Phil Villarreal's Blog, page 93

PHIL ON FILM: Breaking Down "The Lion King" trailer

PHIL ON FILM: "Creed II"

For my written review, click here.

T-Mobile REVVL 2 Smartphone Review

Smartphone technology seems to have plateaued, with the updates to the likes of the iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy rearranging captain's chairs on the rocketship.

Even the most basic smartphones are now expected to perform the sort of magic that a decade ago would have seemed like science fiction. The stagnation of high-end devices has provided an opportunity for budget manufacturers to bring up the rear in decisive faction, shortening the technological gap between a phone that costs a mortgage payment and one that could pass as an impulse buy.

T-Mobile's REVVL 2 is an example of high-end tech at a bargain basement price. If you're used to springing for devices that run close to $1,000, you may wince at the thought of shifting to a daily driver that costs less than $200. The thought, in fact, may bring to mind a 2000s flip phone or a pair of cans with strings tied together. But once the REVVL2 is in your hands, those fears float away once you realize you're clutching something that can run in the same race with the big boys.

A 1.5 quad-core processor works with 2GB of RAM, with front and back-facing cameras that boast 8MP and 13MP, respectively. Those aren't specs that match those of modern top-end smartphones, but the step down in technological prowess is more of a curbside ramp than a rappel down a skyscraper. Messing around with the REVVL 2, you discover that when it comes to functionality, the numbers may as well be letters.

True, there are some sacrifices in the transition from the upper crust to the REVVL 2. Bluetooth functionality has a way of cutting out at the least opportune moments, and the 3,000mAh battery seems to figuratively wheeze and chug at times, as though tasked with too much to handle without proper optimization.

Still, the phone handled a slew of games and live quiz show apps with ease, streamed video without hiccups, and juggled the rapidfire keyboard tapping of texts, emails and calls without faltering.

The toughest part about switching to the REVVL 2 will be the status symbol aspect. You'll pull out the phone, someone will ask what it is, and you'll answer, bracing for the start of a conversation that will make you explain what it is you're using, and why you don't have an iPhone or Galaxy. But you'll have an ideal way to win that discussion: You'll reveal the price of your phone, then raise an eyebrow and ask them how much theirs cost.
Carrier provided review loaner.

"Sid Meier's Civilization VI" Switch Review

Like all its predecessors, "Sid Meier's Civilization VI" mesmerized legions of 4X strategy obsessives when it hit the PC scene in 2016. Also like just about all of its predecessors, it never arrived on other platforms.

The Switch popularity surge, though, turned some heads at 2K Games, which turned developer Aspyr lose on translating the sometimes complex keyboard-and-mouse menu navigation systems to the Nintendo device's touch screen and buttons arrangement.

The team's efforts shine through so well that -- to use a Civ gameplay metaphor -- it seems 2K must have powered-up the dev team with advanced research skills from two ages beyond ours.

This port not only showcases the Switch as a platform flexible enough to take on just about any genre, but sets a template for other developers to bring high-end PC and console titles to the Switch. With no noticeable deficiencies, this is a full, robust "Civilization VI" experience, and superior in many ways to the original for its portability.

This is no quick-and-dirty "me too" Switch port. Not only is the complete original content from the 2016 release included, but four add-on packs are also here, rounding up the likes of Viking, Poland, Australia and Persia/Macedons, complete with civilizations and challenge scenarios geared toward each.

Choosing from among 24 historic world leaders, you seek to expand your power and influence throughout the globe by means including warfare, diplomacy, culture and technology. There is more than enough here to keep a solo player occupied for months, if not years, but multiplayer opens up an invigorating stream of replayability.

A comprehensive, adjustable tutorial system gets players of any skill level up to speed. But no matter how many dozens of campaigns and thousands of turns you plunge into the game, you feel as though there's always still much more to learn. Now with the Switch, you can go beyond "just one more turn" and evolve to "I'm taking this with me to work." That's the mark of a Civ game, and a sign of the bright future of top-flight Switch ports such as this.
Publisher provided review code.

"Spyro Reignited Trilogy" Review

If you have fond memories of frolicking around grassy fields and roasting enemies as Spyro the Dragon, odds are you haven't touched the games anytime in the last 15 years. Many aspects of the creaky old games added up to make the originals all but unplayable to anyone but the most devoted fans of the franchise.

Now here comes along "Spyro Reignited Trilogy," which reinvents the series with wholesale modern trappings. So slick, lovingly created and invigorating are the new games that they figuratively breathe fire on the originals, leaving frayed embers behind.

Developer Toys for Bob, which kept the spirit of Spyro alive with the "Skylanders" series, channeled some deep love and care into the original series, released from 1998-2000 on the PlayStation. Their months upon months of dedicated labor paid off big-time.

This suite of remakes follows the template of last years "Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy" and pushes the concept even farther. These new games are what the original developers may have dreamed of but never could accomplish with late-20th century tech.

Rather than strive for a pixel-perfect recreation, Toys for bob uses the original games as base parameters for a wholesale remake. New character models, backgrounds, animations, transition screens and audio suite are all included.

There are also countless quality-of-life improvements, from checkpoints, to slick loading times and saves that make the Spyro games seem so different from their forebears that they may as well be entirely new games. Those who aren't aware that the games are remakes would see no signs of Spyro's severely outdated past.

Spyro the Dragon is very much alive and well, resurrected like a cloned dinosaur from amber. Even if you think you know Spyro, the new games prove that notion false. He's reignited as a fresh, vital character with a spirit as bright and vital as the flames that rage out from his belly.
Publisher provided review code.

Book Report: "A Room With a View"

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

E.M. Forster's classic starts out slowly but steadily, subtly builds up its emotional themes until the end, when it punches you in the stomach and forces its characters into inevitable decisions that define their lives.

