This week brought us an anniversary issue of great magnitude, The Walking Dead #100. This issue shipped with a bevy of multiple covers from many great artists including Todd McFarlane, Ryan Ottley, Frank Quitely,and many others. This book has been at the top of my list of favorite comics since it was released back in October 2003 and has not really disappointed me very much over the years.

Issue #100 gives us the conclusion to the Something to Fear storyline that started back in issue #97. I have to say it was the most shocking issue yet. Just as our little group of survivors were starting to get the feel of a semi-normal life again, a mysterious stranger named Jesus shows up and tells them that there is more out there. Rick, ever the optimist, binds up Jesus and has him lead him and a small group to the community of Hilltop. There, they find a society bigger than most thought was still out there in the world.

The group is torn between joining the group on the Hilltop or keep their own little community growing. It is also revealed that there is another group out there led by a man named Negan. I don’t think the word evil does him justice. It turns out that Negan and his group has been taking a percentage of Hilltop’s rations in exchange for ‘protection.’ Rick decides, quite hastily I think, to help Hilltop out with their problem in exchange for the rations they were giving Negan and his group. The feeling of dread starts to build at this point in the storyline and Rick’s actions start a chain of events that lead into issue #100.

I will try not to spoil anything, but I will say a long time fan-favorite character meets a grisly demise. Robert Kirkman, I think, is at the top of his game with this issue. Previous issues have left me in shock at the end, but this one left me feeling like someone stuck a knife in my gut and started twisting it. Charlie Adlard’s art work is as great as it has always been and he did an amazing job showing the brutality of the death of the beloved character. All in all I can’t wait to see what Kirkman and Company have in store for us with the future of The Walking Dead.

I had a look at three comics from Image coming out tomorrow. The first and probably my favorite of the three is:

Chew: Secret Agent Poyo (One-Shot)

Chew is a series I’ve been wanting to start but haven’t gotten around to yet. I hear it’s an amazing title but I’ve got a long ways to catch up. But I saw there was a one shot starring a badass rooster so I thought I’d give it a try. This is a fantastic read, very funny, and exactly what you should expect from a book about a total badass homicidal rooster.

Price: $3.50

Hoax Hunters #1

A reality TV show in a comic book. This book follows a crew that go out and try to disprove hoaxes and tall tales. Of course they have a hidden agenda, because secretly they actually know a lot of those hoaxes are true, they’re just trying to settle problems among the communities of monsters and make sure that other would be hunters don’t come upon the living legends. The story starts when some weird things start to go down in the swamps of Louisiana. The crew has to find out what’s going on while filming their own show on why there isn’t anything going on. This book is being done by a lot of the same people involved with the next title Revival.

Price: $2.99

Revival #1

The cover of this title worried me but once I got into the story I really liked it. This one is about a small town where everyone who was once dead is now coming back to life. But for some reason it’s only happening within some radius and so the government has basically quarantined the area so no one can get in or out. People in the area still have to live their lives, yet now some of their dead loved ones have now come back to life. Keeping it to one location is a good move as we can get to know the characters and not have to worry to much about what is happening outside of the town. The book also has a good amount of action in it and a hell of a lot of religious allusions. Could you imagine the religious fervor that would occur if the dead were coming back to life? Well this book imagines it and puts it to print. The story comes to us from Tim Seeley who has been working on Hack/Slash.

Price: $2.99

1×02 — Past Prologue — The introduction of Garek. Garek is one of the greatest characters on this show. One of the interesting things about DS9 as opposed to each of the other series is that since the show was on a space station it allowed for 30+ side characters to come back multiple times. Garek was one of those characters, the only remaining Cardassian on the space station who owns a clothing store. He befriends Bashir which is good because it given Bashir something to do besides being a spunky young doctor. This episode was also fun in that it had a return of the Duras sisters.

This episode was mostly however about Bajorians and their fight with the Cardassians. It became a Kira centric episode and that part of the story wasn’t as good.

