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flyinglotus777 · 3 years

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Netflix’s Squid Game

SPOILER ALERT! If you are interested in watching the series, I HIGHLY suggest you do so. This article will be an overall synopsis and my review of the show. For an in-depth analysis of the symbolism of the show and ending, scroll down to the fourth to last paragraph.

The Netflix show, “Squid Game,” written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk is a phenomenal Korean drama centered around our victor, Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae. Contestants were recruited to play in a life or death competition due to their lack of luck, financial knowledge, and influx of impending debt they have accumulated throughout their lives. We first meet Gi-hun as he is down on his luck. Living with his elderly, overworked mother (which in countries outside of the United States is not strange nor uncommon) Gi-hun was a friend to gambling, but that toxic love caused him to be in debt to a gang of (what seemed to be) loan sharks. When luck finally strikes him on the race track, life simultaneously decides to take an excrement on his reality. His debt seekers catch him on his hot streak and involuntarily sign him up to be a participant in the Squid Game.

Similar to many other of the 456 participants, they all shared a common denominator of being in situations it seemed only money could fix. Upon arrival the contestants were asked to voluntarily sign wavers in order to participate in the game, while unknowingly risking their lives, for the opportunity to win 456 billion won (which would be roughly over $3.5 million in US currency). The challenges were mostly based on nostalgic childhood games, both based in the United States and South Korea.

Now I knew due to the explanation in the introduction of episode one that if any player were to lose, they would die. So during the first challenge of red light green light, when players were bulletly penalized for losing I was not surprised. After the game, the players decided to rally together and quit playing. The influence of the cash prize split the decision down the middle, leaving the old man, player 1, to be the final decision. To my surprise he actually chose to decline, freeing all of the players. During the voting, many players screamed at each other as to why they would choose to stay in the hell hole as other players responded that the outside world was not any better if not the same as the harsh environment they were already in. This reality struck many contestants as they returned back to their reality of debt, dependents, and for some bounty hunts, thus resulting in them returning to the game.

During the whole season, I was trying to find the purpose of these games. We knew why the participants felt motivated to play, but I wondered what was the purpose of having them fight for their lives in the first place. When the PlayStation faced soldiers forced the doctor (player 111) to dissect the bodies for organs to sell at the black market, at first I thought that it was what the original game maker wanted which I thought was genius. Soon to learn that it was actually a violation to a code of equality that was placed inside the arena applying to all of those who existed, soldiers and participants alike. Which struck me as odd due to the soldiers being able to tote guns and wear masks based on their own hierarchy and the participants being collectively isolated and given numbers as if it was a remake of the Stanford Prison experiment. Nonetheless many soldiers faced the same fate as the players, and my pondering would meet the solution come the finale.

Let’s discuss players. I only favored Gi-hun because he was the protagonist, but throughout the story he grew on me as his big heart prevailed through the madness. I knew Choo Sang-woo, the embezzling business man and hometown friend of Gi-hun played by Park Hae-soo, was a psychopath when I saw him in a fully filled bathtub with his suit on. Running from the police, in debt or not, that’s just as much of a red flag for serial killer tendencies as sleeping with socks on or having too thin and highly arched eyebrows. The episode that he crossed Ali, the father of one from Pakistan with the missing fingers, made me hate Sang-woo for the rest of the series. I was infuriated and frustrated with Ali for being that naïve to believe that they could escape the round as a duo, but understood his perspective since up until that point Sang-woo was a dependable, trusted ally to Ali. However after that episode I didn’t care who won, I was just ready for Sang-woo to die.

Kang Sae-byeok, the skeptical and beautiful warrior from North Korea played by Jung Ho-yeon, deserves her own paragraph. Along with her beauty, her presence and demeanor was so bad ass. She was thrifty and intelligent, as her talent being pick pocketing. I was waiting for her to just be so bad ass. As the punk disguised to be gangster, Jang Deok-su, pushed her around which seemed to be normal behavior between the two, I was ready for Sae-byeok to twist his arm, send a plunging round house kick to his nuts, and cut his snake tattoo right off of his face. Although her exterior was tough, her heart was made of malleable gold which we got to see as she opened up to her female companion during the marble challenge and sobbed from her loss afterwards. Although she was not the killer bad ass queen I had wanted her to be, I still call her a warrior because of her resiliency throughout life’s and the game’s many obstacles and her drive to provide her younger brother with a better life.

Thankfully Deok-su got what he deserved as Han Mi-nyeo poetically decided to take both of their lives during the glass challenge. “You said we would be together till the end,” she said before diving into her inevitable death with her short lived lover. Mi-nyeo was incredibly annoying as I would often pinch the inside corners of my eyes and scratch my eyebrows when she would appear. However that crazy bitch served justice, and I love her for that.

I was highly disappointed by the demise of the detective Hwang Jun-ho, played by the handsome Wi Ha-joon. I was rooting for detective Jun-ho, as I’m sure we all were, on his pursuit to find his brother. I was not surprised that his brother was Front Man, as I had suspected that his brother must’ve died or been apart of the game making due to his absence in real life and the current game. After discovering his brother was the victor of his year, to me it only made sense that he would be apart of the game enforcement. As we saw from Gi-hun, a normal life is impossible to live after experiencing something so traumatic as a series of death ridden children games. However I was saddened and surprised that detective Jun-ho was unsuccessful in closing down the whole operation. I mean the man was close to performing forced, aristocratic fellatio in the name of serving and protecting the law. I truly thought because he had gotten so far and was so close to exposing the operation that the only choice he had was to be successful. At last he was shot and killed by his own blood, the one he had been looking for; providing us with a cinematic and heart jerking ending to detective Jun-ho.

