(SPOILER WARNING!!)
While I wait for my pre-ordered copy of "Infinity War" to arrive from Amazon, and while I take a break from reviewing Steven Universe, I guess I can take the time to review what can technically be considered it's interim story; "Ant-Man and The Wasp".
Just to give a brief context, I thought the first "Ant-Man" film in 2015 was perfectly fine. It was an entertaining ride with likeable characters and inventive action scenes, but was otherwise unremarkable in the long run, especially with how little of an impact the ant sized hero has had on the MCU. That's not to say I didn't like the movie, but it did feel like a bit generic and it's comedy rarely hit bulls-eye for me, especially with the annoying comic relief that was Michael Pena as Luis.
That said, I still wanted to see how it's sequel, which finally allowed Evangeline Lily's Hope van Dyne shine as the titular Wasp, would play out, especially since they had the perfect set up for the journey of saving her mother; Janet, the original Wasp.
And how did it turn out? Well, before going into spoilers, I can definitely say this; if you liked the first film, then you'll like it's sequel just fine.
As for the story itself, Scott Lang, played again by Paul Rudd, has been on house arrest for the last couple of years due to his actions in "Captain America: Civil War", which also painted a target on the backs on Hope and her father Hank Pym, played again by Michael Douglas. He is just two days away from finally being able to step out of the house, only to receive a vision of Janet's mother, who years ago had shrunk herself to the sub-atomic level in order to stop a nuke from hitting America, with the cost of her being stuck in the Quantum Realm with seemingly no way to come back.
This vision prompts Hope to basically kidnap Scott and have him help her and Hank in finishing the machine that could guide them to bring back Janet, necessitating Hope involve herself as the Wasp in order to find the parts they need. Of course, this also results in a whole bunch of other stuff happening at roughly the same time in order to fill out the length of the film; namely, a masked woman who seems to basically "ghost" herself in and out of the physical quantum field, which also has her being able to avoid being hit by most things, but with the side effect of slowly killing her. Thus, the race is on to save Janet, stop Ghost and get Scott home on time to finally get taken off of house arrest. Oh, and something about a business man wanting the part, but that hardly matters.
Much like the first film, despite several plot threads all happening concurrently, the film knows which one to focus on and how long to focus on it. When it needs to focus on Scott and Hope as our titular heroes, they're the focus. When they need some comedic levity, it brings said levity and doesn't just solely rely on Luis. And when the emotional stuff is needed, it lets it play out long enough for the audience to care.
Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen, makes for a fairly unique antagonist, as she's not strictly a full on villain in this film. In fact, her entire goal is focused around finding a way to stabilise her condition as it's only serving to cause her more pain and suffering. What helps is her contrast to scientist and former friend of Hank, Bill Foster, played by Lawrence Fishburne. Foster basically treats Ghost, or Ava, as something of a daughter, while Ava mainly sees him as a tool to fix her condition. While there isn't as much time focused on the relationship between the two, there is just enough for the audience to understand and somewhat sympathise with their plight, even if their plan to use Janet's Quantum Realm energy may end up killing her. Ghost may seem underwhelming in comparison to the likes of Loki, Ego, or even Thanos, but I doubt she was really ever meant to be on that same tier as those God-like entities, especially as the "Ant-Man" films are more focused on smaller adventures to help sell the MCU as a full universe. Thus, Ghost actually fits in perfectly with this kind of setting.
And surprisingly, the effects of "Infinity War" are still felt as this film seems to take place at roughly the same time of that film's events. Namely, the mid-credit scene. Again, this is where we head into spoiler territory, so you have been warned.
After they bring back Janet, she, Hank and Hope plan to use Scott to go into the Quantum Realm to gather energy that could be used to help people like Ava. Scott goes and collects the energy, but can't get a response from the outside. Why?
...Goddammit, Thanos!
That said, this is where we start my critiques. Namely, with this mid credit scene, doesn't it kind of render most of the film completely worthless? Rescuing Janet, Hope becoming the Wasp, the fiasco with Ghost; almost all of it was pointless as two of those characters, along with Hank, have been reduced to dust. And yes, I know, there's the whole "everyone is in the Soul Stone" theory, but most regular movie goers won't automatically pick up on that, especially when no one actually knows what the Soul Stone does! On top of that, because we hardly know anything about Janet, we don't have much reason to care when we see her turned into a pile of dust. Thus, the emotional impact of seeing her dead is lost when compared to Hope and Hank, the characters we DO care about.
Then again, that might also be because the film, while still entertaining in it's own right, also has a very predictable and underwhelming story. We know what they're doing with most of the story and can tell when something will happen almost to the minute. There are still some legitimately cool additions such as actually seeing the Quantum Realm for more than two minutes, and Fishburne was great as always, but we otherwise have to sit through a bland and predictable story in the interim.
In a sense, "Ant-Man and The Wasp" is better than the first film due to trying new things and having an interesting idea for the main "antagonist", and I did like how it addressed the aftermath of "Infinity War" even if it was during the mid credits sequence. And I definitely appreciate how they downplayed Michael Pena's role in this film as he is pretty much the only character in this film I don't like. However, it still has the similar issue as the first film of generally playing it save and having an emphasis on comedy which, while expected for the MCU, doesn't really make it stand out from other "down to Earth" superhero stories like "Spider-Man:Homecoming" or even Netflix's "Luke Cage". I might be alone on this, but I ultimately think that this film is about on par with the first one; it's really serviceable.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10 (It's fine).
I hope you enjoyed this review and, 'til next time; This is Callum Lewis, the Media Man, signing off!
Friday, 24 August 2018
Thursday, 23 August 2018
Steven Universe Season 3 (Part 2)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
Sorry I cut that off last time; where were we?
Oh, right... that.
Yeah, Homeworld isn't completely ignorant about what's happening on Earth, and has thus sent out this scout ship filled with a team of Rubies. Just for simplicity, I'll call them by the names Steven gives them all in a later episode based on the placement of their Gems. So, we have Eyeball, Army, Navy, Leggy, and Doc. And the thing most of them have in common?
Well, to put it simply, they're morons. Doc can't keep track of the number of her team, Navy is exceedingly flighty, Army tries to punch everything she sees and Leggy is generally lost. At least they're acknowledged in-story as idiots.
And so, in this episode, "Hit the Diamond", the Crystal Gems pretend to be humans and trick them into a game of baseball, which they hope to win. There's just one little problem with that:
The Gems' initial plan was to supplant Ruby amongst the team and just stop them from searching the barn, thinking they're here for Peridot for insulting Yellow Diamond. But of course, that failed, and now Ruby and Sapphire are forced to be separated to keep up the trick. This would work if the two would just stop flirting with each other.
To once again borrow Des Shinta's unofficial (but slowly becoming official) catchphrase: Because, damn it, everything is gay about this!
And really, that's what makes this episode work for me; just seeing Ruby and Sapphire flirt with each other is nothing short of endearing or adorkable, which also helps with rounding out their personalities more. Even if I generally don't care for sports-themed episodes (as I never cared for sports, period), this was still really charming. Even Steven, when he's asking them to concentrate in order to win the last round of the game, can't help but admit they're cuteness personified.
But in the end, this whole venture was pointless, because when the Gems win the game and inadvertently reveal their identities, Peridot runs out and tells them to stop, only for the Rubies to reveal they weren't looking for her, but Jasper. They trick the Rubies into thinking that Jasper is on Neptune (again, because they're idiots) and they leave, with Eyeball...
Remember this!
So, which episode is next?
Oh yeah, Steven flying. Almost forgo-- Wait, what?
Steven has been a little homesick, so he's more than happy to back at the beach house. However, this seems to trigger his ability to float. To summarise, positive thoughts help him fly, but negative thoughts make him fall quicker. The entire predicament is basically just getting Steven back down to the ground without hurting him... and that's about all there is to it. Nothing special, but still a fun episode.
Sadly, however, we enter the ever so brief period of mediocrity with the next episode, "Dead Beat Dad"... though, this requires a bit of explanation before we do so.
Due to reviewing this show in a different style, there are some things I have missed in my previous reviews. For instance, there are episodes dedicated to showing more of Greg's past as an amateur rock star who gave up his dreams of success to stay with Rose, who was pretty much the only person to come to his poorly put together gigs, as well as expanding on Pearl's jealousy with how Greg so easily wooed Rose with just his guitar and a dated haircut.