Rating: C+

1×03 — A Man Alone — This episode is a Odo centric episode and it’s got some interesting moments to it. It shows the early visions they had of Odo, being the sheriff in town who would butt heads with the Federation. This tension becomes less as the series goes along.

The side story is of Keiko O’Brien trying to find her way on the new station. Miles was an interesting character to bring onto DS9 not just because he was somewhat established on TNG but also because he was married, and had a kid on TNG. So bringing him to DS9 brought Keiko to the show as well. She decides to become a teacher to Jake and Nog. Overall it’s an okay episode.

Rating: C-

1×04 — Babel — Fun title to the episode since it’s all about everyone losing the ability to speak clearly. The funny thing about this episode is it seems like it’s going to be an O’Brien episode but as the episode goes through each character they focus on is unable to speak and so they use every character for a good amount of time. The interactions of Quark and Odo are really good in this episode and they show a good precursor to just how good their overall relationship becomes. Auberjonis and Shimerman are both fantastic actors and this episode shows how even at this point they were outshining the rest of the cast.

Rating: B-

I am in no way am writing this to circumvent Bryan Young’s previously posted review of this movie. His early review convinced me to go see the film, even though a lot of the trailers left me wondering why the movie was made in the first place. Then I saw it. I was so immersed and impressed with this movie, that despite a few tiny flaws, The Amazing Spider-Man is unequivocally now my favorite movie ever. After seeing the movie, I felt that I had a burning need to share my feelings. As such, there may be minor spoilers contained within. I’ll do my level best to keep things vague, but you have been warned.

I have an uncanny ability to completely shut off expectations when I go see a movie on the big screen. As soon as the lights go down, I belong to the movie, and it has my undivided attention. Admittedly, this doesn’t make me an excellent film critic. Case in point, when I went to see Superman Returns, I loved it. Subsequent viewings brought me to my senses, but the things I loved about that movie still stand. ASM had a similar affect on me, but this time it wasn’t so much a wow factor as it was a realization. This movie has heart.

A large portion of the movie is character introductions and the like. I don’t think Peter Parker even got bit until about an hour into the film. Browse any geek website for a minute, and you’ll hear cries of why this is unnecessary.  The Raimi movie already established the origin, so why retread? I was firmly in that camp myself. I’ve changed my opinion though. This movie had to re-establish the mythos because of how everything is set up. The characters aren’t exactly the same in the previous movies, and this is a good thing. The way the characters are presented and how it relates to the origin all follow an internal logic that is pretty astounding if you think about it. The actors aren’t simply going through the motions or playing established archetypes. They are truly three dimensional, and when the emotional beats happen you care all the more because of it, even though you know what’s going to happen. It made the movie more real than I could have imagined, and that alone makes it a gem in my eyes.

Of course, the movie’s central character is Peter Parker/Spider-Man and if you can’t relate to him, the movie falls apart. Thankfully, Andrew Garfield is not only up to the task, he exceeds my expectations. Peter’s character arc is slightly different in the movie, as he has abandonment issues, growing up without parents. This is particularly felt with the absence of his father. That’s not to say that Uncle Ben isn’t the kind and wise surrogate he’s always been, because he is. It’s just that in this movie, Peter’s father is the catalyst for everything. Growing up without a father myself, I felt like I really understood Peter’s motivation to uncover the events leading up to Richard Parker’s disappearance, not to mention to really “know” what kind of man he was. The path this leads him on not only ties into the origin nicely, but also sets up many possibilities for future films. In particular, I really like the subtle way the filmmakers go about Norman Osborn. Nothing is explicit (unless you count the mid-credits scene), and it make my anticipation for the sequel higher than normal.

Continuing with Peter, once he gets the fateful spider-bite, I found it pretty interesting how the road to becoming Spider-Man played out. There is the obligatory discovering powers scenes, but they are done with such a sense of whimsy that even though everyone has already seen this play out over other mediums something like a million times before, it somehow feels fresh. No wrestling Macho Man Randy Savage here, folks.  The way Uncle Ben’s fate plays out feel more natural as well, it felt a little coincidental to be honest because the sequence between not stopping a robbery and the fatal shot happens so quickly. It’s one of my only little gripes with the movie. What happens after though? That made me start to hate the movie.

