kuni" is a fantastic, one of a kind game that will appeal to anyone who plays it.

3. Bioshock Infinite
Upon its release "Bioshock Infinite" was released to near universal critical acclaim, but over the next couple months more and more people started criticizing the game for this reason or another. I really had never seen anything like it, people who were praising the game quickly turned to hating it. Honestly, I can't see where they're coming from. "Bioshock Infinite" is easily one of the best games of the year and one of the best of the generation. The art style, the combat, the story, and everything else just comes together and works perfectly. Infinite is the third installment in the franchise, and it does the series justice. Already winning multiple game of the year awards despite the haters, "Bioshock Infinite" is an amazing experience that's worth the play if you call yourself a true video game fan.

2. Grand Theft Auto 5
GTA 5 is going to be the game everyone remembers from 2013, and for good reason; this game is f*cking awesome. Easily the most anticipated game of 2013, GTA 5 had a whole lot to live up to and did so in almost every category. There were a lot of super enjoyable games released this year but GTA 5 is the most fun I had playing a game in 2013. Whether it was the Paleto Bay job or chasing after a jet that you just shot down on a motor bike, this game was a blast from start to finish and has turned into one of my favorite games of the console generation. If you're one of the five people left on the planet who haven't played this game, you need to go out and fix that; but be prepared to sink 40- 70 hours into it.

1. The Last of Us

No game this year will be remembered as fondly as "The Last of Us;" this game is regarded so highly, whenever another game wins a game of the year award there's a swarm of thousands of people who complain TLOU didn't win. As far as emotion goes, this is one of the most powerful games I've ever played. Within 15 minutes, it'll have you shed tears. The main characters are Joel and Ellie and I don't think I've ever had such an emotionally strong connection to video game characters. But this game isn't just story; the gameplay perfectly fits the game and is some of the most brutal combat I’ve seen in a game in recent years. This is the must play game of the year, it's that simple. Years from now when people look back on 2013, the one game that everyone will remember will be "The Last of Us."

American Hustle Review

I can't tell you why criminals do what they do; it's not so black and white. If I had to guess I'd say they do it because they have actual reasons, I don't think it's like in the movies where they do it just because they can. They do it to survive and sometimes even to thrive. Now of those who do thrive, con artists seem to be the ones that make out the best. They are smarter than the average person and can take you for an untold amount of money. Look at Bernie Madoff, he stole 60 billion dollars like it was nothing and would have gotten away with it if he wasn't so greedy. It's not an easy line of work, but that's the life. "American Hustle" is a new con film directed by David O. Russell taking place in the 1970's. The film follows Irving and Sydney, a couple of white collar con artists. One afternoon their operation gets busted by an FBI agent named Richard, but for a reduced sentence he makes them a deal. He wants them to team up in order to take out corrupt politicians. Through a mutual friend, Irving and Sydney bait the mayor of Camden, New Jersey, Carmine Polito. Carmine is a good guy and everyone loves him, all he wants to do is help the people. He's campaigning to revitalize gambling in Atlantic City to help the economy but is having trouble gathering the necessary funds to do so. So he decides to do business with the con artists, believing they are business acquaintances with a Sheik from the Middle East who is looking for an investment. Through this scam Irving actually becomes good friends with Carmine, so now he is looking for a way to get him and Sydney off while doing his best to protect Carmine. Unfortunately the FBI agent only cares about furthering his career and threatens to bury them; but the con artists refuse to go down without a fight. David O. Russell is one of my favorite directors, he's unique and his style just appeals to me. His last film "Silver Linings Playbook" was one of the best and one of my favorite films of 2012; so I had some fairly high expectations for this film, fortunately this movie actually surpassed what I was hoping for. First off, the acting is fantastic; "American Hustle" has one of the best ensemble casts of the year and everyone does an amazing job. Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Irving's crazy wife, might even be up for a best supporting actress nomination. The screenplay is one of the best written of the year as well, the dialog is smooth and feels natural. I've heard a lot of the dialog is improved but I can't say so for certain. The movie is also very funny and had me laughing at multiple times. Every director has their own style, some more apparent than other; Russell is a one of a kind and you can always recognize their style, "American Hustle" is no different. He does a great job in this movie, it's obvious that he knew exactly what he wanted to do in this movie and he does it perfectly. Probably my biggest problem with the movie that they use a voice over narrative to further along the plot seems kind of lazy. While we've seen this before and we know it can work, it just didn't for this movie. Also I'd say this movie is about 15-20 minutes to long, it's not an overly long movie but by the end I was ready to leave. There's no doubt, "American Hustle" is one of the best films of the year. Everything worked so well together and I'm so glad I finally got to see it. It's probably not for everyone, but I'd certainly recommend it. And I'll go ahead and predict we'll see a lot of this movie at the Oscars.

