My Issue With Korra from The Legend of Korra - Informal Essay

          She complains every season about how she’s not strong enough. She gives up too easily when this happens instead of training to be stronger. This at times made her appear mentally weak to me. It always has to be about her over others never fully realizing how she’s supposed to be there for the nations. Same for when she’s in a relationship with Mako. Always has to be about her. I feel bad for Asami haha.

          She’s too rash and makes really poor decisions. She never thinks things through which always leads to her downfall. And like always, Tenzin is there at the end of the season telling her what to do even though he kept telling her what to do in the beginning, but she never listens to him anyway because “she knows better” I guess. She always has to fight alone because she’s the avatar and only she can do it, but she has a strong group of friends she can depend on but hardly ever uses them. She only uses them when there’s a fight.

          Just this season alone (Book 4), it irritated me how much I couldn’t like her. I understand she went through a near-death experience, but when you go through it alone, of course you’re not going to get better. You need time to heal, but even so, she did the opposite and just fought herself because she was too afraid during a time when people needed her the most. She kept the mercury inside of her because she was too afraid to keep fighting because she didn’t want to die. Her role is that of the Avatar who is supposed to think of protect the world no matter if your life is at risk.

          Then there’s the situation when Kuvira is attacking Republic City. They never really planned out a strategy for fighting Kuvira which was really dumb on the creators part because all it took was to wait an episode or two to finally come up with one which during the events of the show probably lasted like 30 minutes after Korra escaped. I mean the best they could come up with was that they believed a tiny army of benders could take out Kuvira, but Kuvira has a freaking Gundam with a spirit laser cannon that can pierce through mountains.  -__-   I still don’t understand why she was even there if they were just going to make her run away to hide at their base to come up with a solid plan when she could have just been there making one while Kuvira was telling President Raiko to surrender.

          I kinda compare her a lot to Aang which is kinda my fault because you never really see these types of faults in him since he actually relied on his friends and listened to guidance from Roku and others. Korra had Tenzin, but she hardly ever listened to what he had to say or really bothered to give him a chance every season (i.e. book 2). He was there to be her Roku but she didn’t use him most of the time! Aang had to bear the weight of losing a whole nation while having to risk his life in order to stop the entire fire nation when he was 12!!! THEN FIGHT THE FIRE LORD ON THE DAY FIREBENDERS WERE AT THEIR STRONGEST!!!!! I understand that he came with his faults, but he never complained at the extent Korra did (Korra complains A LOT). He cared about others more than Korra did, and he actually trained harder than Korra did.

          That’s why I thought it was gutsy of the creators to cut off Aang from ever appearing again because I bet there were a lot of people like me who constantly compared her to Aang which is really unfair to her character. But when you’re coming off a show as good as the original, you really shouldn’t waste your time developing a character in a show with only 12 episodes. You have to grow quickly, but they just never let her grow. I do feel bad because it can also be attributed to how strong of a supporting cast the show had which only get better as the show progressed.

The Boxtrolls (2014): Charming and Delightful

            I found the Boxtrolls to be one of my favorite animated movies of this year. It might even have the potential of making my top 10 animated films of this new decade, but it’s still too early for that thanks to the powerhouses known as Disney and Pixar. It felt refreshing to finally watch an animated Claymation based movie. I am a big fan of this art-style for movies because I feel like it adds something unique and special because of the dedication and patience needed to finish a feature film of this scale. I sincerely hope this art-form does not die off and continues.

Back to the review, it takes place in a world where humans live in the outside world while creatures known as Boxtrolls live underground. These Boxtrolls only come out at night to take random objects they find appealing be it junk or household items. One night, a man known as Archibald Snatcher tells the mayor of a Boxtroll who has taken a human child which starts a chain of events as a deal was set in place between the mayor and Snatcher that ultimately leads to the hunting of boxtrolls every night until every boxtroll is eliminated in exchange for membership in the White Hats. These White Hats are a prestigious group of men who love cheese and eat it at every meeting. That child that the boxtrolls took soon becomes one of their own as he later becomes the bridge between the upper human and the underground boxtroll worlds.

The Boxtrolls is such a heartwarming animated feature that is about these misunderstood creatures that they happen to call “Boxtrolls” because they look like trolls who happen to be wearing boxes as clothing.  It was charming and at time gross, but I had a lot of fun watching it. Every character had a purpose and fit right in the movie where at times the Boxtrolls appeared to resemble the minions from the Despicable Me franchise. It’s themes of not trusting a book by its cover works well throughout the film against the poor Boxtrolls. Ironically, you could not hate the Boxtrolls at all because they expressed the simplest form of human nature which was innocence. It was even stated in the movie that they would never hurt anyone or fight back. I empathized with them while also hating some of the humans of the upper world. Their greed and arrogance was also a common theme that the creators explored in a world where cheese determined wealth and social status. Other themes I found were the importance of a parent or guardian, the value of family as well as what makes a family, learning to fight for what is right, and taking a stance for what you believe in.

