MLP Episode Review: Spike at Your Service

We've got a good one today.

MLP Episode Review: Apple Family Reunion

Everyone still alive? Yes? Alright, then. Let's post ponies.

Top 10 Best Films of 2012

It's finally time. The year is coming to a close. I started film reviews in April, and the first film I saw this year was in March, so I may be missing some, like Chronicle or Lincoln. Also note that a film is not on the list because of its score, but because of how good the pros of the movie are. With that said, let's start the list.

Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2012

Same rules as the worst of list apply.Which songs stood out in the wide world of pop music this year?

Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 2012

So, the Billboard has released its year-end Hot 100 chart. Unfortunately, Billboard's cut-off date is quite a bit too early in the year, meaning that several fairly big hits are overlooked due to it. Therefore, there will be some songs on this list that weren't on Billboard's. The list of the worst songs will be first, in order to get the negativity out of the way first. Here's a mashup of 50+ pop songs to wash your ears of this trash after the list is over.

MLP Episode Review: Wonderbolt Academy

Do I even need to hide my opinion anymore?

First Impressions: The Legend of Korra

So, having begun watching The Legend of Korra, what do I think from the first two episodes?

Wreck-It Ralph review

So, Disney released a 3D movie. How is it?

MLP Episode Review: Sleepless in Ponyville

Well, that was certainly something.

Looper review

Ah yes, Looper. Critically acclaimed, and almost entirely out of theaters. But is it any good? Find out after the break!

Skyfall review

This is my first Bond movie. Is it the beginning of a beautiful relationship, or should it die and stay dead?

MLP Episode Review: Magic Duel

 THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE WELCOMES YOU TO ANOTHER MLP EPISODE REVIEW! IS IT MAGNIFICENT AS TRIXIE'S MAGIC, OR IS IT UNWORTHY OF TRIXIE'S PRESENCE?

MLP Episode Review: One Bad Apple

The Cutie Mark Crusaders? In a GOOD EPISODE? It's a miracle!

Too Many Pinkie Pies review

I've decided to do regular episode reviews for this show, so here's the third episode of the new season! Does it live up to the great season premier, or is Too Many Pinkie Pies just too much?

The Crystal Empire review

So, the season premier of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has just aired. Did it live up to the previous two seasons? Or was it a misshapen mess? Find out after the break!

Argo review

Argo is a movie that is right up my alley. Based on history? Specifically, an operation of the Cold War? Sign me up! But did it live up to its promising premise?

October Buildup: .flow

October Buildup: 5 Days a Stranger

October Buildup: Eversion

October Buildup: Irisu Syndrome

October Buildup: Slender

October Buildup: Yume Nikki

Announcement for October

For the month of October, I'll be looking at various freeware horror games to recommend to anyone who might be reading this.

The games I will be trying out are as follows:

"Yume Nikki"

"Slender"
"Irisu Syndrome"

"Eversion"
"5 Days a Stranger"
".flow"

The series will be called "October Buildup", referencing that the it's theme is based around Halloween, but is occurring in the month leading up to the day in question.

If I find any other free games worth talking about, they may be included in the series as well.

Be sure to keep on the lookout!

Edit: Added links, changed order for accuracy, changed title for accuracy.

Newsletter 19/09/12

Ahoy, mateys! It be Talk like a Pirate Day! This is an experiment in a newsletter format. It'll have pieces on world news and popular music, and newer installments may have film reviews, internet content columns, and maybe-just maybe-an MLP column. Don't get your hopes up, I'm not going to forcibly talk like a pirate the whole way through.

Battleship review

Battleship... Where do I begin? It's a movie... based on a board game. A THREE HOUR MOVIE... BASED ON A BOARD GAME. I didn't finish it. I got about 2 hours in before I was done, and I don't think I was missing anything.

Okay, to be fair, the movie is AWESOME at first. The special effects are magnificent, and the action is fast paced and thrilling. Then you realize... that's all it is. When the movie focuses on the characters, it's hard to be invested because they simply aren't interesting. They're entertaining, seeing as how everyone's acting is causing more damage to the scenery than the actual alien attackers, but they're not interesting. The entire conflict only happens because the protagonist is a complete moron. The aliens weren't hostile, but then he had to go and engage them! This is also Rihanna's first acting role. UGH. She can't act. At all. Her performance is so wooden you get the feeling that she just doesn't care. What else do I have to say? Oh right-they start fighting the aliens by using a special grid... that is shaped like a Battleship game board. Wow.

