Posts Tagged ‘entertainment’

The Sequel Problem

Posted: July 6, 2012 in Reflections
Tags: ,
4

I was watching Marvel’s The Avengers last night (review to come after this post), and I started thinking about how sequels have become such a part of the movie industry. Every horror and sci-fi movie is made with the possibility that there will be a sequel should the film be successful. It seemed that once upon a time, filmmakers made a film just hoping people would like it and see it. Now, it’s all about “how much money can we make off of this, especially if we make another film or seven?” Heck, when Bridesmaids came out and Kristen Wiig said she didn’t want to do a sequel, filmmakers called her “ungrateful”, while the rest of the world applauded her for not making the same mistake as the makers of The Hangover! You see how bad it is!

Some of the worst culprits are horror movies, which always seem to have a part 2 or 3 or 67. Of course there are dramas and comedies that make a few sequels, typically just two for a nice little trilogy, but thankfully the number of movies that do this are small. And of course, you got your action films like The Expendables which get sequels because the filmmakers are banking on making money off the big names in the film.

Of course, I do believe there are some films that should get sequels. Movies that are based on book series such as Harry Potter or The Hunger Games make great franchises, and as long as they don’t change too much, shove too much in, or don’t divide too many books into two separate films, people will mostly stay happy. Other films are good enough that a sequel is warranted, such as The Matrix or Star Wars. And a few just bring delight, no matter who watches them (I’m thinking kiddie films like Shrek, Madagascar and Alvin and the Chipmunks).

However, there are several film series that should never have had sequels, and I can name a reason or two for each of them. I’d rather not, so I’ll just leave you with this: is it more important to make a film that people will enjoy, or a film that will generate lots of capital and sequels that will bring even more capital? You tell me.

Review: “The Wolf Gift” by Anne Rice

Posted: July 5, 2012 in Review
Tags: ,
4

The cover of Anne Rice’s “The Wolf Gift”.

You know, it just doesn’t seem right to do a review of an Anne Rice novel without mentioning in the title that it was written by her, and there’s good reason for that: Anne Rice is a wonderful writer, a woman whose evolution from her early works to her latest writing can be seen by even people who are not well-versed in the study of literature. If I were to try to classify Anne Rice’s writing, I’d call it sophisticated horror, and that depending on what work you are reading, you can compare her work to some sort of food or drink: The Vampire Chronicles are, most appropriately, red wine; Lives of the Mayfair Witches could be an aged, sweet port; The Mummy as a leafy salad; Servant of the Bones as a French bread; and Songs of the Seraphim as a dairy dessert. I’m sorry, I just had lunch, can you tell?

So what does The Wolf Gift taste like? Probably a white wine meant for right before bed. It is an amazing work of fiction, and shows just how Anne Rice’s style has acclimatized to the Information and Technology age. From the point of view of reporter Reuben Golding, we see how he becomes a werewolf–or Man Wolf, as he prefers, and Morphenkind, as his species in the novel is referred to as a whole–and how his new abilities include an instinct to hunt down those whom we consider evil (rapists, murderers, etc.) just by scent. Along the way, Reuben must figure out how to interact with his family after his change, the question of whether he is good or evil, abomination or divinely blessed, and unravel the mysteries surrounding the house he lives in, where he is bitten, and what it all has to do with Morphenkind in general.

Although the book doesn’t have a central primary antagonist (two antagonists do appear throughout the story though; a werewolf who has “lost his way”, which is not what you’re thinking, and two Russian scientists with sinister goals), the obstacle that all the main characters must face is whether they are good or evil, and what it means to be given the Wolf Gift, and how it places them in the grand scheme of things.

One of the unique aspects of Anne Rice’s latest novel is that instead of looking at things from a supernatural/magical point of view as she usually does, she instead looks at the werewolves and their abilities from a scientific perspective, using that to explain the forensic conundrums of werewolf DNA and the passing-on of the wolf gift and how exactly it works on the body’s structure, endocrine system, and DNA.