You see, after Uncle Ben’s murder, Peter goes full-on vigilante. He’s cocky, self-assured, and definitely not a hero. In short, grieving Peter is kind of an asshole. This includes the much lamented in trailers “small knives” scene. His cocksuredness even gets him the attention of one Gwen Stacy. This made me groan a little too. However, when Gwen invites Peter to meet the family, including Denis Leary as police captain George Stacy, things start to turn around. While it is true that it is Uncle Ben that teaches Peter about power and responsibility, it’s Captain Stacy that shows him how to be a true hero. Never is that more apparent to me than the bridge scene…

This scene makes me well up every time I see it.

In fact, the movie does scenes with this much emotional impact so well and so often, I’m not ashamed to admit that multiple times this movie made me weep like someone stole my lunch money. And if that isn’t an indicator of how successfully the movie works, nothing is. You’ll notice I didn’t really mention the Lizard at all, or the movie’s central conflict. There’s a reason for that. For me, those bits are just icing and an already pretty good slice of cake. Good as that is, it’s not why I love this movie. For reviews of those bits, look elsewhere.

ShazBot Score: 9.6 out of 10 Lightning Bolts

High Points: Emotional resonance, strong characters, well-woven story

Low Points: Series of coincidences, The Lizard’s face (he looked like a Goomba from the terrible Super Mario Bros. movie!)

Each Friday we will be bringing you weekend-viewing movie picks available for streaming on Netflix! From the popular to the obscure, we will browse Netflix’s Streaming library so you don’t have to, and bring you what we consider to be “Must Watch” selections!

The Whisperer in Darkness

Directed by Sean Branney

Starring Matt Foyer and Barry Lynch

The Whisperer in Darkness is everything you would expect from a movie produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. This movie is a fairly faithful adaptation from the short story, which can be both a benefit and an occasional hindrance. The small sections of new, original material help to pad out what would have been a short, unsatisfying film.

Like so many Lovecraft stories, Whisperer is narrated by our hero, Albert Wilmarth, college professor and milquetoast nerd. Wilmarth has been receiving unbelievable accounts of strange creatures harassing a farmer and his family in backwoods Vermont. The farmer’s son crashes Wilmarth’s party and gives him equally questionable photographs. Being a shy widower with nothing better to do, Wilmarth decides to visit the farmer, but the farmer receives him with suspicious reservations and hints of things to come.

Wilmarth soon discovers that large, mechanical crustaceans from outer space are removing people’s brains and keeping them alive in jars full of magic brain Gatorade! The cosmic crabs also want to open a door between our world and theirs. Wilmarth is scared of bodily harm and physical activity, but he must un-bunch his panties in order to save a young girl from her violently pessimistic father and put the kibosh on the space crab séance.

For all of the places this film could have stumbled, it more often than not stays on its feet. The creative team behind this film knew what makes Lovecraft fun and they did a nice job of interpreting his extravagantly baroque, obtuse style. I actually liked the addition of a biplane dogfight with the sea creatures from the stars.

Had H.P. Lovecraft been extroverted enough to work in Hollywood instead of dying in frustrated poverty, he would have written this film.

This week’s Friday ‘Flix Pick was submitted by Nick Burke. Be sure to check him out over at Paper Wasp!

I tend to follow Swank-mo-tron’s Indie Books column fairly closely. I’ve gotten some good reads based on it. On Monday, he highlighted The Bonesaw Trail by Dorian Dalta. Reading that, you might think Dalta is a little weird, and the book more so. You’d be right. The first thing you’ll notice about this book is the length. It’s very short, more in the novella category. But that doesn’t stop Dalta from packing it with very intense imagery, taking you inside two characters as they complete two very different journeys.