An early-20th century tale of moneyed social and business world climbers whose choices in love and industry weighs on their families' status as well as their social well-being. Forster works hard to populate the novel with lots of disparate characters, most who act as checks and balances on the main plotline, with their commentary and reactions spotlighting the story's leanings.

At the center is Lucy, who is courted by the free-spirited George and the wealthy, reserved Cecil. The love triangle that develops forces Lucy to frame the person she is, as well as that who she desires to become.

What emerges are themes that there may not be as much choice as you might think when it comes to matters of the heart, and to go with logical over emotional needs, or vice versa, is to shut down the other option completely.

Rebecca Halls' narration on the Audible version draws out the passion and emotional inflections of the characters, adding considerable heft to the prose with her storyteller's grace.

"A Room with A View" is a sometimes-tedious journey that justifies its length and pace with the powerful way it ends. This is a book that hits hard when it most needs to, and leaves you much to ponder after it sends you on its way.

View all my reviews

PHIL ON FILM: "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald"

For my written review, click here.

"Heavy Fire: Red Shadow" Review

A rough-hewn turret shooter that feels rushed and underdeveloped, Mastiff's "Heavy Fire: Red Shadow" wears out its slim premise quickly, giving you little reason to return to its repetitive format in order to slog through its dense chain of unlocks.

Taking a "Homefront"-style conflict between the U.S. and North Korea, you set up turrets on a beachhead reminiscent of the D-Day storming of Normandy. As enemy ships approach from a distance, you line up shots at long distance and short range, steadily dispatching the onslaught of troops.

The shooting is thrilling at times, but success too often feels more based on luck than skill. The opposite is also true, with unseen enemies obliterating your defenses before you make much progress, ratcheting up the frustration factor to unforgivable levels.

Weak visuals and lackluster sound design can't compete with the "Battlefield" and "Call of Duty" entries of the world. Indie efforts usually disguise a lack of technical muster with throwback retro design, and that might have been an incongruous yet necessary way to go here. As it stands, the game looks and plays something like a relic from the PS2/Xbox generation.

A flimsy premise with little to build on, "Heavy Fire: Red Shadow" is an odd misfire that works only as a brief stress reliever, allowing you to let loose on a swarm of faceless enemies. The amount of stress it heaps on you due to technical deficiencies, though, negates much of what little there is that makes the game work.
Publisher provided review code.

"Rogue Legacy" Switch Review

Upon its release four years ago, "Rogue Legacy" set a standard for other throwback roguelikes to aspire to. A winning sense of humor, fascinatingly instanced levels and a compelling reward loop separate it from the pack. Now that Cellar Door Games' creation has made its Switch debut, it's as clear as ever that its innovations and attributes hold up in a lasting manner.

As with all roguelikes, permadeath is an expected and accepted part of progress. Each time you give up the ghost, a descendant comes along to resume the family obsession.

Playing along a family line, you leave inheritances for future generations along the shared quest. No two generations are alike, with variants including characters with disabilities, upgraded abilities and quirks.

The action is everpresent and gripping, but it's the humor int he writing and design that  grants the game the majority of its charm. "Rogue Legacy" is at its best when thrusting a comically underpowered hero against an absurd challenge, forcing you to scramble haplessly in order to inch onward. A "they killed Kenny!" vibe permeates the fatalistic feel.

While there are few visible enhancements for the Switch version, it clearly wasn't necessary to mess with the formula. "Rogue Legacy" was polished and vibrant out of the gate, and survives the port to Nintendo's console without losing any of the luster that it had. Adapting seamlessly to both portable and console modes, this is a game that's tough to put down no matter where you are.

Four years on, "Rogue Legacy" is reborn to uphold the family name.
Publisher provided review code.

Theaterical Review: "On Your Feet"

Christie Prades is so good at being Gloria Estefan that it's probably impossible for the star to see the actress in the touring production of "On Your Feet" strut her stuff without a tinge jealousy. She belts out tunes while dancing and hopping up and down while pumping her fist so convincingly like a young Estefan, that you feel as though you're looking back through a Harry Potter pensieve.

A show so fully centered around the rise to stardom of a pop star lives and dies by the enthusiasm and skill of its lead, and "On Your Feet" soars because of Prades' joyous star power. Bolstered by strong supporting performances from Ektor Rivera as her husband/manager, Nancy Ticotin as her mercurial mother and Alma Cuervo as her supportive grandmother, Prades headlines a dynamic ensemble that lives up to the title over and over by forcing the audience to its feet to applaud, as though they're watching a concert.

And maybe it should have been just that. Despite some earnest efforts to glean some laughs and drama in anecdotes of Estefan's journey from Miami Sound Machine headliner to international crossover superstar -- as well as some impressive projection work -- this show is all about the music.

Whether or not "On Your Feet" needed to have a story at all is debatable. Other than a well-documented near-death experience and a two-year-long tiff with her mother, Estefan's life has lacked much of the drama and tension you typically see in biographies worthy of a play, film or book treatment. Estefan pr her handlers also presumably had far too much of a hand in the writing, because her character comes off as eye-rollingly flawless. A few warts would have turned the beat around and made her more relatable.

The dramatic moments, though well-acted, only detract from the true talents of the cast, which is unleashing their otherworldly powers of calypso/merengue/salsa dance fusion, accompanied with Prades' brilliant vocals.

"On Your Feet" may as well have dispensed with the storylines and became a full-on concert production. But the show as it stands is still a mesmerizing spectacle to behold. The rhythm is most certainly gonna get you.

The Broadway in Tucson production is playing at Centennial Hall through Nov. 18. Purchase tickets here.