Extra Credits : An Open Letter to EA Marketing

Another excellent video by the Extra Credits team. Worth viewing when you have the time.

[link]
Extra Credits : An Open Letter to EA Marketing

Filmus Criticus: Next Three Days

The movie that didn’t know what it wanted to be.
 

   The only commendable thing about this movie is the way it manages to completely mislead the audience into thinking they are about to watch an action packed and emotionally charged drama (at least that’s the feel you get from any trailer or poster you’ve seen) involving a daring prison escape orchestrated by John Brennan (Russell Crowe) as a testament to the undying love he shares for his (potentially, *no spoilers) innocent wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks) and keep his family together, only to discover that they are watching an hour and a half uneventful and disappointing drama about a guy who doesn’t know where to leave his kid while he goes out doing his “errands “ (*cough* planning the escape).
 

   From the title to the premise one would infer that the movie should be a fast paced action-drama. “Next Three Days” suggests urgency and time pressure, where the protagonist must get everything right or else there will be severe consequences and catastrophic failure; but is this reflected in the actual movie? Not so much. I mean sure, there are points within the movie where you may get a (false) sense that some fast paced montage is coming up and will continue throughout the movie, but those few and far between, and usually disappointing.  
 

   Regardless of the lack of action scenes, the chemistry between Crowe and Banks’ characters was inexistent (which is a really bad thing since it’s supposed to be a main part of the story), but that was mostly due to strange plot jumps not allowing the audience to get fully immersed in their relationship, and not due to the actual acting, which was ok. In the end, the movie feels more like a B-rate drama about the struggles of a man to reunite his family and refusing to let go of the devotion he has to his wife (the original plot of Pour Elle, the movie this is based on), and less about a cleverly planned prison break; so if you watch it with that in mind it may seem a bit more interesting and less disappointing.
 

   All things considered, as critical as I may be (hey, it’s kinda my thing) it’s still a pretty decent movie, even if it won’t blow your mind. If you have the opportunity, see it, but don’t go out of your way to get it.
 

[pro] Solid acting by the main cast; the movie tends to get a bit jumpy with the narrative but it is still very watchable.
 

[con] Horrible child acting; a constant sensation that they skipped through the third act; and it only gets really good in the last 15-20min; you’re better off just watching Pour Elle.
 

I read it, should you?- Amazing Spider-Man #648

   As much as I enjoy providing paragraphs upon paragraphs of backstory when I usually write about comics book, for this site I will try to stick to the important points of the comic book issue that I am reviewing at that specific point in time, and only if truly necessary go into the dreaded CONTINUITY-Y-Y-Y problem that plagues discussions regarding long running, ongoing comics.

  
   Fortunately for this issue I don’t have to! The reason being that issue #648 is the start of a new story arc in the spidey universe, aimed mostly towards reaching a new fan base while at the same time resolving and streamlining some of the remaining issues from the “Brand New Day” arc for the existing true believers.

   In this issue we are introduced to a world where Peter Parker is finally getting his act together; he has a good job, a girlfriend who fits his unique personality (but doesn’t know he is you-know-who), Harry Osborn is nowhere in sight (always a good thing), his rogues gallery seems to be getting a nice tune-up, we finally get so see how his Avengers life spills over into his solo adventures, and there is the ever-present ominous tingle that this is just the calm before the storm (see what I did there, I’m clever that way). 

   The new direction that the comic seems to be taking isn’t that bad, and unlike other comic books that have recently undergone new jump-on points (ref. Batman and Robin) it starts off with a moderately captivating story, although it will require a few issues to really get into it, mainly the issues following #651 (currently up to #654.1). The downside being that this issue (#648) feels too much like those never ending recaps/’where are they now’ things at the start of some shows, and at the end you are left a multitude of unanswered questions that may deter some of the more green readers from following the story. Hopefully you manage to stick with it, because all things considered  Spider-man is still one of the best characters to come out of Marvel, and one of the few that has maintained the same level of quality and consistency in its narrative (minus the Clone Saga). 

   Even with this quasi tabula rasa issue the story and general feel remains true to the spider-man theme that has made the character so popular (which is slightly ironic since it was his nerdy, unlucky, and poverty-ridden life style contrasted with the incredible abilities he possessed that made the character stand out, and attracted readers in the first place), hopefully that Parker-charm we all know and love will be enough for many current readers to embrace the new changes.

   Overall, the story will be less appealing to devoted readers as it comes off more like an introduction or a catch-up to the character than anything else, and it may be a bit overwhelming for new comer due to the sheer number of info and characters it crams in; but at least it offers a good read until we see any spider-reality altering events (hint- read issue 654). As an added bonus to current fans and another reason to get into this comic if you haven’t already is that starting with this issue it has become a twice-monthly release, giving you the chance to see a full story unfold in a shorter amount of time reducing the frustration brought on by the always present cliff-hangers. It will be interesting to see the effect on your friendly neighbourhood spider-man and his supporting cast after these changes start to influence his life, as well as what other plans the writers have for the much beloved character. GO WEB GO!