Lastly lets discuss the old man, player 001 named O Yeong-su, whom I also nicknamed Poppy during the series. Deceivingly innocent and weak, I genuinely liked Yeong-su throughout the game play. I thoroughly enjoyed his relationship with Gi-hun and saw him as a valuable player in most instances. I believe he was one of the main reasons that Gi-hun continued to lead with his heart. Gi-hun claimed that Yeong-su was the reason he returned to the games and later found out that Yeong-su was the reason there were games in the first place. The climatic episode of the marble challenge was when their relationship had been defined as “gganbu” (which is a term for trusted, close friends in Korean, as explained in the series), thus Yeong-su establishing a special place in Gi-hun’s heart. During the challenge, Yeong-su begins to have an episode of what we all assumed to be dementia as the arena they are playing in is designed like his old neighborhood and he abandons the game to take a trip down memory lane. Gi-hun screams in frustration at the old man to play with him only to end up losing in their even and odd game and resulting in deceit, tricking the old man to let him be the victor. Now if I was Gi-hun, I would’ve convinced Yeong-su to let me hold his marbles for safe keeping and let him have a fun time reminiscing on his life while he ran down the clock. Then when it was time, I would’ve turned in all 20 marbles just as Sang-woo did and went about my business. It would’ve only been right for the old man to forfeit as he was already on his death bed, or so we innocently thought. Before I get into the ending, I want to talk about the last match between Sang-woo and Gi-hun.

Finally, the last game to see who would be victorious in a highly anticipated game of Squid between Gi-hun and Sang-woo. It seemed as if it were a battle between good vs evil; Gi-hun representing a more benevolent side as he would often optimistically look to help other competitors and extend the kindness he had been shown versus Sang-woo who represented a more vindictive and ruthless side, determined to hurt anyone in order to receive his highly coveted and long awaited prize in an arena that erased any foundation of morals or ethics as soon as the light turned red. Luck was on Gi-hun’s side as he had the opportunity to play offense. With a cunning mind and a vengeance for Sae-byeok’s death, Gi-hun delivered a can of whoop ass to his opponent. As the saying goes, the good shall always prevail. Perhaps his heart was too pure as Gi-hun halted from crossing the finish line and offered Sang-woo a chance to live, thus forfeiting the prize money. Needless to say, I applauded when Sang-woo committed suicide as it was the only right thing to do in his position.

A year passed by and Gi-hun seemed worse than before. Physically his style was bummy wealthy, a look pioneered by Bill Gates, but mentally he was in shambles. How could you blame him? Gi-hun discovered that the responsible party for these horrendous events was none other than his ggangbu, old man Yeong-su. The biggest, jaw dropping plot twist of the entire series. As they were joined on Christmas Eve and Yeong-su on his death bed, they placed one final bet on an assumed to be drunken, homeless man who sat on the streets as it snowed and waited for help to arrive. Yeong-su explained how he actually wanted to help people and give his money to people who needed it, but wanted to do it in an “entertaining way.” As Gi-hun flared with outrage towards the old man for finding amusement in killing people, the old man rebutted using horse races as an example of people’s amusement. Yeong-su also said he participated in the games because it was more fun to play than to be a spectator, which I had noticed him treating the competition as if it were adult summer camp. I had just assumed since he was old, he didn’t care if he had died or not.

I think most people will think that this show was a metaphor about how money and rich people are evil. However I think it can be seen as commentary on society as a whole, not just the wealthy. Yeong-su says on his death bed that it’s a test of humanity, and asks Gi-hun if he still has faith in humanity after what he has experienced. Although money was the luring motivator to win the game, people still chose to return to the competition to escape their problems. Sure, money was apart of their problems as all of the players (excluding Yeong-su) were in debt, but that was due to choices that they had made. Whether it had been through embezzling, gambling, lack of luck, or financial ignorance, it was the people who had gotten themselves into those situations. Money doesn’t have a personal vendetta against anyone nor does it have an inherent quality of good or evil. Money is a neutral energy used to be exchanged for goods and services. It’s people who designate that energy to their humane or inhumane desires.

Leading to the next point of the wealthy and how they are seen to be evil due to having wealth. Although I do believe that there are some wealthy people who act as villains, money didn’t create the villain inside of them. Those people were going to behave maliciously whether they have money or not. The VIPs, who were spectating the finale of challenges, were tied to a bank devoted to the wealthy and gambled on the competitors who played (and most likely helped subsidize the events). We place judgement on them, but as Yeong-su said, people gamble on horse races. Although people are not animals and by my knowledge I don’t believe most or any horses die during these races, it is still the principle of watching an entity being tortured for amusement, which is not only confined to the wealthy population. When the concept of killing and tormenting living breathing beings for amusement is normalized within society, the lines begin to blur on who is okay to perform and who is not. Take the audience of this show for example, we all watched a show where hundreds of people were mercilessly killed for the desire of winning a cash prize for our own amusement, thus making “Squid Game” the number one show on Netflix at the moment. Although the show is fictional and brilliantly written, this Hunger Games concept is not new. We come in contact again and again with the idea of people who are disadvantaged given an opportunity to better their lives through inhumane means, including risking their own lives or actively sacrificing the life of another, and being spectators on the edge of our seats who can’t seem to look away. It is no different than a Roman gladiator match in a grand colosseum, which in modern day would be a MMA fight at the MGM hotel. We blame it on the rich who are ridiculed for creating these events, but at the end of the day it is the people, rich,poor, and everyone in between, who continue to still go along with it and to some extent desire it. Which makes me question, what does that say about humanity, and do I actually have faith in us? Although Gi-hun went through hell and back, he still remained pure of heart and used his wealth to enhance his life and those around him; proving that wealthy people can still be benevolent and desire righteous good. Similar to Gi-hun, the optimist in me wants to believe that there are still people in this world with good hearts, but I guess we just have to wait until the time comes to see.

Ultimately the show was phenomenal, and definitely sparked a desire inside of me to watch more Korean dramas. I don’t think the show will have a second season. Simply because I think the story line would be better cut off there, thus leaving the audience always wanting more. However if season 2 ever comes out, I’m ready for Gi-hun to take a Liam Neeson approach to ending the Squid Game and hopefully with a beard. Thank you for reading my article. I know it was incredibly lengthy. I have just finished the season after a 2 day binge watch, and have a lot of emotions and thoughts ruminating in my brain. Let me know what you think of the show and what you think of the article. Did anyone else notice the paintings of the games on the walls of the dormitory?

God bless.