I absolutely loved this movie and I’m pretty sure so would a lot of children given that it has wonderful creatures and a great cast of characters. Besides Snatcher’s severe allergic reactions to cheese which are the grossest parts of the movie, this is a delightful movie for all ages to enjoy. I would give this movie a B+/A-. I’m split on this movie because there are parts where it could appear a bit boring and the plot lingers for a while especially in the last 30 minutes of the movie. Either way, I recommend giving the movie a watch with the entire family.

Movies Left to Watch From 2014

Here are some of the films from 2014 I still have to watch before I start making a “Top # List” (I'll continue to add and delete as I finish some of these or find more I should add; might push me into 2015 because I've missed quite a few of these):

·         A Walk Among the Tombstones

·         Begin Again

·         Big Hero 6

·         Birdman

·         CitizenFour

·         Dracula Untold

·         Force Majeure

·         Foxcatcher

·         Fury

·         Get On Up

·         Ida

·         Jersey Boys

·         John Wick

·         Life Itself

·         Locke

·         Lucy

·         Magic in the Moonlight

·         Men, Women, and Children

·         Mommy

·         Mr. Turner

·         Only Lovers Left Alive

·         Sils Maria

·         St. Vincent

·         The Babadook

·         The Book of Life

·         The Double

·         The Equalizer

·         The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

·         The Imitation Game

·         The Judge

·         The November Man

·         The One I love

·         The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

·         The Theory of Everything

·         Two Days, One Night

·         Whiplash

New:

·         If I Stay

·         The Mazerunner

Nightcrawler (2014) Review

            When it comes to movies, what matters to you? Do you care more for performances and characters or the story?  I, for one, can only answer this once I’ve finished the movie because no matter what, my answer will always change. In this case, I don’t really know which one I’d choose. I really can’t say much about this movie without spoiling parts of the movie, but what I can say is that Jake Gyllenhaal deserves an Academy Award nomination for his role as Louis Bloom. It’s his role in Nightcrawler that made me wish he would be the Joker for the DC Cinematic Universe. It’s seriously that good.

            Nightcrawler is basically about a man named Louis Bloom who drives around Los Angeles recording accidents and crimes in order to sell it to local news stations. It doesn’t really sound all that appealing, I know, but then you have to take into consideration that Gyllenhaal is playing a sociopath and it becomes an incredibly dark and creepy movie. Because of this, Lou does not feel what he does throughout the course of the movie is wrong even though some of his actions are illegal. Yet, you can’t help but want to watch how far his character is willing to go in order to get what he wants. And let me tell you, he gets what he wants. He never went to college, yet he talks as if he has a major in English, but he also has a vast knowledge of many things due to constant attention to his computer. It’s through these skills which he has mastered that he is able to dominate at being a “nightcrawler”.

            The supporting characters are great, especially Rene Russo. She’s the only one Lou really respects and trusts throughout this movie, and she’s quite a powerful character herself. Given that she controls her news station, she has to be strong in order to gain control over her business with Lou. Then there’s Rick who’s played by Riz Ahmed. He’s a man who desperately needs money, so he becomes Lou’s assistant throughout the movie. He essentially is what humanizes the movie for me. Without Rick to constantly tell you what Lou is doing is both ethically wrong and illegal, you wouldn’t even realize how insane Lou really is. Because without Rick, all you’re witnessing is a madman prowling the night for a lead in order to sell it to the highest bidder. Rick essentially assumes the role of the viewer and how any sane person would react in a night out with Lou.

            When it comes to the plot and script of the story, I have to admit that it’s not the best in the world. It does drag on with some unnecessary scenes in a movie that relies on its images. Since it has to heavily rely on what it’s showing you, the dialogue is at times weak especially when an exchange is happening between a character and Lou. I attribute this to how developed and focused they made the Lou character without really taking the other characters into consideration. There’s a detective, for instance, who is supposed to be tough and can take on Lou’s personality, but she ultimately fails pretty badly. It’s through these instances where I feel they never really fleshed out the rest of the cast, but then again, all anyone cares about, including the viewer, is Lou. Even the plot could have had some work done, but like I said, we’re only really watching it for Lou.

            Nightcrawler isn’t about a man’s descent into madness. The man is already mad. It’s his actions that really define the movie. This along with the powerful Renee Russo and the humanizing Riz Ahmed as Rick, make the movie an enjoyable watch from start to finish. I give it a B+ for an original yet creepy story about a sociopath who has to get what he wants. Overall, I don’t feel like it deserves a Best Picture nomination, but it does deserve some Best Actor and Actress nominations for some amazing performances.

Boyhood (2014) or Adulthood

My Take on Boyhood

            First off, I enjoyed Boyhood for the simple fact that it was in fact a cinematic achievement. One can not ignore this especially when watching the movie as it runs its course through the lives of its characters.  Given this, I understand why many consider it to be the best film of the year, but then I also understand why some may call it a gimmick.

For those who aren’t familiar with the movie, it’s simply a slice-of-life, 12 years in the making film “project” about a young boy’s growth and experiences. However, we do not necessarily witness the major experiences in his life. How I saw it, it mostly takes place, almost at random times, between those key periods. You never really see him have his first beer, his first girlfriend, driving a car for the first time, or even his first time having sex. It’s simply a “what is currently going on with this boy this summer” type of movie. The transitions of him growing up are incredible because you don’t fully realize them until you start to see changes in the characters even if they are minor like Ethan Hawke’s character growing a moustache. Couple with great performances by Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke made the movie incredibly relatable and all the more heartfelt.