If I had to discuss the main theme of “The Wolf Gift”, I would say it is purpose, whether it be individual, moral, or cosmic purpose.

I give this latest masterpiece by the woman who basically created the sexy vampire, a 4.4 out of 5, for outstanding plot, character development, and philosophical questions explored. If there’s ever a movie adaptation, I would love to write the script for it.

All for now, I think I’ll write Ms. Rice a fan letter (I do that for every new book of hers I read; she’s the only author I know that has an email address for her fan mail).

What I imagine the werewolves in “The Wolf Gift” to look like. Very scary, but actually very nice if you get to talk to them, and I mean that in either form.

Review: Prometheus

Posted: June 22, 2012 in Review
Tags: , ,
6

The film poster for Prometheus. It’s huge in this post for a reason.

OH MY GOD! I FINALLY SAW IT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Ok, spazz-out done. Let’s get down to it without giving away any plot points or whatever. Wow. What a movie. I was put into suspense, I got scared a few times, and I couldn’t stop putting my hands on my face at every scary or gruesome part. Yeah, I liked it. It was so much fun learning about the origins of the Xenomorphs and seeing their evolution from simple to close to what Sigourney Weaver fought in 1970. The characters have been criticized by other critics as being “too two dimensional” but I felt they were real enough, especially considering that it’s a slasher film with sci-fi bio-warfare as the killer. And I was left with more questions than when I came in, so I guess that means there’s going to be a sequel! In fact, I’ll be disappointed if there isn’t.

My one qualm is that the beginning might move a little too fast and be a little more confusing if you can’t adjust too quickly, but it becomes easy to follow after that.

I give this movie a 4.3 out of 5, for showing me the evolution of the Xenomorphs and for scaring the crap out of me at some points.

Review: In Time

Posted: June 10, 2012 in Review
Tags: , ,
0

A poster for “In Time”, detailing in watch-like fashion the date of it’s release (don’t worry though, the movie’s on DVD if you want to see it)

You want to know how I spend the first few hours of my birthday? Starting the previous night, I watch the dystopian science-fiction film In Time on my computer, and then decide to write a post about it…after a couple hours sleep. Well, here’s that post, and can I just say I found this movie powerful? I mean, if the Occupy Wall Street movement wanted a movie that serves as a metaphor for them and the movement, along with the power of the wealthy in this country versus the power of the poor, they’d just have to watch this film.

You know the phrase “Time is money”? In this film, that’s especially true: you earn time, you buy time, you sell time, you lose time, you steal time, and once you run out of time currency, you also run out of life! Lower-class citizens live day-to-day trying to pay debts and have enough to eat while earning their time, while upper-class citizens can live for centuries with the amounts of time they have. Justin Timberlake (who is such a versatile actor as well as a singer) and Amanda Seyfried (who looks a lot like Emma Stone to me) play a ghetto tough and a little rich girl who see the corruption in the system and do everything in their power to upset it, all while being pursued by the police-like Timekeepers. It’s a ton of fun, and it really gets you thinking about things in our current system.

Kudos to the cast for their wonderful performance, and to the crew who made a believable world of corruption and nobody truly living. I give this film a 4.5 out of 5.

My Favorite Slasher Killers Part 2

Posted: May 28, 2012 in Review, Scary Stuff
Tags: , ,
0

Boy, doesn’t that sound like the title to a slasher sequel! But don’t worry, there won’t be any part 3 or 4 or 11 or anything. After all, I’m just doing Part 2 to cover three killers I missed last time. I also wanted a new category of posts to devote to horror-related stuff, so here’s the new category: Scary Stuff. Not exactly original, but the only thing original about slashers is what you put into them (if you think about that it does ring true).

DEATH

The film poster for “Final Destination” because as I’ve said, there’s no picture of Death.

Of all the slashers I’ve ever seen, this one has got to be the most supernatural of them all. I mean, how can you top Death Itself? And the kicker is you never see Death, except for a shadow reflected in certain surfaces. Most of the time you only see his handiwork, Rube Goldberg-like plots that kill anyone who evades Death when it deems you have to die. So creepy.