#squid game #netflix #review #korean drama #kdrama #series review #web series

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essenceoffilm · 6 years

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Transcendence in the Sleepless Streets of New York City

Light sleep denotes the state of non-REM sleep where the person has not yet fallen into heavy sleep from whose lull it is more laborious to arise and which thus provides one with real rest rather than shallow slumber. It is appropriate that Paul Schrader, the American poet of modern sleepwalkers in urban spaces, would title his most personal film as Light Sleeper (1992). To call Schrader’s heroes sleepwalkers is a little misleading, however, since his characters aren’t really asleep; they are constantly awake but in a drowsy, quasi-delirious state. They are never totally asleep nor totally awake. They lie in between of the bed and the street. They exist in stasis like the characters in Robert Bresson’s films, which Schrader admires immensely.

The lethargic protagonist of Schrader’s Light Sleeper is a man named John LeTour, played by Willem Dafoe, an ex-drug-addict and current drug dealer who is re-evaluating his profession as his boss, played by Susan Sarandon, is planning a career change by starting up her own cosmetics business. In these times of change, LeTour comes across an old love from the past, Marianne Jost, a woman who has been straight and out of the drug business for several years. A tragedy in Marianne’s family leads her back to drugs and finally to death, which sets LeTour on a mission of senseless violence against those who he believes are responsible for Marianne’s death. In jail, awaiting his sentence of many years, LeTour reconnects with his boss, reflecting on the strangeness of his path like Michel in Bresson’s Pickpocket (1959).

Given this chain of fictive events, Light Sleeper ties in most obviously not only with Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976), which Schrader wrote, but also, and more importantly, with Schrader’s earlier films Hardcore (1979) and American Gigolo (1980). All of these films portray a man’s journey in the urban underworld, culminating with an act of violence. Hardcore is perhaps the farthest away from the formula since it portrays a father who goes to rescue his missing daughter from the porn industry, while Taxi Driver comes across as the clearest parallel work as a subjectivistic depiction of a lonely man who redeems himself through a purification via violence. Yet it is really American Gigolo which is the closest in spirit to Light Sleeper (though it lacks the extreme violence of Light Sleeper and Taxi Driver; it culminates with an accidental act of violence).

This seems more than appropriate because Taxi Driver is, after all, a film by Scorsese whose vision overrides that of Schrader. Taxi Driver famously ends with an open epilogue sequence which can be interpreted in many ways, but is probably best grasped as a delirious death dream in which the protagonist finds spiritual solace after his self-destructive burst of hatred toward others. American Gigolo and Light Sleeper, on the other hand, end with sequences which are clearly rooted in reality in the sense that they leave no possibilities to interpret themselves as dreams or other such detachments from the established diegetic world. They conclude with a serene return to tranquility after the burst of violence. They show their protagonists in prison where they are visited by a woman in whose presence they are touched by something transcendent -- not necessarily something divine in the theological sense, but something external and non-private in the metaphysical sense; that is, they are touched by a dimension of sense and meaning beyond their lonely isolation.

It is not a happy ending in the most conventional sense of the term since it merely uncovers the manifestation of a vague promise of something better. The endings of both American Gigolo and Light Sleeper pay homage to Bresson’s Pickpocket which ends with Michel finding an ambiguous sense of purpose as Jeanne, a young woman living near him and the only person who seems to have the smallest ounce of care for his sake, keeps on visiting him in prison. American Gigolo goes the whole nine yards with the homage by imitating the restraint acting, ascetic mise-en-scène, and minimalist editing (with mechanic fades to black closing each brief scene, depicting the flow of time between the visits between the man and the woman), whereas Light Sleeper condenses the essence of the encounter into one single scene with an acting style more established in the whole of the film. The homage is most apparent, of course, in the final lines of the films. Bresson’s film ends with Michel saying: “Oh, Jeanne, pour aller jusqu’à toi, quel drôle de chemin il m’a fallu prendre” (”Oh, Jeanne, what strange path I had to take to come to you”). American Gigolo concludes with Julian saying: “My God, Michele, it has taken me so long to come to you.” Light Sleeper turns it around by having the woman, LeTour’s boss played by Sarandon, simply say: “Strange how things work.”

Some might accuse of Schrader not only for copying but also for repeating and thus just doing the same thing over and over again. The way I see it, however, is that the filtered ending, which always changes a little, keeps gaining new meanings, and at the point of Light Sleeper it has become even more touching than in American Gigolo. It is heavy with significance and emotional baggage; yet it never feels semantically heavy in the sense that it called for any decoding or interpretation. It has a great balance between heaviness and lightness. The heavy prison bars of Pickpocket and the sterile glass separating the lovers in American Gigolo have vanished in Light Sleeper, and there is only an institutional barrier in the air between the two, which cannot come in between their emotional reunion, exemplifying the transcendental manifestation.

In order to appreciate the impact of the ending one should keep the rest of the film in mind, too. For its understated optimism and serenity are paralleled by preceding aesthetics of death, violence, and misery. Schrader’s style in Light Sleeper is probably easiest to grasp by thinking of it as neo-noir. Neon lights illuminating interior spaces from an outer source, seedy streets with paper trash, and run-down apartments of New York City characterize its concrete sense of milieu. In homage to genre tradition, Schrader even has a voice-over of LeTour reading his diary entries. Although this device is never overused to the extent where it would turn the film into pastiche, it certainly feels loose and unnecessary -- an unattached reminder of Taxi Driver.

The awkwardness of the voice-over goes together with the other weaknesses of the film. Schrader’s narrative fumbles at times without a clear sense of where it is heading (there is, for one, “a sub-plot” of a park murder case which is mentioned twice in the film but then goes nowhere) and his style is less than consistent in terms of acting, editing, and music (which is further emphasized by the connection to Bresson, the master of stylistic consistency). At the same time, however, these are difficult to be taken solely as weaknesses since they seem to enhance the overall impact of the film. There is something similar in Schrader’s narrative looseness to the films of Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, and Alan Rudolph in the 70′s and the 80′s. The overall impact of Schrader’s style is a cinematic articulation of a certain mode of being in the world, a lethargic, fatigued, and intermittent being, an existential narcolepsy, light being on the surface of the world.