Now, it’s time I start explaining the faults I had with it. The main problem for me was that the two children characters were either too annoying or too depressing. The daughter, played by Lorelei Linklater, was extremely annoying as she herself continued to grow older. It then became painfully obvious that she was a useless character in the movie. I understand that it is a slice-of-life movie and that nothing really should happen, but her character hardly even talked. Plus, she was hardly even in it. I really could have done without her whiny character. It wasn’t even her movie, and she added some truly insensitive moments such as when her mom is going through financial hardship. You could even tell her character did not care at all towards the end about how her mom felt. I just really could not stand her. Ellar Coltrane’s character of Mason wasn’t as bad as Linklater’s Samantha, but it was mainly due to the fact that it was accumulating instead of being shoved in your face all at once. He was very depressing in his too carefree attitude and his sometimes pessimistic view at the world. His “I don’t care what people think” attitude just continued to grow as he aged to the point where I did not care about the character at all. Towards his final three years, I just wanted the film to be over. It literally became almost unbearable to watch because no person can act the way these two children, because that’s how they acted, in real life. Given that I graduated a big high school a few years ago, I don’t ever recall anyone that resembles either of these two.

The story of Boyhood should have been called Adulthood. To me, it was the tragic story of a single mom who has to care for two children while not having a well-paying job, and when she does decide to go to college, it becomes her downfall. You simply assume that college will help you towards a better life, but Olivia Evans, Patricia Arquette, was not that lucky. Either through a teacher or a student, she never found the husband she truly deserved. The one she did deserve, however, came at a time too late for her simply because she did not have the patience to wait for him. Ultimately, the movie ends with her realizing that her life was for nothing except to have two children who did not really care about her, and now she was to live alone having had terrible luck with men.

If Boyhood was all about Olivia Evans, I would have loved this movie more. Ethan Hawke’s character of Mason Evans Sr. would have served well if the movie was also called Adulthood. You see the growth of his character from a single dad who has to ultimately grow up to be the father his children need even if that means having to give up his prized car for a minivan. His character humanized the movie even more for me because you witnessed what it was like for the other half of a divorcee that really wasn’t struggling by having to raise two children. Even though he did not have stable jobs as he matured as a person, once he had to take care of two more people in his life, his character was given the satisfaction of finally being an adult that is able to care for his family by being the husband his family needed. In the long run, divorcing Olivia was the best decision Hawke’s character could have done because it enabled him to grow.

All in all, this movie was great watch and a solid A. You feel invested in these characters’ lives and how they themselves grow both physically and mentally. Despite having issues with the two children, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette’s performances are what made this movie worth watching. Because it is a slice-of-life movie, it can appear as a gimmick. But once you really delve into the movie’s meanings, it is so much more. Overall, this movie deserves an A both for its simple story, yet its breathtaking cinematic achievement. I did not want to talk much about this achievement because I feel it would have detracted from the movie if you only saw it as a 12-year film in the making. But once you've watched it, you'll see how much of an achievement it really is.

Golden Age of Comic Book Movies

            I am a fan of Twitter. You know why? I’m able to get tweets sent directly to my phone as texts. Yes, I know I can just check the Twitter app, but when you follow a lot of people, getting to see what you really want to see might take a while. That’s why I like getting notifications sent to my phone. Probably my favorite one’s to get these type of notifications from are Schmoes Know. They are an awesome group of people that love movies as much as anyone. And thanks to them, I am fanboying to its fullest extent right now. That’s because I just read that Warner Bros released the full DC movies lineup and oh boy! (Yes, I know the CEO stated the lineup, but I’m just saying I read it from Schmoes Know first.) Let’s do this. Here’s the lineup :

·         Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice – March 25, 2016

·         The Suicide Squad – August 5, 2016

·         Wonder Woman – June 23, 2017

·         Justice League Part One -November 12, 2017

·         The Flash – March 23, 2018

·         Aquaman – July 27, 2018

·         Shazam – April 5, 2019

·         Justice League Part Two – June 14, 2019

·         Cyborg – April 3, 2020

·         Green Lantern– June 19, 2020

First off, we are set until 2020 guys! That being said, I don’t see a “Man of Steel 2” or a Batman movie. I’m actually surprisingly OK with that. Over the many years since the creation of Superman and Batman, all we got on TV or in movies were Superman and Batman. That’s part of why everyone knows who these two characters are. We have been exposed to just these two titans which is why they’re so iconic. It’s come to the point where our lives have become oversaturated with Batman and Superman.

By giving stand-alone movies to these other DC characters, Warner Bros is planning to show off what the lesser-known characters are all about. Seriously, Cyborg or Shazam (be it Black Adam or Shazam) are the least recognizable to the general public. If you take a moment to look at the schedule in the eyes of a person who isn’t as well-versed in the DC universe, they are looking at the schedule like this:

·         YAY! BATMAN V SUPERMAN! Superman is going to kill Batman. There’s no way Batman has a chance. It’s not even a contest. Batman’s stupid if he thinks he’ll last more than 10 seconds with Superman. Why are they even fighting? Aren’t they best friends?