Maybe I'll finish this movie at a later date, but it's just too long. I couldn't take another hour of it. If this invalidates the review for you, okay, fine. However, why would you make me watch the rest of it?

ParaNorman review

ParaNorman is the newest film from studio Laika, known for their 2009 film Coraline. I'll be honest here: I fully expect ParaNorman to win many, many awards come year-end. It is a movie that you need to see to understand, and I mean that in the best way possible.

All of the actors play their roles perfectly. The animation is so fluent that it's hard to believe that it's stop-motion. Every moment of every scene is memorable. It actually seems to "get" the modern world, with references to YouTube and blogging appearing without seeming out of place. I could go on. However, what it all comes down to is this: ParaNorman is an absolutely beautiful experience. Just when you think it can't get any better, it finds some way to do just that.

The film is rated PG, and it's a very strong PG at that, with slightly more adult humor-that would appeal most to teens and pre-teens-and several particularly frightening moments throughout. Younger children may lose some sleep. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if adults lost some sleep.

Simply put, ParaNorman is a great film, and you owe it to yourself to see it at least once.

Billboard Top 10 review 04/08/12

Most of my reviews so far have been of recent films, but I also have a lot of thoughts related to music. For that purpose, I will look at the 10 biggest hits on the Hot 100 and share my thoughts on them.

Note: These songs are based on the Hot 100 list in Canada, where I live. They may differ from the hits in your home country.

10. Usher - Scream

It's funny, you would have expected more from Usher after Climax. Whereas in Climax Usher sung of a relationship that had reached its critical point and could only go downhill, in Scream he sings about how he can make sweet love to a girl. Granted, he does it far classier than most artists, but that's because he's Usher. He always does things classier than most artists. Also of note is that the song sounds rather similar to DJ Got Us Falling In Love, right down to the point that one could swap their choruses.

9. Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

WHAT HAVE WE DONE? What was originally a silly pop song created by a lucky Canadian Idol winner has evolved into a towering monstrosity that nobody could have foreseen. I'm not sure I get the general public's infatuation with this song. People often switch out the chorus with parody lyrics of their own, but why is that in every other image macro on the web now? The song doesn't really have too many exploitable lyrics, it's just a catchy tune with overly cutesy subject matter. It's not that bad, but I think you can understand that its omnipresence is starting to aggravate me.

8. Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

If there is one good thing that came out of the whole Call Me Maybe fiasco, it's probably this. This is just a very fun song. It's an upbeat song that actively commands you to enjoy yourself. If you can't have fun with this song, then what can you?

7. fun. - Some Nights

Words cannot describe how much I adore this song. The whole thing is pumped up to the point of being absolutely epic. Back when We Are Young first hit, I doubt anybody expected them to have a second hit, let alone another hit this big, but listening to Some Nights, I don't understand how anybody could not absolutely love it. I hope that it takes the number one spot. Between this and We Are Young, I'm tempted to buy the album.

6. Rihanna - Where Have You Been

I have noticed a recurring trend within the singles of Rihanna's newest album. Each of them have repetitive choruses and actively sound manufactured. Where Have You Been is no exception. In all honesty, it's more disappointing than anything, because I know that she can do much more. It's depressing to see her reduced to such drivel, especially since her guest performances are still spectacular, including recent appearances on Drake's Take Care and Coldplay's Princess of China.

5. P!nk - Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

Wasn't there a time when P!nk was actually edgy? Back in 2008 or so? Because Blow Me (One Last Kiss) is so far away from So What? that I'm not even sure that it's the same artist. The signs were all laid out, I just didn't expect it to culminate in something this empty. There's nothing behind this. It's just an uninteresting song that thinks that it's far more clever than it actually is.