Pros: Fantastic acting from the entire cast, dialog is smooth and feels natural, well written screenplay, very funny, authentic looking costume and set design, great directing.

Cons: 15-20 minutes too long, voice over narrative to move plot along is lazy.

4.5/5 Stars

The Wolf of Wall Street Review

If you were to make a list of the most hated professions in the United States, the top of that list would be anything that has to do with Wall Street. Brokers, investment bankers, corporate layers, ect.; the average person looks at these guys and see money grubbing bastards who steal from everyone and give to themselves. Now I know stereotyping isn't a good thing to do, but some of these people do fit that stereotype. I think it all comes down to the American dream, be as successful as you can be and make as much money as you can. Capitalism is a somewhat broken system, for some to thrive others have to fail. All these Wall Street guys just figured why should they have to be the ones to fail. The Wolf of Wall Street takes place between the late 80's and mid 90's and follows the true story of Jordan Belfort. Jordan moved to New York in his early 20's in order to become a stock broker, he grew up poor and had dreams of making the big time; but after a financial crash the firm he was working at shuts down. While looking for a new job he finds out about a system of stocks nicknamed "penny stocks." These are the stocks that are sold for almost nothing and aren't important enough to really make it on Wall Street. He learns that penny stocks have a 50% commission for the broker as compared to normal stock which is only 1%. Jordan is very good at what he does and starts making more money than he knows what to do with. Not long after he opens his own stock firm, and soon after that he starts finding holes in the system that allows him to make even more money. Over the years he also develops a serious drug problem that constantly impacts his everyday life. One day Jordan gets a tip that the FBI is looking into him for a number of crimes, and while they don't have anything they are making ground. Now Jordan is a stubborn and greedy man and refuses to go down without a fight; and what ensues is one hell of a crazy adventure. The Wolf of Wall Street is directed by Martin Scorsese who is easily one of the greatest directors of all time; he has made some of the best movies ever over the past thirty years. One thing I've always admired about Scorsese is that he's not afraid of mixing things up and trying new things. The Wolf of Wall Street is certainly different than any movie he's ever done, it's a comedy. I've always felt he was good at interjecting comedy into his movies and have always wanted to see him do a full-fledged comedy. This movie was one of my most anticipated films of the year; and to be honest, I was a little disappointed. Probably the best aspect of the film would be the acting; stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Jonah Hill do a great job in their roles. I think it's some of the best performance they've given in the past few years. Matthew McConoaghey also appears in the movie and steals each scene he's in, but he's way underutilized. In the trailer they make him look like a co-star, but in reality he's in three scenes. The movie is also well written and pretty damn funny; it had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. The thing I think that most people will find so compelling is that The Wolf of Wall Street is sheer entertainment. Each scene is more outrageous than the last and even if you don't like it you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen. While some people will really like that aspect, it's exactly what turned me off to this movie. I just found it so eccentric and self-indulgent; it felt like it was trying too hard at times. What I found most surprising about the movie is that it somehow was not rated NC-17. I have never seen so many naked people, heard so much swearing, or seen so many drugs done in a movie; the problem is none of it felt necessary. It all has to do with making sure the audience understands Jordan is a party boy, but I didn't need to see him do lines of coke for three hours straight. The movie is much longer than it need to be, they could have cut out a solid 45 minutes of partying. The movie also gets super ridiculous at times and it can sometimes take you out of the movie and disrupts the viewing experience. This was a movie I was so looking forward to, but my hopes and dreams were shot down. I don't think the Wolf of Wall Street is a bad movie, just not particularly good, others seem to really like it so I must be on the outside for the this one. You can always tell if a movie is great when after you see it for the first time, you want to go see it again. For the Wolf of Wall Street, I don't feel that need. 