I’ve only seen the first Final Destination and parts of the second, but definitely see the first. It will blow your mind (not literally!).

THE MINER

Also known as Harry Warden, this killer hails from the Canadian film My Bloody Valentine and its remake. Nobody knows who is really behind that miner’s mask; is it the madman Harry Warden, who went on a rampage one Valentine’s Day and threatened to kill anyone should they try celebrating Valentine’s Day again? Or is it a copycat, someone demented enough to dawn that miner’s suit and kill all the teens in town?

I’ve only seen the remake so far, which but for the ending was good. However, I hear the good one is the original, which I hope to get my hands on soon. Hopefully before the next Valentine’s Day.

The Miner in the remake. Freaky!

GHOSTFACE

Ah, the Scream movies. Wait…let’s start that over. AAAAAAH! The Scream movies! Much better.

Bringing a renaissance to the slasher genre, Ghostface was the killer in every Screamfilm, and each time the person (not just the actor, but the character too!) behind the mask was a different character and had different reasons for wanting to kill main character Sydney Prescott and everyone around her. The killer wears a Grim Reaper cloak and a mask based on Edvard Munch’s The Scream (oh, that makes so much sense), which in the Scream universe is a costume available at any costume store. Also, the killer uses a special device that changes his/her voice to a single, murderous voice and calls the victim before killing them.

Ghostface; he’s much scarier than he looks.

The Scream films were part slasher, part mystery (who was doing the killing and why?) and part satire, as they examined all the conventions of previous famous slasher films, used them, and made fun of them. Still, don’t think these films are comedic–they’re anything but. If you want comedy, see the parody film Scary Movie, which is mostly based on Scream.

I reccommend the first two films, as they were good and scary. The other two just feel recycled, unfortunately.

CONCLUSIONS

So, here are my favorite slashers. If you want to know what makes a good slasher film, let me know. Otherwise I plan to not write again on this subject for a while so as not to scare off any conservative readers. All for now. Bye.

Oh, and check out my last post so as to vote in the poll I’ve set up, if you haven’t already.

Review: Men In Black III

Posted: May 27, 2012 in Review
Tags: , ,
0

Men in Black III movie poster

I’m skeptical of most movies involving time travel. Besides the fact that I loathe the concept (just too much moral considerations, and that’s after you can get past all the considerations involving what could happen if…? It plays too much of the mind), it’s a really tough concept to sell to critics and moviegoers, especially considering how much we know about [the impossibility of] time travel.

Thankfully Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin did not disappoint. They were funny, they were serious, they were actually kind of sweet, and they balanced it all out very well. There were only two problems I had with the film: Will Smith did not do his signature, high-toned “Whoo!”; and the ending involving K’s tip and the satellite/meteor collision made no sense (I doubt the guys who write Touch would be able to make those two connect!). Other than that, the film definitely deserves it’s 4.7 out of 5.

Oh, and when you go to see the film, you will have the added delight of seeing the preview of the new Bond movie SkyFall. Check it out, it’s awesome!!! I’m geeking out already.

Post-It Note Prank: Why This High School Is Overreacting.

Posted: May 16, 2012 in Living and Life
Tags: , , , ,
0

So I log onto my computer barely five minutes ago, planning to check my email and whatever before I start on the last bit of homweork for today. On AOL News, I see this article about students getting suspended for a senior prank. Curious, I click on it. What I found shocked me: a bunch of students had come into their high school over the weekend with the help of the custodian, and they had preceded to cover up the hallway in colorful little sticky notes. For that, they got suspended for being in the school after hours without permission and the custodian was fired for helping.

Funny thing though: my junior year of high school, the graduating seniors did the same thing to my high school and got away with it! I’m not kidding, they came back from a convention (most of the school belongs to the same regional youth group, and the school sets a few short weeks based on these conventions) and went through the school putting up sticky notes. One of the teachers, who was chaperoning the convention, later was heard saying, “Oh, so that was why they were all agreeing to meet up at Staples!”