4. Hedley - Kiss You Inside Out

Exactly how was any of this a good idea? You can't make a sex song that sounds like this! This song has the charisma of cardboard! It's not getting anything for anyone! Except money, apparently, but if anyone actually paid attention to what the song is actually about, that might go out the window. Unless... No, no, that's got to be true. Nobody could think that this is sexy. ...Right?

3. Maroon 5 - Payphone ft. Wiz Khalifa

First of all, why did Wiz Khalifa need to be on here? Can anyone tell me what purpose he serves? This is not about how great you are, it's how you were dumped and need to use an obsolete piece of technology to call for a ride! As for the rest of the song, it's not very good. If there's one thing that I can't get over about Maroon 5, it's Adam Levine's siren-like voice, and it's at its worst here. The first thing you hear in this song is Adam squealing the chorus as if he's singing through a recorder! The song tries to use several figures of speech to communicate Adam's feelings standing at that payphone, but they are clumsy and don't make much sense.

2. Katy Perry - Wide Awake

The title must be ironic, because Wide Awake is Katy Parry's most boring song to date. I mean, that's not saying much, being that Katy Perry is generally known for some of the catchiest pop tracks on the radio, but if there's one song on the radio right now that I would believe could put someone to sleep it would be this one. Also, am I honestly supposed to take Katy Perry trying to be "deep" seriously? She made California Gurls for crying out loud.

1. Flo Rida - Whistle

Why are Flo Rida's softer songs hitting number one while the much catchier Good Feeling was denied that position? I simply do not hear a number one hit in Whistle. There is nothing here that demands your attention, except maybe the actual whistling. Also, what does the song mean? If you actually listen to the chorus it seems that Flo Rida is quite literally talking about a physical whistle. Weird.

So, anyways, that's my take on the 10 biggest songs in Canada right now. Feel free to say what you think about these songs in the comments, and remember to have a good time!

The Dark Knight Rises review.

The Dark Knight Rises is the much anticipated conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. I enjoyed the first two considerably, and I enjoyed this one too. Like its predecessors, The Dark Knight Rises is a thoughtful take on the superhero genre. My thoughts on this film are varied and complicated, so I may need more space than usual.

The movie started out interesting enough, with an introduction to our main antagonist, Bane. The critics aren't kidding-he sounds exactly like Sean Connery as Darth Vader. The film crew put a microphone in his mask, giving his voice more of an echo to it. As the movie progresses, Bane's voice becomes considerably more threatening. Anyways, after this intro bit, the film continues to introduce the setting with discussions of Harvey Dent. Now, I would prefer to avoid spoilers if possible, so I won't be following plot points quite as closely from here on out. From the point that we are reunited with Bruce Wayne to about halfway through, the film starts to move very slowly. I think part of why this bothered me so much is that I approached this part of the movie wrong. The first half discusses the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Batman. It discusses Wayne's psychology, and possible desires to be slain in his crime fighting activities. The introductions of Selena Kyle and Bane happen earlier than necessary, but they set up the recurring themes of the movie and the looming threat, respectively. In particular, Bane's motives aren't clear for a considerable amount of the time after he is introduced, and I probably missed that this was supposed to make him more mysterious and therefore more threatening.

The second half of the film is where it picks up. Bane's threat becomes center stage, and Batman goes through more interesting character development. This part of the movie is truly intense, and if the entire film had been like this, I might have liked it more. Not to say I don't like it, but I'm not sure I would want to return to it individually. This part has the most intense action. It has the most interesting character motivations, especially on Bane's part. It is the biggest part of why I like this movie, and continues this way until the end.

Now, the following part contains spoilers. If you don't want to have the end of the movie spoiled, skip this paragraph. The ending reveals that Bane isn't the one pulling the strings, and reveals that a supporting character is the center of much of the story. This comes completely out of left field, and, at least for me, brought me out of the movie. That's right, the one behind all of these event was this one supporting character who didn't even have any obvious connections to the Brotherhood of Shadows. They did that. They also find a way to shoehorn Robin into it by having it as the name of a central supporting character.

In conclusion, The Dark Knight Rises is a great film. It's not perfect, but when it is good, it is extremely good. I'm not going to let some boring scenes and the messy ending ruin the film for me.