The book’s format harkens back to one of my all-time favorites, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. They’re nothing alike in tone or tale, but they both shift perspectives between each chapter. Steinbeck told the reader about the Joad family, alternating with a stream of consciousness lunacy. Dalta’s shift is more subtle. His chapters flip back and forth between the first person perspective of a lone man on a nighttime road trip, and the third person limited perspective of the titular character, Bonesaw, on his journey home to the American midwest from the Caribbean. Bonesaw’s Eden has been tainted by a seemingly thankless job as a bartender and a growing restlessness with his girlfriend, Jenna. After two years, it’s time to head home for a surprise visit with his friend, Johnny. Although it’s never made 100% clear in the story, Johnny also appears to be the first person driver in the other sequence.

Dorian Dalta’s format may be reminiscent of Steinbeck’s, but the story itself couldn’t be further. If the book were five to six times longer and took place in Japan, I might have believed I was reading an early work by Haruki Murakami. This is compounded by the strong and recurring appearance of various animals, particularly a large, wolf-like dog. The dog, in fact, led to one my favorite moments in the story. Very early on, Johnny is clearly affected by the beast’s presence, blaming the animal for his own misfortunes – something that may not be as far from the truth as you’d expect. The imagery created is highly impactful. If you’ve ever driven a long distance at night, by yourself, you’ll sympathize with Johnny immediately. The introspective thoughts on life and existence seem a little overused at times, but they also seem to come at appropriate moments. I would expect a double major in psychology to have a little more subtle approach to the heavier themes, but this is also a first novel. Which is both a criticism and compliment. Dalta definitely has a way with language, but it also feels a little rough. As much as I enjoyed reading The Bonesaw Trail, it actually just excited me to see what he can do with a little more practice, and perhaps a longer format. Then again, maybe keeping it short and simple was part of the charm.

I’d recommend this story to anyone looking for a short, character driven tale with psychological over- and undertones. If you like your stories with a weird twist, but handled better than M. Night Shyamalan, this one is right up your alley. I honestly expect to see more of Dalta’s work in the future, and I expect to see him grow as a writer. Your indie-hipster reputation requires you start reading him now, before he gets big. Someday you’ll see a short story collection with The Bonesaw Trail as the anchor and wish you’d been there from the start. The book is available now from Amazon or Barnes & Noble in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and Nook editions.

It is my pleasure to report that The Amazing Spider-Man isn’t a bad movie.

It’s fun, it’s true to the characters, it works generally well. Some parts work better than others and what it gets right, it gets very right. What it misses on, it misses widely.

The story is exactly the same one we got in the trailers. It’s the origin story of Peter Parker and how he got his powers, only this time his parents are vaguely kind of involved. He’s abandoned with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May and his selfishness costs him everything and his drive for vengeance turns him into a hero.

The broad strokes are the same as you’ve seen a hundred times. The details are different. Some of them work remarkably well. I think Martin Sheen did as well as anybody could following up Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben and sold the part with a heart and resonance that you need out of the character. Andrew Garfield, for his part, worked very well both as Peter and as Spider-Man. I really liked Tobey Maguire’s dopey Peter act, Garfield is much more wry, witty, and slightly more self-assure.

I’m not trying to compare the Raimi and Webb Spider-Man movies. I’m really not. I did everything I could to banish them from my head before I went into the theatre, but they’re just too fresh in the lexicon of superhero films. It was hard to divorce myself completely from making comparisons.

As for the villain, The Lizard works well enough. His best moments were the most comic-booky, from his sewer lair.

Emma Stone and Dennis Leary as Gwen Stacy and her father Captain Stacy are probably the aspect of this film I like the most. She works better as a love interest for Spider-Man than anyone has and Captain Stacy is so perfect to his comic iterations and his place in the story that it’s impossible to dislike him. And it’s the story of the Stacy family I want to see continued into the sequel. I will instantly forgive all the complaints about this film I’ve had if it is, indeed, setting the stage for a dramatic film version of The Death of Gwen Stacy.