Why am I bringing this up now? It's because of this guy:
Marty, the character first introduced in the Season 1 episode "Story for Steven", was Greg's manager in his early days as an upcoming rock star. He is also, as you could guess, an arrogant douchebag, using Greg as a means of pushing his own career up and looking down on everyone around him. This, of course, did not end well when Greg pushed him out of the van in the middle of the road for insulting Rose. As Greg so eloquently put it:
I'm bringing up Marty now, as he's actually part of the focus for this episode, wherein he's proceeding to do the exact same thing as before, this time using his "accident" of a son, Sour Cream, who has aspirations as a DJ. Marty, however, is using this as a means of forcing people to try out a new promotional soda, Guacacola. A.K.A: guacamole flavoured soda.
Well said, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen.
Anyways, there is also this subplot focused around Sour Cream and his issues with his stepfather, Yellowtail, with how the latter would rather his stepson follow in his footsteps as a fisherman. Sour Cream is, of course, indignant about all of this, but comes to realise that Yellowtail just wants the best for him and stands up to Marty for his stepdad.
And frankly, as I previously had a strained relationship with my father due to learning of things that happened between him and my mum, I can say that patching up said relationships is not as simple as saying "Oh, they just wanted something different for me, that totally makes up for him looking down on my career choices". Because what was ultimately missing from this was a sense that Sour Cream hated Yellowtail, as opposed to the two just simply having different points of view. I admire the episode for tackling issues regarding fatherhood and what it means to really be a dad, but I felt that this was already done better with seeing Greg and how he earnestly and honestly tries to be a good influence for Steven, even when the two don't always see each other. Here, with Sour Cream, his stepdad is just a bit overzealous and his real dad is a general dick. I'm grateful that other side characters are getting more focus as opposed to just Connie and Greg, but there also has to be a solid foundation for their growth as characters in order for the audience to become invested. That's not the case here, as not much else is revealed about Sour Cream's character for us to really care.
Still, there ultimately is a patching between Yellowtail and Sour Cream, which at least still settles the issue that came between them, and there is one last thing that also sets up other episodes down the line.
Yeah, apparently Marty, due to being Greg's manager, still had rights to his song and re-branded it for a commercial for a Taco restaurant chain. As such, Greg has been given a share of the royalty fees (though I don't think that's how that works), making him obscenely rich. And this is the focus (of sorts) with "Mr Greg", where he and Steven decide to take a trip to Empire City, the show's equivalent to New York, and go all out with the money. One little problem with that:
Steven has noticed quickly that, while they don't seem to outright hate each other, there is an uneasy tension between Pearl and Greg, most likely due to Rose being gone and Pearl's feelings for her not being returned. As such, Steven uses this as the chance to help build a stronger bond between them.
And he does this, with musical numbers!... That's not a joke.
The Crewniverse really went all out with their songwriters in this episode, creating fun and memorable songs that give the feeling that we're watching an animated Broadway musical. Even right down to being set in a busy city with a wealthy man spending his money on his kid; it's practically straight out of "Chicago" or "Burlesque" with how colourful and imaginative it is. It also helps that the cast is comprised of really good singers. I especially love both "Don't Cost Nothing" and it's reprisal at the end of the episode.
The first thing Greg wanted to spend money on was Steven's college education. That is why he is best dad.
However, despite Pearl slowly warming up to the class and luxury, it eventually backfires:
As soon shown in the episode, Pearl's hesitance to even talk to Greg is out of regret for not being able to truly be the love of Rose's life, especially once Greg enters the picture and sooner or later, Steven turns up. Pearl is angry at herself for feeling so petty as to let her feelings for Rose fester into a hatred for Greg. And while her anger is somewhat deserved, she hasn't fully acknowledged that it was ultimately Rose's choice to have Steven. And through another touching musical number, Steven helps both Greg and Pearl realise something that they have in common: their love for Steven.
And with that, plus a no doubt massive bill to the hotel, the three head home, the friendship between Greg and Pearl finally allowed to grow.
Beautiful, just beautiful... anyone up for jokes about Peridot's height?
Sorry I cut that off last time; where were we?
Oh, right... that.
Yeah, Homeworld isn't completely ignorant about what's happening on Earth, and has thus sent out this scout ship filled with a team of Rubies. Just for simplicity, I'll call them by the names Steven gives them all in a later episode based on the placement of their Gems. So, we have Eyeball, Army, Navy, Leggy, and Doc. And the thing most of them have in common?
Well, to put it simply, they're morons. Doc can't keep track of the number of her team, Navy is exceedingly flighty, Army tries to punch everything she sees and Leggy is generally lost. At least they're acknowledged in-story as idiots.
And so, in this episode, "Hit the Diamond", the Crystal Gems pretend to be humans and trick them into a game of baseball, which they hope to win. There's just one little problem with that:
The Gems' initial plan was to supplant Ruby amongst the team and just stop them from searching the barn, thinking they're here for Peridot for insulting Yellow Diamond. But of course, that failed, and now Ruby and Sapphire are forced to be separated to keep up the trick. This would work if the two would just stop flirting with each other.
To once again borrow Des Shinta's unofficial (but slowly becoming official) catchphrase: Because, damn it, everything is gay about this!
And really, that's what makes this episode work for me; just seeing Ruby and Sapphire flirt with each other is nothing short of endearing or adorkable, which also helps with rounding out their personalities more. Even if I generally don't care for sports-themed episodes (as I never cared for sports, period), this was still really charming. Even Steven, when he's asking them to concentrate in order to win the last round of the game, can't help but admit they're cuteness personified.
But in the end, this whole venture was pointless, because when the Gems win the game and inadvertently reveal their identities, Peridot runs out and tells them to stop, only for the Rubies to reveal they weren't looking for her, but Jasper. They trick the Rubies into thinking that Jasper is on Neptune (again, because they're idiots) and they leave, with Eyeball...
Remember this!
So, which episode is next?
Oh yeah, Steven flying. Almost forgo-- Wait, what?
Steven has been a little homesick, so he's more than happy to back at the beach house. However, this seems to trigger his ability to float. To summarise, positive thoughts help him fly, but negative thoughts make him fall quicker. The entire predicament is basically just getting Steven back down to the ground without hurting him... and that's about all there is to it. Nothing special, but still a fun episode.
Sadly, however, we enter the ever so brief period of mediocrity with the next episode, "Dead Beat Dad"... though, this requires a bit of explanation before we do so.
Due to reviewing this show in a different style, there are some things I have missed in my previous reviews. For instance, there are episodes dedicated to showing more of Greg's past as an amateur rock star who gave up his dreams of success to stay with Rose, who was pretty much the only person to come to his poorly put together gigs, as well as expanding on Pearl's jealousy with how Greg so easily wooed Rose with just his guitar and a dated haircut.
Why am I bringing this up now? It's because of this guy:
Marty, the character first introduced in the Season 1 episode "Story for Steven", was Greg's manager in his early days as an upcoming rock star. He is also, as you could guess, an arrogant douchebag, using Greg as a means of pushing his own career up and looking down on everyone around him. This, of course, did not end well when Greg pushed him out of the van in the middle of the road for insulting Rose. As Greg so eloquently put it:
I'm bringing up Marty now, as he's actually part of the focus for this episode, wherein he's proceeding to do the exact same thing as before, this time using his "accident" of a son, Sour Cream, who has aspirations as a DJ. Marty, however, is using this as a means of forcing people to try out a new promotional soda, Guacacola. A.K.A: guacamole flavoured soda.
Well said, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen.
Anyways, there is also this subplot focused around Sour Cream and his issues with his stepfather, Yellowtail, with how the latter would rather his stepson follow in his footsteps as a fisherman. Sour Cream is, of course, indignant about all of this, but comes to realise that Yellowtail just wants the best for him and stands up to Marty for his stepdad.
And frankly, as I previously had a strained relationship with my father due to learning of things that happened between him and my mum, I can say that patching up said relationships is not as simple as saying "Oh, they just wanted something different for me, that totally makes up for him looking down on my career choices". Because what was ultimately missing from this was a sense that Sour Cream hated Yellowtail, as opposed to the two just simply having different points of view. I admire the episode for tackling issues regarding fatherhood and what it means to really be a dad, but I felt that this was already done better with seeing Greg and how he earnestly and honestly tries to be a good influence for Steven, even when the two don't always see each other. Here, with Sour Cream, his stepdad is just a bit overzealous and his real dad is a general dick. I'm grateful that other side characters are getting more focus as opposed to just Connie and Greg, but there also has to be a solid foundation for their growth as characters in order for the audience to become invested. That's not the case here, as not much else is revealed about Sour Cream's character for us to really care.
Still, there ultimately is a patching between Yellowtail and Sour Cream, which at least still settles the issue that came between them, and there is one last thing that also sets up other episodes down the line.