The Amazing Spider-Man Review

This is going to be a great year for super-hero movies, isn't it?

The Amazing Spider-Man is a wonderful movie. I wasn't really expecting to see anything as good as The Avengers this year, but here we are. Spider-Man is not better than The Avengers, but it's pretty much equal. That said, the films actually have very different themes. The Avengers built upon the characters created by previous films, and delivered by showing them doing their thing and being awesome. The Amazing Spider-Man has more sympathetic characters and a darker setting, and generally works by making us care about the characters.

And boy, does it work. These are really good characters. I think the only characters that aren't at least slightly sympathetic are the random thugs, and those could hardly be called "characters." Now, before Peter became Spider-Man, I was already willing to say that this is one of the best movies of the year. Then the wisecracks began. This movie has a very good sense of humour. The entire movie has you smiling, and when you aren't smiling, you are on the edge of your seat due to the suspense, or holding back tears during one of the film's more emotional scenes.

It's just a really good movie.

I compared it to the Avengers earlier, and yes, it really is that good. This is a movie that you need to watch.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter review

I'd like to start out by pointing out a difference between "dumb" and "fantastical". The concept of Abraham Lincoln fighting vampires isn't inherently stupid, it's just an interesting fantasy concept. If done right, it can be an interesting story about Lincoln's hardships in fighting vampires (hint: it is) or at least an entertaining action movie. If done wrong, it could be a facepalm-worthy load of cliches and explosions.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a far better movie than most critics give it credit for. The characters are fleshed out and interesting, the conflict is genuinely compelling, and the movie manages to be genuinely clever at a number of points. It's a movie that's worth watching. This is an example of how to take a fantastical concept and do it right, by making a well-written and epic story. In addition, as the movie gets on, the battles get progressively more and more epic. In fact, this movie's best fight scenes are even better than the last fight in The Avengers, and you all know how I feel about that movie.

On the other hand, there are some small problems with it. The most obvious is that a number of shots in the film just look goofy, especially the various slow downs and zoom-ins. Again, these become less frequent as the film goes on. Another problem I had is the somewhat black and white view shown of the south. By depicting them as vampires, the film disregards the actual problems at the heart of the civil war, and the complexities that surrounded it. However, the film chooses other ways to show the bittersweet nature of the war, and the choices surrounding it. Finally, I was disappointed with the way that the female lead was portrayed, but I guess that it can be excused due to the film's setting. It upsets me that her main motivation in the final plotline of the film is related to her child. Maybe I'm not considering the realism of it, but it just bugs me.

In conclusion, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a film truly worth seeing if you can take the premise seriously. With such fleshed-out characters and such a great story, it would be a shame if you couldn't.

Men in Black 3 review

Men in Black 3 is a fantastic film. It definitely meets, if not exceeds, the quality of the original. I can't help but feel that it isn't getting quite the love it deserves. Its blurb from Rotten Tomatoes is: It isn't exactly a persuasive argument for the continuation of the franchise -- but Men in Black III is better than its predecessor and manages to exceed expectations, largely due to Josh Brolin's impressive performance.

The thing is, Men in Black 3 is much, much more than this. It succeeds from a smart script, several great jokes, and some genuinely touching moments. The movie never fails to impress, and actually works as a standalone film. That's one of the best things I can say about a sequel. The best thing I can say is that it meets the quality of the actual high point of the series, which it does. It really does. It may not be perfect, but I can't really think of anything wrong with it right now. When the film is fun, it seems that the actors are enjoying themselves. When it's serious, the actors are almost indistinguishable from their roles. It seems that they actually feel the way that their characters do. Seriously guys, watch this movie. I don't really want to say all that much more, because I don't want to spoil it.

Oh wait, there's one more thing to talk about. The theme song. I'll get to it, just let me give the movie its score first.

                                                  

Alright, let's get on with this. Pitbull is in charge of the theme song here, which plays during the credits. The song isn't without its problems. Let's run through the things that it tries to be:

The song obviously tries to be the theme to Men in Black 3, which it doesn't quite succeed at. There's references to the movie, but they can seem shoehorned in to some.

