Best Things Of The Year

In some ways, I am severely under-qualified to talk about the entertainment industry. Mostly because I have seen roughly 170 films this year, and I have bought about 3 albums...My interests sway one way more than the other. But hey, reflection is one of my favourite things to do when it comes to stuff I like, so with a whole year passing, I thought I'd talk about my favourite films, TV Shows, Songs and other items throughout the year that really caught my interest.

Films
About 1/3 of the films I saw this year were released in 2016, but I didn't want to spoil what my favourite film of the year was seeing as I'll be doing a whole video talking about my Top 10 of the year. However, if we were discussing films in general, the best film out of those 170 that I saw was When Harry Met Sally. I discussed this in length in my My Favourite Films series, so you can see more why I love it there. Personally, this is one of those films that I saw at just the right moment in my life. At first I had to watch this as part of my course at university back in April, but I ended up falling in love with it and watched it 5 times that month. It's a film that explores relationships between men and women both romantic and platonic, and as someone who has mentally stopped himself from falling for people because that bit me in the ass too many times, it was a fascinating watch with a lot of conversations that never felt like it was someone writing an essay on relationships, but came across as real conversations that you might have with people you know in real life. It's one of the most grounded films I saw this year, the only 10/10 I saw all year and was certainly the best.

Television
Part of me wanted to put a new TV show on here, just for the sake of giving people something new they can enjoy, and let's be honest, if you're not watching Game of Thrones by now, nothing's really going to convince you too. But again, if I am being honest, the sixth season of Game of Thrones was incredible. After a very meandering fifth season, some started to think the show was losing its steam. Well boy howdy did they come back with a bang. This season was possibly the fastest paced and biggest in scope season the show has had, with huge battles, major character development, reunions, deaths, dragons, etc. But it all comes down to those final two episodes. Battle of the Bastards, which is the greatest fight scene in a television show, just on a technical level, that can't be argued. Then the final episode paid off multiple plot points, while progressing some of the biggest show long stories, setting up an epic seventh season. This was the first season to fully depart from the books, and frankly I think that lead to all the better for the show's writing and production. Definitely the best season for the show in a while, and best season of television all year.

Music
Again, not much of a music person, so not a whole lot of competition. However, the album that impacted me the most was Dodie Clark's debut EP Intertwined. Already one of my favourite YouTubers and now has an album that you can buy. She's always been a musician that has stuck out to me for her introspective and emotionally honest music. This EP has a nice mixture of upbeat and quirky numbers, but its the slower ballads that really strike with this. Exposing her history and feelings in these songs, taking the pain of her short life, the heartbreaks, the anxieties, the fears. Though what I love mostly is the potential that this all shows. As someone who is also 21 and incredibly introspective on themselves to an unhealthy degree that I so often overthink things, one of the good things that thought pattern has lead me too is that I can see the slow progress in my own artistic expressions and my critical analysis of others and will hopefully constantly improve. And seeing Dodie's music develop over these years and seeing her perfect her sound not only tells me that she is a hard working and talented artist, but with every passing year she becomes better and better.

Others
There isn't really a category for me to put this in, but I wanted to talk more about Bo Burnham's Make Happy. Which fittingly, goes along very well with Dodie's Album. Both young people being introspective and turning pain into absolutely beautiful art. And if turning pain into beauty isn't the perfect bases for art then what is? For Bo he spends most of his stand up special experimenting with his own formula, constantly trying new things, trying to trump people's own expectations of his work, and all of this with the overarching theme of trying to make people happy (As the title would suggest). Referencing his own struggles with depression and plenty self-deprecating jokes, he ends it with a visual spectacle and experimental form of storytelling, while still being hilarious and enforcing the message of the show, ending it by saying "Thank You. Good night. I hope you're happy." then when he is alone he performs one more piano piece asking "On a scale of 1 to 0, are you happy?". I never thought I would describe a stand-up show as beautiful, but that's what this is, it is a beautiful piece of art, it is unique, it is creative, it is hilarious, it is stunning in every capacity. Bo Burnham is one of the best young comedians working today and I can't wait to see what he does next.

-Danny

Goodbye, Carrie Fisher

I don't usually report on celebrity deaths, even in a year like 2016 where everyone to die is someone you love. I mean in a way that is kind of eye opening, seeing as everyone who dies inevitably has someone who has been deeply saddened by it, but I can't think of another year where the public conscience has been this greatly effected. Yet despite that, despite all the great talent, inspiration, and just general great people we've lost this year (Plus all the awful people who have succeeded this year), none have hurt quite as much as Carrie Fisher.

Professionally, Carrie wasn't just a big star in a big franchise. She was a professional. She was in plenty of big films such as When Harry Met Sally, Blues Brothers, Hannah & Her Sisters, etc. She was also a script doctor, working on dozens of films for most of her time in Hollywood, improving dialogue, bettering films, whether it was in front of the camera or behind the camera, Carrie was correcting every film she was a part of.

But I'm not here to talk about her work. I'm here to talk about her as a person. Carrie Fisher was an alcoholic. She was a drug addict. She had a mental illness. She was mocked for decades by the media and the Hollywood system. And you know what she did? She bounced back from all of that. She not only recovered from her problems, but she did everything in her power to help others as well that were going through similar issues. Carrie was honest, she didn't shy away from the issues of her past, or the fact that she got old, instead, she used it as a platform to speak up and help those that were going through similar problems. As a role model for people to know you didn't have to stay at rock bottom. Even if you do suffer from any issues, or if there are people out there that are doing nothing but making your life harder because they are nothing better than pathetic rats, that doesn't have to stop you from being a smart, funny, honest, helpful and overall a good person.

That's what Carrie was. She never shied away from her flaws and because of that, she was able to show the good underneath, She showed how talented she was, how entertaining she was, and how helpful she was. It's one thing for people to look up to Leia because of her bravery, maturity and intellect, but to find out the person behind the character offered that and so much more? That is a true role model.

And it breaks my heart that she's gone.

Carrie Fisher, 1956-2016.

Merry Friggin' Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone, and I truly hope everyone had a good one. With each passing year Christmas seems to get just a little bit more cynical, especially in a year as bad as 2016, and because of that, it can sometimes feel difficult to get into the cheerful mood. But to that I say, never give up. Everyone likes to talk about how commercialized Christmas is, or how the world is so bad how can we pretend it's good? But that's not really the point in Christmas. Christmas isn't about pretending the world is good, it's about making it good. Doing anything you can to make people's days, weeks, lives better in anyway possible, whether that's the people you love the most, the people you wish you spent more time with or even complete strangers. Sometimes that is through material possessions, that's just how some people work. And it's in years as bad as this that we need an event like Christmas more than ever, yes in a perfect world we would be helping each other and be trying to make everyone's days brighter all the time, but we're not, but at least we agreed to one period of time where we should put more effort into it. That's kind of why I wish this holiday wasn't labelled as a religious holiday, and that's something else that fades with every year. Because it's quite ridiculous to just tell one group of people you should be better, it's something we can all learn and all benefit from. Christmas can never really fade, nor should we let it, remember this is a holiday so powerful it stopped a war, just for one day. It's a tradition that shows the best humanity can be capable of, we spend time with family that we don't see as much as we should, it convinces people to go out in hoards and do charity work, it has us listening to sickeningly sweet music, intentionally dress in ugly-yet comfortable-sweaters because it's fun and warming, and if that isn't the spirit of Christmas, I don't know what is.