For me, this movie easily surpassed Raimi’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 3, but it just didn’t have the runway space to fly above Spider-Man 2, which is hailed in most competent circles as a masterpiece of superhero cinema. There is no single moment in The Amazing Spider-Man that is better than the fight on the subway or Peter inadvertently revealing his identity to Mary Jane in the boat house. But I think moments that powerful take time. And if Marc Webb and the cast stays on, and there’s minimal interference from Sony, and the writers do their job well, we’ll have a sequel full of those moments to look forward to.

More than anything, that’s what I’m excited to see. Past the origin, I want the sequel. I suppose that’s as high of praise as you can give a movie.

ALSO: Do NOT see this movie in 3D. I don’t easily get headaches, but this film in 3D gave me one. And the colors were so much more rich and vivid when I took the glasses off. And since so much of the film was set at night, it was impossible to see what was happening with the 3D glasses. Even when it was bright it was hard to make out finer details. At one point, Flash Thompson arrives in a Spider-Man shirt and I couldn’t even tell with the glasses on.

The Amazing Spider-Man
7/10 on the Big Shiny Superhero Scale

Bryan Young is the author of Operation: Montauk.

It’s summer time, for many of us we’re expected to head to pool parties and participate in physical activities. For many of us that spend extended hours in front of a computer maybe writing, or editing spread sheets, or filing TPS reports… whatever it may be you might have a few inches you want to slice or a couple pounds you’d enjoy losing.

Normally I find this type of thing to be irritating, evasive, and generally a reason that I can’t drink any of my favorite beverages. But My Fitness Pal puts everything together in a way that makes tracking your intake enjoyable, and consistently encourages you to keep on keepin’ on. If that’s not enough positive to say about it, the social side makes what you’re eating and doing visible to your friends on the app, which in my case is the entire office. You can also challenge other members to eat healthier than you, or exercise more etc.

The interface is pretty simple, but it does vary from device to device. Something I found notable for the application is that it is available on WP7, Android and, iOS, and the only drawback is for those of us using different platforms. (For example, iPad and Galaxy Note). But that aside it is quite easy to track your intake. Upon initial setup the app will ask your age, current height, weight, and gender and how active your job is. Once your stats are entered you are given a daily calorie amount to stay under, and then you simply begin tracking your food. Food is entered into the app by searching, creating, or simply scanning a barcode off of the package. If the occassion arises that the food you’re eating isn’t in the application whatsoever, (like many small town restaurants seem to be). You are able to simply build the meal based on its contents, or get the nutrition information and add it to their data base.

Ten days into the using the app and thus far I’m feeling alright, I’m definitely no Magic Mike, but overall I have more energy and feel better. So there’s my recommendation folks, the nerdy way to track your eating habits. Give it a go, worst case scenario it gives you just another item to tinker with during meetings.

Mass Effect 3 suffered plenty of controversy from angry fans shortly after it released in March. The game itself was enjoyable, expanding on both of the previous games in positive ways. The main gist of the complaints had to do with the ending not meeting expectations. Ultimately, Bioware was doomed to fail in this aspect as the franchise was simply too well-loved and they’d created far too many variables to create an effective ending. I was enthralled enough during my first completion of the game to not notice many of its glaring flaws. Later discussion made me realize just how much was bad. As a whole I still believe its original incarnation is a great 40 hour game with a very bad last 20 minutes.

In response to the fan outcry about this terrible ending, Bioware has spent the last several months working on the Extended Cut DLC to address some of the major issues. Depending on why you hated the ending, this free add-on may or may not satisfy you. If your complaints were in regard to the glaring plot holes and complete lack of closure, enjoy your new cut scenes and your fourth option. If your complaint was that your decisions over the trilogy didn’t matter in the ending sequence, that’s still the case. I was mostly in the former camp. As for the latter, I felt your decisions were reaching conclusions throughout the game, and didn’t really need final resolution in the end credits. If you didn’t like those resolutions throughout, you still won’t. They haven’t changed. The first that comes to mind is the Rachni. You’ve made several choices about their fate over the trilogy, but their ending is basically the same no matter what you’ve done.