It also tries to be a club jam. This works a lot better. The beat isn't exactly the best on a Pitbull song, but it's definitely danceable, partially due to the guitar riff and partially due to Pitbull's bubbly personality.

However, above all else, it's a Pitbull song. If you don't take it seriously and just enjoy it as it is, you can have a lot of fun with this song. I'm not saying that you should ignore it's faults, but take it about as seriously as it takes itself.

It's not a bad song. It's not a smart song, it's not a Men in Black theme song, but it's definitely a fun song. I even find myself liking the dubstep breakdown near the end. You may disagree, and the song has had enough airplay that you probably know what you're talking about. I like it.

Justice League: Doom review

Note: This film is a direct-to-DVD and Blu-Ray release which I watched through a video on demand service.

Now that we got that out of the way, on with the review.

Justice League: Doom is an animated film that you may have never even heard of. That is because of the note above. A common misconception is that animation is a children's medium, and that all animation is cartoons. This is completely incorrect. The movie in question is definitely not a kid's film. While not necessarily dark, it contains strong language and themes that children might not understand.(Although, to give them credit, they very well might.) The film's strong points are a strong cast and a great story, which is loosely adapted from the comic, "Justice League: Tower of Babel". The plot is involving and fast paced, keeping you interested at all times, and it is where the movie truly succeeds. In addition to that, the animation moves fluidly and usually seems fairly natural. At the same time, features are occasionally oversimplified and character designs can seem a bit messy. This isn't enough to take away from the film.

The main aspect of Justice League: Doom that might cause problems is that it acts very much like a comic book. A good comic book, but still a comic book nonetheless. In order to understand it, you need prior knowledge of the characters, their powers, and their personalities. They aren't given much explanation in the film itself. If anything, that is what holds the movie back from universal appeal. If you are a fan of the characters of DC Comics, and you can find it on your video on demand service, then you may want to check it out.

The Dictator review

This is the first movie that I watched this year that I can definitely describe as "love it or hate it". Personally, I loved it. I loved how the humor is blatantly offensive to anyone with common decency. I love how it's about as mature as a flash animation on Newgrounds. I love how so much effort went into this movie despite absolutely no part of it being deserving. But most of all, I love just how much fun the cast and crew had with it.

The movie stars Sacha Baron Cohen doing what he does best-playing an offensive middle eastern stereotype. In this case, he plays Admiral General Aladeen of the African nation of Wadiya. The movie begins with news clips being taken out of context to refer to Wadiya, and gives us an early taste of just how ridiculous this movie will be. Of note is that Wadiya just happens to be located in the exact same place as Eritrea-a dictatorship. That's right-they replaced a real life country with their silly fictional one. And people hate this movie!

Okay, maybe that wasn't fair. While most of the jokes hit, there are some that just go way to far and wind up being disgusting instead of funny. However, my biggest issue with this film is the love interest, Zoey. Zoey is a completely flat character. Her shtick-that she's some sort of feminist-environmentalist-left wing extremist simply isn't funny. It's annoying, and it's her only character trait. Funny that she's supposed to be a feminist, because she pretty much comes down do an exaggerated stereotype.

While Zoey made me like this film a lot less than I would have, I still must give credit where it's due. Baron Cohen makes things funny that seriously shouldn't be. The film does not take itself seriously. It doesn't even claim to be anything other than an outlet for the cast and crew to just shove immature joke after immature joke. And that's why I love it.

For this movie, I give a 7/10. I would recommend it, but be warned, it's not for everyone's tastes.

Kid Icarus Uprising Review

Let's start this review with a history lesson.

Kid Icarus was an NES game about an angel named Pit who had to fight against the evil forces of Medusa. It got a sequel on the original Game Boy that has been forgotten by time. Several years later, Pit became a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. And now this.

Kid Icarus Uprising is the latest effort from Kirby and Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai. I love Sakurai's work. Each of his games I have played has been fantastic.

However, this could possibly be his best.

Hear me out-Kirby Super Star was a great, great game. However, at times it could be frustrating, The Great Cave Offensive for example. On the other hand, any frustration to be had in Kid Icarus Uprising is made insignificant in comparison to what it does right.