Yeah, apparently Marty, due to being Greg's manager, still had rights to his song and re-branded it for a commercial for a Taco restaurant chain. As such, Greg has been given a share of the royalty fees (though I don't think that's how that works), making him obscenely rich. And this is the focus (of sorts) with "Mr Greg", where he and Steven decide to take a trip to Empire City, the show's equivalent to New York, and go all out with the money. One little problem with that:
Steven has noticed quickly that, while they don't seem to outright hate each other, there is an uneasy tension between Pearl and Greg, most likely due to Rose being gone and Pearl's feelings for her not being returned. As such, Steven uses this as the chance to help build a stronger bond between them.
And he does this, with musical numbers!... That's not a joke.
The Crewniverse really went all out with their songwriters in this episode, creating fun and memorable songs that give the feeling that we're watching an animated Broadway musical. Even right down to being set in a busy city with a wealthy man spending his money on his kid; it's practically straight out of "Chicago" or "Burlesque" with how colourful and imaginative it is. It also helps that the cast is comprised of really good singers. I especially love both "Don't Cost Nothing" and it's reprisal at the end of the episode.
The first thing Greg wanted to spend money on was Steven's college education. That is why he is best dad.
However, despite Pearl slowly warming up to the class and luxury, it eventually backfires:
As soon shown in the episode, Pearl's hesitance to even talk to Greg is out of regret for not being able to truly be the love of Rose's life, especially once Greg enters the picture and sooner or later, Steven turns up. Pearl is angry at herself for feeling so petty as to let her feelings for Rose fester into a hatred for Greg. And while her anger is somewhat deserved, she hasn't fully acknowledged that it was ultimately Rose's choice to have Steven. And through another touching musical number, Steven helps both Greg and Pearl realise something that they have in common: their love for Steven.
And with that, plus a no doubt massive bill to the hotel, the three head home, the friendship between Greg and Pearl finally allowed to grow.
Beautiful, just beautiful... anyone up for jokes about Peridot's height?
Monday, 9 July 2018
Random Rants: People hating on Gordon Ramsay
Bit of an odd topic to bring back this little side thing as I still work on getting my Steven Universe Season 3 Review finished (it's coming, I swear), but I have been meaning to bring this back as well, and I felt like talking about it.
Just as a prefix, I love watching Gordon Ramsay. Whether it's Hell's Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares, or even the rare times he's hosting Masterchef, he's always a treat to watch and listen to. I more or less started watching his stuff when I remembered several videos of swearing compilations on YouTube, and it just spiralled out of control from there. I'll have one linked with this rant just so you could see for yourself.
So with that said, why is it that people think he's an asshole? I understand being intimidated by him due to his infamous short temper, but just hating him for nonsensical reasons? That's a little overboard.
I guess I could go down the short list of the reasons why people who don't watch him also don't like him, starting with the obvious; his swearing.
Look, I'll keep this one short; it 20-fucking-18. We live in an age where Donald "Grab 'em by the pussy" Trump is inexcusably still in office and is practically supporting racism and fascism. If you are somehow still offended by someone swearing of all things instead of the actually offensive and morally repugnant bullshit, then take your overly sensitive, shit-launching anal-cannon and get the fuck off of the internet. If anything, if you're gonna criticise Ramsay for swearing, then why not criticise the contestants on Hell's Kitchen for swearing, or the delusional restaurant owners who are just as vulgar in their language as Ramsay? A little consistency is all I ask for, dipshit.
Anyway, onto reason number 2 people seem to dislike him; the way he treats his contestants on Hell's Kitchen.
Now, this one I will still defend until my dying breath, as I feel Ramsay is justified in this case. Whenever people bring up the way Ramsay talks to his contestants, they say that all he does is yell and swear at them while also saying offensive things about them. "Walking around like a toilet brush", "stupid, thick bitch". "you're a first class cunt", "fat useless sack of fucking yankee dankie doodle shite", etc. However, that's often when they take those insults out of context as a means of making Ramsay look like an awful person, when he isn't. Yes, in any other context, those aforementioned remarks would come off as offensive to whoever it's being said to. But in the context of the scenario, Ramsay is saying that to them because they're fucking up on something so relatively simple.
Whenever a contestant goes onto Hell's Kitchen claiming to be a professional chef, or if a restaurant owner in Kitchen Nightmare's is asking for his help, Ramsay is expecting them to act like adults and do what they claim they can do. Due to his training, Ramsay has a high standard and if you tell him you're a professional chef, he will expect you to fucking act like one. If you make that claim, and yet continuously serve him shit food or talk to him with a childish attitude, then he's gonna tear you down and prove that you're not just a shit chef, but an awful one. Basic mistakes like overcooking the garnish or giving a risotto with no seasoning or flavour is bad enough. But to go the extra mile and do something amazingly incompetent, such as fire 3 Sole dishes before they're even needed or serve raw meat/fish to a pregnant women, is what puts you up on Ramsay's chopping block, and thus justifying anything that Ramsay says to you because you were just caught out as a delusional, egocentric asshole.
Hell, I can actually count a few times where Ramsay was the calm one in the scenario. Remember when, in the early UK Hell's Kitchen days, a woman tried to slap him after stopping during service to complain about being tired?
Or when Joseph in Hell's Kitchen Season 6 tried to pick a fight with him, despite not answering two very basic questions?
Or how about in Kitchen Nightmares where co-owners Amy and Samy refuse to listen to constructive criticism, forcing Ramsay to leave before he could help them in fixing the issues with the restaurant?
In all of these instances, Ramsay was not the one who instigated the yelling and swearing. He was the one trying to act calmly and rationally before realising these people were beyond hope, especially Amy and Samy with how their restaurant is the only one in the history of Kitchen Nightmares that Ramsay had no choice but to leave. If you're seriously gonna watch all of this and still claim that Ramsay was acting out of line, then I think you need a fucking new prescription for your glasses. And if your not wearing glasses, then put down that hash, as that's the only way you could still be thinking like that.
And I suppose the final reason for why there's a hatedom for Ramsay is this; he's prejudiced.
No. No he isn't. He may use some of the contestants characteristics to insult them if they do a shit job at cooking a scallop, but that's different from being prejudiced. Prejudice is the idea of non-acceptance, where you refuse to accept something that's different from what you perceive as normal, be it race, gender, sexuality, etc. However, Ramsay doesn't care about any of that; like I said, he only cares if you can live up to your self-proclamations of being a professional chef who could cook just about anything. If you can't do that, he's completely in the right to call you out on it. There may have been legitimate douchebags on Hell's Kitchen:
But Ramsay sure as Hell isn't one of them. Again, every time their selfish and judgemental attitudes came up, Ramsay put them in their place and booted them off when the time was right. Keep in mind, this is just what Matt Hearn had said and done during his time as a contestant in Season 16.
After watching all of that, are you really gonna tell me that Ramsay is the douchebag?
Look, I get if you don't watch stuff like Hell's Kitchen or other cooking shows. But don't try to claim that Gordon Ramsay is something when he clearly isn't.
With that finally done, I'm glad that I could finally bring back Random Rants. If you like what you saw..., well, good for you.
Til next time, this is Callum Lewis, the Media Man, signing off...
...fucking donkeys.
Just as a prefix, I love watching Gordon Ramsay. Whether it's Hell's Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares, or even the rare times he's hosting Masterchef, he's always a treat to watch and listen to. I more or less started watching his stuff when I remembered several videos of swearing compilations on YouTube, and it just spiralled out of control from there. I'll have one linked with this rant just so you could see for yourself.
So with that said, why is it that people think he's an asshole? I understand being intimidated by him due to his infamous short temper, but just hating him for nonsensical reasons? That's a little overboard.
I guess I could go down the short list of the reasons why people who don't watch him also don't like him, starting with the obvious; his swearing.
Look, I'll keep this one short; it 20-fucking-18. We live in an age where Donald "Grab 'em by the pussy" Trump is inexcusably still in office and is practically supporting racism and fascism. If you are somehow still offended by someone swearing of all things instead of the actually offensive and morally repugnant bullshit, then take your overly sensitive, shit-launching anal-cannon and get the fuck off of the internet. If anything, if you're gonna criticise Ramsay for swearing, then why not criticise the contestants on Hell's Kitchen for swearing, or the delusional restaurant owners who are just as vulgar in their language as Ramsay? A little consistency is all I ask for, dipshit.
Anyway, onto reason number 2 people seem to dislike him; the way he treats his contestants on Hell's Kitchen.
