![]() I don't normally talk a ton about anime much anymore. Which is sad, because anime was such an immensely defining thing for me in my early teens and really shaped a lot of who I am and the things I enjoy media-wise - back in the day anime was about rich-storytelling, beautiful scenery and animation, and characters you could fall in love with. I love anime, I adore it, I'm stoked for Outlaw Star to come back and I about died when I finally got my hands on a Cowboy Bebop box set with original Japanese audio. But that's the thing, I'm more of an old-school anime girl - the long gone days of Toonami - Yu Yu Hakusho, Kenshin, Ronin Warriors, Gundam Wing, and Outlaw Star is where my heart will always lie. I feel like most anime made after 2007 started feeling like copy + paste money machines and straight up fan-service, lacking heart and character development, the things that made OG anime iconic (I can't stand all this Attack on Titan, Dragon-maid, Boruto stuff, it's so boring and typical - the only newer anime I've enjoyed is Assassination Classroom). But even still, all that to say, my love for OG anime is so strong and so interwoven into the make-up of who I am I can't help but get a tad bit excited when I see stuff like *shudders* Netflix releasing the Death Note movie. Anime is why I began to draw and paint, why I took four years of Japanese in high-school and it's what started my love affair with Asian culture. So, naturally, the thought of a live-action Death Note movie was an appealing thing, even if it were going to be a massive, inevitable flop. So, against my better judgement and strong distaste for Netflix as a company and, against what the haters and easily offended fandom was saying I sat down to watch it, if only for Willem Dafoe as Ryuk cause that's awesome. I wanted to give it a fair chance, from the perspective of someone with a ton of respect and admiration for anime, just to see what happened when a big name company, a powerhouse cast, and an American mentality took hold of a legend.
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As a 90s kid born of a Trekkie and an obsessive Batman fan, it was inevitable that I would grow up to have a love of the galaxies and strong, aloof comic book heroes. Bedtime for me and my brother consisted of The Amazing Spider-Man, Batman: The Animated Series and most importantly, X-Men: The Animated Series. The iconic yellow-clad, gruff voiced Logan became my standard for what a superhero should be from a very young age. To this day he is still the standard. He will always hold my heart-strings tightly in his adamantium clad hands as my hero. So many memories of my childhood consist of being glued to the TV just waiting for X-Men to come on, and as I got older the film franchise (no matter what the haters and critics say) became a regular binge-session guilty pleasure - with the Wolverine spin-offs being my consistent favorites (also contrary to what people say). I love this franchise, it's the reason I have a white stripe in my hair and find comfort in the fact that I am considered weird and that it's okay to feel that way. Naturally, Logan was a big film on my must-see list this year, I had my ticket pre-ordered and I made sure I nabbed the earliest showing I could manage. Last night I settled in for the film, unprepared for (or just unwilling to accept) what was to come. Three hours later the screen went dark, no end credit scene, no jokes or gags, just the iconic "Logan" appearing and disappearing before me. I left the theater ugly crying and sitting in a crumpled heap in my car for fifteen minutes still reeling from the emotional impact this film had on me. As a Marvel fan and as a die-hard lover of all things Wolverine, I could not have been more pleased with how this character went out and after seventeen years of portrayals, this was one of the most powerful performances I've ever seen from Hugh Jackman.
I. Love. CinemasSins. It's one of the most original, downright hilarious, and honest channels on YouTube. It doesn't matter if you're a cinephile or just a casual viewer, it's easy to get wrapped up watching hours of their content. I can (and regularly do) binge watch CinemaSins videos for hours, it's become one of my favorite hobbies to unwind after a long day at work. I've seen them all, (yes all 382 Sins Videos as of this post), and it's near impossible for me to watch any film without calling out the various sins or yelling "roll credits" at the most inappropriate times. I love these guys, they're creative, funny, and just down-right cool people (plus I live next door to Nashville so I feel a special connection to these gents). It's some of the most consistently entertaining and high-quality content on YouTube right now. I have a regular binge-session every weekend. While in the middle of one of these binge-sessions a few weeks ago, I started thinking - what would it take to create a film that the boys at CS couldn't sin? So, I sat down, started the playlist of Sin videos (link up there in the green), and began to create a formula for an un-sinable movie. It took watching countless videos, numerous hours of research and formulating but I think I finally cracked the code. Behold, film junkies, the step-by-step process for a perfect, un-sinable movie.
