Thursday, April 30, 2015

Daredevil TV show (Part 2 of 2)

Daredevil TV show (Part 2 of 2)
 The last episode of the series is probably one of best things I've seen in a while. It is a nice payoff between the two main characters. It all builds up to that point. Plus, we finally see a hero embrace his role and villain finally becoming a true bad guy.
DD has an amazing cast other than the two main characters. They feel like real people despite the fact they are based on comic book counterparts. Here are a few worth noting.
Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page: Yes, she's based on a real character from the books, but Woll brings something special to her. She is a strong character that isn't a victim despite the horrible things that happen to her. She has a few flaws. She is so driven to take down the Kingpin that puts other people in danger. It was such good decision to have Woll play this character. Forget female Thor, this is a strong female character from the Marvel universe, as long as Frank Miller isn't writing her. .
Elden Henson as Foggy: Prefect casting as the best friend to Matt. He's a nerdy guy that starts out as one thing but ends the series a completely different person. Actually, he's better. Unlike the movie, Foggy is more fleshed out due to having more time to deal with his background and relationship to Matt. Henson is just fits right in as this guy. Midway through the season, he as a major character arc and decision to make.
Toby Leonard Moore as James Wesley: He's the Kingpin's right hand man. He is so loyal to Kingpin that it might hurt him in the long run. If I had one gripe about this character is that we don't the history behind why he's so loyal to Fisk. What is the history behind his friendship with Kingpin?
Vondie Curtis-Hall as Ben Urich : They went with a different direction with this character than what was portrayed in the movie version. Here, they make him much older and he's portrayed by an African American. Keep mind the MCU is based on different parts of the various Marvel universes. I think Hall got the job because he's a great actor and the age thing plays a huge part in his role. This is set in the modern age where newspapers are no longer what they were and the Internet is all powerful. Urich is one of the dinosaurs from that earlier era. He gets a lot of screen time.
Bob Gunton : Character-actor Gunton is basically playing himself. He's a smart-ass that works for the Kingpin. I noticed that Fisk seems to give this guy a long leash as far as his underling giving him smart-ass remarks. I like every scene he's in.
Rosario Dawson : She plays an important nurse in the comic book. Dawson isn't in the show as much as I would like. She's pretty good in her part though. Clearly, Dawson will show up in some of the other Marvel series coming out? Will she show up on Agents of Shield?
There is also something else going on behind the scenes with certain criminal elements using Kingpin for other nefarious things. Also there seems to be magical element going on too with the Japanese and Chinese gangs. Plus, there is something the Chinese mobster mentions offhandedly that caught my attention. They're building the mythology with these side mentions and I like it.
One of my biggest gripes about the series is it kills off characters gleefully almost in the same manner as Lost did all those years ago. I would want to know about the relationship he or she has with another character and suddenly, the character is killed off. One major marvel character, in the comic books, is killed off at the end of of the season and it is rather sad because there could have been a lot potential for this character to show up in other shows and movies. I understand it was important to emotional nature of the plot, but I just wanted to see that character grow and change. There are other really cool characters that get wiped out before we get to know them better and it is a bit frustrating.
Anyway, DD is a wonderful series that fits in well with the larger Marvel Universe world, but it stakes its claim in the gritty, glory, dark world of a street level hero. The series is well written and clever and sometimes eve funny. We get insight into how DD thinks and even see him screw up a great deal. The action is gritty and well-produced and filmed. There is a good overall message about fighting corruption in your neighborhood, but it doesn't hit you over the head. DD has some flaws, but it is a great series. It is fitting that Marvel is the one that finally gets the character right in the live media.
Grade A-

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Age of Ultron OST random thoughts

Age of Ultron OST random thoughts
-Did I hear the Iron Man 3 theme? Yep.
-It sounds like they retained the main theme from the first movie. So, yes they kept the main theme, but there is a new theme added to hero theme. The score is much darker than the first one too. I like it, but the older theme is better.
-Danny Elfman? What did he work on in this score? From what I can tell, Elfman worked a lot on this score more so than I was led to believe. Are they setting him up to take the composer reigns for the Spider-Man reboot? 
-Thor's theme?  Is it in the score?  I can't tell because I haven't heard all of the score yet.  
The strong strings from the first score are gone from the theme.  Listen to the old theme.  
 