So this holiday season, have a Merry Christmas, A Happy Hanukkah, A Kick Ass Kwanza and A Festivus for the rest of us.

Happy Holidays,
-Danny

DC TV Weekly #9

This is how you know how good the crossover was, because right now I want every episode of every show to be a crossover. Now that everyone's back in their own shows, it feels like we're missing half the cast, and that makes me sad. Oh, and to add salt to the wound, this is the last week of episodes before the Christmas break, and that makes me even sadder.





The Flash 'The Present' Review
I feel this episode has two perfect examples of fan-service. Good example: Having John Wesley-Shipp and Mark Hamill sharing screentime as Flash and Trickster. Bad example: Anytime Tom Felton mentioned the Philosopher Stone. Something about that made me cringe every time. Also just to prove Savitar is even less interesting than anticipated, they literally give him the same backstory as Reverse Flash. But hey, it's Christmas so let's try and focus on the positives. I will say this was a very well paced episode, getting straight into the action, beating Alchemy very early on and saving most of the episode for character development and plot progression. We get some set up for future events, one friend to betray him, one to die and one a fate worse than death...yeah that has me hooked. We get a scene of Barry witnessing his own future where Iris dies, and honestly that might have been some of the best acting we've seen from Grant Gustin, and he was already one of the best actors in the Arrowverse. Wally gets some good development, he's officially Kid Flash, which means no more scenes of Joe telling him what he can and cannot do because yeahhh that is kinda hypocritical. Also the scenes of Jay Garrick and Barry Allen fighting together were awesome so hopefully we'll get the same with Barry and Wally. Julian and Barry's friendship actually does feel more naturalistic this time round, while earlier it did feel like they were rushing their development, though Barry revealing his secret identity did seem like a rash move. But overall this episode had a huge focus on character development rather than action, and that's always been this shows strength, and I think this might be the first episode in weeks where I wasn't annoyed by anyone. 8/10.

Arrow 'What We Leave Behind' Review
Does this technically make Prometheus the most affective villain Oliver has ever faced? I mean yeah, Deathstroke is probably always going to be the best, but it seems like Prometheus is doing the best job at actually beating Ollie, and besides, he's the only villain that doesn't want to destroy the city along with him, just Ollie. In that respect he's actually quite an interesting villain for the show, and particularly with this episode, he's shown just how good he can be at destroying Ollie's life. Also hey, Laurel is back, how do I put this? No. No-no-no. Absolutely no. Gosh dang seriously what the frick-frack-snick-snack-tic-tac-paddy-wack-give-the-dog-a-bone are they doing? I know there was a joke earlier on in the episode about people coming back to life every other Wednesday, but please, do not make this a thing. Do not bring Laurel back from the grave. Alternate timeline? Sure. Parallel Universe? Makes sense. Hallucination? I can dig it. But do not bring Laurel back from the grave, keep her dead, for the love of god. But hey, that's potential complaining for another day. To focus on what this episode gave us, it had Prometheus being an intimidating villain, we had plenty of emotional moments for Felicity and Curtis, and Ollie blaming himself...again...but this time it's warranted. Solid episode. 8/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'The Chicago Way' Review
Holy shit, the Legion of Doom actually did something, and we got information about where Rip Hunter is, and it only took em half a damn season. Seriously, I know I said I'd prefer it if this show was just fun stand alone adventures, but if you're going to have a season long plot, at least commit to it. But apart from that we got a lot of character focus, the bromance between Nate and Ray...kinda just happened I guess, and the bromance(?) between Mick and Amaya, which is being paced a little better. Either way it's nice to see a lot of character focus. Also Victor Garber, man, if it wasn't obvious this guy was the best actor in the show, that scene of him talking about his new memories of his daughter completely sold me on this subplot that I was not happy about. But that being said, this felt the most underwhelming of the DC Mid-Season Finales. A lot of this felt like set-up that should have been done much earlier in the season and I'm really confused over the Legion time-wise. So this is obviously the modern Malcolm because of his missing hand, and Damian Darhk I'm assuming is the one we see after 1942, but that causes a whole mess of continuity issues, and is this the Eobard after Flashpoint? Some explanation would be appreciated please! But to wrap up, some nice character work and really good performances this week, but everything about the season long plot was either underwhelming or just plain confusing. 7/10.

Well, it's been a lot of fun talking about these shows, but sadly they're now on their winter break, which means so am I. Though lord knows I'll have plenty of DC Property to talk about in the meantime.

-Danny

The Last of Us Part II - Trailer Review

I can't believe I didn't already talk about this, better late than never I suppose. Being honest, I have been hesitant on the idea of a sequel to The Last of Us, mostly because the first game is the closest to perfection a piece of art has ever gotten in my opinion...and that's kind of hard to replicate, even if this game were great (Which I'm sure it will be) that is still nothing against how high I hold the original. Especially when the ending of the game leaves you on such a subtle and thought provoking note that people are still debating over what it means, and I worried a sequel would answer the questions raised there and I don't want it to be answered. I have my thoughts on what the ending means and I don't want to be proven wrong on that. So I've been telling myself for the past 3 years that if they did make another one, I would keep my expectations in check.

Then this goddamn trailer had to come out and get me pumped. It looks beautiful. Obviously graphics wise it's beyond gorgeous, and with Gustavo Santaolalla confirmed to be doing the music again, we know that'll be emotionally crippling. But the shot composition, the pacing, the imagery, the editing, it is all just as perfect as something tied to The Last of Us should be. And it has us asking questions like The Last of Us did, Ellie's only real line "I'm gonna find...and I'm gonna kill...every. last. one of them." Wha-Th-Who is "Them"!? Why does she want to kill them all!? How did we get here!? And people are already speculating that Joel is dead based on this teaser! Which is a fair enough theory, we don't see his face, which instantly creates a disconnect from the audience, plus it's hard to think of what else could cause Ellie to go on a murderous rampage, if not for revenge for Joel, plus she was singing a song all about revenge, so it's a solid theory for a 4 minute trailer.

Even the fact that Ellie is 5 years older, playing guitar, singing, I didn't think there was anything new Ashley Johnson could give us to make this performance even better or developed, but here we are, within just 4 minutes they proved me wrong. I can only hope that's a metaphor for the game, how I assumed there was nothing that they could do anything new for me to fall in love with and they've already done that. Goddamn it Naughty Dog, stop being so good at this.