It's in your TV: Archer

              “Television!  Teacher, mother, secret lover.” - Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

    I consider myself a connoisseur of the ’moving pictures box’. If somebody actually awarded people for the amount of TV they watch then the award would have my name. The issue in this day-and-age is that there is no shortage of things to watch and kill time with, and it seems that TV is the only medium that is not affected by the fundamental capitalist concept that competition and variety should produce quality products. 

    The increasing number of shows out there makes the quest of finding a new show that is good, and worth watching very difficult; you can’t watch the pilot of every new thing out there, let alone watch a few episodes to get a feel for something. So what happens is that you stay with the shows you are already watching, even if they start to go downhill (or were never that good to begin with). 

   That’s where I come in. In situations of such life altering dilemmas you can turn to your friendly internet Reviewer for guaranteed* viewing pleasure.

(*guarantee only applies if you possess identical neural pathways as me at the time of viewing.)

   The show that I want to introduce, although based on its ratings will probably be no great unknown, is Archer.

   Archer is a funny, edgy, and extremely entertaining show. The premise of the show, that of the macho, self-centred, superspy that would make James Bond quiver in his well fitted pants, working for the global espionage agency ISIS, which is run by his oversexed, parentally challenged mother, while having to work alongside his insanely violent, emotionally repressed ex-girlfriend, and other colourful colleagues, makes for a highly enjoyable 25 minutes. There are many things that can be pointed out relating to why the show is so popular: the witty, fast paced comedy, the hilarious re-envisioning of cliqued spy situations, to the weird and exaggerated, yet still plausible relationships and dynamic that the characters have with each other, etc. (<- watch the show to find out what they are).

   The show is already in its second season following the great success of the first, and during in this time it has managed to maintain the same level of comedic excellence throughout every episode; humour that is reminiscent of shows like Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law or Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast (two other great shows that you should see when you have the time if you haven’t already).

   I’m am not in the habit of making exaggerations regarding how good or bad something is for the sake of sensationalising it (calling me cynical by nature is an understatement, I mean my blood type is B-Negative! Get it? Really, no one is laughing?), so a review like this one will probably be very rare on this site. At the moment there are only about two or three other TV shows that I hold in just high regard (and I’ll get to those in upcoming reviews). I simply felt that it was best to start [It’s in your TV] with a ‘[the] Reviewer Seal of Approval’ so that you can start watching something decent while I discuss the plethora of horrendous shows out there that you should avoid or stop watching altogether. Enjoy the show and be careful entering the "Danger Zone!".

Filmus Criticus: The Green Hornet

A potentially great movie that went seriously wrong. The story of the movie, which is (loosely) based on the comic of the same name by George Trendle and Fran Striker, follows the exploits of young bachelor Britt Reid (Rogen) following the bland and emotionally empty, death of his father (as well as the only multi-dimensional character in the movie). In his quest for retribution, Reid decides to become a superhero, pretending to be a criminal, in order to……- ok, enough of that. I’m not going to go through the whole plot, as it is not really worth it, and other sites will provide it for you if you actually care that much. I’m going to give you my critique of the movie (and boy is there stuff to criticise).

The story is bad, seriously, there is no other way to express it. I will preface this by saying that I like the Green Hornet character, the Dynamite re-boot of the story on which this movie seems to draw from, is pretty good and is worth a read if you have the chance. But this movie just doesn’t work; the cast just does not fit with this type of movie. Rogen is still reprising the exact same role he has been doing for the past 5 movies, Chau is impossible to understand so I can’t comment on the dialogue and comes off more as a bratty kid than helpful sidekick/mentor and confidant. I don’t even have time to discuss all the bad things about Waltz’s character Bloodnofsky (not making this up), as I would need something comparable to the works of Balzac to cover all the problems with the character.

Overall, the plot has no fluidity, nor does it offer anything noteworthy that would make it stand out or salvage it from the overwhelming feeling of blandness it conveys. Maybe if they would have used a similar comic book character, like Green Arrow, who actually has some of the personality traits that Rogen was portraying, then it might have worked. But, the laid back attitude of the movie doesn’t  justify the innumerable ADHD moments, where it jumps around from drama, to comedy and hijinks, while occasionally going back to the “love triangle” between Rogen, Chau and Diaz’s characters, which can only be described as a bad sales pitch for There's Something About Mary  2.

[pro] The costumes and gadgets are very well designed; Black Beauty looks awesome; and it may improve sales of the Green Hornet comics.

[con] To many to list, but mainly the convoluted plot; the personality of the characters not fitting the theme of the story; and the constant feeling that I was watching spoof a of Batman Begins or Iron man.