Coffee at Leblanc

So today, March 28, marks twenty years since Kingdom Hearts released on PlayStation 2. It would come a few months later in the US arriving on September 17. I remember when I first played this game. That year I recall my mother asking me to write down what I wanted for Christmas and I wrote Kingdom Hearts PS2 down on a piece of loose leaf paper. On Christmas day I unwrapped my presents and was gifted a copy of Kingdom Hearts for my PlayStation 2. Since I was just a child it didn't really hit with me how weird it was that I was about to play a Final Fantasy and Disney crossover game or how a big of a deal this franchise was going to be. I actually can't remember how I learned about this game. It wouldn't be three years later until I got regular access to the internet so I assume I just saw TV ads, but man did I have an experience when I first played this game! The original Kingdom Hearts box cover. The first Kingdom Hearts is such a gem. It was filled with a sense of wonder,...

       So yesterday, author F.C. Yee announced that his next book will be releasing this summer and it's about Avatar Yangchen, the previous air avatar before Aang. His last avatar novel was Shadow of Kyoshi that released back in 2020. This was quite the surprise as many thought that the next book would be continuing Kyoshi's story. Yangchen was briefly seen in Shadow of Kyoshi where she spoke to Kyoshi giving her advice. The Kyoshi novels are best-sellers and and received high critical reception. The Avatar series has a very dedicated and passionate fanbase so expect fans to be for this release on day 1.  The Dawn of Yangchen is set to release on July 19, 2022. As for my opinion on this I'm actually a bit disappointed. I got into reading The Rise of Kyoshi and Shadow of Kyoshi last year and I was quite surprised how much I liked it because I've been struggling with finding books I like for years and I was interested in learning more about Kyoshi from The La...

  So The Batman has officially been out for almost a week now and after having seen it twice I'm quite eager to see where this inevitable sequel could go. As of right now there is no confirmed sequel for Matt Reeve's The Batman , but given that the film opened up to $134 million domestically and will no doubt make even more money in coming weeks I feel like an announcement is just a matter of time. This Batman film has Batman portrayed by Robert Pattinson, in only his second year and solving his first case in figuring out who The Riddler is and who he's targeting. In his investigation he works alongside GCPD's Lt. Jim Gordon portrayed by Jeffrey Wright. To quickly summarize Batman and Jim find Riddler at a diner, Selina Kyle finds her friend murdered by the hands of her father Carmine Falcone, attempts to kill him, Riddler murders Falcone before he's caught and when Batman visits Riddler in prison he finds out The Riddler set up bombs around Gotham which go off and...

  That title may sound strange, but it's true. Disney Pixar just released their latest film simultaneously on Disney + and theaters and it's... different. This is still a kid's movie, but the premise of the story involves some subjects that might create some uncomfortable conversations for parents. Turning Red stars Meilin Lee, a thirteen year-old girl who finds herself dealing with some new emotions that lead to a physical change. When she finds herself one day built up with a particularly strong emotion she turns into a giant red panda. I don't want to give too much away as I personally went into this knowing absolutely nothing, but Mei is learning to cope with this change while going through everyday life. Now, for adults it's obvious what this red panda is an allegory for. Mei is experiencing puberty and her raging hormones are taking over. Turning Red even covers tampons and periods. It doesn't do these things in a vulgar or distasteful manner, but it is ...

  So today is Mar10 national Mario Day. This holiday was first made official by Nintendo in 2016. Since then Nintendo has given announcements and sales for Mario games on this day. There's nothing of note going on for the holiday this year except for a sale on the Nintendo Switch eShop. Mario is the most recognizable video game character in the world and set to have his second theatrical film released during the end of this year, but today I would like to highlight the games I'm most interested in playing from the brand, but haven't gotten around to yet. An anime cutscene from Wario Land: Shake It 10. Wario Land: Shake It This game out all the way back in 2008 for the Wii. I remember seeing a review for this by Adam Sandler on X-Play. The thing that immediately caught my eye was the sprite work. It has a nice hand drawn look to it and the platforming is more action based than a Mario game. It's really the graphics that drew me in and the fact I have not played any Wario...

  So I had the pleasure of seeing Matt Reeves' The Batman early on March 1st and I couldn't contain myself to talk about this film in detail. I've been a fan of Batman since my childhood and I've watched every live-action movie, most of the animated movies, and read a few comics as well so it's no surprise that I was so excited for this film. This review will contain spoilers so read at your own caution. The thing I enjoyed most out of this film is the atmosphere. I know a lot of the film critics out here compare it to Seven or Chinatown , but I never seen any of those movies so it just feels wholly unique to me. This is a noir film. The lighting is dark and there's constant rain throughout. The Batman also focuses a lot on Batman's detective skills. Other live-action films in the past have barely touched on that part, but this is a straight detective story. Batman is analyzing clues, solving riddles, and casing buildings. It feels so great to see Batman ...