Chris Chan: I can't stop reading and watching this guy

Chris Chan: I can't stop reading and watching this guy
I only heard about this guy passingly with Linkara making fun of him in one of his reviews, but I never looked up the reference. However, it was only recently that I discovered the full Chris Chan. I had no idea the saga behind Sonichu and Chris Chan. And, now everyday, I discover something new about this guy.
At times, I feel bad for this guy, but then I am reminded he's a racist, homophobic asshole that puts his shit in comic books. Sadly, despite this, he also has his white knights too.
I'm fascinated by him because I've know two to three guys just like him minus the racism. I knew one kid in school that claimed he was an android and behaved in such a manner. He would loudly remind people he was an android too. I tried befriended him because I liked that he didn't give a shit, but discovered that he was a total prick and that was why no one really liked him.  He wanted to be just like Mr. Data.  I wish I could make this shit up.  
While I was never this bad, I could understand why he want to live in this fantasy world, because real life is mean, brutal and sometimes lame.  But, going that deep into fantasy is just unhealthy.  
I wonder what happened to this kid.  

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Baltimore Riots My thoughts

I was going to sit on this for a few more days, but after watching this pure foolishness of our young black community, I have to speak out.
For the looters and rioters that display the Justice for Freddie signs as they beat, burn and destroy things in the Baltimore riot, F' you. You're missing the point. Destroying your own city doesn't bring justice to the Freddie cast. It just makes things worst. This is why I am always harsh on the black community, and this is also why I am considered a sell out by the thugs.
How does acting like thugs and clowns bring attention and support to your cause? I look at this clown show and shake my head in shame. This is why we have so many problems in the black community and we refuse to address them. Not every response has to be an attack. 
We attack and loot our own areas and treat our own like shit, but this never gets addressed whenever there is a massive protest.  We should be protesting the conditions in schools and support better education.  Let's stop the police from overstepping, but let's get mad at our own that f' up our communities too.  
This is no revolution, this is just thuggery. This is just a bunch of young people wanting to mess shit up.  
And, this is for FOX News, there is a difference between protesters and rioters. Keep that in mind. And, yes, the PD is running mad over anyone that gets in their way. This abuse needs to stop. However, Baltimore doesn't deserve this.
Black folks, we can do better. We should do better. I am a shamed and you should be too.
So, when you have at Justice sign up while burning down a store, please stop.  You've already failed at a peaceful demonstration.  

Monday, April 27, 2015

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts
~Boy, I feeling like shit despite sleeping a lot today.
That is why you failed. 
~Never going to get it: I watch this guy at work try to get in good with this young lady around his age, but he doesn't get that she is not attracted to him in that way...at all. I know for a fact she's not interested, but she enjoys the constant flirting. He's even taken her out to dinner. If I cared for this dude, I'd tell him to move on and find someone else, but I simply don't want to set him straight. It's not my job. Plus, he needs to have that realization himself. It's sort of rite of passage for nerds/geeks, both male and female. Trust me, I've seen firsthand it happened to the female counterpart. I was involved in that as a side character (I had to tell her that he was involved with another woman). And, trust me, that realization is one of the worst feelings ever, but I think people need a few failures under their belts in order to get better and stronger.
~Sarah Silverman's story: I really like Sarah, because she is edgy and funny. She says things that aren't PC and does whatever. She also is willing to diss a Network when they shit on her show. However, I find it troubling that she made a story completely up for a gender pay gap. I mean she changed the story completely to fit in the narrative. Is there gender inequality? Yes, but why make up a story that can be fact checked rather quickly because the owner is still alive and active? Why dog a person's rep for a lie? It takes away from the movement you're trying to support. Again, I love me some Sarah also because she was in two episodes of Star Trek Voyager. The producers on the show wanted to hire her on as regular star.

~ Lil Wayne’s tour buses get shot at: I am shocked it didn't happen in Florida. It happened in Atlanta. Wasn't he in serious medical condition a few years back? I really am not a fan of his music and it seems he's in almost every song on the radio. It sounds like he has marbles in his mouth when he raps. Why is he so popular?

