My Adventure: Stumbling Upon Transformers 4 Filming Location Accidentally

This month, I start school at Tribecca Flashpoint Academy in downtown Chicago. There, I will be studying the aspects of film making. Today, my dad and I went downtown to scout out the school and make sure I could find my way there and back from the train station. On our way, we crossed a street that was blocked off. We didn't think anything of it right away, but then Dad noticed a helicopter hovering around down the way. Once at the school, we found this truck parked outside.

A truck that had a sign that reads "operated by Paramount Pictures, Los Angeles, CA". In the back there was a crate filled with what seemed like filming equipment. I didn't get a good look, though. We were about to start walking back to the train station, Dad and I soon realized that there was actually a movie being filmed on LaSalle. We decided to take a closer look and we discovered that we had stumbled upon the filming site for Transformers 4!

Obviously, we couldn't get too close, but I got to see a quite a lot, all things considered. No actors were present, but there was a large transformer part out in the street (I couldn't get a good picture of that, it was too far away and my phone doesn't zoom). I did get to see a car with a camera crane on top. That was cool. We thought we had seen all that we could see, so we headed back to the train station. BUT! There was more! On the way back, there were several Transformer cars just parked on the street! Most of them were covered in tarps (including one I think was Bumblebee). One of them was OPTIMUS PRIME. He was not covered, as he was being washed. It was super cool.

 I went and looked them up on IMDB as soon as I got home. There indeed was Optimus and that military vehicle.

Opportunities like this don't happen very often, and I just happened to be passing the street when they were setting up. And there were very many people there, so I could get clear pictures of the cars. It was a cool experience. I may not be the biggest Transformers fan, but still. That was cool.

Top 5 Minecraft YouTubers

Before I get into my list, I just want to acknowledge the fact that there are a lot of Minecraft YouTubers out there, and a lot of them are good. I am just doing my personal top five. These five YouTubers I am subscribed to and watch their uploads frequently, and it is a bit tough to chose. That being said, here is my list.

5. HUSKYMUDKIPZ
Husky does a variety of Minecraft videos, from mini-games with friends, seed spotlights, mod showcases, and his weekly Saturday demolition series. Husky is pretty funny on his own, but he really shines when he is playing with friends.

4. XRPMX13
xRpmx13, "the incredibly good-looking gamer", does some serious player-vs-player games. His Hunger Games videos range from hilarious to epic in an awesome combination. His best trait, however, is his famous Morgan Freeman impression. After playing the mini-game Cops and Robbers, he gained the nickname "Warden Freeman".

3. JEROMEASF
Jerome is one of the funniest Minecraft YouTubers out there. His channel has been growing recently, and for good reason. He puts out some great funny content. Jerome primarily does mini-games, however, so his content is a bit limited. That being said, he does a great variety of mini-games, which makes up for it. A lot.

2. SKYDOESMINECRAFT
Sky is well known in the Minecraft YouTuber circle. His channel had a fast growth, and several of his jokes have become ingrained in the Minecraft legend on YouTube, including his hatred of squids, his only referring to gold as "budder", and several hashtags like #ty'sfoot and #splavacodo

1. CAPTAINSPARKLEZ
Jordon of Captain Sparklez was the first Minecraft YouTuber I ever subscribed to. Apart from Freddie Wong and friends in LAN party on the NODE channel, Captain Sparklez was the first Minecraft series I ever watched with his Survival series. I subbed right around the time Survival season 1 ended, and I got to see season 2 and now season 3 as they come, which is great. Jordon also does mini-games, and possibly my favorite videos he does, he does adventure maps with friends Nfen and AllShamNoWow. The current Minecraft videos he is doing now are some of my favorites, including SkyDen and Hexxit.

So what about you? Do you agree with my list? Or do you want to rage at me (please don't do dis)
Let me know!

Top 10 Best Captain Sparklez Minecraft Series

Captain Sparklez, aka Jordon Maron, is known on YouTube for posting Minecraft Let's Plays and other gameplay videos, and a lot of them are really entertaining. Today, I am going to be counting down my personal Top 10 Series that he has done. NOTE: This list is only dealing with Minecraft, so no other games that he has played are included. Also, I'm not going to include series that are not complete, so Hexit, The Code, and Ather are not going to be on the list.

10. Hunger Games PVP

There are plenty of these videos in which Jordon plays the popular PVP (Player VS Player) map based on the popular franchise, and he typically teams up with Ryan (xrpmx13). There was a short stent where he played Hunger Games with Nick (NFEN), but it is always entertaining to watch Jordon and his team mate face off against twenty other players. However, there are two things that detract from the overall ranking of this series, including the fact that almost every episode ends with Jordon and Ryan being the only two remaining and fighting to the death, and it is harder to remember which moment goes to which episode. That being said, it is always fun to watch.