A week ago, I didn't think this game was going to happen, and I didn't want it too. And in 4 minutes Naughty Dog completely flipped me over and now I cannot wait for this game...and now I will probably have to wait 3 years until I can play it. Fuck.

-Danny

Justice League Action - First Thoughts

Well, the first few episodes of Justice League Action have aired here in the UK, and I thought I don't talk about DC nearly enough on this blog, so I figured I'll give my initial impressions based on the first three episodes. First off, let's talk about the format. Justice League Action, unlike the original Justice League series, doesn't really have a continuous narrative. It consists of 15 minute episodes where Batman, Superman and/or Wonder Woman team up with a fellow DC Superhero and take on the villain of the week. Within these 3 episodes we see them team up with Martian Manhunter to take on Kalathoth, Hawkman to take on Lobo, and Firestorm to take on the Nuclear Family. What I like about this format is how to allows the series to constantly introduce new characters to the thresh hold without having to worry about backstory or exposition. A style that lots of children's shows have these days, rather than explain the world or characters, they just throw you straight into the fold and if you find it interesting enough then you can stick around and slowly learn who these characters are as the series goes on. Something else that this formula really opens itself to is the use of obscure characters, for example the episode with Hawkman also features Patton Oswalt as the Space Cabbie, a character so obscure even I didn't know who he was. But from this one episode I completely fell in love with him, and I can only hope this show has dozens of other weird and loveable characters like that for me to fall in love with.

However, while that style might work in some aspects, in others it just disappoints. Not to compare this too much to Justice League (Both show and comics) but I prefer the serialised storytelling. I like continuous narratives and character development, it helps us connect to the characters and make the world feel connected. If each episode goes from one to another with no sense of continuity then it can risk taking out all investment. Now, to be fair, these are still the first three episodes, there are plenty of shows out there that start off as fun short adventures and develop a complex plot later on. Hell, the best example of this would be another series airing on Cartoon Network, Steven Universe. That show started off just as fun 15 minute adventures with very subtle and minimal hints towards a bigger story that wouldn't be explored until the end of its first season. My hope would be that this show is doing the same and will become more plot driven later on.

The animation is also pleasant, it's stylised enough to make it stand out from all of the other DC Animated Series and the fast paced nature allows for good action and even better physical comedy. If I had to compare it to other superheroes shows I'd say it feels like a mix between the original Teen Titans and the original Powerpuff Girls. The voice acting too is very good, of course Kevin Conroy is amazing, but I'm also really liking Jason S Lewis' portrayal of Superman, while Rachel Kimsey's Wonder Woman...doesn't sound right. I'm not entirely sure what it is, something about the inflections or the personality don't really sound like an Amazonian princess the same way a Susan Eisenberg or Gal Gadot does. But it could just be because I'm not used to it. After all, the reason why I like Lewis' portrayal is because he acts just like George Newbern.

To recap, this cartoon shows a lot of promise, the writing is entertaining, the characters are well represented, the animation of enjoyable. Considering it's competition, within these first three episodes, this series is already 100x better than Teen Titans Go, so anyone who was drawing comparisons just because they're both comedic can go lick a cactus. It has me interested in seeing where it's going to go and I would recommend it.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #8

I feel like for a story this big and epic I should have a better intro prepared, but I honestly can’t think of anything, I just want to get right to it. Heroes Vs Aliens sees the four big DC Shows coming together to take on one big enemy, in this case, aliens. So instead of reviewing these separately like I do usually, let’s take a look at the story overall, so sadly that means little talk of Supergirl.

Something to admire is how with each episode the story felt consistent in tone and writing, but also feeling unique to each show’s style. Flash’s episode had the most over the top science-fiction elements and action scenes, Arrow was more focused on character interactions and emotional payoffs, while Legends was the adventure with the most light-hearted tone. The Dominators themselves were an enjoyable antagonist, even if for the majority of it they felt like a very generic alien invasion plot, their motivations of seeing Meta-Humans as a danger to the entire galaxy and wishing to erase that problem before it begins was a believable enough incentive. Though how they went about this didn’t really make much sense, in fact for a lot of this story it felt like they were stalling up until the final showdown in Legends, but unfortunately those are the type of plot holes you just have to deal with in shows like these.

The DC-TV Universe has always remembered the most important rule of superhero storytelling, the end of the world scenarios are not what drives the plot, the characters are. The heroes fighting aliens should work as an excuse to have these characters come together and explore their own emotional arcs with new perspectives. In other words, it was a chance to see the casts of 4 different shows come together to tell Barry how he fucked up. So let’s talk about that because that was the bit emotional crutch throughout this whole story and was supposed to be his redemption. Barry messing with the timeline has messed with most of these characters, and Cisco had a lot of great points on how just because he feels sorry doesn’t erase his mistakes. Then of course they had to fuck it all up by the end! How? By one: having Cisco fuck up, which for some reason the writers think that instantly makes things better for Barry, no, it just means now Cisco is as bad as him. But two: Barry was the main Meta-Human the aliens wanted because he is the most powerful, so he’s willing to sacrifice himself to save everyone else, but of course they don’t let that happen. Thing is, I don’t feel this was enough, his heart was in the right place and if he had to go that far, he would have sacrificed himself, but we’ve established good intentions aren’t always enough, Barry needed to make some form of sacrifice in order to get redemption in my eyes.

Bizarrely enough, the characters that received the best emotional development were the characters from Arrow. Understandably seeing as this was the 100th episode this would be the one where they put the most effort into it. Besides, they’ve spent 5 years ripping off Batman, why not rip-off Superman for a change? Not that I’m complaining, because ‘The Man Who Has Everything’ storyline is one of the most powerful for character development of any variety (Although technically this was done in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, but Supes did it first). Seeing Team Arrow stuck in a prison in their minds where everything is perfect and having to sacrifice it in order to leave was really effective stuff, particularly for Sara and Thea. It has been established in Legends that Sara would do absolutely anything to save her sister, regardless of the consequences and it came to the other Legends to stop her. Here, we have her facing a variation of her sister and finally coming to grips with her passing and moving on. Thea likewise is the most abrasive to leaving the fantasy because the vigilante lifestyle was never what she wanted. She has normal life, her parents are alive, nothing is necessarily exciting, but it’s not as torturous either. In fact, initially she was going to stay; but then for some reason changes her mind off-screen, so I’m going to assume there was a deleted scene there explaining that.

Though Supergirl as a series didn’t contribute that much to the crossover, I loved having Kara being part of the team; I loved seeing all the different interactions and relationships she develops with all of the other superheroes, especially between her, Barry & Oliver, their personalities just perfectly bounced off of each other and were some of the most entertaining scenes in the crossover. But really, there is no logical reason why she wouldn’t have brought J’onn or Clark along with her to help. They could have at least has a line of dialogue explaining that Cisco & Barry could only be in her universe temporarily and they didn’t have time to contact them, but nope, nothing. Oh well, at least now they have a way to teleport back and forth between universes for plenty of crossovers in the future (Including that musical episode which I am dying to see).