Those seniors didn’t get in trouble for it, and I could understand why; it was hilarious! Imagine walking into the high school wing of the school and seeing the entire hallway covered in sticky notes! It’s a gas. The only thing the seniors really had to do was clean up the mess after a day or two.

So do I think the high school in the news article is overreacting? Yes, I do! It was a harmless prank, and the worst thing that could happen would be that the sticky notes wouldn’t get put in a recycling bin. The students shouldn’t have been suspended, and that janitor should be allowed back with retroactive pay and a bonus. Apparently, some of the students at the school agree with me too, because they’ve been having sit-down protests since this whole thing started. Go get ’em, guys!

I’m putting the article’s link below. Tell me what you think after you read it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/16/post-it-note-prank-cascade-high-school_n_1521649.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk2%26pLid%3D161526

Review: Castle Season Finale (Plus Some Predictions)

Posted: May 8, 2012 in Predictions, Review
Tags: , , ,
0

(The following post contains some spoilers)

Okay, so last night I’m watching the final episode of Season 4 of Caslte and–finally!–Castle and Beckett hook up! It was what every fan of the show has been waiting for over the course of four years! Along with that, Beckett has resigned from the police force after another near-brush with death and identifying the man who shot her (who I’m pretty sure played Paul in Dollhouse). The tension was unbearable, the confession scene was heartbreaking, and when they finally hooked up, ABC couldn’t show us that much because the FCC would fine them. Other than that last part, a great episode. 4.7 out of 5, with 0.3 taken off for leaving us on a cliffhanger ending!

Alright, now onto my predictions  for the inevitable season 5 that will occur(I do so love to rant about what I think will happen in a show, I just rarely get to do it):

Now first, Beckett off the force. I know I should cover the relationship of Castle and Beckett, but I have to cover this because Beckett and Castle’s relationship was founded on solving crimes. Well, Beckett will probably go rogue for maybe 3 episodes at the most, but she’ll be allowed back on the force by Captain Gates, with a few conditions. How it’ll happen, I’ll leave that up to speculation.

Second, Castle and Beckett’s relationship: obviously fans might get bored since the romantic tension isn’t there anymore, but I say that it’s fun to see a fledgeling couple who work together figure things out. Caslte and Beckett will have to get used to each other in a whole new way, and they’ll have to learn to work together as lovers and not just partners. Also, expect at least one or two fights along the way.

Third, the cliffhanger: either that Mr. Smith we finally met for the first time at the end of the episode is going to live and find some way to hold the men who want to kill Beckett at bay, or he’ll die, but his information will still be hidden, so we won’t find out who’s trying to kill Beckett till the end of the season at least. Annoying, I know, but they have to hold the best stuff for last or people will lose interest.

Fourth, new episode ideas (I had such fun coming up with these ideas for new cases):

1. A writer friend of Castle’s turns to his help when murders from his book start happening in the real world (Castle could be annoyed that Beckett’s paying so much attention to this writer).

2. A hard-core anime fan gets murdered, leaving a trail of questions, especially since some stuff in his collection gets stolen (so many jokes, so many anime fans to potentially offend, but it’d be worth it).

3. A powerful lawyer gets killed right before a big case, setting off a political maelstrom that impedes the investigation.

4. A new law prevents Castle and Beckett from investigating someone’s murder, which could be racially motivated (I’d love to see the characters’ views on a case like Trayvon’s).

5. A murder brings up an old case for Captain Gates, putting Beckett, Castle, and Gates in close proximity for this case (bullets will metaphorically fly).

6. A series of seemingly unrelated murders are apparently related, as all the victims seem to have connections to Castle’s mother, including her ex-husband and a former rival actress. Could this also mean Castle’s life in danger?

7. A murder leads back to the government, and Castle’s supposed father.

8. A murder brings up an old case of Captain Gates, and puts Castle and Gates in closer proximity than the latter would like.