Unfortunately, a decent review of the added content is not possible without spoilers. There’s your warning. After the next paragraph, I’m going to ruin some things about two of the possible endings.

Spoiler-free:
This has to be brief to avoid spoilers. You won’t actually see much difference until the very end, after all essential combat is completed (Marauder quick draw sequence if that means anything to you). One major plot hole, Anderson, is still unexplained. Most of Hackett’s plot holes are filled. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than the original. You’ll probably still be disappointed. The addition of a fourth option for the end game was satisfying for me, but will surely infuriate plenty of fans. A few additional scenes add depth to the conclusion and you can feel good about your squad’s future, if not Shepard’s. Bioware has also thrown a bone to fans in their final note, acknowledging their contributions instead of advertising DLC. Is it better? Yes. Am I satisfied? No. The attempts to “fix” something I didn’t think was that bad has just made the problems remaining even more glaring. I expect to be in the minority with this opinion. Many of the complainers will still take issue, but will likely be pacified by the attempt. If you ranked the original ending as a 3/10, this is probably a 7/10. Better but still flawed. Ultimately, the strongest complaint, our choices not actually mattering, is left completely unadressed. Many unanswered questions are resolved. Others, usually appropriately, are left vague. If you want more details, read on for a recap of two possible endings.

Recap of original:
To know a little more about my Shepard, check my original (incomplete) review. In summary, Betch Shepard is true to her name, ruthless and rude. If it had an L1 icon to perform a heroic action, she ignored it. If a renegade R1 appeared, that button couldn’t get pressed fast enough. In my original ending, I was confused by the three options Catalyst Child offered. None of them seemed heroic or renegade. Everything had a cost too high to pay. I was thoroughly confused by the option on the right being presented in red, a color associated with renegade actions in the game, but showing it as the choice Anderson would have made. The blue option, normally heroic, is shown as the choice the Illusive Man would have made had he been capable. Ultimately, I chose the red destruction option based solely on color as my guiding tool. The result? Everything broke, Joker took off, a companion that should have been dead stepped off the ship with him, and credits rolled. Somewhere in there was a quick cut scene showing Shepard’s broken armor and a final gasp of breath. Apparently that only happens with the destruction choice and high enough Galactic Readiness. Post credits, a final scene featured Buzz Aldrin speaking to a child about the legendary Shepard.

The early end game:
To provide a fair review, I felt the only appropriate comparison was to make the same ending decision. I actually screwed that up at first and found what I believe to be a new, fourth, option. But more on that later. Bioware has recommended you reload a save from before your assault on the Cerberus base to get the most effect from this cut. I actually didn’t notice anything new on that mission, so I assume it’s recommended only because that is your point of no return. It is possible that the whispers I heard in Shepard’s final dream sequence were new. But, they weren’t significant and it’s just as possible they were there before and I just didn’t remember it. I also didn’t notice any changes in the first part of the final mission, attempting to destroy an AA gun. The break between that assault and the final sequence also seemed unchanged. You still have the option to have awkward conversations with your squad. Additional dialogue may have been changed in those conversations, but it simply wasn’t extensive enough for me to notice if it has. That awful, rhythm-breaking turret sequence in the middle of this is still around as well.

The late end game:
I did make one change to my play on my extended cut run. The first time, Javik and Liara accompanied Betch. This time I went with Ashley and EDI. The actual combat was unchanged. The first event I really noticed as being different was during the final run to the beam, as Harbinger is blasting the shit out of everything. In order to further clarify the ending a new cutscene was added. This shows my squadmates being severely injured and Joker coming in for the evac. Despite Ashley’s protests, I refused to let her accompany me and told her she was unfit for combat (renegade option). After Harbinger’s final blast Major Coats still states, incorrectly, that the entire squad is gone. Shepard still has a pistol I didn’t equip, but I let that slide both times as creative license. After plugging three husks and a marauder, as before, I came upon the next added scene. It’s here that we discover Hackett was informed that one soldier, specifically Shepard, made it through the beam into the Citadel. We still don’t see where the messenger got the information, but at least we’re no longer blindsided by Hackett talking to Shepard later. This is sort of a recurring theme with the extended cut. It’s like Bioware tried, but they had painted themselves so far into a corner it wasn’t even worth fixing it completely.