·         Suicide Squad? I don’t know how I feel about that. Suicide Squad is not an appropriate title especially for children to go out and see.

·         Finally a Wonder Woman movie!

·         Justice League! So it’s a movie just like the Avengers? How do you think it’s going to go? Are they going to come together to fight aliens? So it’s just like the Avengers then. Oh, they’re supposed to fight an alien that is really smart and is crazy good with technology and stuff like that? Then it’s Avengers 2.

·         The Flash? Isn’t there already a TV show about him where lightning gave him abs? What’s his name? Bart Allen?

·         Aquaman sucks. They’re giving a movie to a guy who can’t fight on land! The Big Bang Theory would always say he sucks.

·         Shazam sounds really lame. Imagine you’re at a football game and you yell out Shazam when your team scores a touchdown. You’re gonna look stupid.

·         Another Avengers movie?

·         Is he the Terminator?

·         HEY! I KNOW HIM! IT’S THAT MOVIE WITH RYAN REYNOLDS!

So basically, these movies have to be great in order for the public to truly accept them. One thing I’ve noticed is that the Shazam movie isn’t until 2019. I just don’t understand why we kept getting teased about the Rock as Black Adam if his movie isn’t until 2019. Yes, I know he’ll be in the first Justice League movie, but that just seems really odd to me. Also, the fact that they’ve casted Ezra Miller as the Flash isn’t sitting well with me. Don't get me wrong. I've enjoyed his performances everytime he's onscreen. It’s probably because I’m a fan of the Flash TV show (so far), and I just really like Grant Gustin’s character as Barry Allen. Because of that, I feel that Miller might end up playing Wally West. This, to me, seems very likely especially if the Flash continues to air and continues to be a positive success for the CW. WB has to keep in mind that the new movie Flash will have an effect on TV Flash. Just like if they ended up casting a separate Green Arrow for their movie universe or if a different person is casted as Batman for the Arrow TV show.

All in all, I’m just crazy excited knowing that we could potentially have 6-7 (2-3 Marvel, 2 WB, 1 or 2 Fox, and 1 Sony if they can ever make a proper plan for Spidey) comic book movies every year until 2020. That’s not even counting movies based on graphic novels or other lesser known comics such as a possible Hellboy 3 that might not ever be made unfortunately. Otherwise, there is a lot to look for to if you are a fan of comics in general. 

So Little Time...

It's tough juggling life when attending college full-time. Most, if not almost all, of my free time has been dedicated to just working on homework and studying. Therefore, I must apologize for not spending as much time on this.

I can assure you that even though I may not be posting about movies, I really do in fact love them. Just recently (basically today), I saw David Fincher’s Gone Girl. Before that, I had gone to Target to purchase the blu-ray steelbook release of Edge of Tomorrow (or Live. Die. Repeat. Or whatever they’ll change it to next). I had begun to waver in my decision to continue to collect blu-rays. Once I finally opened it, I knew I could not stop. I have so much fun buying movies I enjoy and know I will watch again.

Back to Gone Girl, I am basically a David Fincher fanboy. I’m also a fanboy to other directors, but I’ll stick to talking about Fincher for right now. (Also, what is a fanboy?) Up to the release for the movie, I was worried we would not get a “solid” Fincher movie. From all the trailers I saw, it did not seem to fit the style Fincher had developed after all these years. I can assure you that he did not disappoint. At first, it does not even seem like a Fincher film. I swear, in the beginning, I thought it would end up being some average mystery movie where the story would never eventually develop. Thankfully, I was incredibly wrong…I’m noticing this is turning into a review…I didn’t mean to do that. I’ll end my thoughts on Gone Girl here until I post a short review about it.

Anyways, because Gone Girl dispelled all this worry I had about it, I am even more in love with film. I also feel that it’s a good movie to start the Oscar season with especially with October being stacked with some big Oscar players. It’s also almost inspired me to kind of want to write a screenplay or a book of my own. I know it takes a lot of work, but I just feel like that aspect, be it literature or film, would be a lot of fun. Therefore, I think it would be wise for me to continue on with this blog since I really like talking (or typing, but whatever) about how movies impact me. Since I am a full-time student, this might even give me more incentive to work even harder in school than I already am since I am now going to dedicate a portion of my time to this blog.

I promise you, I am not done and I will not quit. Good luck my friends. :D

Rushmore (1998) Short Review

I love this movie. It’s probably one of my all-time favorites. It’s simple, yet it has lots of depth behind it. I liked how it’s about a kid in high school who is quite grown up, but at the same time, he has a lot to learn before. It’s truly a movie I would recommend.

        I loved how the movie portrayed Max Fisher. I never saw him as a child, even when he was in either of his schools. I really ended up feeling for the guy as he struggled with his affections for Rosemary, yet I knew it was an impossible goal for him to reach because of the age differences.