Now, this one I will still defend until my dying breath, as I feel Ramsay is justified in this case. Whenever people bring up the way Ramsay talks to his contestants, they say that all he does is yell and swear at them while also saying offensive things about them. "Walking around like a toilet brush", "stupid, thick bitch". "you're a first class cunt", "fat useless sack of fucking yankee dankie doodle shite", etc. However, that's often when they take those insults out of context as a means of making Ramsay look like an awful person, when he isn't. Yes, in any other context, those aforementioned remarks would come off as offensive to whoever it's being said to. But in the context of the scenario, Ramsay is saying that to them because they're fucking up on something so relatively simple.
Whenever a contestant goes onto Hell's Kitchen claiming to be a professional chef, or if a restaurant owner in Kitchen Nightmare's is asking for his help, Ramsay is expecting them to act like adults and do what they claim they can do. Due to his training, Ramsay has a high standard and if you tell him you're a professional chef, he will expect you to fucking act like one. If you make that claim, and yet continuously serve him shit food or talk to him with a childish attitude, then he's gonna tear you down and prove that you're not just a shit chef, but an awful one. Basic mistakes like overcooking the garnish or giving a risotto with no seasoning or flavour is bad enough. But to go the extra mile and do something amazingly incompetent, such as fire 3 Sole dishes before they're even needed or serve raw meat/fish to a pregnant women, is what puts you up on Ramsay's chopping block, and thus justifying anything that Ramsay says to you because you were just caught out as a delusional, egocentric asshole.
Hell, I can actually count a few times where Ramsay was the calm one in the scenario. Remember when, in the early UK Hell's Kitchen days, a woman tried to slap him after stopping during service to complain about being tired?
Or when Joseph in Hell's Kitchen Season 6 tried to pick a fight with him, despite not answering two very basic questions?
Or how about in Kitchen Nightmares where co-owners Amy and Samy refuse to listen to constructive criticism, forcing Ramsay to leave before he could help them in fixing the issues with the restaurant?
In all of these instances, Ramsay was not the one who instigated the yelling and swearing. He was the one trying to act calmly and rationally before realising these people were beyond hope, especially Amy and Samy with how their restaurant is the only one in the history of Kitchen Nightmares that Ramsay had no choice but to leave. If you're seriously gonna watch all of this and still claim that Ramsay was acting out of line, then I think you need a fucking new prescription for your glasses. And if your not wearing glasses, then put down that hash, as that's the only way you could still be thinking like that.
And I suppose the final reason for why there's a hatedom for Ramsay is this; he's prejudiced.
No. No he isn't. He may use some of the contestants characteristics to insult them if they do a shit job at cooking a scallop, but that's different from being prejudiced. Prejudice is the idea of non-acceptance, where you refuse to accept something that's different from what you perceive as normal, be it race, gender, sexuality, etc. However, Ramsay doesn't care about any of that; like I said, he only cares if you can live up to your self-proclamations of being a professional chef who could cook just about anything. If you can't do that, he's completely in the right to call you out on it. There may have been legitimate douchebags on Hell's Kitchen:
But Ramsay sure as Hell isn't one of them. Again, every time their selfish and judgemental attitudes came up, Ramsay put them in their place and booted them off when the time was right. Keep in mind, this is just what Matt Hearn had said and done during his time as a contestant in Season 16.
After watching all of that, are you really gonna tell me that Ramsay is the douchebag?
Look, I get if you don't watch stuff like Hell's Kitchen or other cooking shows. But don't try to claim that Gordon Ramsay is something when he clearly isn't.
With that finally done, I'm glad that I could finally bring back Random Rants. If you like what you saw..., well, good for you.
Til next time, this is Callum Lewis, the Media Man, signing off...
...fucking donkeys.
Friday, 4 May 2018
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
It's pretty incredible knowing that the MCU has lasted for a solid 10 years now. Who would've thought that 2008's "Iron Man" would lead to something as expansive and all-encompassing as Marvel Studio's project to bring their major comic book properties to the big screen? We've had a few blunders along the way (Thor: The Dark World, Iron Fist, Iron Man 2, The Inhumans, Agents of SHIELD), but that hasn't stopped Marvel from producing an overall consistently entertaining rollercoster of charm and personality.
And, of course, since "Avengers Assemble" first premiered in 2012 and we had our first glimpse at the character of Thanos, major fans knew that it wouldn't be long before the Mad Titan began his quest to wipe out half of the universe. Now, 6 years after "Avengers Assemble", we have reached the culmination of what the last 18 films have been building towards; Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War".
The premise? Thanos has decided to begin his endgame goal of collecting the 6 Infinity Stones, each one embodying a different energy of the universe; Time, Space, Reality, Power, the Mind and the Soul. Thus, it is left in the hands of what's left of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Thanos in his tracks, or half of the universes population will vanish at the snap of his fingers.
For a film that has been built up since 2012, "Infinity War" has a lot to live up to, especially as it's adapting one of the largest scale stories in Marvel Comics' history. And now that it's here, I can definitely say that we were given everything we had been promised; the drama, the action, the acting, the effects, the set pieces, the music, the storytelling; ALL of it top notch.
As the film puts a major emphasis on the Mad Titan, it's only best that we first discuss Thanos. With maybe the exception of Wilson Fisk, Kilgrave and Cottonmouth, we don't really have that many in terms of legitimately great villains in the MCU. Most of them are either humourless, forgettable lumps (i.e.: Malekith or Ronan the Accuser) or they're too comical to be taken seriously (i.e.: Diamondback or Yellowjacket). However, with the last few films, Marvel has certainly upped their game with the villains, with Thanos being the perfect example. Not only does he prove to be quite formidable even without the Infinity Stones, but he also has more layers to him than most Marvel villains. You find yourself understanding where he's coming from with his journey to get the Stones, even if his methods can be quite cruel. He isn't just doing it for the sake of glory, or being evil for evil's sake; he believes so much that he is the hero of his own story and that using the Stones to carry out his plans are for the greater good of the universe.
There's even some form of sympathy to be had with the guy, as we get more expansion with his relationship with Gamora and the kind of impact that she has had in his life. He originally just took her to train her, but has also come to see her as his real daughter. He's deluded in thinking this, of course, but it also brings more light to the fact that Thanos isn't just a big monster, but someone who wants to prove so desperately that he's right, and not to fail in his quest.
Each member of the cast give top notch performances, which is to be expected as they had years to get used to these roles. Part of the charm and entertainment factor comes down to how their different personalities bounce off of each other almost seamlessly. Stuff like Thor going on an adventure with Rocket and Groot, or Tony and Star Lord's egos trying to compete with each other. Even brief interactions like Banner and Shuri get a legit laugh when the two are in the same scene. Hell, I think people should go see this film just for this VERY brief exchange between Groot and Captain America:
"I am GROOT!"
"I am Steve Rogers."
When the teenage talking tree and a star-spangled man with a plan have more chemistry than ANY of the DC films thus far, you know something is wrong.
The film also doesn't shy away from taking legit risks as well. In the very beginning of the film (if you ignored the spoiler warning, then I don't know why you're still reading), half the Asgardians, including Heimdall and Loki, are killed off. And not off-screen, either; we see Thanos choke Loki to death right in front of Thor, after seeing Heimdall get stabbed by one of Thanos' minions. It's stuff like this that, in my opinion, put the MCU leagues above the DCEU, as Marvel honestly cares about their audience and make sure you can feel the power and weight of the scene. And that's especially true when Thanos has no choice but to kill Gamora in order to get the Soul Stone. He is told by the Red Skull cameo (nice touch, by the way) that he has to sacrifice something he loves in order to have that Stone, and you can see the regret and hesitation in his face upon learning that, and even when he commits the act. It's not just a split second decision; it's a legit hard choice.
If were to nitpick the film in any way, it's that, as much as I love how the characters interact with each other, some of them are never really given a moment to shine and do something legitimately awesome. I'm namely pointing out Bucky, Rhodes, and Natasha, because although they do contribute to the story, none of them are given particularly major moments when their either fighting or just interacting with other members of the cast, most especially Bucky and Rhodes. They kind of feel like afterthoughts and were probably put in the film as a means of increasing the cast size and, well, they still had Sebastian Stan on set from the post-credit stinger from "Black Panther". Still, I give it a bit of leeway, as the cast is so massive, that some sacrifices had to be made.