~Silent Hills state?: I know a lot of gamers were pissed when news started floating out that maybe the impressive game Silent Hills was being canceled. They are also pulling the playable trailer from the Playstation network. Sony isn't doing this, Konami is. It looks like Konami is really trying to drop everything with game as if it never happened. Heck, it even looks like Norman Reedus  is being dropped for all the promotional material. It looks like this form of the game is dead due to politics within the company. I am guessing they'll just farm out another shitty sequel to an American/Canadian dev team. Things have really gone sour between the company and Hideo Kojima. So, yeah Silent Hills is done for. How much of it was completed?

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Daredevil (Netflix series) Part 1 of 2 review

Daredevil (Netflix series) Part 1 of 2 review

Well, this series is miles ahead of the old movie of the same name. This series is what a Daredevil series should be. It is gritty, action packed and with tons of bad guys. It is street level action-superhero movie. Plus, it DOES tie into the overall MCU fairly well. This is a good series with only a few flaws. I'm so happy that Marvel got the rights back.
DD is set after the attack on New York as told in the first Avengers movie. And, the series does a great job showing us how these gangs moved in started buying property after the attacks. This plays a huge factor in the overreaching plot of the first season. And, this is Marvel connecting the series to movies in a very clever way. It shows DD is less of a superhero like the Avengers and more of a man on the street aka a vigilante.
I like seeing the reaction to the attacks in New York and all the scum that comes in and boots the normal people out. SHIELD and the main heroes aren't going to be concerned about that, but DD cares. There are bigger/darker things going on that DD and others aren't seeing as well, and I will get into that later.
The series shows us a dark hero that beats the living shit out of the bad guys, sometimes a bit too much. He's a scrapper, but the show also reveals that he isn't always good at his job. He screws up and does get beat up pretty good in a few episodes and those bruise linger for a while too. I have to wonder if DD ( Matt Murdock ) enjoys getting beat up on some level.
I have to note one fight though. DD takes on a group of Russian thugs and it is a brutal scrappy fight worth being ranked with some of the best fight scenes in movies. I loved this fight scene, but trust me there are some other really cool fight scenes to look out for later on such as the Kingpin one.
Speaking of the Kingpin, he's such a great villain who is played masterfully by Vincent D'Onofrio. The Kingpin doesn't appear for a while, but when he does it is such an amazing introduction. It is a stark and still intro, but we get a bit of insight into who Wilson Fisk is as a person and ties nicely into his childhood. In one moment, Kingpin is a calculating and sometimes calm crime boss and in another a brutal killer that beats a guy up to the point he chops off his head with a car door. Yes, that happens.
Yet, Kingpin views himself as good guy and D'Onofrio does a splendid job with that. There is a creepy and mean flashback to his childhood that you will need to see and speaks to how he treats the world.
I love Vincent D'Onofrio 's take on Fisk, and he almost steals his the series away from DD. I just hope Sony uses him in their (yet another) reboot of Spider-Man, because Kingpin is an enemy of both DD and Spider-Man. Since we know that the Kingpin is a guy connected to all sorts of crime groups, he could be connected to some of the bad guys in Spider-Man.
Charlie Cox plays the lead character of Daredevil. I have no idea where he came from, but damn it he's great in the role. He sort of downplays DD and Matt. I like his restrained approach because a lot of Marvel's characters are a bit broad (in a good way). It is a nice contrast. He does a great job playing up his blindness to outsiders when he's Matt, but is a complete ninja when he's DD. I love this aspect of him. They could have really screw this character up, but they didn't.
The cast of characters following up DD and Kingpin are compelling too...





Thursday, April 23, 2015

Adam Sandler's new project offends a lot of people on set.