Without going into a detailed stylistic analysis, it could be stated that Schrader achieves this impact by an execution which finds balance between realism and stylization. In a word, the idealist, transcendent ending (which, however, never loses its touch with reality) of the film is preceded by big piles of dirt. As an aesthetic synopsis of his earlier films and as an anticipation of the ending of the one in question, Schrader begins Light Sleeper with a slow low-angle dolly shot of a run-down, dirty asphalt street. The shot concludes with a slow dissolve from the surface of the street into a medium shot of the perplexed protagonist. The street is a tainted mirror of the character’s soul like in the best works of Buñuel. This dissolve, this cut, this double image is a perfect metaphor for Schrader’s style as a whole in this spectacular film. When the camera tracks toward LeTour’s face in the final shot, framing his face in a tight extreme close-up, his aged, tired face bears a resemblance to the worn asphalt of the street, the world which he cannot shake off from him.

In terms of neo-noir, Light Sleeper can also be seen as another tale of the burden of the past. LeTour must carry his burden everyday as he walks the streets of drug dealing. Marianne must carry it too, and the burden eventually becomes too heavy for her. Yet it seems that Schrader is less interested in the psychological ramifications of this burden than in the overall theme it connotes: the existential imprisonment of man, which Bresson brought to the attention of the cinema. Like Michel in Pickpocket, LeTour is more imprisoned outside than inside the prison. He lives a life of constant fatigue and insomnia which he has acquired in exchange for losing his drug addiction. When he sleeps, he is a light sleeper who never gets real rest. When he is awake, he is a light being who can never really be. His lonely isolation is reflected by the emptiness of his ascetic apartment -- whose emotional core is encapsulated in the stereo playing LeTour’s ex-lover’s name on repeat (”Marianne Jost, Marianne Jost, Marianne Jost”) -- next to which there is a gulf of garbage awaiting LeTour’s soul as in the grim ending of Buñuel’s Los Olvidados. Like Michel, LeTour finally redeems himself, and, paradoxically, attains abstract freedom through concrete imprisonment. Strange how things work.

Schrader is a great admirer of the mechanic stasis of Bresson’s endings, and he has never come closer to their artistic quality than in Light Sleeper (though detached from Bresson’s absolute purity and mastery, the film also transcends mere imitation). While American Gigolo imitates Pickpocket more closely, Light Sleeper seems to enrich its homage with uniqueness. The former work was exercise for the latter. Of Bresson’s endings Schrader writes:

Stasis is the quiescent, frozen, or hieratic scene which succeeds the decisive action and closes the film. It is a still re-view of the external world intended to suggest the oneness of all things. In Diary of a Country Priest it is the shadow of the cross, in A Man Escaped it is the long shot of the darkened street with Fontaine and Jost receding in the distance, in Pickpocket it is Michel’s imprisoned face, in The Trial of Joan of Arc it is the charred stump of the stake.

This static view represents the ‘new’ world in which the spiritual and the physical can coexist, still in tension and unresolved, but as a part of a larger scheme in which all phenomena are more or less expressive of a larger reality -- the Transcendent. [1]

It is more than evident that the ending of Light Sleeper is Schrader’s attempt to articulate precisely “the oneness of all things” or “the ‘new’ world in which the spiritual and the physical can coexist.” Though still in tension, their phenomena (say, thought and emotion on the one hand, objects and states of affairs on the other) express the underlying unity. Closing his eyes and silently reflecting on the strangeness of his path, LeTour experiences a touch by the transcendence, an external dimension of value, sense, and meaning. Neither Bresson nor Schrader are interested in making metaphysical claims for the existence or non-existence of such a dimension. That work will be left for the metaphysicians and the meta-ethicists. As artists, Bresson and Schrader are interested in the human experience of this transcendence. The experience of its presence on the surface of the world. The unity of the real and the irreal, or the concrete and the abstract, in experience is why Schrader’s style never departs from l’éffet de réel and the abundance of observational data characteristic for the cinema. As the camera closes in on LeTour’s face as he closes his eyes and presses his mouth against his boss’ hand, the vicinity of the camera allows the image to register slight movement of LeTour’s eyes beneath his eyelids, implying his entrance into real rest from the prison of light sleep. This subtle bodily movement is neither solely physical (in terms of simple movement of a physical object) nor solely spiritual (in terms of mere expression of emotion or thought without a physical correspondent). It is both. The registered movement on the surface of the world, captured on the surface of the cinematic image, is Schrader’s final word on the oneness of all things.

Notes:

[1] Schrader, Paul. 1972/1988. Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, and Dreyer. Da Capo Press, p. 82-83.

#Light Sleeper #Paul Schrader #1990's #American

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jackgornall-bth · 6 years

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Action movie comparison( The Dark Knight vs Avengers Infinity War).

This post will consist of the analysis and evaluation of two of my personal favorite action movies Christopher Nolan's 2008 master piece the Dark Knight and The the 2018 box office breaker Avengers Infinity War.

The first of the two films I will be analyzing is The Dark Knight. The general plot of the movie is With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader begins to tread a fine line between heroism and vigilantism.

The first point I will be addressing is the characters following the character type theory of character types by Vladimir Propp. The hero of the movie is Batman(Christian Bale) a one man war on the constant crime of Gotham city. The films villain is the Joker(Heath Ledger) an “agent of chaos” as he puts it, the characters sole purpose is to make the hero break his one rule which is “I will not kill”. The helper of the movie is commissioner James Gordon(Gary Oldman) as batman's main ally throughout the movie as well as his main source of Intel for all crime within the city. While the film itself lacks a donor and a dispatcher it does contain a false hero. Harvey Dent(Aaron Eckhart) begins as the charismatic DA of Gotham city, dents most iconic quote in the film is a perfect foreshadow for whats to come. “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” is a brilliant tease to how Harvey eventually becomes the villain two face.

The movie itself contains many traits that would you would associate with an action movie explosions,gun shots, police cars and cops etc. What makes this movie so entertaining is how it grounds a comic book property in a grounded and realistic environment, the way in which Nolan managed to make the film feel as real as possible adds to its effectiveness. The shots within this movie themselves range from wide aerial shots of Gotham to batman's shaky cam brawls with criminals.