And of course, the ending is certainly a massive game changer, not just because they include Thanos snapping his fingers with the Stones and the Gauntlet (brilliant nod to the comics, by the way), but because we actually see characters we have come to love disintegrate right before our eyes: the Guardians (bar Rocket), Dr Strange, T'Challa, Bucky, Falcon
It's pretty incredible knowing that the MCU has lasted for a solid 10 years now. Who would've thought that 2008's "Iron Man" would lead to something as expansive and all-encompassing as Marvel Studio's project to bring their major comic book properties to the big screen? We've had a few blunders along the way (Thor: The Dark World, Iron Fist, Iron Man 2, The Inhumans, Agents of SHIELD), but that hasn't stopped Marvel from producing an overall consistently entertaining rollercoster of charm and personality.
And, of course, since "Avengers Assemble" first premiered in 2012 and we had our first glimpse at the character of Thanos, major fans knew that it wouldn't be long before the Mad Titan began his quest to wipe out half of the universe. Now, 6 years after "Avengers Assemble", we have reached the culmination of what the last 18 films have been building towards; Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War".
The premise? Thanos has decided to begin his endgame goal of collecting the 6 Infinity Stones, each one embodying a different energy of the universe; Time, Space, Reality, Power, the Mind and the Soul. Thus, it is left in the hands of what's left of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Thanos in his tracks, or half of the universes population will vanish at the snap of his fingers.
For a film that has been built up since 2012, "Infinity War" has a lot to live up to, especially as it's adapting one of the largest scale stories in Marvel Comics' history. And now that it's here, I can definitely say that we were given everything we had been promised; the drama, the action, the acting, the effects, the set pieces, the music, the storytelling; ALL of it top notch.
As the film puts a major emphasis on the Mad Titan, it's only best that we first discuss Thanos. With maybe the exception of Wilson Fisk, Kilgrave and Cottonmouth, we don't really have that many in terms of legitimately great villains in the MCU. Most of them are either humourless, forgettable lumps (i.e.: Malekith or Ronan the Accuser) or they're too comical to be taken seriously (i.e.: Diamondback or Yellowjacket). However, with the last few films, Marvel has certainly upped their game with the villains, with Thanos being the perfect example. Not only does he prove to be quite formidable even without the Infinity Stones, but he also has more layers to him than most Marvel villains. You find yourself understanding where he's coming from with his journey to get the Stones, even if his methods can be quite cruel. He isn't just doing it for the sake of glory, or being evil for evil's sake; he believes so much that he is the hero of his own story and that using the Stones to carry out his plans are for the greater good of the universe.
There's even some form of sympathy to be had with the guy, as we get more expansion with his relationship with Gamora and the kind of impact that she has had in his life. He originally just took her to train her, but has also come to see her as his real daughter. He's deluded in thinking this, of course, but it also brings more light to the fact that Thanos isn't just a big monster, but someone who wants to prove so desperately that he's right, and not to fail in his quest.
Each member of the cast give top notch performances, which is to be expected as they had years to get used to these roles. Part of the charm and entertainment factor comes down to how their different personalities bounce off of each other almost seamlessly. Stuff like Thor going on an adventure with Rocket and Groot, or Tony and Star Lord's egos trying to compete with each other. Even brief interactions like Banner and Shuri get a legit laugh when the two are in the same scene. Hell, I think people should go see this film just for this VERY brief exchange between Groot and Captain America:
"I am GROOT!"
"I am Steve Rogers."
When the teenage talking tree and a star-spangled man with a plan have more chemistry than ANY of the DC films thus far, you know something is wrong.
The film also doesn't shy away from taking legit risks as well. In the very beginning of the film (if you ignored the spoiler warning, then I don't know why you're still reading), half the Asgardians, including Heimdall and Loki, are killed off. And not off-screen, either; we see Thanos choke Loki to death right in front of Thor, after seeing Heimdall get stabbed by one of Thanos' minions. It's stuff like this that, in my opinion, put the MCU leagues above the DCEU, as Marvel honestly cares about their audience and make sure you can feel the power and weight of the scene. And that's especially true when Thanos has no choice but to kill Gamora in order to get the Soul Stone. He is told by the Red Skull cameo (nice touch, by the way) that he has to sacrifice something he loves in order to have that Stone, and you can see the regret and hesitation in his face upon learning that, and even when he commits the act. It's not just a split second decision; it's a legit hard choice.
If were to nitpick the film in any way, it's that, as much as I love how the characters interact with each other, some of them are never really given a moment to shine and do something legitimately awesome. I'm namely pointing out Bucky, Rhodes, and Natasha, because although they do contribute to the story, none of them are given particularly major moments when their either fighting or just interacting with other members of the cast, most especially Bucky and Rhodes. They kind of feel like afterthoughts and were probably put in the film as a means of increasing the cast size and, well, they still had Sebastian Stan on set from the post-credit stinger from "Black Panther". Still, I give it a bit of leeway, as the cast is so massive, that some sacrifices had to be made.
And of course, the ending is certainly a massive game changer, not just because they include Thanos snapping his fingers with the Stones and the Gauntlet (brilliant nod to the comics, by the way), but because we actually see characters we have come to love disintegrate right before our eyes: the Guardians (bar Rocket), Dr Strange, T'Challa, Bucky, Falcon
Monday, 5 March 2018
Steven Universe Season 3 (Part 1)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
Sorry that it's been a while, real life stuff was getting in the way, blah blah blah, all that shit. Point is, I'm back and with more Steven Universe!
So by this point in the season, Peridot has become a full on Crystal Gem, living her newfound freedom at the family barn in the middle of the country side, all the while working with the Gems to finish the drill that will take them to the Cluster. But we don't time for that shit, we gotta have an episode focused on not one, but two left over plot threads. Specifically, a series of sentient Steven-shaped watermelons who have taken residence on an island (hence the name of the first episode, "Super Watermelon Island") and the monster leaving there; Malachite, the forced Fusion of Lapis and Jasper. Quick question; why hasn't Garnet found them buy now if she has been scouring the entire ocean since the first seasons finale?
Well, regardless, the Gems (bar Steven and Peridot) head over to the island to stop Malachite once and for all, especially now that Jasper pretty much seems to be in full control now. But Steven, through his ability to enter other people's dreams to become a watermelon (established last season, so it makes sense in hindsight), rallies the other watermelons together to help Alexandrite (the Fusion of Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl) finally bring Malachite down, freeing Lapis and leaving Jasper to fall into a crevice caused by an earthquake from the Cluster's close awakening.
As a first episode, it's not bad but it was really rushed, moving from point to point at far too fast a pace. Yes, it was meant to finally resolve the subplot with Malachite still on the loose and Jasper in control, but because we didn't see much of Malachite since the first seasons finale, we are thus left uninterested when she finally does turn up to cause havoc. Not helped by the fact that, for most of the episode, we are stuck with the Watermelon Steven's and thus find it laughable when Malachite quickly gets taken down "Gulliver's Travel" style. It's frankly the weakest opening episode the entire show has had thus far.
Not helped that the next episode, "Gem Drill", suffers from the same pacing issues. With Steven back in his body and the planet starting to violently rumble, he and Peridot hop in the drill and..., well, drill their way to beneath the Earth's crust, finally reaching:
The way she says that will never not be funny.
Anyways, they try to penetrate it, but it does nothing, with Steven getting knocked out... only to wake up in the Clusters consciousness. Admittedly, this is a visually stunning scene with Steven floating in a dark, empty void, broken up only by the shards of the other Gems, as he tries to convince them that they don't have to form if they don't want to, so long as they have each other down there. And thus, each of the Gem shards bubble each other, preventing the Cluster from emerging and thus saving the Earth... in just under 12 minutes.
Yeah, this is what I was referring too earlier. Whilst still a really good way to resolve the situation with the Cluster, I think that some of this stuff could've been given a separate focus episode so that Steven has enough time to really convince the Gem shards, because it ultimately boils down to:
Cluster Shards: WE WANNA FORM!! WE WANNA! WE WANNA! WE WANNA! WE WANNA!
Steven: Don't.
CS: OKAY.
It's because of the rushed pacing (not helped by the shows infamous hiatuses of nothing happening between episodes) that Season 3's opening episodes are not as strong in comparison to, say, Season 2's opener "Full Disclosure", where the focus was on Steven trying to do the right thing before eventually realising that what he's doing will just hurt more in the long run, especially when cutting off one of the few friends of his who are human. It just felt that much of the stuff with the Cluster could've been resolved as the Season 2 finale, before taking time to do the stuff with Malachite. It would've fit more naturally as a Season finale.
But despite all of that, we do get actual consequences from the stuff that happened between Jasper and Lapis while they were Malachite, with Steven trying to help Lapis fit in more comfortably in the episode "Same Old World", where they try to help Lapis find a place to live and Steven then learns that Lapis was only on Earth by accident, having been mistaken for a Crystal Gem, forced in Gem Mirror and left behind when Homeworld retreated from Earth to avoid being Corrupted. Ultimately, Lapis does decide to stay at the family barn..., before learning that Peridot is there too.