The only character centric plot that I didn’t get that much into was Professor Stein’s daughter, mostly because this just seems really out of nowhere and didn’t feel like it belonged in the crossover. I know I said the character stuff is the hook and not the superfluous battles but…did you really think people would be more interesting in a new dilemma between characters-one of which we’ve never met-instead of superheroes fighting aliens? All of the other character arcs were established prior to the crossover, and between characters we already know and care about. This is something that most certainly could have waited until next week. Oh, speaking of bad characters, Wally actually did something! And wasn’t annoying! Hallelujah it’s a Christmas miracle!

To sum this up, this crossover was everything I wanted it to be. Everything from the emotional character heavy stories, to the popcorn munching action scenes, I enjoyed every minute of it. If they want to make this an annual thing then that might be difficult to constantly find a threat that requires all four shows to team-up, but it’s like I said, the draw are the characters, and even with a 4-part crossover there is still plenty of character dynamics and relationships that they didn’t get a chance to explore. While I am really disappointed with how Barry’s arc ended, and I wish Supergirl’s cast (And show in general) played a bigger part in the crossover, that doesn’t change how fun it was and how much I enjoyed it. 9/10.

-Danny

My Favourite Films - Elf (2003)

Well December is upon us so I guess this is the perfect time to talk about my favourite movies that also happen to fall under the Christmas banner. Unfortunately that is quite a small roster, which is a shame, I love movies, I love Christmas, the two should go hand in hand, yet it so rarely works for me, so expect only several Christmas films to be discussed this holiday season. Now while most people would save their favourite for last, I decided to flip the system and start off by talking about my all-time favourite Christmas film, Elf. The reason why is because this is always the first Christmas film I watch in order to get in the mood, so, let’s begin.

Elf was directed by Jon Favreau and stars Will Ferrell & Zooey Deschanel. It follows the story of Buddy, an orphaned baby who was accidentally kidnapped by Santa Claus and is raised in the north pole thinking he’s an Elf. As he grows up and learns the truth, he sets out to find his real family in New York City. And from there we get a lot of wacky fish out of water scenarios as Buddy doesn’t understand social norms and has to teach his real father (James Caan) the meaning of Christmas, blah blah blah, let’s get to the good stuff.

Now here’s the thing, I am not a Will Ferrell fan. I think a lot of his work is repetitive, lazy improve shrouding as actual comedy when really he’s just shouting nonsense and it baffles me that this has entrapped audiences. Though I guess the majority of his work is harmless, but I really just don’t find it funny at all. With that being said, I absolutely adore the man in this film. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, happiness-is-not-a-bad-character-trait. Seeing Ferrell as Buddy the Elf has got to be one of the most joyous and upbeat characters that seems to find the fun in every scenario he’s in. Everything from spinning in a revolving door, getting his shoe shined, being handed a flyer, the man is having fun with everything he is doing. Two moments that no matter how many times I watch this film always get to me are when he gets run over by the taxi, and when he answers the phone with “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favourite colour?”. Some might say his over excitable nature can get irritating, not for me, I absolutely love him. I think what prevents it from getting annoying-like a lot of Ferrell performances do-is that there is still an emotional depth to the character, he wants to develop a relationship with his family, he wants to understand how things work and he’s a hard working fellow himself. Alright he’s not exactly Rick Deckard, but he’s still a well enough developed character for me to call him a great character. And I’ll be dammed if I don’t choke up every time near the end when Buddy says “I don’t belong anywhere…”

There’s also something to be said for how much physical humour is in this film, again, just looking at the moments mentioned earlier, the taxi moment is funny simply for Buddy’s body language and how his posture barely changes mid-crash. Or with the phone call, he doesn’t just rush to the phone, he full on dives for it. Or when Deschannel is yelling at him to get out of the shower, he just covers his eyes like a child and runs straight into the lockers. The more I analyse what comedy works for me, the more I realise slapstick might be my favourite form of comedy because it is very difficult to do, especially in live action, so when it works, it really works.

One aspect of this film that people don’t really talk about-and understandable why because it isn’t really one of those aspects that come to mind-are the special effects. Favreau is notable for being very anti-CG at this point in his career, something he would obviously have a change in heart once he got to Iron Man. So the opening of this film is not only a nice tribute to the classic Rankin-Bass stop-motion Christmas specials, but also gives the film a very unique style in our modern day sensibilities of film making. But the tributes don’t stop there, one of the stop motion characters is actually voices by Ray Harryhausen of all people, ain’t that a nice little treat? On top of the stop-motion there’s a lot of use of forced perspectives in order to create the effect of Buddy being bigger than all of the other elves. Wow, whoda thought Elf the Christmas movie would be a visually complex and stunning film?

But on top of judging it as a film in it’s own right, how does it work as a Christmas film? Because I live in the firm belief that it’s not just enough to have you film take place at Christmas. Christmas isn’t a place or time, it’s a feeling, a sense of community, an ideology. The idea that in a time of cold miserable weather and people reflecting on the past year, why not spend this time with the people you love and want to spend more time with? A time that says you should try and spread as much joy as possible to both people in your life, as well as complete strangers, just because we all universally agreed that this is a time where we should all be happy and help one another. Hm, maybe that’s why I don’t love that many Christmas films, because there are so few that actually represent that. Elf, is most certainly a film that represents that feeling. In fact it might do it better than most because it also discusses the cynicism that comes with the holiday season. Not everyone does see it as a time of goodwill and peace on Earth, but as a commercialisation that glorifies capitalism, or a forced religious ideology down our throats-even if Christmas loses its Christian ties with each passing year, and for good reason if you ask me.

Elf acknowledges not everyone gets into the Christmas spirit, for one reason or another, people don’t get all that excited, and honestly with the more time that passes, yeah that magic disappears quicker and quicker. The internet exposes kids to a lot more information at a very young age, and in some ways that’s a good thing, but in other ways it means it isn’t, in this case the whole charade of Santa Claus goes faster than it used to. Now sure there are plenty of films that talk about this these days, but they didn’t a decade ago, and certainly not in family films, and even for the ones that did tackle it, they didn’t do it as successful as Elf did it. True, every generation is going to have its Scrooges and Grinches that’ll find someway to take out the joy of Christmas, after all those two aren’t used as examples because they roll off the tongue, but this was the film that tackled it from a modern sensibility. And of course like A Christmas Carol or How The Grinch Stole Christmas, they resolve it in the best way possible, by reaffirming how the Christmas spirit can be brought back, in this case, not through a great implausible deed, or life changing epiphany, but just by singing a damn Christmas Carol. But wait, doesn’t that mean the Jim Carrey Grinch also tackled this? No! Don’t you dare bring up that piece of shit movie!