9. Gloria 1 & Gloria 2

Jordon, Mark (AllShamNoWow) and Nick (NFEN) tackled the two-parter adventure map, Gloria 1 and Gloria 2. This map features multiple signs that are written in poetic fashion, but it always throws Jordon off whenever it doesn't rhyme. That combined with Mark and Nick's hilarious bickering and sarcasm makes both Gloria maps good for a laugh. One of the best moments is in the second map when Mark and Jordon make Nick read an in-game book in a Bane voice. This is then followed by Mark falling out of the map, typing in the chat "Le Lapis!!!" instead of a teleport command.

8. Herobrine's Mansion

Another custom adventure map made by a high profile map maker, Herobrine's Mansion starts out with just Jordon and Mark, until Nick joins in at the beginning of the third episode. This map introduced the "Midget Baby Zombies" to Jordon's videos, which would also appear in their next adventure series, Wrath of the Fallen. The story tackles the Minecraft myth Herobrine attempting to summon a Wither Boss into the world, and sets a series of bosses onto the player. Jordon, Mark, and Nick's fights against the bosses are hilarious, but nothing tops their battle against the witch.

7. Wrath of the Fallen

They mistakenly refer to Wrath of the Fallen as the sequel to Herobrine's Mansion, but Wrath of the Fallen is an adventure map made by the same creators. This is currently the last Minecraft map to feature Mark, as in all subsequent series, Jordon is only joined by Nick. There are numerous funny moments in this series, including calling a Wither Skeleton wearing golden pants "MC Hammer", a Blazeman boss they refer to as "Blaze-At-Us", and Nick doing his "@Police, Please help" joke.

6. Survival, Season 1

One of Jordon's primary series, Minecraft Survival Mode has since spawned a second successful season as well as a third season currently in the process. The series follows Jordon as he makes his way through the regular Survival Mode of the game. Many of Jordon's recurring bits and jokes come from this series, including his most popular, Jerry the Slime. While Jerry himself is only in like two episodes before "dying", Jordon holds his memory dear, naming his home tree-base "Jerry's Tree". Jerry the Slime has become so ingrained in Minecraft lore that people have made mods and even a spin-off game about him. Also a part of this season are Evil Kenevil the Iron Golem and Mine Sheep, the sheep Jordon encountered inside of a mine.

5. Modded Survival (Survival, Season 2)

The sequel-spinoff-thingy to Minecraft Survival, Modded Survival took the existing Survival world and added multiple Mods (modifications) to it, including two major Mods, Divine RPG and Tale of Kingdoms. Divine RPG was probably the most important to the series, as it added hundreds of new items, mobs, and dimensions into the game. Tale of Kingdoms added a guild and kingdom into the game, and Jordon quickly became the king and a rich man in game. Apart from the portals and weaponry that was an essential part of the game, Jordon collected several new pets in game, including Mary the bunny, Gary the bat, Carrie the cat, and Larry the Azurite Wolf, who died two episodes later. While things may have bogged down towards the end with the Vethia dimension, Survival Season 2 surpassed the number of episodes from Season 1 and became Jordon's longest running series.
Unlike above where I catagorized Gloria 1 and Gloria 2 together, I've separated Survival Season 2 from Season 1 because Season 2 is different enough from Season 1 that it can stand on its own.

4. It's Better Together

The hilarious series of videos in which Jordon and Mark tag-team through a long set of puzzles, It's Better Together is a gut-busting barrel of laughs. This map was based on another popular game called Portal, and uses many of the same ideas. From certain puzzles not working due to game updates, from Mark not being able to jump across a parkour challenge, this series will make anyone laugh. I've gotta warn you, there is strong language here, but then again, that holds true to any of the series including Mark or Nick (and sometimes Jordon drops a bad word when he's angry). The funniest part (and most full of language) is when Jordon and Mark reach a puzzle where they continuously mistime their jumps into opening and closing doorways. This segment is done through a "fail" montage that literally had me laughing out loud.

3. Skyblock 2.0

Whenever Jordon is joined by Mark and Nick, it is guaranteed to be a good time for us the viewers, and a series of nineteen episodes of the three? Priceless. This series is so full of laughs that Jordon even made a "Best of" video for it as well as an outtake video. It is a sequel to the original Skyblock series, which Jordon played solo, but this time, the challenges are all different. The best part has to be when Mark, whose hunger bar had fallen to zero, ate the only watermelon the trio had to plant (and make more watermelon to eat). Jordon and Nick's reactions are epic. Mark continues to die several times in that episode, adding to the laughs.

2. Revenge of the Gods

An older map, this is defiantly one of the most hilarious series they've ever done. From a vague-ish story, to easy-to-overlook rules, Jordon, Mark, and Nick stumble their way through this map, often screwing up major puzzles and rules. They even manage to screw up the entire plot in the second episode, causing them to restart the map.