Pros: DiCaprio and Hill do a great job, well written and funny, scene after scene of entertainment.
Cons: Too eccentric and self-indulgent, much longer than necessary, gets ridiculous at times, McConaughey is underutilized.

3/5 Stars

10 Best Shows of 2013

Honorable Mention: Arrested Development, Community, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Doctor Who, Parks and Recreations, Luther, Homeland,  Happy Endings, Elementary

Runner Up: Masters of Sex
Lately, Showtime has been going through a rough patch. This year one of their biggest shows Dexter finally ended, and one of their most successful new shows Homeland has lost a bit of speed; but this year Showtime debuted the dramatization of Dr. Williams Masters and Virginia Johnson controversial research on sex, and fortunately it's a winner. The show's a period piece taking place in the 50's where a gynecologist named William Masters and his assistant Virginia starts to research the act of sex using live test subjects. Bored with his regular work Masters noticed that there was very little information regarding sex itself, so hoping to expand on the field and possibly win a noble prize he studies what no scientist before him has studied. Masters of Sex is one of the best new shows of the year; it's like a combination on Mad Men, House, and Cinemax. While the material might not sit right with everyone, it's certainly worth the watch.
10. Archer
The first time I saw Archer I really didn't like it, it had a strange sense of humor and I hated the animation style. I told my friend, who suggested the series to me, what I thought and he just said watch two more episodes. So I watched the second episode, still hated it; after the third I started thinking it was alright. By the end of the first season I was in love. It's an acquired taste, the more you watch the better you get; the show relies greatly on running jokes which just get funnier and funnier. The show follows the life Sterling Archer, an idiotic super spy with mommy issues working for an agency called ISIS. The show's pretty dumb and has a very raunchy sense of humor, but it's legitimately the funniest show on TV right now. After a very shaky start to the series with some pretty subpar ratings, Archer has developed a very strong following and will be heading into its fifth season in 2014.

9. The Walking Dead
There isn't a show on TV right now that's gained a following like The Walking Dead has. Based off the insanely popular comic of the same name, the walking dead follows a group of survivors through the first few years of a zombie apocalypse that has wiped out most of the population. A former police officer named Rick Grimes is charged with lead this beaten and battered group, which includes his teenage son and infant daughter, and keep them alive as long as possible. Everyone loves zombies and as far as TV shows go The Walking Dead does zombies better than anyone else. Bloody, violent, and intense; for the past three years The Walking Dead has continued to impress. And after season four's record breaking ratings, this show will be around quite a while longer.

8. Mad Men
For the last six years, Mad Men has been the king of the Emmy's; winning a total of 15 since the shows launch back in 2007. The show has received almost universal praise for the top notch acting, superb writing, use of themes and motifs revolving around the idealistic American 60's, and fantastic and authentic production design. The show revolves around a group of white collar employees working for an advertisement agency and their families. The main character, Don Draper, is one of the best in the business but has many personal demons. Whether it be his alcoholism, smoking addiction, or the almost compulsory need to have an affair, he is his own worst enemy; and watching him destroy his own life and the lives of those around him has made damn good television for six years straight.

7. Boardwalk Empire

Since its premiere back in 2010, Boardwalk Empire has impressed me every single season. Taking place in the early 1920's the story follows Nucky Thompson, the former treasurer of Atlantic city who used the recently put into place prohibition law to his advantage; with the help of his numerous connections to import and sell alcohol in the north east United States. With most of the cities law enforcement on his payroll with the help of his brother the sherif; and all his competition under his thumb, Nucky ruled the liquor trade. Great acting, an interesting premise, and some of the best production value of any show on TV has made Boardwalk Empire one of HBO's most intriguing and critically acclaimed shows. With season four just finishing up and a fifth on its way, it seems that Boardwalk Empire will have a long and successful run.