Kid Icarus Uprising doesn't have any Game Overs, and that's important, because you will die. A lot. One major complaint of the game is that the controls are flawed. However, once you get used to them, you are treated to one of Nintendo's finest handheld games to date. Maybe it's hard to coordinate flying with the enemies' attacks. Maybe the camera and ground controls are a tad fidgety. Maybe it's hard to keep up with the pace of the rail-shooter segments. It doesn't matter. In the face of all that's good about this game, you can and will put up with it's flaws.

Kid Icarus Uprising is one of Nintendo's first games since Super Smash Bros. Brawl to have a functional achievement system. You have to beat the level to gain the achievements, however, so they can be hard to gain. This system gives the game humongous replay values. One downside you may notice about the game's style is that it borrows from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The menu is virtually identical, some enemies are lifted, and some features are copied over as well, not all of which seem immediately useful. Again, it doesn't matter.

Hold on, though. I haven't talked about the best part of Kid Icarus Uprising. The banter. Throughout the game, the characters will be bickering nearly constantly. Instead of having long talk sequences, the talking happens during gameplay. The script is written so well, however, that it becomes truly exhilarating. These arguments are so hilarious you may actually want to die just to hear them again. Unfortunately, if the game has one flaw that does matter, it's that the bosses are too easy. Instead of hearing all of their dialogue, you will find yourself beating them before they even get halfway through their lines. This can be frustrating if you want to know what they were going to say.

In short, this is an awesome game. I declare it worthy of buying the system for. A 10/10? Not quite, but close. Is it Sakurai's best work? Perhaps. Is it the best game of the year? We'll see.

My final score for Kid Icarus Uprising is a 9/10. Buy this game. If you don't have a 3DS, buy one of those too. You won't regret it.

The Avengers review

The Avengers is one of the most anticipated films of the year. Does it meet our expectations?

In a word: Yes. This movie was awesome. Every single second is worth it. The greatest parts of the movie are The Hulk, who has a scene where he smashes Loki around like some sort of toy, and the master of swag himself, Tony Stark. There is no such thing as too much Robert Downey Jr., and his Stark is fantastic. Bruce Banner's explanation for how he controls the Hulk? Brilliant. 

Details aside, let's discuss some of the other features of The Avengers. Visually, this movie is a great blend of CGI and live actors. Each scene is presented such a way that it seems as impressive as possible. An interesting thing about the film is it's ability to build suspense. When the scenes aren't blissfully action-packed, they're filled with suspense that will have you on the edge of your seat. The characters are well developed, with the new characters getting enough focus to reach the same levels as the established characters, and even those characters getting their own scenes of development.

Of course, the greatest part of The Avengers is the action. As mentioned previously, the movie has a simple wow factor that will give you the greatest enjoyment possible. You have Iron Man blasting things while delivering his deliciously snarky dialogue, Captain America being a badass and smashing invaders alongside new character Black Widow, with Thor smashing his own invaders elsewhere, and Hawkeye sitting on the roof of a building shooting arrows, and Hulk doing what he does best-smashing.

Awesome. I extend my greatest recommendations to this movie. Watch it. You won't be disappointed.

My final rating for The Avengers is a perfect 10/10.

21 Jump Street review

Wow. This has got to be one of the best comedies of the year. I swear that I was laughing the whole way through.

21 Jump Street is about two young men, Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko who met when going to school to become police officers. They pass, and display typical enthusiasm about their new job. Cut to them on park duty, riding their police bikes. They see members of a drug cartel, and decide to make their first bust. Hilarity ensues, and I mean that in the best way possible. They manage to catch one of the dealers, but he gets away because our protagonists forgot to read him his rights.

Frustrated, their chief decides to send them to a special division called 21 Jump Street. The base is in a Korean church, complete with a Korean Jesus. It is there that they meet the leader of Jump Street, Capt. Dickson, who is an angry black man played by Ice Cube. I am not making this up. He assigns them to investigate a mysterious new drug that he found out about through a YouTube video, complete with legitimate-looking comments. In order to investigate this drug, they go undercover in High School, only to find that things have changed since they were there...