The films most iconic shot is shown above, as batman stands over a pit of money that the joker had previously burnt, he realizes the joker’s true message about chaos. This shot alone is seen as the films most iconic and recognizable images and applies to Jokers established mentality of that some men just want to watch the world burn, which is beautifully symbolized by the Joker burning the most important asset in making the world function that being money.

Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposites is applied to Batman and the Joker, the light and the darkness, the Joker’s quote “what would I do without you” highlights that one of them cannot exist without the other.

The films itself possesses a closed narrative, the only real story present is batman's mission to stop the joker, no other characters possess any character moments that don’t involve batman except for maybe the joker.

Plot twists are not really present within the movie except for Harvey’s sudden transformation into the villainous two-face thanks to a severe injury he received due to do the joker’s actions. Harvey himself would fill the slot of the false hero according to Propp’s character theory as he starts as an ally to batman before becoming an antagonist. The teaching of Aristotle’s tragic hero applies to the character of Harvey also.

A macguffin is not needed in order for the plot to be moved along, instead the story continues through the characters actions.

This is my dark knight portion of the blog.

The second of the two action movies I will be discussing is Avengers infinity war, the cinematic event which acted as the culmination of 18 previous movies.

The plot of this movie is Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet -- the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.

One aspect that immediately differs this movie from the dark knight is the over whelming number of characters. Whilst the dark knight follows Propp’s character theory very well with one set hero, villain, helper etc, Infinity war has a total of around 30 heroes with only a handful of villains. The most likely main heroes of this movie are most likely Tony Stark (Robert Downy jr), Steve Rogers( Chris Evans) and Thor(Chris Hems worth). The primary objective of are heroes is to stop the films primary villain Thanos(Josh Brolin) and his plan to wipe out half the universes population. One thing that separates the character types within the two movies is the realistic factor. Whilst the dark knight is set in a grounded realistic setting, infinity war is set in a universe comprised of magic, aliens, Norse mythology and advanced technology. whilst Batman is for the most part a character of realism, the trio of heroes of infinity war consist of a super soldier, a literal god and a genius inventor with a armored suit to advanced to be deemed realistic. Taking a look at the films antagonists the Joker and Thanos one of whom is a psychotic madman and the other is the soul survivor of a deceased alien race. There is a clear difference between the two antagonists.

One thing to discuss is the antagonists motivation. In most action movies the main villain of the movie is evil just for the sake of being evil, however both the Joker and Thanos have such complex motives that each receive their own response. As mentioned above the Jokers main objective is to drive Batman to killing him which in turn would destroy everything the character stands for, whislt this is a interesting premise it lacks any real motive or logic behind it. Thanos on the other hand is the complete opposite, as previously mentioned Thanos is the soul survivor of his race who went extinct due to over population and lack of sustainable resources. He wishes to gather the films macguffn the six infinity stones and use their combined power to wipe out half the universe at once so that the other half of the universe can survive. Thanos’ sparked many debates upon movie goers who were discussing whether or not they sided with him or not. At the end of the day what defines an antagonist is their effect on the hero and their world. Whilst the joker failed to break Batman he did succeed in making the rest of Gotham see him as a murderer which in turn led to him hanging up the cowl. Thanos, in a shocking turn of events succeeds in completing his goal of destroying half the universe, with one snap of his fingers many beloved characters began to fade away to ash, the list included Spider man(Tom Holland), Doctor Strange(Benedict Cumberbatch), Black Panther( Chadwick Boseman) and many others. This led to Thanos having a both physical and metaphorical impact on the heroes.

Whilst the dark knight contains action grounded within login, meaning hand to hand combat and shootouts, infinity war uses its unrealistic to its advantage. Fight scenes are present throughout the movie spanning places like New York, Edinburgh, Africa and even another planet. The camera work incorporated into the movie consists of many close ups on characters faces to show their responses to certain things, transitions back and forth between characters as well as pans across the many environments to give a sense of scope are also used. This movie is packed full of action movie stereotypes with large scale explosions, desolated areas etc. The dark knights single hero left most of its action scenes feeling repetitive as they were all pretty much just Batman vs a single or multiple antagonists. Infinity war makes sure to incorporate its large character roster into its actions scenes, in terms of action set pieces the two films possess their own unique style.

The film does posses a potential Deus Ex Machina in the form of Thor as not only is he an actual God but he also turns the tide at the battle of Wakanda. Whilst the dark knight lacks the presence of this narrative device. This is not seen within the dark knight, the dyer situation is saved by those within it, not a seemingly out of nowhere occurrence which helps add to the films realistic tone.

Infinity war has very prominent uses shot reverse shot which is when a characters eye line is met and then what they were looking at is revealed. This camera method acts as the introduction to both Thanos and Captain America. In the beginning of the film the character Loki(Tom Hiddleston) gazes towards an unknown figure before the camera pans over to reveal Thanos menacingly standing above a injured Thor, the scenes score adds to its effectiveness. Later on, while the characters of Scarlett Witch( Elizabeth Olsen) and Vison(Paul Bettany) are cornered by two of the movies second tier antagonists, immediately the characters glance over towards an unknown figure who is then revealed to be Captain America.

Unlike the dark knight which was a very self contained closed narrative piece, infinity war is an open narrative with the movies character being comprised of multiple groups throughout the whole movie. Each of the main trio I previously established lead a group to forward the plot. Iron man and company venture to space in order to combat Thanos head on, Thor along with two members of the guardians of the galaxy who are another team of marvel heroes who are dragged into the conflict are in search of a weapon powerful enough to kill Thanos, meanwhile down on earth the remaining heroes as well as black panthers army are led by Captain America as they combat the enemies attack on earth. This film is supposed to be the culmination of 18 movies worth of character development and its plays off very well.

The main difference between these two movies is their scale and their character roster, while both have gone down in history as possessing two of cinemas best villains it is clear that the two of them are drastically unique. Whilst Propps character theory cannot be applied due to the shear number of characters however Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposites can apply to the films forefront conflict of Tony Stark vs Thanos both of whom have been aware of eachother just not by name.

This could be argued as the movies main conflict throughout as Tony and Thanos are at the forefront of their respective role as hero and villain.