9. The final showdown with 3XK.

And for minor plot points: Alexis will be around less and have college problems; Castle’s mother will be around more; Gates may actually come to like Castle, especially if he saves her life; Esposito gets a new girlfriend (and gets razzed for it); and old flames for Beckett and Castle keep showing up.

Those are my predictions. Thanks for reading my rant, Castle shippers everywhere. Have a good one.

Review: Vanessa Bayer & John Mulaney

Posted: April 20, 2012 in Living and Life, Review
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

Alright, so last night I went to Ohio State’s Union (yes, I’m naming my university now; since the article came up and my stats went through the roof, people have obviously seen the article and know the Pulse is an OSU publication, so what’s the point in hiding it now?) to see Vanessa Bayer and John Mulaney perform. Now Vanessa Bayer is a cast member of SNL, and you know how I love SNL, right? So I was super excited to see her live. John Mulaney I was less familiar with, but I found myself liking him very much, as you’ll soon see.

So, the show started out with a surprise opening act by (and I hope he’ll forgive me if I spell his name wrong) Shen Wang: a Chinese-American comedian from New York with a deep voice and the funniest drunk idiot stories about himself. He was pretty good, and he really connected to the audience, pointing out that our mascot was a poisonous tree nut. Smooth, man.

Then Vanessa Bayer came on, and boy was she awesome! She made fun of herself, of what she was like in college, she even showed us a video she’d made when she’d tried one of those dating video services. It was just great to see her live and hear her do her Miley impersonation. Huh-lare-eee-ose!

Vanessa Bayer, John Mulaney, and a very blurry Shen Wang. So sorry about the quality of the photo.

And finally, John Mulaney with his stories of black-outs, and his making-fun of whatever was on people’s T-shirts. This uy was great; he even told us about how he was confused for an Asian American woman as a child (strangely) and made fun of Law & Order: SVU, or more specifically, Ice-T’s character. Great job.

All in all, I gave the show–which I assume is playing in some other city right about now–a 5 out of 5. (And for those of you who think I don’t do any bad reviews, I just haven’t seen any bad shows or movies lately. But seriously, do you want me to recommend bad stuff or good stuff to you?)

 

Review: The Hunger Games Film

Posted: March 23, 2012 in Review
Tags: , , ,
0

Movie poster for "The Hunger Games", in theaters now.

I’m going to state this at the beginning of this post, I’ve never read The Hunger Games. Not even a page. It’s the same dilemma I had with The Help; you try to get the books but the reserve list is incredibly long, you can’t go out and buy it because you have a student budget and the oppurtunity to see the movie is right in front of you!

Moving on…

Alright, I went in knowing only that a teenage girl decides to participate in a battle-to-the-death reality-TV survival game in order to spare her sister, teams up with a boy from her town in order to gain the sympathy vote by pretending to be lovers even though she likes someone back home, and that the novels were very distopic in nature.

Well, I ended up liking the film. In fact, I loved it! Oh boy, was it superbly made! The special effects were awesome, the drama and terror felt so real, and the actors really brought the characters to life. A high-five to Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark; he really touched us all as a simple country boy with a heart of gold.

I’d also like to commend the director, Gary Ross, for his excellent work at building suspense: the scene where the mutant bulldogs show up, it felt like I was watching one of the better Friday the 13ths; building suspense, a lull where you don’t feel so scared anymore, and then wham! it jumps out and gets you! Even if you know the tactic they’re using to get you, it’s still quite the shock.

And finally, I’d like to commend the costume designers: the way you dressed up the denizens of the capital versus those in the districts? My God, even if their clothes are not as nice, I’d rather live in a district than dress like the people in the capital. Their fashion was so obscene to me I nearly retched in disgust.

My rating for this movie, a 5 out of 5, for getting a guy who knew next to little about the story, seriously considering getting the books and forget the reserve list.

Now if only the girl next to me would’ve not shushed me everytime I reacted to something when she was gabbing to the person next to her the whole film, that’d be great.

Older Entries
Newer Entries