I ended up taking issue with 2 characters, namely Bill Murray’s character, Henry Blume, and the character of Margaret Yang. Henry, in my opinion, was boring and dull and, at times, felt flat. I didn’t feel like he had any depth. Yes, he was struggling with his own life, but that was pretty much it. I didn’t end up caring for the guy. This is probably attributed to my strong attachment to Max Fischer who was played wonderfully by one of my favorite actors, Jason Schwartzman. As for Margaret Yang, she was unnecessary to the overall plot of the film. She was only in the movie to basically sway the viewer from wanting Max to be with Rosemary Cross. It was obvious from the beginning that Max and Margaret would end up together in the end. That bothered me somewhat, but I ultimately went along with it.

So overall, I give this film an A- but I’m debating whether it deserves a B+ instead. Look, I really enjoyed this film, but the secondary characters fall short of my expectations. Too many felt unnecessary and almost useless. But nevertheless, this movie’s story feels incredibly relatable since I’m pretty sure most of us have had feelings for someone we probably know will never reciprocate those feelings, as well as the inevitable notion that all of us have to grow up at some point. By growing up, we must give up some of the things we enjoy. In Max’s case, he has to give up the many extracurricular activities he participates in, so that he may raise his grades which help him for the long-run in terms of his education. And with that education, he can gain acceptance into a good university to which he would learn a trade that better suits him instead of having to become a barber like his father. Even his father acknowledges that he does not want his son to be a barber like him meaning he wants Max to be something. And after this movie, you could tell he has that potential. All in all, it’s a wonderful film that many can enjoy.

Wes Anderson Binge Watch

       The Title of the post says it all. I’m currently binge watching Wes Anderson’s movies, meaning the one’s he’s written (even co-written) and directed. Currently, before the writing of this post, I’ve seen Bottle Rocket, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and, of course, Fantastic Mr. Fox. From these 3 movies, I’ve been able to distinguish some common traits especially the wackiness of his films, yet I like how they don’t really delve into become comedies. I’m really interested in writing a few reviews for all of these, so I think that might be done in the upcoming days, so stay tuned for those.

       And well, I’ve been watching these in order of their release date. I enjoy watching movies from directors in this way simply because you’re able to see them develop and master their style and vision. And even in some cases, I really like how at one point in their career, they just do the opposite of what you expect from them. So the ones I have left to watch are Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, and Moonrise Kingdom. I’ve seen only one trailer for each of these, and I must say, I am like freaking excited. I also think it’s interesting how in many movies of Wes Anderson’s we get to see Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. Being new to movies, I never would have associated Owen Wilson with some of the movies he’s done with Wes Anderson since I’ve always seen him as the pretty boy who’s only in romantic comedies. I like how I’m currently being proven wrong. As for Bill Murray, I think I’ve only seen him in only a couple of movies, so I don’t really know much about him. But well, we’ll see how this binge goes. Starting with Rushmore tonight, having just finished watching Bottle Rocket, which I really enjoyed. Hopefully I’ll get to The Royal Tenenbaums and Life Aquatic tonight. 

The Flash TV Show (2014) First Impressions

          I was shocked to have found out that the pilot for the new Flash spin-off had leaked online almost a month ago.  So of course, I had to check it out. Therefore, this first impression really won’t have major spoilers, just explanations of what I saw regarding Easter eggs, but I am still going to give my thoughts on the episode and outlook of the show as a whole. However, it won't necessarily be a review either. I do caution when reading this though.

          First off, I’ve really liked the Barry Allen character since his appearance on Arrow. I grew up a Wally West fan where I only saw him as THE Flash, so it sort of took me a while to get used to Barry as Flash especially in Young Justice and on Arrow. And boy, I am excited to see where this show is going. I like how this episode sort of continued from the Flash episodes on Arrow, yet it still showed what he did when he arrived in Central City before the collapse of the Particle Accelerator.  When you see the STAR Labs team, it makes you wonder if there were ever more employees and what kind of people they had to have been since the group we’re shown are so different from each other. The head of STAR Labs, Dr. Harrison Wells, always struck me as a villain in the trailer for the show, and you kind of get that same vibe when he’s on screen. Because he’s this shows’ John Diggle, as in created solely for the show, you don’t really know what route the showrunners are planning to do. I would love it if they made him a villain. Being a villain would counteract how Diggle is Oliver’s voice of reason and conscious, while Wells could make a great foil to Barry so as to not have to use Zoom too early on in the show. 
      Transitioning to Barry, the charm his character had in Arrow is almost completely gone in this episode. Basically, we don’t really get a nerdy, suave, confident Barry. What we do end up with is a more reserved individual who has that typical friend-zone struggle. Also, this show is about him, yet he almost felt nonexistent at times where the focus of the episode shifts to secondary characters. However, he is still very likable, but he has a different type of aura about him this time.