Both movies possess different key themes, The Dark Knight and its themes of chaos and anarchy can be summed up by both the shot I previously showed but also the quote spoken to Batman by Alfred(Michael Cain), when referring to the joker he says “some men just want to watch the world burn” which again correlates to the shot of batman standing over the jokers pile of burnt money, the movies main tagline in advertisement being “welcome to a world without rules” . Infinity war is a film about loss and sacrifice which plays a role throughout every key scene. In order for Thanos to receive one of the six infinity stones he first had to sacrifice guaridans member Gamora who is in fact his own daughter as he is told by the stones guardian” you must lose that which you love most”. Later on in the movie when Thanos is confronted by Doctor Strange( Benedict Cumber batch) he tells the sorcerer supreme that “the hardest choices require the strongest will”. At the films end when Thanos succeeds in wiping out half of the universes population he is seen speaking briefly to the spirit of Gamora who asks him what achieving his goal cost to which he replies “everything”.

To evaluate both movies are of the action genre and comic book genre but are so drastically different in almost every aspect which is what makes both films some of cinemas most iconic pieces.

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furederiko · 7 years

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As I said a few days ago, I have prepared this Random News Digest ever since I posted the previous one. Thanks to that sudden unexpected situation on my part, this could be the one and only for the month. Of course, nothing is set in stone just yet. But just in case I'm not posting another ones in the following weeks, with this, you should already be aware of the reason why... *sigh*

Transformers

In a rather unexpected and a bit unusual news, Paramount has decided to release "Transformers: The Last Knight" two days earlier next month. The 5th Michael Bay-directed movie that was supposed to be out on June 23rd, will now arrive on June 21st. It's a Wednesday by the way, which is the unusual fact, because big Hollywood movies like this usually aimed a weekend release. I'm honestly not sure what the primary reason behind this shift, but perhaps... Paramount is pushing it to open at the same date internationally? Such personal speculation makes sense though, because movies tend to open on weekdays in many non-American countries. And the "Transformers" franchise is indeed a bigger name in international market, as proven by the 4th movie. This way, just like what "The Fate of the Furious" have recently accomplished, the movie has a bigger chance to break worldwide opening record. At least for the month of June, or that particular weekend. Anyway, I'm sure fans of the franchise would be delighted by this news. I... guess?

DC Films

Speaking of June, "Wonder Woman" is close to be released as well. I haven't been on social media for the past few days (even without visiting one, my data charge is close to running out! Aaaarggghh), so I can't tell if they have held the first screening for the movie or not (likely not, perhaps in the coming weeks or two?). But apparently, Warner Bros just released a new poster for the movie. For a movie set to be released on June 2nd, I do expect the marketing presence to start getting bigger, and promotion to get louder. Strangely, it doesn't feel that way. For some reason, it felt like WB is holding out a bit on this one, which is NOT a good sign. I mean, even if the movie isn't as good, at least they should go all out when promoting the first female-led superhero movie of the modern age. That alone deserves the biggest attention, right? There's a new trailer airing during the MTV Movie Awards 2017 that was held a few hours ago. I haven't seen it (due to lack of interest? Nah... lack of BANDWITH), but perhaps that's a sign that the studio is taking further step forward. Oh well, we'll see what happens in the near future then... but seriously, I don't have a good feeling about it.

Marvel Studios

Filming for "Avengers: Infinity War", which opens less than a year from now, is still taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was said that directors Anthony and Joe Russo have arrived in the location last week. We know that several actors have been spotted there, like Robert Downey Jr., Paul Bettany, and Elizabeth Olsen. It seemed, more actors have arrived to join the production.

Chris Evans has been spotted at a nearby club in George Street, confirming his participation in the city. Anthony Mackie, recently openly tweeted that he's leaving the location (possibly along with Olsen and Bettany), hinting that his part might have been completed there. Soon after, the upcoming headlining duo of "Thor: Ragnarok", Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, were spotted at the Durham Cathedral, England. The ancient Cathedral was shut down from May 4th to 6th, indicating that it will be exclusively used for the production. It seems Scarlett Johansson was seen in the same place as well, aside from other secretive areas like Waverly Station, Cockburn Station, St. Abbs, Inverness, and High Street's St. Giles Cathedral. Quite a reunion for the core Avengers, right?

They were not alone, because turns out actress Tessa Thompson also showed up there, indicating that her Valkyrie might be arriving on Earth alongside Hemsworth's Thor and Ruffalo's Bruce Banner. While this served as confirmation of the actress' inclusion, in a way, it also potentially teased a potential spoiler to the ending of "Ragnarok". There are also hints that Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange will be involved, which once again, might give us a clue to the character's inclusion in "Ragnarok". Adding to the list of cosmic characters, a stand-in model of Rocket Raccoon was also present. Since Rocket is a CG character, obviously he would be inserted in post production. One would only wonder if he's the only Guardians members there, because their actors might have already filmed their parts in Atlanta instead.

Around the same time, other cast members weighed in their thoughts of the movie to the press, giving clearer details to what we can expect in the movie. One of them, the third Chris of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Pratt thought that the movie is going to be timeless and iconic. "It's going to stand the test of time. It's maybe this decade's movie, if not a longer period of time", he said to Toronto Sun. He also revealed to Nerdist that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be supporting casts, but still has a strong presence in the movie. Considering he's the architect to the Cosmic side, and might apparently stay that way until "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", director James Gunn reiterated the same fact, while admitting that he's "incredibly involved in what happens in Infinity War with the Guardians".

Meanwhile, Downey Jr. once again collaborated with Omaze and openly offered fans for the chance to win an all-access visit to the set. This isn't new, since several other actors have done similar charity projects as well. But the important bit to notice here, is how it pretty much confirmed that the actors will return to Atlanta to shoot more stuff. Since production is wrapping up in just a few months before proceeding to the 2019's "Avengers 4", clearly this set visit will take place very soon. Unless Downey was referencing "Avengers 4". Which reminds me again, we're less than a year away before "Infinity War" hits the global market on May 4th, 2018. That's why the hype is certainly building bigger and bigger everyday!