The next big complaint in the original ending was how Anderson possibly got to the Citadel. This is completely ignored in the extended cut. Even Hackett’s information contradicts it as he’s told only one soldier, Shepard, made it aboard. The problems with Anderson are exacerbated when Shepard meets up with him. Despite his claim that they landed in different areas and that he walked a tunnel to the control panel, there’s no other entrance to the room. This, along with a few other subtleties, indicated to me that Anderson is already dead. It seems he’s sort of Shepard’s Jiminy Cricket. I have no story basis for this idea, but it makes sense to me. Which is okay. Bioware, like a film director, is allowed to leave unanswered questions. Despite fan protestations, it is okay to think for yourself about a few things.

I noticed little to no change with the final confronation with the Illusive Man. Another complaint from the original ending is that there was no precedent for Hackett suddenly talking to Shepard. With the earlier added scene, and the scene showing the Death Star becoming the Dildo of Doom as the Citadel re-opened I felt it was much more clear. Hackett knew it was Shepard aboard, but couldn’t communicate with the Citadel closed. The conversation with the Catalyst Child seems unchanged but I felt like I understood the options a little better – both their logic and what they’ll cause. This may be due to subtle additions, or just my paying attention. For instance, it seemed clear that the synthesis option is only available because Shepard was already able to unite the races. It didn’t work in past cycles because galactic life wasn’t ready. However, the final three options are still unclear as to which is “heroic” or “renegade.”

The split – fourth option:
But, before we get to that choice, we have my accidental discovery of the fourth option. I’m calling it the “Rush” ending because of one of my favorite lines from a song: “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” [Yeah, I probably misquoted that some.] Being Betch Shepard, and taking all possible renegade choices I continually chose the dialogue in the bottom right when speaking to Catalyst Child. I was shocked when this immediately ended the game, as the prior version eventually forced a choice. In a way, I believe this to be the most appropriate ending for Betch. Unfortunately, it’s probably the only way to actually “lose” at the game. When Catalyst Child says “so be it” it reminded me of a very similar line from Palpatine in Return of the Jedi. This option results in the cycle continuing. Your only gratification is Liara’s time capsule message from way earlier in the game being played on some planet many thousands of years later. Also, the Stargazer/Child sequence post credits was altered. No more Buzz Aldrin. Instead it was a female adult speaking to a child, both of indeterminate species. Their knowledge of Shepard comes from Liara’s archive. Altogether, I liked this much more than my original ending, and possibly more than my “true” extended cut ending, though there was less to this one.

The split – first option:
Thankfully the autosave got me out of my “mistake” fairly easily. Choosing to restart the “Citadel: The Return” mission got me straight to the part where I kill three husks and a marauder again. I wouldn’t have minded starting after the stupidly long hallway, but whatever. This time, I agreed to make a choice after Catalyst Child gave me all three options. To make the most fair comparison with my original ending, I chose the first option, destruction, again. If you wondered why Joker suddenly cut and run in your original ending, there’s now a scene of Hackett ordering everyone to flee, along with some encouragement from the squad. I’m still unclear on how a guy with brittle bone disease can crash the Normandy into a planet and walk away. This is where the true essence of the extended cut begins, with some very stylish art splashes voiced over by Admiral Hackett. The gist of his message is that we are “at our strongest when we work together.” We do see the mass relays damaged, as before, but we also see that they are repairable “within a few months” according to Catalyst Child. Instead of the original ending’s questions, we get hope for the future. A very touching sequence sees the crew observing Anderson’s name in the center of the Normandy’s Memorial Wall (still missing Jack’s name despite Betch losing her in ME2‘s suicide mission). Commander Shepard’s name is also added, a bit prematurely. I still got my final gasp sequence, which I assume is still a variable. Once again, Buzz Aldrin’s Stargazer caps the credit sequence telling tales to the boy again.