Adam Sandler's new project offends a lot of people on set.
From e-online, ((A Netflix spokesperson has issued a statement with regards to the comedic content of the film after approximately a dozen Native American actors reportedly walked off the set on Wednesday, saying they were "offended" by the flick's stereotypical subject matter.  ))
On one hand, I hate Sandler and his lazy practices of shoehorning in all these products shamelessly, however, people should know what they're signing up for when you are cast in a Sandler film. You're signing up for shit.
Look, I feel for the Native American people that were offended and I understand, but look at Sandler's body of work. It is mostly all shit and offends everyone. You enter at your own risk. He produced Dicky Roberts for crap's sake. Maybe, there is some middle road when they're not so offensive with the work on the project. It's a touchy subject especially when dealing with Native Americans in the west.
By the way, this Ridiculous 6 was supposed to be released back in 2014. And, look at this cast for this movie. With the except of Rob Schneider, the cast is amazing. You have Danny Trejo and Terry Crews in the same movie. I like that Netflix is now making movies, but why a Sandler movie?

Howard the Duck gets stolen back by his creator (Steve Gerber)

Howard the Duck gets stolen back by his creator (Steve Gerber)
I heard about this in two podcasts and did some digging.
Yep, you heard that right. Gerber had major problems with Marvel and their use of his character Howard the Duck. He even sued Marvel to get the character back. However, he lost the lawsuit and Marvel retained the character. I believe this irked Gerber, and he hatched a clever plan to get his character back into his hands.
I'll let The Comics Cube guys explain. From Comics Cube, ((Gerber was, at the time, working on a one-shot with Chris Marrinan and Erik Larsen, teaming up Larsen's Savage Dragon and Gerber's Destroyer Duck (whom he had created to help fund his lawsuit against Marvel). The one-shot was called...The Savage Dragon/Destroyer Duck.  ))
In that Savage Dragon crossover, Spider-man and Howard the Duck show up, somewhat in shadows, in that same comic book. The Spider-Man/Duck crossover showed them meeting Dragon and the other Duck in the same location. Basically two different comic book companies had an unofficial/official crossover within their own crossovers. Got it?
Here's where it gets better.
The Spider-Man version ends as if nothing happened when they part ways with SD. However, the Savage Dragon version ends with SD and the other hero stealing Howard the Duck and his girlfriend from a collection of cloned ducks in the warehouse. They make it a point to announce they are the real characters from Marvel. SD basically stole the Howard Duck character from Marvel into the Image universe. Howard and his girlfriend change their hair and feather colors. They go on to live away from the Marvel universe. BTW, Howard changes his name to Leonard the Duck.
Here's the kicker. Spider-Man leaves the warehouse with a pair of clones of Howard and his girlfriend! And Marvel didn't even know it.

What makes it clever is that within both universes, actual characters took a character and stole and brought him into another universe and left a cheap knock off in his home universe! Within our real world, this was a creator stealing his own creation from a company and leaving clones in its place and doing so legally.  

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

A Sapp of Sh#%

 Warren Sapp having a freakout
Man, I wish I could feel sorry for him, but I don't. How stupid do you have to be to buy sex when you're on TV. I've never understood the reasoning behind famous people paying for sex from hookers. I'm sure there are some groupies willing to give it up. Plus, Sapp is in some major money problems and throwing away 600 dollars seems rather stupid.
While I think prostitution should be legal, (think of all the tax money the GOV could collect), but when you admit to paying for sex straight up, the cops have to arrest you. (BTW, my word processor suggested “whoredom” when I highlighted it.)
And, I actually believe the two escorts in this story too. Sapp has a history of beating up people Chris Brown style. Keep in mind though the two “escort” have a history of scams and fraud too.

So, yeah, this a-hole lost his mind and attacked them. Sapp would later lose his job, the one thing keeping him afloat money-wise, because he wanted some tail. Was it worth it? And, was it worth it for these two women?

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Random Things

Random Things
~Optimism of Young People; As I stated before, I work around a lot of young people (Teens-20s). One thing I will always give them is their view on the world. It is filled such openness. They actually see their future with hope and goodness. I am 100% cynical about everything and have become even more negative over the years and months. I think that comes with age. And, I try to explain that to these young people. However, I admire the way they go head first into situations without all that baggage of history following behind them. That's probably what makes them such go-getters because they don't have the bitter baggage of failure and contempt. Even in my bitter heart, I actually like that, and it amusing me.
~Jim Sterling takes on Steam Early Access games: Damn, Jim is pissed, but god bless him for his honesty. This falls into the Skate Man-gate thing. From what I am gathering, people are attacking people for making fun of these early access games with some using takedown notices. While I don't agree with him on everything, he has a point here. And, I am really starting to like this guy a lot. 