6. Justified

I've always thought that Justified was the most underrated show on television. Despite near universal acclaim from critics and dozens of awards and nominations over the years, the show has never pulled the numbers I thought it deserved. The show follows US marshal Raylan Givens; after an indecent on the job Raylan gets stationed outside Harlan County in Kentucky, a crime ridden and backwater place where he happened to grow up. His father as well as pretty much everyone he grew up around was or is a criminal, so being a marshal he isn't exactly the most like guy in town. He is tasked with keeping the county safe murderers, thieves, and drug traffickers by whatever means necessary, and Raylan is one of those shoot first and ask questions later. Justified is a breath of fresh air as far as I'm concerned every season has been top notch and I can always rely on the show to be of the highest quality. And with season five airing next year I'm sure it will continue to impress.

5. Vice on HBO

Vice started off as a controversial magazine publication back in 1994 that covered everything from pop culture to international war stories. This year HBO decided to take a chance and gave Vice their own show, each episode is half an hour long and would feature two 15 minutes documentary shorts. Some stories that were featured this season included political assassinations in the Philippians, Al Qaeda's use of child suicide bombers, and Nigerien oil pirates. They even sent a basketball team with some of the Harlem Globetrotters to compete against North Korean national basketball team, they even became the first Americans to meet supreme leader Kim Jong-Un. Vice is my favorite news publication and I am so happy to see them do well and make such a high quality TV show, and I can't wait for season two.

4. Orange is the new Black

This was undoubtedly the biggest surprise of 2013. A new series from Netflix, the show’s based off the real life story of Piper Kerman a young woman who was coerced into smuggling money by her former girlfriend and is convicted and sent to prison almost ten years later. While I didn't think much of OITNB when I first heard about it, after watching the first season I can say that it was my favorite series of the year. A wide array of funny and interesting characters accompanied by the shows unique sense of humor works perfectly. OITNB is a brilliant show, and has already done very well for himself. Apparently the show pulled more viewers in its first week than House of Cards or the re-launch of Arrested Development. With its success Netflix has confirmed a second season will air in 2014, and I can't wait.

3. House Of Cards

Believe it or not Netflix hasn't always been the powerhouse it is; at one point people weren't even sure if it could survive in the market. Back in the day Blockbuster was the big kid on the block; several years ago there was even an offer on the table for Netflix to be sold to them. Blockbuster turned it down because they didn't think Netflix was worth it and that they could make it in the online market themselves and do better. But over the past few years Netflix has grown to have almost 30 million subscribers and has even gotten into original programming. One of their first major shows was House of Cards, a political drama that shows the dirty side of Washington and even stars Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey. The show was met with much critical acclaim and even became the first web based show to be nominated for a major Emmy. House of Cards is a superbly acted and intriguing show about deceit and betrayal that always seems to keep you guessing.

2. Game of Thrones

I remember when Game of Thrones first came out everyone was going crazy, and I told myself I would watch it eventually; two seasons later I hadn't seen a single episode. Right before the third season started my friend asked me if I had been watching, I told him all I knew was that it was a fantasy show. He told me it was like Lord of the Rings with more characters and boobs, so I decided to give it a try. I watched the first episode and thought it was very good, two days later I had watched every episode and found one of my new favorite shows. The show has some of the best production value of any program on TV. Filled with twists and turns you never see coming, this complex and action packed series makes its viewers always come back for more and count the days until season four.

1. Breaking Bad

I'll say it right now; Breaking Bad is the greatest drama to ever air on cable television. I can count on one hand the number of shows that are even on the same playing field as this show. And amazingly the fifth and final season was the best the show has ever put out. For five years Breaking Bad has captivated us like no show has in the last decade. The writing, directing, and acting have been on a whole different level from almost every other show on TV. Sadly the show recently ended, and like every other person who loved the show I was nervous about the last episode. After watching it I can say it was one of the most satisfying endings to a show in recent memory. Breaking Bad has left a whole in my heart, and I'm not sure it can ever be filled; it will be missed but I'm glad it ended on its own terms. Breaking Bad was the best show of 2013 and very well might be the greatest show of all time.