As for what comes after Avengers 4, there are two confirmed titles so far: sequel to "Spider-Man: Homecoming" that is set to be released on July 2019, and "Vol 3" that will likely take the May 1st, 2020 date. A sequel to "Doctor Strange" has been partially confirmed, but not yet announced officially, since director Scott Derrickson is still busy with other project. Intriguingly, the one that we already started to get a good grasp at, is none other than "Vol. 3". That's because Gunn has already begun planning and working on that sequel. Aside from focusing on some of the bits teased during the mid-credit scenes of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", which had just hit the US market a few days ago to massive revenue, Gunn teased that Zoe Saldana's Gamora is primed to have a significant role. Gunn had indeed said that all three Guardians movies will form one big story, so perhaps we'll be seeing Gamora's past coming back to haunt her? Especially following their little side adventure with the Avengers in "Infinity War" and "Avengers 4" that involves Daddy Thanos? Who knows, perhaps that one massive cosmic character will play a crucial role in it too, considering the being's romantic history with her in the comics. Hmmmm... I guess we'll just have to wait and see! And of course, speculate on!!!

Marvel TV

Hulu and Marvel TV has officially unveiled the official logo and look for the characters of Marvel's "Runaways" last week! Arriving on Twitter in form of a strong nod to a particular omnibus cover, this reveal might have also confirmed the inclusion of fans-beloved character, Old Lace the Deinonychus. Which will be of course, a completely CGed creature. Interestingly, before the image was announced officially, it was already leaked alongside a quick trailer early on. Assuming the link hasn't been taken down, you can probably catch it on Youtube. Said trailer, that hasn't been openly released until now, showcased the characters interacting with each other, and discovering that their parents are... 'evil'. Which is the gist of their story.

To be honest, I'm feeling a bit mixed with that leaked trailer. While the characters looked spot-on like their comics counterparts, the scene came off rather... cheesy? Somewhat in the same level to Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" that had its trailer released last month, it didn't work charm for me. In particular when "The Pride" showed up, which looked more like an occult rather than a group of super-powered villains. Apparently, reactions were mixed as well, as some Marvel fans are admittedly still on the fence with it like yours truly, but the rest of the community were thrilled with what they saw. Of course, we've only seen the trailer in poor quality, so we can't really judge it yet. Here's hoping we'll get a better look of it, when it is officially released. Though probably not in the near future, because well, the show will not arrived until 2018 anyway.

It's still unclear until now, whether this show will take place in the MCU or not. Unlike Freeform, which is still part of ABC (meaning it belongs to Disney... you get the point), Hulu is its own company. It honestly doesn't look like this show exists in the same world to the Avengers and Defenders. Because if it is, the contradicting appearance of Tina Minoru alone is already causing huge continuity issue with the "Doctor Strange" movie. But perhaps, it does take place in the MCU, but in a separate reality/universe? Remember, the keyword here is Multiverse, a concept introduced through "Doctor Strange", hence the possibility exists. Hmmm... I hope we'll get a clear explanation to this issue real soon. Otherwise, that means Jeph Loeb and Marvel TV is messing up BIG TIME.

Speaking of MCU, we do know that there's another show that will surely take place in the same reality: Marvel's "The Inhumans"! And look and behold... Entertainment Weekly has debuted the first official look to the mini series last week. And holy terrigenesis, it was... uhm... eh... MEH?!!! O_O. Fans immediately voiced their mixed feeling about it, because eventhough it had some nods to the comics (like Crystal's hair or Karnak's... face tattoo), other parts were glaringly unappealing. I mean, what's the deal with the HAIR of Serinda Swan's Medusa?!!! It doesn't even look like a natural human hair! Seriously, WHY use such hideous-looking WIG, when she only needs to dye her hair brunette or red. You know, just like... Zoe Saldana's Gamora or Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff? Even Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy still looked better! This one looks like FOX-inspired no matter how you see it! Not just Medusa, Eme Ikwuakor's Gorgon didn't even resemble the massive built of his comic counterpart (where's the hooves?), Anson Mount's Blackbolt seemed to have forgotten his pitchforked mask, and Ken Leung's Karnak totally didn't meet my expectation of a famous martial artist. Which shouldn't even be THAT hard to pull off. Isabelle Cornish's Crystal were among the few who looked wonderful, but the only one I was actually fond of was Iwan Rheon's Maximus. Even if I honestly don't understand why he needed the beard. Certainly not because the actor's British, right?! *coughQuicksilvercoughDaredevilcoughDannyRand*

We also got an official teaser that... uhm... eh... was NOT really helping either. Simply because it showed nothing but the logo, through a possible dialogue from someone I assumed to be Maximus (since he talked about freedom, yada yada), and Daphn... er, Medusa. After all, Blackbolt does NOT speak. Never mind the speaking, where's Mike Moh's Triton? Did his bodypaint look too hedious to be portrayed in the same photo? How about Lockjaw?! Showrunner Scott Buck did help confirm that Triton will NOT be a CG character. And also, that the teleportation mutt exists and is "probably going to end up being the audience’s favorite character. We certainly enjoy working with him. He’s fun to write, he’s fun to shoot. There’s not too much more detail than that that I can give, but he is going to be a standout on the show.". That's nice sentiment, but it still doesn't answer the question to why both of them are conspicuously excluded from the photo. Nor the main reason why the Royal Family needs to be cast out from their magical city of Attilan, and spends more time on Earth. A fact that obviously will make audiences question its position and continuity in the larger MCU universe.

If you were among the many those who were disappointed by how his "Iron Fist" turned out, then well, Buck's follow-up statements about this show and how he got involved in it, won't likely inspire confidence either. One of the more concerning fact, was how Loeb approached him and pitched him the project. NOT the other way around! In a way, this somehow signified that Marvel TV liked his interpretation of "Iron Fist", a show that's now sitting at the lowest approval level for any Marvel and Netflix's releases so far. I don't know about you, but to me, there's also a vague indication that Marvel TV was 'quite desperate' to get this show done no matter what. And obviously, that does NOT sound reassuring. Comparison to how Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios operates is inevitable, as their rigorous process to find a director with passion and fondness for a particular project, has been properly documented ("Captain Marvel" being a great example). This was undeniably one of the key to their box office and critical success, a method that brought people like James Gunn, Peyton Reed, Scott Derrickson, and others to deliver movies that reflected their love for the source material. So learning that it's Loeb who wanted Buck to do this, is enough to make me roll my eyes.