![]() But seriously, this move is awesome. It's almost impossible to deny that The Lego Movie was a stroke of animated genius; the casting, the humor, the animation, everything about it ensured the film would be an instant classic. And while Lego isn't a stranger to the Batman universe, with countless games, products, and DC Heroes Lego films galore, it was only a matter of time after the success of the 2014 animated hit that we would see Will Arnett don the plastic, pointy eared cowl once again. And man, it was worth the wait. This movie is just downright fun and has a heckuva lot of heart. A perfect balance of humor and serious moments give way for a climactic and entirely unique Batman experience. It's every 90s kid's Batman fan-fiction come true, it's incredibly meta in all the right ways, and Zach Galifianakis will be your new favorite Joker (one you never knew you needed). Sure, it has quirks that makes it more humorous than a typical Dark Knight film, but it's so satisfying. The Lego Batman Movie is the fan-service Batman film we've all been waiting for. Honestly, it could be THE Batman film we've been waiting for. ![]() It seems as though every other post on Social Media nowadays involves bragging about how great kids had it in the 90s. Now, don’t get me wrong, the 90s were an amazing time to be alive, but I like to think the greatest thing 90s kids ever got to experience was the decade of Disney greatness. You know the one. Disney films were in their prime in the 1990s, introducing full original soundtracks, beautiful hand-drawn animation, and some of the most beloved stories ever told brought to spell-binding life on the big screen. All of them instant classics we still watch today. It brought us masterpieces like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King, to only name a few, and it created a generation of wide-eyed dreamers and lovers of classic hand-drawn animation. It's an art form that has gone by the wayside. So many films, especially in animation, just seem to be built around pop-songs, toilet humor, and viral hype instead of the simplistic motives and intentional soundtracks many of us grew to love from classic Disney. So, naturally, when you combine the great minds behind some of these iconic films with the musical genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda and the powerhouse, iconic voice acting of Dwayne Johnson, you can almost guarantee an instant classic. Needless to say, I was instantly in love with the incredibly original and beautifully painted masterpiece of nostalgic Disney magic that is Moana. It strives to prove that you belong, you are significant, you are important, right where you are. If you're a Potterhead like myself, this weekend marked a fantastic (no pun intended) moment in your life. I saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them this past evening. I was already crying in the parking lot from the pure excitement of getting to see this film in theaters. (For you see, I became a Potterhead far too late in life and was only able to see the Deathly Hallows movies in theaters, so the experience of seeing this film was exhilarating). I even had to take a selfie with my ticket because the nerd is strong. Trying to find a way to put into words just how powerfully and wonderfully profound this film really is.... it's hard. It's nearly impossible to write it in a way that expresses my thoughts on paper, but it boils down to this; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone” for the Harry Potter generation grown. Fantastic Beasts is a prime example of a well-executed spin-off. Sadly, nine times out of ten the long-awaited expansions of our favorite universes let us down in unforgivable ways. We crave so much more because of how strongly we resonate with and love these heroes and to see just a few minutes more is a need that captivates us for years to come. To put it simply, spin-offs are major let-downs. But when it comes to Fantastic Beasts this isn’t the case at all. The epic return to our beloved wizarding world is everything you'd ever want and so much you didn't know you needed. We get to head back to a place many of us call home, a place we’ve come to know and love. J.K. Rowling has done a tremendous job expanding our beloved HP Universe with the first installment of her Fantastic Beasts series.
The time had come. It was announced earlier this year that we would be graced with a new Batman animated movie. Little did we know that it would be THAT Batman movie. The fans know what I mean, there's one definitive comic that has been screaming to be brought to life for years since hitting the shelves. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill would, of course, be returning in their respective roles as Batman and The Joker, and comic geeks and Batman fans grew excited. It was also noted the movie would premier at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, then be released for purchase midnight that following day. The countdown began, we were finally getting The Killing Joke; Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's controversial, beloved, and revered origin story of the infamous Batman nemesis.... The Joker.
The story, for those who are unaware, shows a quick and dark glimpse into how the Joker became the deranged, psychotic, and ruthless maniac that has haunted and taunted Batman since the dawn of comics. It's bloody, racy, violent, uncomfortable, and undoubtedly the most well known Batman comic in existence. The short one-shot is nearly thirty years old, but still captivates fans to this day. Although the animated adaptation has a few undeniably problematic elements, it is indeed exceptional. It comes across as very true to the initial media, and is worth it for long-time fans of Batman and this iconic comic. ![]() Paul Dano is immeasurably flawless. Daniel Radcliffe is undeniably incredible. The DANIELS are creative geniuses. Swiss Army Man is bizarre, delightful, impactful, and may just revolutionize the way modern Hollywood and film is done. (Please note this post may contain some spoilers for Swiss Army Man): Everybody who has even the slightest love for film and summer blockbusters has seen the posts, the reviews, the interviews - everybody stating, "in a summer full of reboots and franchise sequels, #SwissArmyMan is bringing the movies back to life." - and I simply cannot agree more. This is one of the most beautiful, heartfelt, and original pieces of cinematography I have seen in a very long time. Now, please hear me on this, I am a movie buff. On average I see a minimum of three movies a week (so at a minimum, 156 movies annually from the comfort of my home) on various streaming and rental services and somewhere between 17-25 movies in theaters per year. And I am going to be completely honest, it has been a long time since I've seen a movie so full of passion, brilliance, weirdness, and brutal honesty about life in the 21st century than Swiss Army Man. Probably the last movie this original and utterly out there I have seen was 2008's The Brother's Bloom, which means it was well overdue for Hollywood to be shaken a bit. And I honestly will be quite upset if this doesn't get some form of an Oscar. Now, also hear this - this is NOT a movie for everyone. Like Deadpool, just because reviews are great and it's starring the lovable Harry Potter alum, please DO NOT take your children to this, and do not go into this movie without some caution since this movie one hundred percent refused to hold back in any way shape and form.
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AuthorJust your average geek chic gamer chick into all things ghostly and geeky (and vice versa) Archives
April 2022
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