And this isn't brushed over either, they dedicate the next episode, "Barn Mates", to Peridot trying to earnestly and honestly earn Lapis' trust, but failing every time due to how, beforehand, Peridot had treated Lapis as nothing more than a prisoner, a tool to be used to advance their plans for Earth and the Cluster. But even then, Peridot really tries her hardest to prove to Lapis that she's not the same cold, judgemental narcissist that she was before. Granted, Peridot still has a huge ego about her, but that's simply part of her character and not a trait that negatively affects her progress, as she is legitimately hardworking and shows her compassion for others. Even Steven is telling Lapis that Peridot does deserve a chance at proving herself, while still acknowledging that Lapis isn't wrong in distrusting her. But this is interrupted by the arrival of a Gem Ship, which is only stopped when Lapis intervenes, showing her concern for Peridot's life.
Because, damn it, everything is gay about this!
Still, what exactly was in that Gem Ship?
... Well, ... Shit.
Sorry that it's been a while, real life stuff was getting in the way, blah blah blah, all that shit. Point is, I'm back and with more Steven Universe!
So by this point in the season, Peridot has become a full on Crystal Gem, living her newfound freedom at the family barn in the middle of the country side, all the while working with the Gems to finish the drill that will take them to the Cluster. But we don't time for that shit, we gotta have an episode focused on not one, but two left over plot threads. Specifically, a series of sentient Steven-shaped watermelons who have taken residence on an island (hence the name of the first episode, "Super Watermelon Island") and the monster leaving there; Malachite, the forced Fusion of Lapis and Jasper. Quick question; why hasn't Garnet found them buy now if she has been scouring the entire ocean since the first seasons finale?
Well, regardless, the Gems (bar Steven and Peridot) head over to the island to stop Malachite once and for all, especially now that Jasper pretty much seems to be in full control now. But Steven, through his ability to enter other people's dreams to become a watermelon (established last season, so it makes sense in hindsight), rallies the other watermelons together to help Alexandrite (the Fusion of Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl) finally bring Malachite down, freeing Lapis and leaving Jasper to fall into a crevice caused by an earthquake from the Cluster's close awakening.
As a first episode, it's not bad but it was really rushed, moving from point to point at far too fast a pace. Yes, it was meant to finally resolve the subplot with Malachite still on the loose and Jasper in control, but because we didn't see much of Malachite since the first seasons finale, we are thus left uninterested when she finally does turn up to cause havoc. Not helped by the fact that, for most of the episode, we are stuck with the Watermelon Steven's and thus find it laughable when Malachite quickly gets taken down "Gulliver's Travel" style. It's frankly the weakest opening episode the entire show has had thus far.
Not helped that the next episode, "Gem Drill", suffers from the same pacing issues. With Steven back in his body and the planet starting to violently rumble, he and Peridot hop in the drill and..., well, drill their way to beneath the Earth's crust, finally reaching:
The way she says that will never not be funny.
Anyways, they try to penetrate it, but it does nothing, with Steven getting knocked out... only to wake up in the Clusters consciousness. Admittedly, this is a visually stunning scene with Steven floating in a dark, empty void, broken up only by the shards of the other Gems, as he tries to convince them that they don't have to form if they don't want to, so long as they have each other down there. And thus, each of the Gem shards bubble each other, preventing the Cluster from emerging and thus saving the Earth... in just under 12 minutes.
Yeah, this is what I was referring too earlier. Whilst still a really good way to resolve the situation with the Cluster, I think that some of this stuff could've been given a separate focus episode so that Steven has enough time to really convince the Gem shards, because it ultimately boils down to:
Cluster Shards: WE WANNA FORM!! WE WANNA! WE WANNA! WE WANNA! WE WANNA!
Steven: Don't.
CS: OKAY.
It's because of the rushed pacing (not helped by the shows infamous hiatuses of nothing happening between episodes) that Season 3's opening episodes are not as strong in comparison to, say, Season 2's opener "Full Disclosure", where the focus was on Steven trying to do the right thing before eventually realising that what he's doing will just hurt more in the long run, especially when cutting off one of the few friends of his who are human. It just felt that much of the stuff with the Cluster could've been resolved as the Season 2 finale, before taking time to do the stuff with Malachite. It would've fit more naturally as a Season finale.
But despite all of that, we do get actual consequences from the stuff that happened between Jasper and Lapis while they were Malachite, with Steven trying to help Lapis fit in more comfortably in the episode "Same Old World", where they try to help Lapis find a place to live and Steven then learns that Lapis was only on Earth by accident, having been mistaken for a Crystal Gem, forced in Gem Mirror and left behind when Homeworld retreated from Earth to avoid being Corrupted. Ultimately, Lapis does decide to stay at the family barn..., before learning that Peridot is there too.
And this isn't brushed over either, they dedicate the next episode, "Barn Mates", to Peridot trying to earnestly and honestly earn Lapis' trust, but failing every time due to how, beforehand, Peridot had treated Lapis as nothing more than a prisoner, a tool to be used to advance their plans for Earth and the Cluster. But even then, Peridot really tries her hardest to prove to Lapis that she's not the same cold, judgemental narcissist that she was before. Granted, Peridot still has a huge ego about her, but that's simply part of her character and not a trait that negatively affects her progress, as she is legitimately hardworking and shows her compassion for others. Even Steven is telling Lapis that Peridot does deserve a chance at proving herself, while still acknowledging that Lapis isn't wrong in distrusting her. But this is interrupted by the arrival of a Gem Ship, which is only stopped when Lapis intervenes, showing her concern for Peridot's life.
Because, damn it, everything is gay about this!
Still, what exactly was in that Gem Ship?
... Well, ... Shit.
Friday, 12 January 2018
The Disaster Artist (2017)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
I know that I'm extremely late to the party on this, but I only just saw the film the other day and I've been reading the book in the meantime, so gimme a break.
Just to give a bit more context, I had only watch "The Room" for the first time a couple of months ago, as I had only knew of the film through reviews and word of mouth. Regardless, that still doesn't change the fact that Tommy Wiseau's cinematic ego-boner is nothing short of awful, and yet is somehow amazing!
The story is as weak as any melodrama could get: it's a love triangle based solely on gratuitous and awfully shot sex scenes that feel a few decades old. The characters are all cardboard cut-outs, not once displaying any real personality outside of a basic quirk that's supposed to pass for fully defined persona. The dialogue is awful, with needless, pointless digressions and repetitions of lines we had heard a million times before. Entire scenes are simply in the film for the sake of filling running time, proving that this could only pass as a low-grade high school project. And the acting... well, I think this scene sums it up best:
To quote the Nostalgia Critic: "Not one inflection was right; not one word was said correctly; not one breath of air made me believe anything that he was saying."
And yet, either because or in spite of how awful this film is, it's fucking amazing. It's that rare spit on the face of cinema that somehow manages to leave a smile on your face as you're watching. I can't imagine a world without "The Room", or Tommy Wiseau.
With that said, however, I don't know if it's truly necessary to see "The Room" if you want to watch "The Disaster Artist". It helps give you an idea of what kind of horrible acting is to be expected, but not if you want to watch what is essentially a biography on not just Tommy, but also Greg Sestero, Tommy's best friend and the co-star of "The Room". With that said, let's actually talk about this movie.
The story is of a young Greg Sestero (played by Dave Franco), an aspiring actor who lacks confidence in what he's doing. That is until, one day that would change his life, he meets the infamous Tommy Wiseau (played by James Franco), who can't act to save his life, but isn't afraid to go all out whenever he's on stage. The two eventually form an unlikely friendship leading to them moving to Los Angeles in the hopes of becoming movie stars. But of course, walking around with a living wig that has a mumbling alien attached to it isn't going to help their cred, so after failed attempts to get into acting, they decide to just make their own movie, leading to the troubled production and creation of what would soon become the "Citizen Kane" of bad movies; The Room.
Now, part of the reason I say that it's not entirely necessary to see "The Room" to enjoy "The Disaster Artist" is because much of the film isn't really focused on just the making of Tommy's disasterpiece, but more on the construction and then deconstruction of his and Greg's friendship, which I was definitely happy to see. If the entire thing was just making fun of Tommy and what happened during the production of "The Room", there wouldn't really be much in the way of an actual story. But because it chooses instead to develop Tommy and Greg as people (despite Tommy's bizarre nature), it helps get an understanding of how troubled the production was just by seeing these two grow. What also helped was that, of course, Dave and James Franco have excellent chemistry together and fall into their roles pretty flawlessly.