In regards to secondary characters, I took issue with two specifically. Iris West’s dad, Joe West, felt much weaker especially when compared to other comic book police dads portrayed in recent live action media. I’m mainly referring to Gwen Stacy’s dad George Stacy (The Amazing Spiderman film series) and Laurel Lance’s dad Quentin Lance (Arrow TV Series). These two men are strong characters especially on-screen when they are dead-set on hunting these vigilante. Because of this, they actually help both heroes in having to prove to these men, who are the fathers of the women they love, that they are not just some vigilante in the way of the law, nor are they criminals. They are men who stand up for what they deem to be worth fighting for, risking their lives for citizens day in and day out. By proving their worth, they show what a real hero in that a hero must be a beacon of hope. But in The Flash, Joe West is not the guiding force Barry needs. That role ends up going to Dr. Wells. It almost makes you wonder if Joe West could become almost too expendable early on especially given the fact that he was Barry’s guardian for most of his life since the loss of someone you love always has a profound impact on the hero and provides a challenge to see what path they choose next. I don’t know if it was the actor, but unfortunately Joe West felt weak overall.

          Another character I wasn’t too fond of is the character Cisco Ramon. His role at this point is to be the anti-Felicity. He’s the tech expert, building Barry’s equipment, as well as the comic relief of the show…which can get annoying and cheesy. His character really has no substance at this point unlike his co-worker Caitlin Snow. I can almost make out that his role as the comic relief will wear thin. Hopefully they can build the character later on. This really takes away from his character since he’s supposed to be this incredibly smart tech guru that talks as if he’s in middle school. And yes, I know he’s supposed to be the youngest in STAR Labs, but wouldn’t he at least act a bit more like a scientist should especially given the situation they’re in?

The villain was mediocre. Defeated too easily by the often used Flash cliché of running the opposite direction to stop something like a tornado. Thought it was funny how quickly he became a hero to Central City almost overnight while it took ***SPOILER*** the Arrow two seasons and two major events to be considered one ***END OF SPOILER***. Also, the metahuman aspect sounds intriguing especially since Dr. Wells states that it has traversed into Starling City as well meaning more possible team-ups in the future with the Arrow??? We’ll see, but either way I can’t wait.

Overall, it was a good introductory episode. In some ways it could have been handled better especially in terms of the writing, but nonetheless, it’s basically an origin story. It is meant to simply give us a quick sense of the direction the show is supposed to go. No matter what, I’m still going to watch it. I’ll try to give my thoughts on the show here and there as it premieres. Also, one major development that has me a little uneasy is how easygoing it feels compared to most DC incarnations. I just hope it doesn’t get too cheesy and run its course almost like Smallville had with its characters and their costumes.

For those that want to know about some Easter Eggs I saw and have at least some sort of DC knowledge either through the comics or any other type of adaptations (i.e. animated works), continue reading, otherwise don’t since spoilers are likely. Also, bear in mind that these probably won't be in order of appearance and I might not cover all of them.

1.  We're told who killed Barry's mom indirectly. Most of us probably know who but I won't put who it was especially for casual fans. Took me a while to figure out who he was since I wasn't able to hear his first name correctly, but his last name gave it away. For those that don't know, I don't want to spoil the show for you, so I'll just say that he's in the Police Department building.
2. We see a frame of a cell with a name-plate on the bars with the word Grodd. Having just seen Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, I'd like to see the intelligent Gorilla Grodd ride a horse now haha.
3. John Wesley Shipp is Henry Allen, Barry's father, who once played Barry Allen on the previous Flash TV Series in 1990.
4. There's a reference to Bruce Wayne existing in this universe. No mention of Batman, but in a newspaper, it states that a merger has occurred among Wayne Tech and Queen Inc.
5. In that same newspaper, the title of Barry Allen's Flash missing ("Flash Missing, Vanishes in Crisis") can be a reference to Crisis on Infinite Earths where the Flash of another timeline dies, deeply affecting that timeline's Justice League. However, it could mean a number of things as well such as Infinite Crisis, or maybe even a new storyline by the writers.
6. Reference to Ferris Air which is the aviation corporation that employs future Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.
7. Not really a comic book reference, but Barry's dad Henry at one point yells "Run, Barry, Run!"

Godzilla (2014) Rant

        So I have a Cinemark theater in my town that shows movies a couple months (sometimes a few weeks) after their initial release for a $1. Because of this, I usually wait to see movies I feel are “dollar movie” worthy. Today, I finally watched Godzilla and I must say, it was definitely worth that dollar, but not more than that. I hated how it wasn’t a Godzilla movie. It’s a movie about a soldier whose main purpose is to make sure a nuclear bomb is launched on time…that’s it…with cameo appearances by Godzilla fighting these monsters…BRYAN CRANSTON WASN’T EVEN THE MAIN CHARACTER LIKE THEY MADE HIM APPEAR TO BE IN THE TRAILERS!!!!! He was in it for like a total of 15 minutes! Yet, even he had more screen-time than Godzilla! It just irked me beyond belief.

The few moments we had with Godzilla were great because by then, you’re practically falling asleep! Before the “fight” in San Francisco, I was yawning every minute which is attributed to Aaron Taylor Johnson’s character. He was boring and didn’t really do much to help the plot. I’m sorry, but Aaron Taylor Johnson could not carry this film. I know many like the guy. That’s cool. I, however, can not stand him when he’s on screen. I hated every time he talked during Kick-Ass, which is probably when I began my dislike of the guy. The run-time didn’t help either. It’s too long for a movie that is supposed to be about giant monsters duking it out.