The original ending was disappointing in its lack of an epilogue. It had a sort “our princess is in another castle” feel to it. Hackett’s voiceovers and the accompanying art now show a galaxy in turmoil, with plenty of obstacles, but also a unification of the species and a hope for the future. Galactic travel and interaction will begin again. The reapers are gone and the various races have only themselves to blame for further altercations. Of course, it still ignored some choices. What will happen with Krogan? The ending seems to have forgotten that I allowed the genophage’s cure to be sabotaged. Other questions about the Asari, Quarian, and Geth can be overlooked as being unanswered for a reason. But really, the fate of the Krogan will be vital if Bioware ever intends to revisit this universe.

Each Friday we will be bringing you weekend-viewing movie picks available for streaming on Netflix! From the popular to the obscure, we will browse Netflix’s Streaming library so you don’t have to, and bring you what we consider to be “Must Watch” selections!

The Warrior’s Way

Directed by Sngmoo Lee

Starring Jang Dong-gun, Kate Bosworth, Geoffery Rush, Danny Huston and Tony Cox

Back in 2010 a trailer caught my eye for a film called The Warrior’s Way. I thought it looked pretty cool, at least visually, but after an onslaught of poor reviews by critics and it just kind of falling off my radar, I never got around to seeing it. About six months ago I was down with a broken leg and had ample time to explore Netflix. I was very pleased to see The Warrior’s Way hit Netflix’s instant queue, immediately hitting play to see if I had missed out on a stinker of a movie, a lost gem, or something in between. I’m happy to say it certainly wasn’t a stinker.

The Warrior’s Way follows Yang, a member of the Sad Flutes Clan, the deadliest clan of assassins in 19th Century Asia. Yang is driven to become the greatest swordsman the world has ever seen, and the movie begins with him accomplishing this goal by killing the now former greatest swordsman – the leader of a rival clan. With the rival clan all but wiped out, one member remains: a small child whom Yang is ordered to kill to complete the genocide of their mortal enemies. Yang is unable to murder the infant, so he takes the child, leaves his life behind and heads West to find refuge from his clan who are now out to kill him for disobeying orders.

Yang lands in the small town of Lode where he and the baby are able to find at least temporary reprieve from the Sad Flutes. Here, he befriends the local town folk, including the town drunk, Ron (Geoffery Rush) and the beautiful Lynn (Kate Bosworth). As Yang spends more time in Lode, he becomes closer to the residents of the small, dusty town, finding joy and learning about their dark history. A Colonel (Danny Huston) who has terrorized the town for years returns, and while Yang fends him and his men off, he swears to return with reinforcements. The film culminates in both the Colonel’s men and the Sad Flutes bearing down on Lode looking for vengeance for their own reasons against the residents and Yang.

The Warrior’s Way is a solid film that, in my opinion, is underrated. There is a solid story to be told here, and it is told quite well – perhaps some were expecting more of a “kung-fu action flick” than what it actually is, but the build up of the story and the characters make the action sequences that much more thrilling. And I assure you, there is plenty of thrilling action. The sequences are stylized and dramatic and a lot of fun to watch. This film is not without its faults; while Geoffery Rush and Jang Dong-gun are compelling, but Kate Bosworth seems to be more or less just reciting lines. Because of this, the light love story subplot falls a bit short, but since the main point of the film has nothing to do with these characters finding love it doesn’t take much away from the film.

If you are looking for a solid movie about a lonesome warrior looking for redemption with a compelling story and some pretty slick action, The Warrior’s Way will satisfy. Despite the poor reviews this film received I really enjoyed it and think more people will too if they give it a go. Lucky for us Netflix Instant subscribers, it’s still available and ready for your viewing pleasure!