~Daredevil: Finished up the season of the Daredevil on Netflix. Damn, that is a kickass series. It makes even the gritty director's cut of the DD movie seem lame in comparison. I loved the director's cut of that movie, but this series does the character such a service. Also, there are ties to the MCU too and a slight connection to Agent of Shield. I will have a review up soon. Now, onto Community on Yahoo. I started that a few weeks ago. So, review pending on the Daredevil show. Stay tuned. 
 ~YAC (Yet Another Cleaner) shenanigans: I used to really like the YAC program and the interface. However, the program has gotten very shady of late and my Malwarebytes program cleared out most of the things connected to YAC. It seems YAC has been using MBAM's database on your computer. So, yeah things were also getting a little unstable with the YAC program on my PC. MBAM removed YAC. As I said before, I love the interface and the speed of the program, but things aren't looking good for this program.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Tiptoes (The Movie)

Tiptoes (The Movie)
Yes, this trailer is really bad. I've heard two podcasts that rip this movie apart. Now, I want to see this piece of crap, because the trailer is just plain The Room bad. Supposedly, there is a lot of history behind this movie. Yet, it seems the makers and actors will not talk about this movie other than Peter Dinklage
  Dinklage says this from NY Times, ((“I saw the director’s cut, and it was gorgeous.” That two-and-a-half-hour director’s cut was shown at a film festival in Austin, Tex.; the director, Matthew Bright, was reportedly fired shortly afterward, and the movie was recut. “The people who fired him ruined the movie,” Dinklage insisted. “They made it into a weird little quirky rom-com, but with dwarves.” ))

Like I wrote before, no one really outside the film community really knows this movie exist.
-Director’s Cut?: Yes, there is a director's cut somewhere. The studio got wind of how bad the movie was and panicked. They fired the director (Matthew Bright) and cut out huge portions with subplots and characters completely disappearing for no reason. While the cut up version is considered bad, I heard the 2hr version is worst, but at least it makes sense. 
 Spoiler Alert: The Mother of Dragons?
  -Director Matthew Bright: It looks like this movie destroyed his career. This was his last movie as director and most of his other work stopped in 2004 with a few things lingering into 2010. His wiki page does list Tiptoes, but the description of his work doesn't mention the movie.

-Gary Oldman playing a little person: Why would you hire a regular height person to play a little person? Oldman spends most of the movie on his knees pretending to be a little person. Isn't that like a white guy wearing yellow or brown makeup? Why not hire a little person actor? What were they thinking? No one told him or the director this is sort of offensive? You could probably get away with it in the 80s. But the 2000s? Nope.
 -Matthew McConaughey must have smoked a lot of weed during the filming. Matthew only recently mentioned his role in the horrible Texas Chainsaw movie, will he talk about this movie?


Sunday, April 19, 2015

Paul Blart 2: just farted...on the critics

Paul Blart 2: just farted...on the critics
That was not funny. Well done, trailer.
I hated the first movie, but why wait so many years to cash in on it? Paul Blart 1 was a hit back in the day. It just seems strange to wait so long. BTW, I liked Observe and Report way better. Anyway, Paul Blart 2 is so bad that it has gotten a Rotten Tomatoes score of zero. Yes, you read that right. No one liked it. Even the hack reviewers hated this cursed movie.
By the way, wasn't Zookeeper kind of Paul Blart-ish?
Kevin James , you really need to stop making these shitty movies. Maybe you can bounce back from this and Grown Ups 2.
Since the low rating (or no rating), did his “friend” have his lazy hands in the production? Adam Sandler is listed as one of the producers, so there you go.

KJ, Eddie Murphy is proud of you.  
Folks, it took 30 million to make this piece of shit.  I am not making this up.  