5 Worst Movies of 2013

Honorable Mentions: Spring Breakers, The Fifth Estate, 2 Guns

Runner Up: Only God Forgives
This movie was so disappointing I actually got sad after watching it. After the trailer dropped earlier this year, it quickly became one of my most anticipated of 2013. Only God Forgives was Nicholas Winding Refn's to Drive, which also starred Ryan Gosling. Drive was one of the best movies of 2011, so I immediately interested when this movie announced; but after watching it, I was left with a hole in my stomach. What this movie did right was the cinematography, it's an absolutely beautiful movie; but what it did wrong, was just about everything else. The movie was just lacking in most fields, I just expected so much more and was severely let down. It was by no means the worst movie of the year, but it was easily the biggest let down.

5. A Good Day to Die Hard
Some movie franchises just don't know when to quit, unfortunately Die Hard is no different. The first movie in the franchise was released in 1988, and is often called the greatest action movie of all time. If you ask me they should have left it at that; not all the Die Hard movies are, Die Hard with a Vengence and Live Free or Die Hard were a lot of fun. But neither of them could capture the magic of the original. When I first heard they were making a new Die Hard, I was actually kind of excited; but the problem with this one is that it's feels like one of the most generic action movies ever. There is nothing outstanding about it, it's just so below average. It feels like this the script was just a random action movie that they rewrote for Die Hard. While I wouldn't go so far as to call it terrible, I remember leaving the theater rather unimpressed.

4. The Counselor
I don't just think this is a bad movie; I actually left the theater really upset because it was such a bad movie. The Counselor had all the potential in the world: an all star cast, a screenplay by one of America's greatest living authors, and an Oscar nominated Director. I'm not sure how this movie could have gone wrong, but somehow it did. There aren't many things I can actually complement this movie on, the cinematography was all right and at least some of the actors did the best they could. What this movie really messed up on was the writing; in a movie where they entire plot is moved along by the dialog, you need to make sure it's really good. What we got was one of the most poorly written movies released in 2013. This was a movie I had such high hopes, and I ended up disappointed.

3. The Starving Games
Like clockwork, you can expect at least one pathetic spoof movie year; and this year we got the Starving Games. As you can probably tell, this movie is based around the Hunger Games. On top of that it parodies the Expendables, the Avengers, angry birds, Avatar, Taylor Swift, and a few other things here and there. The movie is written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Aeltzer, who you might know as the creators of Date Movie, Epic Movie, Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, and Vampires Suck. In case you haven't seen any of these movies, let's just say these guys are no Steven Spielberg. What I don't understand about this movie is why it was made; while terrible their other movies were given a lot of attention and made lots of money. This movie was only given a limited release and barely made in any money; but to be honest, I'm actually kind of glad it failed.

2. InAPPropriate Commedy
And the award for the single most shameless movie of the year goes to InAPPropriate Comedy. While you might not know what the movie is, you might know who it's by. The movie is written and directed by Vince Offer, better known as the shamwow guy (you also might know him as the guy who beat up a hooker because she bit his tongue and wouldn't let go). InAPPropriate Comedy would best be described as a spoof movie, and possibly the worst spoof movie ever made. I heard several people call this one of the worst movies of all time; I was curious so I decided to check it out, unfortunately they were right. This movie tries to go for the shock and awe value, but in reality it's just stupid. There's no positive aspect of this movie, it is garbage; but amazingly, it's not even the worst movie of the year.

1. Movie 43
I hate this movie with a passion, plain and simple; I don't just think it's bad, I remember walking out of the theater and being physically angry I spent $6.50 to see it. Movie 43 is an embarrassment to movies, I'm not sure who sold their soul to have this movie made but they are an awful person. Here's the gist of it, a guy is trying to sell his script to a producer and we see segments from that script. Imagine the worst episode of Saturday Night Live times ten. Here's how bad it is, at one point the producer calls the script this centuries Howard the Duck which is one of the worst movies ever made. So the movie itself acknowledges the script is bad and then makes us watch scenes from it. Movie 43 is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. There is nothing good about it; the funniest scene is still sub par. If I were given a choice between a lobotomy or seeing this movie again, I'll go with the brain surgery.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Review

Note: I saw this film at a high frame rate in 3D, and while the 3D is well done I still do not like the high frame rate.