Sadly it seems this “Lack of Christmas spirit” thought pattern is getting stronger and stronger each year, and it’s not even that people are anti-Christmas, but they’re not exactly pro-Christmas either, and that’s just as bad. Which is probably why we don’t get as many Christmas films these days, and even rarer we get a good one. I can only think of one legitimately great Christmas film, though I’m not going to mention it by name, because I’m going to feature it later on this month. Frankly, I miss Christmas films. I miss films that’s entire purpose is to spread joy, tell entertaining stories and hopefully inspire people to get in the Christmas spirit. Elf is one of those movies. It has an insanely loveable lead (And the best performance from Will Ferrell), really creative visuals, memorable dialogue, great comedy and a real sense of Christmas spirit behind it. It’s my all time favourite Christmas film and one of my favourites in general.

Merry Christmas

-Danny

My Favourite Films - Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

I’ll never understand why the Disney animated films of the early 2000s continue to go unappreciated (And yes, all of them will be featured on this series eventually). Yes, Lilo & Stitch is considered a classic-as it deserves to be-but what about the others? The Emperor’s New Groove is still one of the funniest films Disney has produced-hell, one of the funniest films, period. Treasure Planet is a wildly creative movie with good characters and a strong moral. And the film we’ll be talking about today, Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Why is that? Why is the last batch of traditionally animated films by the Big Mouse itself buried and forgotten? It’s not that they were all poorly received by critics at the time, if anything the reception on them ranged from mixed to okay. Even the box-office wasn’t really showing, in what world does a Disney animated movie not make money!? Especially seeing as they were still riding that Disney Renaissance era. After a long run of well received, box-office hits of their traditional fairy tale musicals, Disney were finally in a place financially stable enough to experiment, and let some of their biggest filmmakers tackle projects they were really passionate about. Treasure Planet was a passion project for Ron Clements and Jon Musker that they had wanted to do for years and only after making such hits as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules were they finally allowed to do it. Emperor’s New Groove was supposed to be a traditional musical but they decided to go for a straight up slapstick comedy. And Atlantis was Disney’s attempt to make an Indiana Jones film-you know, before they ended up owning Indiana Jones-and was handed over to some of the best people in Disney’s pocket. They got the best directors, they got the best animators, they got the best voice talent, they got the best people in the industry to produce this film, heck, Disney was so confident they were already planning a spin-off TV Series and a theme park attraction. And despite all that effort, what did it end up with? Mediocre reviews from the critics and barely enough gross to break-even.

So do the critics have a point? Were audiences right? Is my love for this film mostly from a nostalgic point of view or is there something more valuable here? Well. Considering the title of this series is ‘My Favourite Films’ you probably already know the answer. But this isn’t just a case of nostalgia goggles making something seem better than it is, there is legit worth in this film and I want to explore it, I want to talk about how so many talented people came together to make a really-really good movie that deserves so much more attention. So, enough babbling, let’s get to it.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire was directed by Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise and stars Michael J Fox, Cree Summer and a whole ensemble of people. The film follows the adventures of Milo Tatch, a cartographer who is drafted into an exploration to find the lost city of Atlantis. So let’s talk about those directors, do those names sound familiar? Trousdale & Wise were some of the most acclaimed directors at Disney at the time, also directing the highly-acclaimed Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as Beauty & The Beast. You might have heard of it? The first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture? Often considered to be one of-if not-the greatest Disney films ever made? Yeah safe to say these guys were kind of well-respected at Disney, but they’re not the only talents on this film, when I say they got the best in the business, I mean they got the best in the business. The Production Designer was Mike Mignola, the creator and artist behind Hellboy, the music was composed by James Newton Howard, the first draft of the script was written by Joss Whedon, the Atlantean language was the product of Marc Okrand, the man behind Klingon. You could not ask for better people to be working on the film and boy did it pay off. But hey it’s one thing to say we’ve got a talented group, let’s actually talk about their work.

Mike Mignola’s work is of course fantastic, the man has a very distinct style in the realm of character designs, giving a lot of hard edges, lots of exaggerated features. Every character is distinct in their design and the look of Atlantis especially is beautiful, the culture, the technology, the people and it really helps make the films stand out amongst other Disney films. Lots of people complain-especially nowadays-that too many Disney characters look alike and considering that every Disney film is 3D animated these days, unfortunately that’s going to happen a lot more. This was still the time period where Disney was constantly trying new styles, it didn’t always work (Pocahontas) but at least they were trying, and it helped make all of their films stand out from one another, at least from an animation stand point, and this is just another one that falls under there.

James Newton Howard’s score is also incredible, it’s adventurous and upbeat when it needs to be, but what really stands out is the music for Atlantis itself. Everything here is so atmospheric and distinct, the use of choirs to create this spiritualistic sensation, making it seem larger than life, almost godly, it is really brilliantly done. Marc Okrand being brought on to create the language helps to flesh out the world of Atlantis and make everything seem a little bit more believable and consistent. The fact that they put so much effort into tiny little details like this really shows how hard people were working and how far they were willing to go in order to make a really good movie. Especially when it came to the culture of Atlantis, this was going to be the sticking point for a lot of people so they really saved their A-Game for that section of the film.

Moving on to my favourite part of the film, the characters, because of course those are always my favourite element to any film, this film has a wildly diverse cast, and I don’t just mean in terms of personalities-though there is plenty of that-I mean in the traditional sense. While big superhero blockbusters only seem to be able to give women and people of colour their own movies after 15 or so focusing on the white guys, this is a film filled with people of different race, nationalities, age and body types that you could practically have a UN meeting with them. Though yes the main character is still the archetypical straight white male, Milo himself is quite unconventional, he’s not a buff or traditionally handsome hero, he’s incredibly scrawny and awkward, but is the hero because of his intelligence and his bravery. Other members of the crew include Audrey: a Puerto Rican teenager who fills the role of head mechanic, who though being a tomboy never goes overboard into being stereotypical, she still has a soft side to her and is protective over Milo like he were her little brother (Even though he’s older). Sweet: A half-black, half-Native American doctor is incredibly energetic and lively, and considering this movie takes place in 1914 it’s highly unlikely he would be in the position he is but hey it’s an adventure movie, let’s just not bring that up. Vinny: An Italian demolition expert with a dead pan sense of humour who has a very interesting back story of owning a flower shop. Mole: A French Geologist, Cookie: A hillbilly cook and Bertha: an old chain-smoking radio operator, round up the eclectic gaggle of misfit crewmates who all come together for this adventure. A dysfunctional & diverse crew all going on a Fantasy adventure? Seriously it’s like this film was made specifically to tailor to me.