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Britt McHenry (McA-Hole)

Britt McHenry (McA-Hole)
On one hand, it is refreshing to see someone let it rip and be an a-hole. However, Britt “McDonald's” McHenry was a total dick in this viral video.
1 I hated the valley girl (bitchy) accent: I shutter every time I hear a girl use that voice. Especially when they want to be dismissive.
2 Using your education as defense against someone doing their job is elitist bullshit. I have to keep myself in check when I deal with really stupid people. But, here is wasn't warranted. BTW, working and owning a towing company is extremely good money.
3 Towing woman even warns Britt: Britt even looks into the camera.
4 “Hey, I'm on TV”: So, what?
Here's the thing, she is a bitchy person, but I don't think she should have been suspended for this incident. We've all had those horrible days and she didn't tear up the place or pull out a gun. She just behaved like an a-hole. She should keep her job.
I'm not sure what pisses me off more the valley girl stand-off-ish accent or the thug/ratchet/loud chick.


Now, if you want to talk about this over dinner or something, call me.  And, you're paying because you're on TV.  

Friday, April 17, 2015

Random Star Wars things

Random Star Wars things
Star Wars Episode 1 early Draft?
I've been looking everywhere for an early draft to Star Wars EP1's script. I heard a podcast discussing the early version of the script that had a Jar Jar Binks that wasn't stupid or silly and an older Skywalker. I've seen some blogs talking about it though.
I also heard there were outlines written earlier that had a more serious story and background to the Jedis that Lucas wrote and one producer read. Most of that was dropped for the current movies.
The podcast above also talks about rumors of Natalie Portman being very mean to Keira knightley on the set of EP1 to the point of making Kira cry. I can't confirm this at all, but Portman has tried to distanced herself from the series and she blames the series for almost ruining her career. I can't find anything on the Kira/Portman thing though. I've noticed a lot of the prequel actors have nothing good to say about the movies it seems. Were things that bad? 

Was that a jab at Portman?  
They also stated that Portman's rudeness was the reason her character was basically not important to EP3 other than being with child.
They only touch on the other issue: People forget that Lucas pretty much lashed out against the fans a few months before Disney bought the franchise. I remember him saying there were going to be anymore SW films due to the response from the fans. Lucas is so far removed that he doesn't under why there is so much criticism of his prequels. Some of it is sound criticism, and some of it is entitled fan bullshit. I lean toward Lucas not being able to tell a proper story. 

Read on,
From Hollywood Reporter, via The New York Times (("Why would I make any more, when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?" ))
Well, lucky for us, you won't have to. 
 

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Teaser 2 thoughts

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
-Chewie and Han Solo: Yes, Han is looking rather ragged, but it fits with what has happened with the character. 
  -Chewie's right hand: In leaked production concept drawings, Chewbacca's right hand is now cybernetic. We really don't know if JJ went with this concept for the character or not. I think it would add a bit of flavor for Chewie to lose a hand and have it replaced.
-Luke's VO is new: Yep, it sort of gives away a spoiler that JJ tried to keep secret for a while.
-New Music: Again, we get new music from John Williams in the trailer. Certain cues are taken from Empire, but changed and recomposed.
-Who is touching R2D2?
-We get the burnt remains of Vader's helmet. Very cool.
-More shots of X-Wings flying across the water. I love it.
-The new bad guy uses his/her lightsaber: Okay, I am down.
-The new Stormtroopers uniforms look more like Clone Troopers designs from the prequels. That's a nice touch.
-I think the trailer also reveals that there are two sets of bad guys this time around.

 How many Empire Credits does something like this go for on their version of Ebay?



Keep it hidden, keep it safe.

Furious 7 (Part 2 of 2)