The few moments we had with the King of Monsters was great. It’s tough to say that the fights were great since not much was shown. Every time he (or she? Wasn’t really established in the film so don’t know if it’s a continuation of classic Godzilla lore) roared, it made you feel how fearsome and powerful this beast is. My favorite moment has to be the final scene where Godzilla ***SPOILER*** finally takes out the female Muto with his blue flames of awesomeness ***END OF SPOILER***.

I'm sorry, but there were a few more cons I'd like to address. Ken Watanabe's character was useless. I love the guy, but they seriously mishandled his character. He literally did nothing the entire film. They never explained why he was even brought into the Janjira nuclear power plant. He never said anything. Even when the US Navy (if it's not the Navy, I forgot who it was) took over control of the monster situation, every time they showed him, he looked like a scared puppy the entire time who didn't know what to say besides "Let them fight". It bothered me how badly the script was written especially for a film that's 2 hours long. Also, I don't think radiation just magically disappears after 15 years. They really glared over that. Yes, you can assume that the Muto spore absorbed all the radiation, but I'm pretty sure there had to be some residue of it left, like Cranston's picture for example. I'm not an expert, but that's just what I assume. Also, when did the dang monster couple mate?! They mention that the male that just hatched is echoing a mating call, yet a day later, you see that the female in Nevada is pregnant...that doesn't make any sense. She's supposed to be the second Muto spore, but they ignore the fact that one of the spores from the beginning hatched and made its way into the sea. But during the movie, they make it seem like that's the female Muto that was in Nevada and ugh! I'm done. 

All in all, this movie is a C-. I knew what to expect coming into this, but that didn’t help at all. The movie makes you think otherwise such that it manipulates the idea that Godzilla or another monster is going to appear because of certain events, but it’s all a lie. Probably until halfway do you even see your first monster. Main cons were that it’s too long, Aaron Taylor Johnson, a couple plot holes and inconsistencies, and the big one…NOT ENOUGH GODZILLA!!!!!!! Sorry for this huge rant. :/

Godzilla First Impressions

First I'd like to start off by saying that to me, first impressions are meant to be short quick thoughts. Basically a couple paragraphs explaining what you thought about something is good enough. If it starts looking like an essay, then you should probably stop. I had to take my own advice when making this because it ended up becoming a long rant. Because I still want to post my rant with my grade of the movie, I’ll post this first reaction to Godzilla. Here you go:

For me, it was too long especially since Godzilla appears for basically less than 15 minutes altogether. I hated how the main character was Aaron Taylor Johnson (terrible character) when in the trailers, they clearly make Bryan Cranston appear to be the main guy. It was a human-centric movie that began to get more complicated and convoluted when it really didn’t have to. There were too many plot holes and inconsistencies regarding actions humans do and say. Rent it first before blind-buying it, otherwise, you’ll be very disappointed. 

My Thoughts on the Revealed Marvel Phase 4 Dates

For those that don't know, Marvel has revealed 5 new dates for their upcoming Phase 4. Here, I've added all the releases so far:
Phase 1:

  May 2, 2008: Iron Man
   June 13, 2008: The Incredible Hulk
   May 7, 2010: Iron Man 2
   May 6, 2011: Thor

   July 22, 2011: Captain America: The First Avenger
   May 4, 2012: The Avengers
    Phase 2:
   May 3, 2013: Iron Man 3
   November 8, 2013: Thor: The Dark World
   April 4, 2014: Captain America: Winter Soldier
   August 1, 2014: Guardians of the Galaxy
   May 1, 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron

   Phase 3-4:
  July 17, 2015: Ant-Man
   May 6, 2016: Captain America 3
   July 8, 2016: Doctor Strange?
   May 5, 2017: TBD
   July 28, 2017: TBD
   November 3, 2017: TBD
   July 6, 2018: TBD (Possibly Avengers 4)
   November 2, 2018: TBD
   May 3, 2019: TBD

           With Marvel releasing 3 movies in 2017 (f*** yeah!), I feel like they might play it safe with Thor 3, Guardians 2, and a mysterious one...I personally am hoping for Black Panther or Miss Marvel as final 2017 movie. Marvel’s had success with Thor and they are banking on Guardians being another success. Also, we’re probably not going to get another Iron Man movie since Robert Downey Jr. has 2 more movies left on his super expensive, lucrative contract. They might just save him for 2 Avengers movies before finally recasting the character.

Regarding Miss Marvel, she could be Marvel’s answer to DC’s Wonder Woman since that’s supposed to be the same year Justice League comes out. Also, it’s incredibly evident that there needs to be a female superhero soon which makes it all the more likely that it's Miss Marvel. They might even forego a stand-alone Miss Marvel for a Captain Marvel/Mar-Vell and Miss Marvel movie. That would then expand the extent of the MCU even more. All we’ve really had is Black Widow, but not even she’s been used that well. Regarding Black Panther, he’s always been the popular choice. Since the start of the Marvel cinematic universe, fans have been demanding a Black Panther movie. Some even believed he would come before a Doctor Strange movie since in many incarnations, he’s the next avenger to join when a new threat arrives. I’ve always thought Idris Elba would have been a perfect Black Panther, but now it appears less likely as time passes.

