After a seven month wait Dawnguard is upon us, finally returning us to the world of Skyrim. The first DLC for Skyrim was long awaited but also was worth the wait. It’s been a long time since I got that last achievement and moved on to other games, and this is worth the price of admission just for an excuse to play this game again. You will be happy to know Dawnguard is just more Skyrim, I got distracted by a random cave and wandered off on my own path within 2 minutes of starting this DLC.

 Dawnguard puts the focus on turning you into a beast this time around. Giving upgrades to werewolves and vampire lords, depending on which one you choose to become. There are 8 perks for the werewolf, most of which are,  “do 25% more damage” or “healing is 25% percent more effective”. Being a vampire Lord has 11 perks and is more fun. Instead of the conventional upgrades you get new powers and creative spells. Upgrades like, “a shroud of bats feed on enemies that are in melee range”. As a vampire lord you feel overpowered, and rightly so. I still stand by my decision for my main character to stay as a werewolf as that’s his story, but the combat is a lot more freeing and fun as a vampire. If it were not for achievements and this review I also probably would never have used these other forms and would have just played with my regular ass dude for the whole play through. Nothing really prompts you to use these forms. It’s a shame if people don’t end up using them, a lot of the DLC is sunk into these forms and it is really fun using them.

Whether you like him or hate him, there is no denying that Seth MacFarlane has become one of the biggest comedy names in entertainment, thanks in part to Family Guy, as well as his cadre of other TV shows. With Ted, Seth MacFarlane has finally jumped over to writing and directing films, and Ted is a great way to kick off that section of his career. I haven’t laughed out loud as much or as often during a movie as I did during Ted, and I can say the same for the rest of the audience I saw it with.

Ted follows the tale of John (Mark Wahlberg) and his teddy bear, Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane). John receives Ted for Christmas when he is a boy, and wishes for the bear to come to life. Ted does and after a brief bout of celebrity, the film jumps ahead a couple of decades. John is now a 35 year old slacker whose main hobbies are getting high and watching Flash Gordon with Ted, in addition to attempting to keep his girlfriend, Lori (Mila Kunis). Much of the films humor comes from the interactions between the three of them, often thanks to Ted’s childish behavior and John’s similar attitude.

I’m not a stupid person. At least I don’t think I am. Unfortunately, the folks behind Amazing Spider-Man seem to disagree with my self-assessment.  That’s too bad because Amazing Spider-Man is a very entertaining movie with some incredibly stupid and poorly explained moments. Even with the large amount of times I slapped my forehead in an expression of embarrassment and befuddlement, I can happily say they were outnumbered by the times I found a cheerful grin across my face.

Andrew Garfield plays an excellent Spider-Man. He manages to balance the shy and awkward personality of Peter Parker and the confidence and glibness of Spider-Man.  The scenes between him and Emma Stone are some of the best in the movie. It’s difficult to pin down being an awkward teenager, and he manages to do it without being cringe inducing. Well, he is cringe inducing, but in the best of ways. Garfield’s scenes where he is awkwardly flirting and being around Emma Stone bring out just enough of our own teenage embarrassments. When Garfield dons the mask, he becomes the Spider-Man that we know from all sorts of media. His smart cracks never feel forced and the transition from Peter Parker to Spider-Man feels natural. He’s the best actor to play Peter Parker.