  Furious 7 (Part 2 of 2)
I guess the big elephant in the room is the death of Paul Walker. It sort of loomed over the production after his death. There were many questions into how the producers and writers were going to finish the movie. And, it actually delayed the movie for about a year. It was supposed to come out in 2014, but they had to delay it for re-shoots. Given that Walker was a key character in the series, some things had to be reshuffled and re-shot. You can tell too.
Walker clearly had a much bigger part in this movie, but he takes a back seat somewhat in this new version. Vin Diesel takes up most of the missing role that Walker was supposed to play, but Vin is probably the weaker part of this production though. While Walker wasn't a good actor, he was pretty good at the one-liners. With Groot, I mean Vin, they come across pretty lame and blunt. I rolled my eyes every time he said something he thought was clever. Stop, Vin.
Even as you watch the movie, Walker's death does effect the way you view movie. I read how he was a nice guy and pretty much the entire cast loved being around. And, it has always showed on screen. He seemed to really enjoy his time on these movies. So, there is a sense of sadness to all his scenes, knowing he won't be making movies anymore.
Now, the studio actually handled his death really well. Spoiler: They didn't kill him off, which would have been in poor taste. And, they had a way out with the revenge story early on, but they didn't kill him off. They used really good CGI to replace his brothers' faces with Walker's face. And, I believe there was some added VO work there too. Instead, we get a story about Walker willing to retire for his new family instead. This subplot really only comes into play in the final moments of the third act. And, it works brilliantly.
Even I got a little misty-eyed at the final moments and I hate married and family shit in stories, and I really hate when they introduce babies and toddlers to a franchise. However, it works here. It was also a nice visual cue to see Walker drive away in a white car going a different path than Vin's car. Nice one, people.
So, where does this leave the FF franchise? Well, the movie does wrap up things pretty well. But, there are two things left open for another sequel if they want to go forward. One of open threads is pretty big.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie for being a silly action/spy/heist movie. Throw in a bunch of hot women with close up shots of their lower bits, you got the dude/bro crowd. The movie isn't as entertaining as the last two movies, but I'm sure we would have gotten a better movie if certain things didn't happen. Walker's death was unfortunate and they did the best they could with a fitting tribute. Dwayne Johnson was underused. All his scenes were freaking great and shows he is a better actor than Vin could ever be. I wish we would have seen more him. You'll like the movie for its over the top stunts and the nice tribute to one of their fallen actors. This is one of those rare occasions where the series has gotten better over time than the first few movies.
Grade: B

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Reserve cop shoots man by mistake

Reserve cop shoots man by mistake
Is it standard procedure to yell, “F' your breath” after a suspect gets shot?
Yes, the guy that got shot and killed was a piece of shit, but did he deserve to be shot on the ground like this? Nope, he didn't turn a weapon on the police or attack them. He just ran from them.
As I stated before, this guy was trying to sell illegal weapons to an undercover and he is huge part of the problem with violent crimes in the black community. There are too many illegal guns in crime ridden areas and is a HUGE problem. He should have been put away in prison for the rest of his life.
However, why is the local PD is using reserve cops in serious cases like this? Also, why was this 73 year old man given a gun and police powers? It's like give a child a badge and a gun and letting pretend to be a cop like the big boys. Bates, the guy that shot Harris, was a police officer for one year back in the 60s. I have a problem with this notion of giving non-cops Police power for money.
From Heavy.com, ((A wealthy insurance company executive and “pay to play cop” who has donated thousands of dollars in equipment to the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office has been charged with felony manslaughter after accidentally shooting a suspect with his gun instead of his Taser while volunteering as a reserve deputy. ))
I have a problem with this shit. You pay enough money you get to fulfill your dreams of being a cop without all the training regular cops receive. Do we let 73 year old people still be cops in the regular PD? I'm guessing not. So, what happens when I give ten bucks to the PD? Do I get to eat a doughnut with them?

Monday, April 13, 2015

Should I even touch this subject (trek story)...

Hmm, another Trek producer died a week or so before Nimoy and Bennett. I didn't mention him because there are some really disturbing storied involving him and a certain cast member from TNG. The producer had something to do with getting that cast member fired from the show. Now, there are conflicting reports about what happened, but when he left, that cast member came back.  And, the fans were happy. 
Since, it hasn't been fully revealed what happened, I am not sure I should even write about it.
Interestingly enough, I was researching the controversy before this person even died.
I'll give you a hint.  