For the final 2 dates, I think Avengers 3 has to be July 16, 2018. Avengers is a straight-out summer blockbuster that will have basically everyone flock to go out and see it. I doubt they’d ever put it out in November, but not even we thought they’d release a Marvel movie in April, yet that worked really well. Also, if they were to go the Planet Hulk route, which seems really likely at this point from all that we’ve seen and heard, that would be a great way to end Avengers 3, especially in a teaser, and transition to Planet Hulk in Phase 4. We know that a hulkbuster armor is bound to come since the release of the concept art a few months ago which means the Hulk will eventually get out of control. This is what leads to the decision of sending the Hulk into space beginning the Planet Hulk storyline. And if they go Planet Hulk, I would think that would be the final film in Phase 4 before Avengers 4 which could ultimately be World War Hulk where the Hulk returns and craves revenge. 

Another interesting idea is that we might not even get a Black Panther movie until Phase 5! Think about it for a second: You need a Black Panther movie to introduce the character and see his back-story along with his struggle to become the future king of Wakanda (almost Lion King-ish). I've always like his story because he's a hero who isn't really a hero. The king is always considered the "Black Panther". He (T'Challa) takes up the mantle of the Black Panther in order to protect and defend his country due to many reasons, and he is the first of his people to go outside their customs and work with those outside his nation. Because of this, he is seen as the superhero Black Panther to the rest of the world when he joins the Avengers. Because of a threat too big for even a king to handle, he seeks the help of the Avengers which is where I believe it could set up Avengers 5 after establishing his movie first as well as our true introduction into vibranium.

But then it brings up the question, when will we get Thanos? He's too big of a villain to introduce this soon but they can’t wait too long since they've been setting him up since first Avengers and now with the new Guardians movie coming out. You don’t just introduce someone this huge and then decide you just don’t want to use him anymore. I think Marvel sort of botched it teasing Thanos if they never planned on using him. However, for all we know, they could make him the big baddie of Phase 3 and use Hulk, who is now a huge fan favorite at this point, for phase 4. However, wouldn’t you think you’d want to use the fan favorite and give him his own movie?

And now my final thought, if they wait too long on Thanos, we might not even have the cast we have now. RDJ’ll likely be gone, Chris Evans wants to get into directing, Chris Hemsworth is growing as an actor which means more opportunities which goes double for Scarlet Johansson, Jeremy Renner is starting to gain ground as an action star, and Mark Ruffalo isn’t going to wait forever for a Hulk movie. Basically, we might have an X-Men issue in which the cast will be too old to play their superhero roles such that, they are actors and I highly doubt that they'd want to play a single character their whole career. They have such a great cast right now. It would suck to see them go.

Thankfully, Marvel's a heck of a lot smarter than me so I'm pretty sure they have this down to the tiniest detail.

The Usual About This Blog Post

            First off, my real name does not contain Slyke. I am a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and, as I write this post, am currently watching a game on ESPN (since Time Warner can’t get it together with other TV companies). A player by the name of Scott Van Slyke just batted and I just thought “why not?” and decided to use his last name. It’s a cool looking and sounding name, don’t you think?

            Regarding the “Fantastic Mr.”, Wes Anderson fans should get it as well as fans of the novel. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should really check out Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was my first Wes Anderson movie and like it so much that I thought it sounded original for a movie blog.

            So regarding this blog, I’m new to movies, but my love for them is great. When I was younger, I never had the luxury of being able to go out and rent a VHS or watch a movie in a theater. My family was really poor when I was younger and my mom only speaks Spanish so we would usually watch movies if they were dubbed in Spanish. Every time a new movie would come out, I would beg my parents to take me, but because I was a child, I did not know the hardships we were going through. By the time I reached my 7^th grade year, we were in much better financial standing, but I just didn’t care about movies then since they were mostly on DVD and we hadn’t upgraded from VHS, and going to a theater was out of the question because of ticket prices. We moved to a new town that year and finally noticed how bad my movie knowledge was when I reached high school. Luckily, I have a friend who I, on countless times, call old because of his vast knowledge of movies, music, and other things. He would criticize me for liking the types of movies that the general public likes when in reality, they’re pretty bad (i.e. Grown Ups).

            Now, I’m about to enter my 3^rd year in college, and this summer has mostly been spent watching movies. I’ve started collecting blu-ray movies as I continue to expand my movie knowledge. For those wanting to know what this blog will be about, I guess we’ll see as I continue this “journey”. Mostly, you’ll see me post reviews (both newer releases and older), reaction from released movie news, first reactions, top 10 favorites lists, maybe speculations or what I would like to see in upcoming movies, and more. I’ll even post pictures and updates of my recent blu-ray pick-ups. So yeah, sit back and read if you’d like. I’d appreciate it if you give me some movies to watch either good or bad, it doesn't matter!

Thanks for reading and hopefully you and I will stick around!