You might have noticed there’s one particular character that I didn’t mention and that’s because I wanted to save her for last: Kida, the Atlantean princess who discovers the crew, brings them to Atlantis and teaches them of their culture. Kida to me is one of the most underrated Disney characters of all time. Hell, it’s a wonder why she’s never featured amongst the Disney princesses. She’s a strong fighter with a kind heart, highly intelligent, acts as an actual Ambassador to her people and unlike most characters often featured in that line-up (Mulan, Belle, Cinderella) she actually is a princess! On top of that she’s also the first Disney princess of colour (So you can shut the hell up about Tiana) yet she constantly forgotten despite the fact she is breaking a lot of ground for a Disney character. She’s a three-dimensional character with plenty of admirable qualities and on top of that, her relationship with Milo is a very well developed one that plays out naturally over time, hell, they don’t even kiss at the end, they just get a hug.

While it’s not important for me that a film be diverse in order to say it’s good, it’s always a nice positive, especially when it’s done this well, no one draws attention to it in the context of the film, instead they let the characters be characters first and if it matters to the audience then they can focus on it in their own time. So if it does matter to you, and considering we live in an age where people are crying out for diversity in our cinemas then it probably does, this is a film that features more people of colour than it does white people, and that is for both the main ensemble, as well as the background characters.

I also respect how adult this film is, it was the last film Disney made where we would ever see characters smoke, but it’s more than that, we see characters bleed and even die. I know this might seem like an insignificant detail, but I always appreciate it when films take their audiences seriously, especially films aimed at children. Film should constantly challenge us and nowhere are we more challenged than as children, most films give us some new experience at the time because of our age, and I appreciated the film showing the violent aspects, it made it a more engaging and memorable experience. But it’s not overboard, it’s not trying to be edgy or controversial, it just shows enough to actually create tension and drama. Hell, the movie opens up with a mass genocide, and ends with one of the most brutal villain deaths I’ve seen in a Disney film.

Speaking of, let’s talk about them. Yeah, while overall I don’t think the criticism on this film is deserved, there are certain points of negativity that I just can’t ignore, mainly the antagonists. Not only are they the dullest characters in the film, but their motivations don’t make any sense. They just want money, I understand that, it’s the most simple and boring of all villain motivations, but why in the hell are they trying to kill Atlantis at the same time!? Hell, at the end of the movie the Atlanteans just give our heroes all of their gold, you would have been rich anyway! Why try and destroy a culture that has survived thousands of years just for a few dollars more!? I also have minor issues with how the exposition is handled, but nothing large enough to cause distain.

But to look the film as a whole? I think it is absolutely fantastic. Yes I’m sure some of my love does just come from childhood nostalgia, but I still think this film is brilliantly animated, has really unique and memorable characters, the culture of Atlantis is fleshed out, the storytelling is mature, and it really deserves to be remembered and praised more than it is. Unquestionably brilliant.

-Danny

600 Posts

You know how this goes. *Pours myself some whiskey* See ya at 700.

-Danny

My Favourite Films - Army of Darkness (1992)

A part of me really wanted to talk about Evil Dead in this series simply because it's one of my favourite stories on how a film got made and is the defining example of a passion project. Unfortunately I don't love Evil Dead. Oh I respect it a ton, and it launched the careers of several of my favourite people in the industry; but as a film, it doesn't do anything for me. However I will say that each film in the series does get better as they get better equipment and the crew behind the films expand their skillset. And despite the sequels not being as challenging as the first one, that doesn’t change the fact that these are all incredibly unique, well made passion projects, with a lot of effort and talent but behind them and is worth talking about.

Army of Darkness is a horror-comedy that was directed by Sam Raimi and stars Bruce Campbell and is the third instalment of the Evil Dead franchise. It sees our protagonist Ash Williams get sucked into a vortex and sent back to the middle ages, where he earns the respect & trust of a group a town and forms a small army to take on the Necronomicon and its army of Deadites one last time. Honestly I don’t know where to begin when it comes to talking about what’s good about this film, there’s just too much to list. I guess the best place would be with the most stunning, the effects. Now yes, usually when someone describes the effects of a movie being the best thing, that’s not usually a good signifier for the plot which…okay is technically true here, but let’s be honest, this is not a film that is all too focused on its plot. It’s like when I discussed The Addams Family, it’s a film that knows where its strengths lie and they’re going to focus on that. You can feel free to say you dislike it because it’s not giving attention to the elements that you think are most important, but you can’t actually call it a flaw in the film. The Evil Dead series is supposed to be fun, experimental, over the top gorefests that act as a treat for the eyes and a hearty laugh for the soul. Saying you dislike them because of the plot is like saying you dislike celery because it’s not spicy enough.

Oh right, I was supposed to talk about the effects. The effects in this film are incredibly, the majority is done through puppet work and stop motion animation and it gives the film a classic Ray Harryhausen feel, they’re cheesy but creative, and clearly took a lot of work. The make-up is also fantastic, particularly the make-up on Evil Ash, mostly because I did not realise that was actually Bruce Campbell under all that make-up. Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero should be commended for what they did here because it outstanding. And their work is complimented by some bizarre and unconventional cinematography that has become a staple for the Evil Dead franchise, wide-angle lenes on hand held camera moving to extreme close-ups, it certainly creates a distinct feeling for the film.

Now let’s talk about the man of the hour, Bruce Campbell, AKA Ash Williams. Often considered to be the best B-Actor in the world. Good lord, how can you not love this man? The best description of Ash I’ve ever heard is: Imagine the scariest monster you can, your own personal bogeyman; well, Ash is the man who tells the bogeyman to go fuck himself! A lot of people describe Ash as the unluckiest and stupidest hero in horror, which in some aspects he is, he is overly cocky, constantly makes mistakes, never seems to grasp the full extent of the situation he’s in…yet he’s also the most badass guy there is. The man leads an army of knights against the Deadites, fights them off with little worry, goes through so much significant pain over the course of these movies, yet here he is, still fighting and with a good quip to back him up.

“Yo, She-Bitch, let’s go!” “I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things, right now: Jack and shit... and Jack left town” and my own personal favourite “Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the gun.” Everything this man says is gold, he’s one of the most quotable characters there is. Which also helps make this one of the more entertaining films out there. I’ve stated before that the most important factor of my favourite films is rewatchability, and I never get bored of watching this film, every time I watch it with someone new they always end up enjoying it, and I just find myself appreciating it more and more. Now true, some fans of the franchise find themselves liking this one the least because for a horror franchise, it’s not exactly scary. It certainly has some gothic and dark imagery, but nothing to the extent that it would actually frighten someone. For a horror/comedy, it’s a film that much more focuses on the comedy than the horror. Personally this never bothered me because, I never found the Evil Dead franchise scary, I always appreciated the comedy aspects more. So of course when I would find more love for the film that focuses on the comedy more so than the others.

In the end, this is one of those films where you can see the passion and creativity in every single millimetre of film. The effects are an enjoyable send-off to classic Claymation, the dialogue is whitty and memorable, the main character a brilliant mix between foolish and badass. But most of all the effort put behind this film, it is so unique a product that even with its flaws, I am more than willing to overlook them, just simply out of respect for the filmmakers. I love this film, and is of course, one of my favourites.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #7

Considering how much promotional material came out last week (Plus with the ending of Legends) I could have sworn the big crossover was happening this week. Gotta say I'm pretty disappointed, I was surprisingly looking forward to the crossover event. Oh well, guess it's just another week to go...of only two shows this week, well damn.