21 Jump Street looks and feels great. The comedy is brilliant, the action is exhilarating, and the story is very well written. However, the best part of the film is the fact that even after all of the amazingly silly comedy, the dramatic scenes still work. That is truly the sign of a great film. I can recommend this movie to anybody over the age of 13. Don't pass it up.

My final rating for this movie is a 9/10.

It is a great film, with almost every joke working perfectly, and somehow still manages to have functioning drama. Check it out.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 2 Episode 25: A Canterlot Wedding review

Hmm, how to describe this episode. Pinkie, what do you think?

That's right. The buildup. The anticipation. And the payoff. It was a moment in time that will never exist again. And it was amazing.

Now, I must warn you, this review contains spoilers. So, if you haven't watched the episodes yet and you want to, do not read any further. No joke, stop right here. Otherwise, carry on.

Part One starts out in an interesting way. There are some funny jokes, and the Mane Six are invited to a wedding in Canterlot between a princess and... Twilight's brother.

When I first heard that, I was outraged. They followed it up with a song about how much she loves her brother. Well! How come we have never heard about him before now? The thing is, however, that this was actually pretty well done. Shining Armor is a pretty good character and more funny jokes were made.

Unfortunately, the episode has one shining (pun not intended) flaw. The princess character-Cadence-is about as subtle as a brick wall. She serves as the antagonist in this episode, and a major plot point is how only Twilight Sparkle realizes that she is a simply unpleasant pony. Well, they did a good job at making Cadence unpleasant-too good a job. It is hard to believe that Twilight's friends are so caught up in their work that they didn't notice Cadence's attitude problems. It gets frustrating. The important information to know about this episode is that Cadence is evil and has mind-controlled Shining Armor.

Near the end of this part, Twilight storms the wedding and shouts about that Cadence is evil. This scene isn't handled very well. Twilight's accusations aren't very well thought out, with her stating her reasons at only one point and mostly just shouting "She's EVIL!" Then it moves on to another decent scene for the ending, where Cadence attacks Twilight.

Part Two is where the story really picks up. Without hyperbole, A Canterlot Wedding Part 2 is one of the best episodes in the entire series. So much happens here that I will need to walk through each story detail. The episode starts with a scene that has Cadence taunting Twilight in the caves where Twilight is being held. After that, Twilight decides to explore the caves, and happens upon... Cadence? Turns out this is the REAL cadence, who has been kidnapped by her impostor, whom is a creature called a changeling. Then the episode kicks into probably the season's best song, "This Day Aria." It is an ominous duet between Cadence and her evil doppelganger, showing each's personality and intent, well providing exposition.

When the song is over, that's when the episode starts getting a little creepy. There's mind-controlled ponies with glowing green eyes that fade to black AFTER the scenery does. Next, Cadence and Twilight storm the wedding. At first the ponies have an attitude of "Not this again..." but then Cadence shows up, and they respond as expected. As the ponies stare at Cadence, shocked expressions on their faces, the fake Cadence asks Twilight and the real Cadence how they escaped. It is revealed that they distracted the brainwashed bridesmaids with a banquet, which they threw off to the side. It is then that the fake Cadence reveals her true form as Queen Chrysalis of the changelings. She's like some twisted version of an alicorn (a winged unicorn). Also, she has fangs. FANGS. It is also revealed that changelings feed off love. Celestia challengers Chrysalis, but loses, for Shining Armor's love is very powerful. Celestia, who is essentially the SUN GODDESS of this world, is defeated. Cadence manages to free Shining Armor from the spell he was under, and together they defeat the changelings.

The next scene has the real wedding procession taking place. Princess Celestia cues Pinkie Pie, and she pulls Vinyl Scratch out of hammer space to DJ the party. A catchy pop song begins, sung by Twilight Sparkle. Finally, the episode ends.

Now comes the part where I rate these episodes. This is how I will finish off these reviews.

For part one of A Canterlot Wedding, my score is a 7/10.

For part two of A Canterlot Wedding, my score is a perfect 10/10. 

This is an awesome way to finish the season, and I can't wait for Season Three to start. Goodbye, everypony!

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This is my new blog, where I will write down all of the numerous things that I have to say. I don't set myself any sort of schedule, so don't get to expecting anything.