What really surprised is how much I liked James Franco in this film. And that may be because, with rare exception, I never liked James as an actor. I thought he was boring in the Spider-Man movies; he was fucking annoying in "The Interview", even without the bullshit that got that film pulled from theatres; he butchered the title character of "Oz: The Great and Powerful"; he was unremarkable in "127 Hours". He has generally been off my radar when it comes to a legitimately good performance. Thankfully, this film is an exception to that. James is perfect in the role as Tommy Wiseau. His mannerisms; his appearance; even the fucking accent is pretty damn flawless. I guess it kind of makes sense. You want to portray a bad actor? Then get someone who can't act in anything else to save his life! The logic is perfect!
The film also succeeds at being funny as hell, while still being truthful enough to history to engage audiences. For instance, we all know the infamous rooftop "I did not hit her" scene from the original, as well as it's effective recreation for the trailers of "The Disaster Artist". However, it wasn't all fun and games with the production of the film. Stuff like Tommy forgetting his lines in the script that HE wrote, or insulting Juliette Danielle's (the original actress for Lisa, "The Room"'s lead woman) body during an open set sex scene, or choosing to shoot the movie with both 35mm and HD cameras at the same time. A lot of the things that Tommy reportedly did on set was disgusting behaviour, and both the film and the book acknowledges that Tommy was being an obsessive, egocentric asshole for a majority of the time both during and after the films production.
If there is one thing I may have to nitpick, it's that the reading of Tommy's character in the film alters a bit from how he's depicted in the book. In the book, it's as I said before; Tommy was being a selfish twat. In the film, however, he's more portrayed as a sympathetic outcast who was corrupted by his own desires. That's not to say it isn't a fair interpretation of the character, but when the film shows some of Tommy's worst outbursts, as well as him pretty much screwing around with Greg's own personal life and professional career (he told him not to go on the set of "Malcolm in the Middle" with Bryan fucking Cranston, for instance), then it kind becomes a mixed interpretation, where it seems that it can't decide whether if Tommy's a dick, or less of a dick.
That said, it doesn't fully detract from what was otherwise a great experience at the cinema. The acting was fantastic all around, the humour always hitting bulls-eye, the direction beautiful, and much of what happened in the film is based on what happened in the book. If you haven't seen this film yet, well I'm said to say that the film has just finished it's cinematic run, so you can't see it right now. But when the DVD comes out, you simply HAVE to see it. In the meantime, however, I also highly recommend that you read the book while you wait, as it's both an engaging read and a piss-funny look into the films production. What a story, huh?
Overall rating 9/10 (Awesome)!
Until next time, this is Callum Lewis, the Media Man. Anyway, how's your sex life?
I know that I'm extremely late to the party on this, but I only just saw the film the other day and I've been reading the book in the meantime, so gimme a break.
Just to give a bit more context, I had only watch "The Room" for the first time a couple of months ago, as I had only knew of the film through reviews and word of mouth. Regardless, that still doesn't change the fact that Tommy Wiseau's cinematic ego-boner is nothing short of awful, and yet is somehow amazing!
The story is as weak as any melodrama could get: it's a love triangle based solely on gratuitous and awfully shot sex scenes that feel a few decades old. The characters are all cardboard cut-outs, not once displaying any real personality outside of a basic quirk that's supposed to pass for fully defined persona. The dialogue is awful, with needless, pointless digressions and repetitions of lines we had heard a million times before. Entire scenes are simply in the film for the sake of filling running time, proving that this could only pass as a low-grade high school project. And the acting... well, I think this scene sums it up best:
To quote the Nostalgia Critic: "Not one inflection was right; not one word was said correctly; not one breath of air made me believe anything that he was saying."
And yet, either because or in spite of how awful this film is, it's fucking amazing. It's that rare spit on the face of cinema that somehow manages to leave a smile on your face as you're watching. I can't imagine a world without "The Room", or Tommy Wiseau.
With that said, however, I don't know if it's truly necessary to see "The Room" if you want to watch "The Disaster Artist". It helps give you an idea of what kind of horrible acting is to be expected, but not if you want to watch what is essentially a biography on not just Tommy, but also Greg Sestero, Tommy's best friend and the co-star of "The Room". With that said, let's actually talk about this movie.
The story is of a young Greg Sestero (played by Dave Franco), an aspiring actor who lacks confidence in what he's doing. That is until, one day that would change his life, he meets the infamous Tommy Wiseau (played by James Franco), who can't act to save his life, but isn't afraid to go all out whenever he's on stage. The two eventually form an unlikely friendship leading to them moving to Los Angeles in the hopes of becoming movie stars. But of course, walking around with a living wig that has a mumbling alien attached to it isn't going to help their cred, so after failed attempts to get into acting, they decide to just make their own movie, leading to the troubled production and creation of what would soon become the "Citizen Kane" of bad movies; The Room.
Now, part of the reason I say that it's not entirely necessary to see "The Room" to enjoy "The Disaster Artist" is because much of the film isn't really focused on just the making of Tommy's disasterpiece, but more on the construction and then deconstruction of his and Greg's friendship, which I was definitely happy to see. If the entire thing was just making fun of Tommy and what happened during the production of "The Room", there wouldn't really be much in the way of an actual story. But because it chooses instead to develop Tommy and Greg as people (despite Tommy's bizarre nature), it helps get an understanding of how troubled the production was just by seeing these two grow. What also helped was that, of course, Dave and James Franco have excellent chemistry together and fall into their roles pretty flawlessly.
What really surprised is how much I liked James Franco in this film. And that may be because, with rare exception, I never liked James as an actor. I thought he was boring in the Spider-Man movies; he was fucking annoying in "The Interview", even without the bullshit that got that film pulled from theatres; he butchered the title character of "Oz: The Great and Powerful"; he was unremarkable in "127 Hours". He has generally been off my radar when it comes to a legitimately good performance. Thankfully, this film is an exception to that. James is perfect in the role as Tommy Wiseau. His mannerisms; his appearance; even the fucking accent is pretty damn flawless. I guess it kind of makes sense. You want to portray a bad actor? Then get someone who can't act in anything else to save his life! The logic is perfect!
The film also succeeds at being funny as hell, while still being truthful enough to history to engage audiences. For instance, we all know the infamous rooftop "I did not hit her" scene from the original, as well as it's effective recreation for the trailers of "The Disaster Artist". However, it wasn't all fun and games with the production of the film. Stuff like Tommy forgetting his lines in the script that HE wrote, or insulting Juliette Danielle's (the original actress for Lisa, "The Room"'s lead woman) body during an open set sex scene, or choosing to shoot the movie with both 35mm and HD cameras at the same time. A lot of the things that Tommy reportedly did on set was disgusting behaviour, and both the film and the book acknowledges that Tommy was being an obsessive, egocentric asshole for a majority of the time both during and after the films production.
If there is one thing I may have to nitpick, it's that the reading of Tommy's character in the film alters a bit from how he's depicted in the book. In the book, it's as I said before; Tommy was being a selfish twat. In the film, however, he's more portrayed as a sympathetic outcast who was corrupted by his own desires. That's not to say it isn't a fair interpretation of the character, but when the film shows some of Tommy's worst outbursts, as well as him pretty much screwing around with Greg's own personal life and professional career (he told him not to go on the set of "Malcolm in the Middle" with Bryan fucking Cranston, for instance), then it kind becomes a mixed interpretation, where it seems that it can't decide whether if Tommy's a dick, or less of a dick.
That said, it doesn't fully detract from what was otherwise a great experience at the cinema. The acting was fantastic all around, the humour always hitting bulls-eye, the direction beautiful, and much of what happened in the film is based on what happened in the book. If you haven't seen this film yet, well I'm said to say that the film has just finished it's cinematic run, so you can't see it right now. But when the DVD comes out, you simply HAVE to see it. In the meantime, however, I also highly recommend that you read the book while you wait, as it's both an engaging read and a piss-funny look into the films production. What a story, huh?
Overall rating 9/10 (Awesome)!
Until next time, this is Callum Lewis, the Media Man. Anyway, how's your sex life?
Saturday, 30 September 2017
Random Rants: The Kamen Rider Counting Gag
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
Welcome to a new series of blogs for my page; Random Rants. The idea of the series is pretty self-explanatory, just a bunch of random rants based on minor things that just irk me to no end. I've been meaning to do these for a while, but was just too lazy to get around to it until now.
With that said, this first in hopefully many rants will be on something that you think wouldn't matter in the slightest, but kind of does in relation to the fanbase; the Counting Gag, for Kamen Rider.