Supergirl 'The Darkest Place' Review
I'll give this episode credit, they finally made Cadmus seem like a legitimate threat. Kidnapping both Mon-El and Supergirl, draining her of her powers, taking her blood, building Cyborg Superman, yeah, good week to be Cadmus. Then we had J'onn finding out M'gann was a White Martian and that played out exactly as I would have wanted it to. He freaks out and tries to murder her, she does nothing to defend herself. However, I do have to call BS on the wrongful imprisonment, he has no right to apart from his own prejudice, pretty sure Kara & Alex ain't gonna be too happy about that. Finally, a super pointless subplot about Guardian dealing with a fellow vigilante. Goddammit, even when you make him interesting, you find a way to make him un-interesting again. This is such an overdone plotline in superhero stories, the copycat superhero that ruins the original's reputation-hell Arrow has done this at least 5 times-so please, for the love of god, do something interesting with Jimmy finally or just get rid of him. In the end, if it weren't for the Jimmy plotline, I would have no issues with this episode, but I am starting to have less and less tolerance for him. 7/10.

The Flash 'Killer Frost' Review
Did they ever actually establish a reason why Caitlin's powers effect her personality? I mean no one else's personality changes from their superpowers, what makes her's so different? Also god-fucking-dammit another speedster!? I don't care if this one is the "God of speed" or any shit like that, I am sick to fucking death of these fucking speedsters being the fucking villains on this fucking show. And oh, Julian turned out to be Alchemy, whoda fuckin' guessed that!? The only good things about this episode is everyone calling out Barry on his shit. But even then, I kind of hate it because Barry is such a fucking dumbass and I am sick of it! Caitlin calls him out on his shit for doing whatever benefits him, Cisco calls him out on his shit for lying to him, Julian calls him out on his shit for being bad at his job. I've been complaining about Wally, Iris and HR a lot, when really I should have been complaining about Barry for being an idiotic piece of shit. He's the hero of the show, and he's one of my favourite fictional characters, stop being awful!

I hate this episode. I hated Barry. I hated Killer Frost. I hated Savitar. I-haaaaaate-this episode. 1/10.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #6

Ehh, that title was too long to write out every week, let's just settle with this. It's quicker to write and having them numbered still means it's easy to organise.








Supergirl 'Changing' Review
Wow, stuff happening, welcome back. What stuff exactly? Well, Alex coming out to Kara finally, so hopefully this story will go somewhere. I know a lot of people were really happy with how it was handled, but for me personally, it played out exactly how I expected it to. They were so unsubtle about foreshadowing this moment that there was no dramatic build up and of course Kara was going to be fine with it, she's frickin Supergirl. But hey, it happened and I can understand if it meant a lot to people, I just didn't care. Then there was the contintuation of Mon-El's story of him being kind of an asshole but trying to improve himself...only to get kidnapped by Cadmus, that sucks. Also James is finally doing stuff. Seriously, I feel like the writers so desperately want to drop everything with Catco so much that they made James Guardian. Which being honest, is a storyline that I did not think would work, but seeing him in action against Parasite...he wasn't half bad, also he & Winn are gonna be superfriends, yay. Parasite as a villain is interesting, he's always been one of my favourite concepts but two things about this didn't work for me. One: The whole environment angle...it's not 1996 anymore, everyone knows climate change is a real thing-unless you're a republican. Two: Supergirl killed him off...and didn't seem all too fussed about it. I know it's been said to death, but THE SUPER FAMILY DOESN'T KILL! Eh, I can't be bothered to get into it, this quick summary is already getting too long. The story was really well done for everyone...except for the villain, that just seems...baffling. 8/10.

The Flash 'Shade' Review
The fact that they're making it so obvious that Tom Felton is Alchemy must be a misdirection right? They have to have more faith in their audiences intelligence than this? Why do I have a feeling I'm about to be severely let down? Speaking of being let down, hey, Flash writers, bit of advice STOP WRITING WALLY TERRIBLY! "Why didn't you tell me?" "How do we know he's telling the truth?" "You don't trust me" my god he could not be a more whiney, selfish, idiotic brat if he tried. Wally West is my first and favourite Flash, please for the love of god stop making him awful and annoying. But to end this on a good note, Caitlin finally revealed to Cisco that she has super powers and the two of them are probably going to fight it out, because not enough superheroes have fought each other in 2016. While granted I think Caitlin should have being honest from the beginning, and Cisco was a dick for telling everyone, this is actually the plot I am most looking forward to seeing get explored this season and I'm really curious on how it turns out. Please don't suck. So, to recap, 2/3 of this episode sucked, while 1/3 was pretty good. 4/10.

Arrow 'Vigilante' Review
Back when they first announced Artemis for the show (Even if this isn't technically Artemis) I was excited but I knew they'd find a way to fuck it up...they fucked it up. You had to make her a spy? Really? Eh I guess it's not fair to complain when we don't know exactly know how this is gonna play out. What I can complain about is the titular character of this episode. Vigilante. For one: Why keep it a secret what his identity is when people can just google it and see which character it is, unless this is another misdirect. Oh also, the most interesting thing about Vigilante as a character is his suit and stereotypical cowboy persona and you took away both of them! I suddenly have no interest in this character anymore. Finally, Quentin and Thea...can you actually involve them in the plot, I mean yeah they're finally involved to an extent but make it more prominent please. This episode was so-so, nothing actually bad, but certainly has the potential to be setting up bad things in the future, and nothing stood out as being that good either, except for Vigilante claiming he's on Team Arrow's side, to which Curtis responds "Then stop shooting us!" solid logic. 5/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'Outlaw Country' Review
Yet again, more of what I want to see in this series, fun adventures throughout time & space, and what better place than the Old West? Also, yay Jonah Hex is back, good for him. Actually, to talk about some serious character development that I want to see explored more is Mick's depression. The whole season he's been struggling to cope with the fact his best friend died and has tried several outlets to deal with it. He tried ignoring it, talking about it, moving on, but none of it has worked. In this episode, it seems as though he's giving up, seemingly having no interest in self-preservation and just throws himself into booze and violence, if he dies then so be it. This is heavy stuff, and is serious development for Mick as a character, and most importantly, it feels completely natural and earned. You know despite my praise for the fun and wacky stuff, this show sure has dealt with a lot of heavy shit this season, and it's actually dealing with it well? Wow I did not see that coming. 8/10.

-Danny

My Favourite Films - Dear Zachary (2008)

It feels very bizarre to call something like this one of my favourite films, after all, in this series I mostly talk about the ones that leave me with a good feeling, ones that make me laugh, make me think about life, or ones that I simply enjoy watching repeatedly. Dear Zachary left me feeling angry, it left me feeling hateful, it left me feeling like the world was broken, idiot and corrupt…But to be fair that’s what they’re trying to make feel so good job guys!