Skate-Man Intense Rescue (The Return and Rebuttal)

Skate-Man Intense Rescue (The Return and Rebuttal)
Yes, there are some indie devs that get butthurt over criticism and pull this shit all the time with reviewers. They throw a copyright strike in order to avoid criticism of their little games. It happens in the movie realm too. Remember the director of The Room pull this shit back in the day with That Guy in the Glasses?
When you put shit out there, it will be cheered and jeered. It's your job to either counter it in your voice, make your product better, or ignore it. Wow, it's that easy.
Look, I did and do a lot of writing in the creative field. I HAVE to take criticism of my work. It hurts, but it is just part of the creative game.
Anyway, Jim Sterling rules in the last few minutes of the video above. He rips into the devs at the end and it is just lovely. I tip my fedora to you, Jim.  If I had one...
And, Digpex Games, you are now just a joke.  However, people will probably buy your games just for the lulz and trolling.  
Pwned

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Furious 7 (7 Fast 7 Furious) Part 1 of 2

Furious 7 (7 Fast 7 Furious) Part 1 of 2
While certainly not the most polished film in the long-running franchise, Furious 7 is a very fun action film that puts Bay's recent movies to shame. Bay could only wish to be like director James Wan. The movie has also has a few somber moments and we all know why too. They had to be in here due to the death of one of the main stars. Again, F7 is a nice movie with some funny moments from most of the cast. The action is very good. I actually enjoyed this movies a lot, but not as much as the last two movies in the series.
The stunts are way over the top, but is a fun way. Like the last two movies, this one feels like a heist/action story with a bit of spy drama added into it a s well. I don't think the franchise would have survived using the first movie's model of storytelling.
Basically, you have two main plots. Jason Statham's character is seeking revenge against the Furious crew, hunting them down. So, you get a bit of a revenge story going on as a subplot. However, a hidden government group recruits
Another storyline comprises of a warlord of sorts trying to get their hands on a super-spy-seeking program. Djimon Hounsou is a main bad guy of this portion of the story. More or less, he's the bad guy in this movie. He is pretty much playing the same character as the one he played in the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The majority of the best action scenes come from first two acts of the movie. There is an impressive chase/rescue scene involving cars being parachuted out of a plane and then the action unfolds on a road on a mountaintop. This was a nice mixture of CGI and real stunt work. I love this entire sequence from start to finish.
Jason Statham is the random factor in two of the acts of this movie. And, we get to see him kick a lot of ass and drive cars really fast. that's pretty much what Statham does in his movies. Statham is one of the better things about this movie. He's a one-man army that goes around kicking the shit out of people and things. I felt he should have been the main bad guy, but he comes across as the secondary one for 2/3 of the movie. (Plus, that intro to his character was a nice reveal too.)
Djimon Hounsou on the other hand isn't that compelling as the villain. He's okay, but it is just Djimon Hounsou as he is in all his movie. He felt more like a Marvel Comics Movie villain.
Notes
-Dwayne Johnson is barely in the movie, and that's one of the shortcomings. Johnson is a great character and he had such a amazing fight with JS. I know he was busy with other movies, but I could have used more of The Rock.
-Jason Statham has a great introduction: There is a great opening in a hospital.
-Lucas Black is barely in it: I wanted to see him as one of the crew, but it is more or less just a cameo and a scene that progresses the plot. Then he just disappears. I think Black could be a good replacement for Walker in future movies. Also, he looks completely different and much older.
-Kurt Russell is freaking great as the government man: Russell is so fun to watch as the man in charge. I love his interactions with Vin and his crew. Kurt has this constant smirk on his face the entire showing that he really into this movie. I view Kurt as the old school action guy. He makes this movie so much better.
-Michelle Rodriguez is a better actor today: She has more to do than the earlier movies. She's made some improvements in her acting and she's not just a tomboy in a tank-top.
-Nathalie Emmanuel is hot: She's from Game of Thrones. She's the hot mix girl on the show. She fits in the Fast Crew well. She gets better as the story goes on.
-Ass shots: We get a LOT close up shots women's asses in the movie. Granted that is the Fast franchise signature, but this movie goes hyper with butt shots. I'm not complaining, because I am a straight guy. I just want to warn you if you get offended by that sort of thing. I remember seeing one woman shaking her head in the theater when there is one prolonged shot up a woman's short skirt during the Race Wars scene. I chuckled.
-Vin Diesel is pretty bad in this movie: He talks even slower than before and has some of the most cheesy lines ever. And, drink every time he says “Family”. I think he hasn't gotten over his Groot role. Diesel clearly has a much bigger part in the movie than he was supposed to due to Paul Walker's death. I don't hate his character, but I was never a fan of it either. It takes Russell's character to pep him up. 
 They both read the wiki page on Chris Chan.  
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