For those unaware, the fan-coined "Counting Gag" is based on a numeric theme for the franchise for Kamen Riders W, OOO and Fourze. The gag was basically how the number was integrated into the shows themes, wordplay, episode titles, music and gimmick of the year.
This started with W and the number 2; 2 Gaia Memories used in the belt to transform, 2 people becoming W, the name itself being a pun on the number 2 (pronounced as "double", not "W") and each episode having 2 different titles (an arc name based around a letter and a title summarising each episode, with the letters in the arc name having two different meanings).
This was followed with OOO and 3's; 3 of the same term in the name, 3 Core Medals used at once to transform, 3 descriptors of the episode as their title names, 3 of the same type of Core Medal for a new form (i.e.: Tajadol based on birds or Gatakiriba on bugs), and hell, even the opening lyric for the theme song is "You count the Medals, 1, 2 and 3".
And finally, we have Fourze with the number 4; 4 Astro Switches to transform, 4 bases on the suit for the Switch Modules, 4 Kanji used to spell out the title names, and of course the name itself being a portmanteau of the numbers 4 and 0 (zero), in reference to Kamen Rider's then-40th anniversary, not to mention the 40 Astro Switches seen in the show.
There are more detailed ways as to how the Counting Gag is used as theme in and of itself in these shows, but that's the basic gist of it. However, due to every fanbase having a disturbing amount of trolls in them, there are of course people that simply won't let this fucking gag die out, with ludicrous and contradictory evidence to support that the gag continues with Wizard onwards.
In truth, they're not really counting anything; they're just looking from ANY visual gag that looks like a number while deliberately ignoring how the number was integrated and represented. Hell, the number itself should be irrelevant so long as as it's part of a consistent thematic, which it isn't in any respect for Wizard onwards.
I kid you not; some fans honestly think that the gag is in Wizard just because there are 5 fingers on the WizarDriver!
Hey George Carlin, what're your thoughts?
You're goddamn right!
First of all, no it doesn't. Just like any normal human hand, it has 4 fingers and 1 thumb. Second, even you were using the logic of "visual confirms Counting Gag", NOWHERE on the belt is there anything resembling the number 5! On top of that, there are no titles spelt out with 5 words, the theme song isn't focused around the number 5, Wizard the character doesn't have 5 of the same thing; face it folks, the Counting Gag is not in Wizard!
The same fucking thing happened with Gaim and the number 6, just because an unlocked Lockseed, apparently, looks like a 6.
Okay, I can kind of see that, but again, it wasn't the visual that confirmed the gag was still going; it was how it was consistently presented as a theme in and of itself! If it's not used the same way as W, OOO and Fourze, then it isn't there!
But it only gets worse from there; for Drive, it's the flipped over Shift Cars; Ghost, the Infinity sign flipped up; and Ex-Aid, a Gashat flipped upside-down! Did the fanbase just have a weird obsession with flipping over stuff just to look for an unrelated gag?! Because otherwise, NOTHING IN THESE SHOWS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE COUNTING GAG!!!
Even the episode title styles from Drive onwards has changed to be reflective of the shows themselves, thus showing that they aren't even TRYING to do the Counting Gag anymore. With Drive, the titles are questions that are then answered in the episodes. With Ghost, they are reactions to what will happen in the episode. And with Ex-Aid, a romanized phrase among Japanese Kanji characters.
Hell, even Toei themselves have outright said that the Counting Gag stopped with Fourze, mainly due to both the writing staff for each show not being able to incorporate a higher number as a tertiary theme and Plex, the company who does design work for Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, had the same issue with a higher number than 4. Thus, they just gave up on it and told the fans straight that the gag was over. But again, because of the trolling we see all the time, they refuse to just let the gag fucking die! It's starting to feel like a joke you had told to you by a friend time and again; every time you hear it, it gets less and less funny, thus ruining the appeal and making it more aggravating for every one listening!
Point being; Rider fans, if you still say the Counting Gag continues past Fourze with more and more ludicrous, unfounded evidence to "support" your claims... well, I think UHF summed it up best:
I hope you enjoyed this rant and, as always, this is Callum Lewis, the Media Man, signing off!
Welcome to a new series of blogs for my page; Random Rants. The idea of the series is pretty self-explanatory, just a bunch of random rants based on minor things that just irk me to no end. I've been meaning to do these for a while, but was just too lazy to get around to it until now.
With that said, this first in hopefully many rants will be on something that you think wouldn't matter in the slightest, but kind of does in relation to the fanbase; the Counting Gag, for Kamen Rider.
For those unaware, the fan-coined "Counting Gag" is based on a numeric theme for the franchise for Kamen Riders W, OOO and Fourze. The gag was basically how the number was integrated into the shows themes, wordplay, episode titles, music and gimmick of the year.
This started with W and the number 2; 2 Gaia Memories used in the belt to transform, 2 people becoming W, the name itself being a pun on the number 2 (pronounced as "double", not "W") and each episode having 2 different titles (an arc name based around a letter and a title summarising each episode, with the letters in the arc name having two different meanings).
This was followed with OOO and 3's; 3 of the same term in the name, 3 Core Medals used at once to transform, 3 descriptors of the episode as their title names, 3 of the same type of Core Medal for a new form (i.e.: Tajadol based on birds or Gatakiriba on bugs), and hell, even the opening lyric for the theme song is "You count the Medals, 1, 2 and 3".
And finally, we have Fourze with the number 4; 4 Astro Switches to transform, 4 bases on the suit for the Switch Modules, 4 Kanji used to spell out the title names, and of course the name itself being a portmanteau of the numbers 4 and 0 (zero), in reference to Kamen Rider's then-40th anniversary, not to mention the 40 Astro Switches seen in the show.
There are more detailed ways as to how the Counting Gag is used as theme in and of itself in these shows, but that's the basic gist of it. However, due to every fanbase having a disturbing amount of trolls in them, there are of course people that simply won't let this fucking gag die out, with ludicrous and contradictory evidence to support that the gag continues with Wizard onwards.
In truth, they're not really counting anything; they're just looking from ANY visual gag that looks like a number while deliberately ignoring how the number was integrated and represented. Hell, the number itself should be irrelevant so long as as it's part of a consistent thematic, which it isn't in any respect for Wizard onwards.
I kid you not; some fans honestly think that the gag is in Wizard just because there are 5 fingers on the WizarDriver!
Hey George Carlin, what're your thoughts?
You're goddamn right!
First of all, no it doesn't. Just like any normal human hand, it has 4 fingers and 1 thumb. Second, even you were using the logic of "visual confirms Counting Gag", NOWHERE on the belt is there anything resembling the number 5! On top of that, there are no titles spelt out with 5 words, the theme song isn't focused around the number 5, Wizard the character doesn't have 5 of the same thing; face it folks, the Counting Gag is not in Wizard!
The same fucking thing happened with Gaim and the number 6, just because an unlocked Lockseed, apparently, looks like a 6.
Okay, I can kind of see that, but again, it wasn't the visual that confirmed the gag was still going; it was how it was consistently presented as a theme in and of itself! If it's not used the same way as W, OOO and Fourze, then it isn't there!
But it only gets worse from there; for Drive, it's the flipped over Shift Cars; Ghost, the Infinity sign flipped up; and Ex-Aid, a Gashat flipped upside-down! Did the fanbase just have a weird obsession with flipping over stuff just to look for an unrelated gag?! Because otherwise, NOTHING IN THESE SHOWS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE COUNTING GAG!!!
Even the episode title styles from Drive onwards has changed to be reflective of the shows themselves, thus showing that they aren't even TRYING to do the Counting Gag anymore. With Drive, the titles are questions that are then answered in the episodes. With Ghost, they are reactions to what will happen in the episode. And with Ex-Aid, a romanized phrase among Japanese Kanji characters.
Hell, even Toei themselves have outright said that the Counting Gag stopped with Fourze, mainly due to both the writing staff for each show not being able to incorporate a higher number as a tertiary theme and Plex, the company who does design work for Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, had the same issue with a higher number than 4. Thus, they just gave up on it and told the fans straight that the gag was over. But again, because of the trolling we see all the time, they refuse to just let the gag fucking die! It's starting to feel like a joke you had told to you by a friend time and again; every time you hear it, it gets less and less funny, thus ruining the appeal and making it more aggravating for every one listening!
Point being; Rider fans, if you still say the Counting Gag continues past Fourze with more and more ludicrous, unfounded evidence to "support" your claims... well, I think UHF summed it up best:
I hope you enjoyed this rant and, as always, this is Callum Lewis, the Media Man, signing off!
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