Dear Zachary is a documentary directed by Kurt Kuenne and follows the story of Andrew Bagby, a man who was murdered by his ex-girlfriend who is pregnant with his child. Thus the story is half exploring Andrew’s life and all the people who cared about him, and half his parents fighting for custody over their grandchild. This is one of the most emotionally heart wrenching films I have ever seen (As you could probably guess from the previous paragraph) and the key component that makes that so if within the directing. The director was actually childhood best friends with the victim and even though they went their separate ways, after his death he started to learn so much about Andrew’s life and wanted to make a film for Zachary-Andrew’s son-so he would know how good of a man his father was. Because of that the emotions in this film very genuine-even for a documentary-and everyone involved absolutely put everything they can into making this as good as possible. Now yes, some might say that gives the film something of a biased agenda, but that is true for almost every documentary ever, this one is just a lot more upfront about it.

Though Andrew is shown in a very positive light, it’s always in a realistic manner, they never claim he was a saint, they don’t make him seem flawless, but they show that overall he was a very good person who cared about making people happy. He was funny, he was caring and he was sociable so he that meant lots of people cared about him and he did impact a lot of people’s lives. He wasn’t going to be the next Martin Luther King or anything, but he did leave this world making it a little better than before and that’s still important. The other side of the film focusing on Andrew’s parents David & Kathleen however I would actually say is the more emotional aspect of the film. My favourite types of documentaries are the ones where they’re filming it as it’s happening, meaning it’s much harder to tell where things are going because the people they’re following don’t know where things are going.

Seeing these two fight so hard for custody over their grandchild and having to face an ignorantly corrupt system that keeps favouring this mother, keeps just giving her slaps on the wrist despite the fact she is a convicted murderer. If you don’t already hate the system, you will after this film, seeing how so many people who are in charge of convicting criminals, keeping innocent people safe can be so naïve, stupid and sympathetic to the completely wrong people. Speaking of hate, I don’t care if you are the most forgiving, kind, non-violent person in the world, after watching this film, you will hate Shirley Turner-the murderer-more than you would think humanly possible. The way how this woman did not pay for her actions, or how she doesn’t even seem to realize how awful of a person she is, or how much pain she brought into people’s lives, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much hatred for a person from a documentary.

But that is the key here, there are plenty of documentaries out there that I would call fascinating, but there aren’t that many where I would get emotional over. With this, I was literally shaking with anger, I don’t think I’ve ever been so overwhelmed with emotion at a film before, whether it be sadness, fear or rage over what was happening. A lot of this is done through editing, paralleling events from the film to show yet again how awful the system is, unfortunately a lot of this is in ways that I can’t really delve into because I don’t want to spoil how the film ends, like I said, I love these types of documentaries because I don’t know where it’s going and I wouldn’t want to take that away from anyone.

Unfortunately, that makes it so much harder to discuss the film because I don’t want to give that much away. Also seeing as it’s a documentary there isn’t as much to discuss in comparison to a piece of fiction, there’s no acting or script to discuss so all I have is the directing, editing and how it made me feel and I’ve already discussed those. So if any of what I’ve said sounds interesting to you and you’re ready to be an emotional wreck after watching this film then I would highly recommend it, because it is my all time favourite documentary.

-Danny

My Favourite Characters - Miss Martian

The last two characters to be featured on this series are both teenage superheroes with "Miss" in the title. Coincidence? Actually it's just because I'm sill hyped about Young Justice coming back so I wanted to talk more about it, so, let's discuss my favourite character from the series, Miss Martian.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Miss Martian AKA Megan AKA M'Gann M'orzz is the niece of founding Justice League member Martian Manhunter who is invited to join Young Justice in order to learn more about humans and Earth Culture. Now when we first meet her she is a very perky, upbeat character who feels like she belongs in a bad sitcom from the 70s...Only for it to turn out that is exactly what she based her own personality on. One of my favourite little touches with Martian culture is how they interpret Earth culture, so for them, cheesy sitcoms from the 70s are magnificent works of art, and M'Gann saw a character in one of these shows and based everything from her looks to her personality all on the main character Megan from the show "Hello, Megan!". But she didn't just do this because she thought this was what a cool person was supposed to be, but because she has a deep dark secret.

Miss Martian is not actually a Green Martian, but a White Martian, a race of creatures who are considered disgusting, violent, untrustworthy, hideous and is something she is incredibly ashamed of, so she lies about her true identity to everyone. However, in the episode where this is brought up, in any other cartoon this would be the one where she's honest about her true form and would no longer be ashamed...but she doesn't. She is still ashamed of who she is that she lies to her friends, hell, later on in the show, she goes as far to knock her friends unconscious and alter their memories so they don't find out.

This is all why I love Miss Martian as a character, though overall as a person she is incredibly kind and innocent and loveable, she has so much darkness suppressed in side of her and has done some seriously questionable things. In season two when she thinks Aqualad murdered one of their friends, she has absolutely no quarrel with attempting to kill him, by invading his mind, torturing him and putting him in a coma, and if she didn't find out the truth, she absolutely would have gone far enough to do just that.

Though most of the Young Justice characters are fantastic, it's Miss Martian that stands out for being one of those characters that I didn't know that much about beforehand, but what I did know about her did not impress me. Here they've transformed her into someone who can be genuinely kind and optimistic, but has a seriously messed up side to her that feels perfectly natural considering her background. That contrast between the two sides of her is what makes such such a fascinating character to watch and is also the biggest improvement from her comic book counterpart.

-Danny

Justice League Action is NOT Teen Titans Go!

Collider recently published an article showing several new clips from the upcoming DC Animated Series and they claimed the series seems much more like Teen Titans Go rather than the original Justice League Unlimited. And I am here to say that is a load of bullcrap. Yes this series looks more to be a quick fun adventure series (After all, each episode will only be 11 mins) but there's a difference between being a superhero show with a sense of humour, and being TTG. People forget that the original JL series also had a sense of humour, hell, there's an episode where Wonder Woman gets turned into a pig and the only way for Batman to save her is to sing karaoke...I'm not even exaggerating!

TTG however is nothing but an ADHD sugar rush, no rhyme or reason to the jokes, just "lOL, rAnDom=FuNNy!". There's nothing wrong with the series having a sense of humour, because if you pay attention to these clips, it's only the characters that already have a sense of humour, Joker, Flash, Cyborg, Toyman, they're the ones making jokes; Batman's still his super serious self. Superman & Wonder Woman don't get enough to say to judge their personalities, but I'm just going to hope they got em right. Hell if anything, with the quick animation, pacing and tone, this looks a lot more like the original Teen Titans series rather than Teen Titans Go, and that ain't a bad thing.

-Danny