1. Emperor of Minopia

Easily the funniest of the misadventures the trio has ever embarked upon, Emperor of Minopia is a poorly written and laughable story that never ceases to confuse, amuse, and abuse the players. From misspellings and poor grammar like "He be hidin' up under the roof alot" to the best-named villain ever, this is easily my favorite Minecraft series ever. The best part is... too hard to pick. This map is too full of them to pick just one!

So what do you think? What is your favorite Captain Sparklez series? Let me know! And please don't rage at me if you don't agree, this is just my personal picks.

Trailer Reviews - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Trailer #2

Earlier today at Comic-Con, they released the latest trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. This trailer was then uploaded to Yahoo! Movies for those who didn't go to Comic-Con. I'm one of those guys who sat at home waiting to review this trailer like I did the last one (to see my review of the previous Catching Fire trailer, click here.) Again, like I said in my previous trailer review and my pre-review for this film, I will more than likely deal with spoilers, since the film is based on a book which I have read. This review is geared towards those who have also read the book.

To start things off, here is the link to the trailer in question. I can't link it like my last couple trailer reviews, as the trailer isn't currently on YouTube that I could find. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/the-hunger-games-catching-fire/

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is an upcoming action-adventure film based on the novel Catching Fire by Susanne Collins that follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they tour the districts of Panem on their victory tour after winning the 74th annual Hunger Games. What they don't realize is that their defiance of the rules that they demonstrated in the Games has made them into role models for a rebellion rising in the districts. This prompts President Snow to mark them both as well as the previous Game victors as threats to be resolved in the Quarter Quell.

This new trailer offer much more than the previous, which is something I like to see. I'm not a fan of when trailers reuse the same footage in every trailer and only offer a small handful of new clips. This one recycles a few shots, but the majority of it is new material. This trailer also touches on a major plot point of the story, the Quarter Quell. The Quarter Quell was hinted at in the end of the previous trailer, but never outright shown or explained. We were only treated to an exchange between President Snow and Heavensbee: "Her entire species must be eradicated." "Her species, sir?" "The other victors. Because of her, they think they're invincible."

Now I'm going to get into the shot-by-shot review. I'll be doing this a bit differently, since trailers skip around with shots, I will be grouping similar shots and review them as a group, rather than one by one.

The trailer opens with Katniss entering Victor's Village, where all the District 12 victors live after the Games. This is a scene from early on in the book.

While this scene of Katniss and her sister Prim appeared briefly in the previous trailer, none of the dialogue used in the first trailer is recycled. It also touches on something that really drives Katniss's motivations in the book, which is that her acts of rebellion have an effect on not only her, but those she cares for.

Catching Fire is directed by a new director, Francis Lawrence. As such, not everything can be expected to be the same. One thing that I find both different and very interesting is the shots of The Capitol shown in this new trailer. We weren't treated to very many shots of the Capitol in the previous trailer, and the shots in this one seem different to me than how I remember the Capitol looking in the previous movie. In The Hunger Games, I always thought the Capitol looked a lot like Corescant in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, but the Capitol in this film looks more like a cross between Corescant and a modern day city with normal skyscrapers. All that being said, in the trailer over-all, I do get more of a sci-fi feel from this trailer than I did in the entire first movie.

Advanced technology was hinted at in the first film, but this trailer certainly shows a bit more. Like in the above picture of Katniss and Peeta being filmed by a camera system. They doesn't appear to be any crew, but it's a trailer. We're only treated to two shots of it. This shot also begins to show the complicated relationship (or lack thereof) between the two, which Peeta then explains.

Also prevalent in this trailer is the threat of rebellion. The trailers (and I wouldn't be surprised if the movie also takes this view), but Gale seems to be the leader of the rebellion. There are many shots of rebellion, (some recycled from the first trailer) including the execution of Rue's family member, the attack on and burning of the Hub, and Gale's whipping.

Dang, she grew several feet in only a year...

In the book, the kiss between Katniss and Gale was only mentioned as already happened, but the movie (being a movie) needs to show it. It also takes it a step further by proving that President Snow has been spying on Katniss's activities via cameras, as in the trailer, we see that Snow has video evidence of the kiss. The President's threat against her family is also shown dramatically.

The trailer also expands upon the Quarter Quell, a topic that is a major plot point in the book and almost completely absent in the first trailer. We are also teased with brief glimpses of Katniss's wedding dress and Phoenix dress.

 And the final topic in the trailer: The Quell itself. The 75th Hunger Games in which past victors are chosen and must fight to the death. We are shown shots of victors training, including a brief shot of Finnick Odar, Enobaria, Gloss and I think Johanna. As the trailer closes, we get a brief glimpse of the arena, and Katniss dives into the water.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Coming to theaters November 22, 2013. I liked this trailer, as it did not use too much footage from the previous one, and they do give more information on the driving plot point, the quell. I will say though, they don't shown that much of Peeta or Haymitch in this trailer. It reminded me of the latest trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in which several main characters, including Thorin and Gandalf, are oddly absent.

I still can't wait to see this movie but until then, May the Odds be Ever in your Favor.