Few worlds have encapsulated the human imagination as J.R.R Tolkien's Middle Earth has, and few ever will. In 1999, director Peter Jackson took on the daunting task of translating Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy into film. The result would turn out to be one of the greatest film trilogies of all time; but after the series ended it left many fans wanting more, so Jackson ultimately decided on turning "The Hobbit" (a prequel book to TLOTR) into a trilogy itself. The first installment entitled "An Unexpected Journey" was released, and while it was a major box office success it was met with negative reviews from many critics and fans of the Middle Earth universe; many questioned Jackson's decision on turning the book into a trilogy as compared to a single installment, a trilogy made sense for TLOTR because it already was a trilogy but the Hobbit was only a single volume. Many weren't sure if there was even enough content to turn into three movies. So with the second installment in the new trilogy, Jackson obviously looked to silence many of the critics by addressing the almost many of the problems people had with the first one. And fortunately, he manages to improve upon the last movie in almost every way. "The Desolation of Smaug" starts off what seems to be a few months after the events of the previous movie. Our marry band of misfits consisting of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey, Thorin Oakenshield and a dozen other dwarves are still trying to reach the Lonely Mountain in order to retrieve the Arkenstone so Thorin can be named the king under the mountain. At this same time they are all being hunted by a group of orcs, and they barely escape with their lives on more than one occasion. The group needs to be at the mountain within a few days, and they are running out of time fast. They are required to go through a now sick forest inhabited by giant spiders, but once their almost out they get captured by a group of elves. While in their custody, Thorin is summoned by the clan’s leader who is the same man who refused to help the dwarves when their homeland was originally attacked; the king offers to make a deal but Thorin refuses. After being imprisoned for a short time they manage to escape and make it to a nearby trading town; but with the orcs right on their tail and time almost up the group is on the brink of defeat, but they refuse to give up. While I had problems with the previous film, I still really enjoyed it; but I did feel a little let down. The Lord of the Rings trilogy are some of my all time favorite movies, but An Unexpected Journey didn't have the same magic as the previous films; The Desolation of Smaug manages to recapture that magic, and has turned into one of my favorite films of the year. One of the biggest problems with the previous movie was that a lot of people just thought it was kind of boring, but TDOS is much more exciting and also has the more serious tone of TLOTR films while maintaining several humorous moments. One of the standout features of TLOTR films was that they were gorgeous and Peter Jackson continues that tradition with this film, while it doesn't have the huge landscapes like the other films the cinematography is still top notch. Also like all the other films, Jackson employs some really amazing special effects people. While most of the CGI looks great overall, there are a few times where the CGI isn't on par with the rest of the film. Ever actor in the film was cast perfectly and does a great job in their parts. Although one of my biggest problems with the film is that there are too many characters doing too many things at once. In the previous film, the entire movie revolved around Bilbo, Gandalf, and Thorin, everyone else were just supporting characters. In this one, you have like ten important characters all doing their own thing; it takes away from the continuity of the main story line. There are also a few characters that were put into the movie that weren't in the book, most notably Legolas and Tauriel. It was really awesome to see Legolas again and Tauriel is a really cool and badass character, but I'm not entirely sure if they were really necessary. But now that we have all that out of the way, let's get to the important stuff; we all have the same question about this film, "how's Smaug." The answer? He's as awesome as we all hoped. Smaug is voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, and he was the absolute the perfect choice. His voice fit Smaug perfectly, and they add the right amount of distortion to his voice. The design of Smaug is fantastic; he is massive and looks just how I imagined him. Smaug is some of the best CGI you'll see in a movie all year and is worth the price of admission alone. The Desolation of Smaug acts as a huge improvement over An Unexpected Journey in almost every aspect, his movie reminded me what I loved about the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you've loved any of the Middle Earth movies you'll love this one, but it certainly won't bring any new fans of the series. If you're planning on going to the theater any time soon, you can't go wrong with The Desolation of Smaug. 

Pros: Every actor plays their character perfectly, more exciting and serious than previous film, beautiful cinematography and CGI, funny but not forced comedic moments, Smaug is f*cking awesome.

Cons: Too many characters doing too many things, some CGI not up to snuff, some characters shoehorned in, still don't like high frame rate.

4.5/5 Stars