The approach sounded slightly different with Buck too. Instead of fully utilizing the Inhumans' visual super power and otherworldly abilities, embracing their larger-than-life weirdness, he opted to make them... 'grounded'. "We approach these all as real people who just happen to have these abilities, so they’re all very grounded people. We try to write them as real as possible, and then have fun with the powers when we can. We want their powers to seem like a very natural part of their personality.", he said. That was... an interesting choice of words, because I frankly believe 'grounded' has become a thing of the past these days, as proven by movies taking more risk by going the other way. But I seriously felt Buck totally 'dropped the ball' when he diplomatically admitted that he has NO CLUE about the source material. Thanks to that, his approach was... "Obviously if you look at those comics from the early ’60s, they’re a very different tone than what we’re doing. It was fun to see how it all began, but I just continued to leap forward. I have not read all of them, but I continue to look through some of them. There were so many different incarnations of the Inhumans, though, so it was more a matter of figuring out, what’s the story we want to tell? Going back and then reading the whole backstory of them all was very helpful, but from that, we just pretty much moved forward.". You know what? I was left speechless after reading that. Many signs are hinting towards failure, and that's concerning.

Which also gets me thinking. We know that the mini series is set to debut on IMAX theatres. It even has a cast of actors with past experiences in both TV and movies. Then why are Marvel TV treating these first two episodes with the mentality of a TV show? No offense to the director, but I sincerely think they should have regarded it as a movie-level instead. After all, eventhough IMAX is co-producing, it would be such a waste of use of that IMAX cameras, if not utilized properly to its highest potentials. Beside, it really doesn't hurt to consult with Marvel Studios, that has had years of experience in the field, just to get it right... right? In fact, the movie division ARE filming "Infinity War" entirely using the same sets of camera right now, so what a nice coincidence! Unless of course... pride stands in the way, which helps explains why the movie division is NOT involved at all (seriously, they could've just hand over the project to them instead). Buck did say that we can expect something 'a little bit bigger' than normal network shows, eventhough his portofolio thus far (he can't even do Shou-Lau properly!!!!) and other comments are saying otherwise. So let's just wait and see if he's actually true to his words... this time. A friendly suggestion though: Take a deep breath, and start crossing your fingers, pray that he won't mess up all over again. Because I honestly fear he will...

Last but not least, it would be a crime to not talk about the first series that started it all. Yes, Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", what else? It might not have the same ratings, nor the number of audience as before, but we wouldn't be getting these other shows if AoS didn't exist in the first place. As the currently airing 4th season is about to air its final two episodes in the coming weeks, the biggest question to its devoted fans is whether there will be a new season afterwards or not. If Deadline's report is to be believed, looks like a renewal is close to reality. Not quite surprising, because reception for the series DOES show an increase lately due to the stellar storytelling of "The Framework" arc. But what I'm more curious about, is whether this 5th season will serve as the finale or not. Surely, we shouldn't be treated with the kind of Agent Carter's cliffhanger experience all over again, should we? I guess we'll learn about this when ABC announces its lineups in the next few days...

Netflix

Oh hey there, the first full trailer for Marvel's "The Defenders" has arrived! If we were treated with a quick and rather annoying elevator tease before, followed by that equally confusing zombie shot via Twitter, Netflix finally unveiled the big one last week.

There's a lot to take in from this short trailer alone. Both the thrills of seeing the lead actors bouncing off each other's throat, as well as the mystery throughout the shots. Yet I'm also quite surprised to see how... SMALL the scope of this mini-series feels. Upon repeated viewing, it becomes more and more obvious, and in a way, disappointing. Just think about it, the Defenders are taking on The Hand in this one, which naturally should've been an ARMY. So it should've felt bigger, right? Instead, we're getting another hallway fight scene, which is basically the fifth time (excluding Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, who perhaps might get hers in the second season?) already. Why repeat the same formula over and over again? It took such a long time for Marvel TV (and Netflix) to deliver a crossover, so seriously, why not go all out? Also, seeing Mike Colter's Luke Cage and Finn Jones' Danny Rand meeting one another made me grin and frown at the same time. Because dang it, we COULD have gotten a proper "Heroes for Hire" show instead of the somewhat-underwhelming solo for Cage, and sadly-disappointing one for Danny.

Co-showrunner Marco Ramirez talked to Forbes following the release of that teaser, and hinted that we're going to see a change in these characters' mindset. Even if they have had moderate luck in working solo, through the event of this mini-series, they will "realize they have to work together and that they are much stronger together.". Of course, while that's easy to be said in theory, Ramirez admitted that the execution proved to be quite a creative challenge anyway. "It was quite a journey to keep them all very involved and active at every point", he stated, particularly because the last two shows were not yet released during production of "The Defenders". Both he, and Douglas Petrie did successfully brought a strong second season for Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock. So smart money is that they won't have any issue with this one as well. I can only hope that there won't be any continuity issues when it is released. After the poor result of Iron Fist's solo series, I'm pretty sure many eyes have been keeping an eye on Marvel TV closely, to see if they might f-up any further. Hope the best and expect the worse, then! Marvel's "The Defenders" arrives on August 18th, 2017.

Second season for the critically acclaimed "Stranger Things" won't be released until Halloween, but that doesn't mean its audience aren't already excited about it. In fact, some of us probably has been counting the days until that release date. Some of the cast recently talked to Emmy Magazine (via The Playlist) about it, and revealed that we can expect a bit of change in the series. Why? According to Mike Wheeler's actor Finn Wolfhard, the season will be "a lot more dark, a lot more horror-oriented", before adding that audience would probably like it better than the debut season. That certainly an interesting comment, eh? Dustin Henderson's actor Gaten Matarazzo chimed in by revealing an intriguing plot, "They feel a little bad because their best friend is back and he’s not acting like their best friend anymore. He’s changed.". Clearly, he's talking about Noah Schnapp's Will Byers, who DID exhibit some kind of strange supernatural phenomenon as the first season closed its curtain. I have a feeling, whatever it is Will is dealing, would be the driving force of the new season. Seriously, why can't October arrive any sooner!

Meanwhile, the third season of the highly-anticipated comedy "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt", will be arriving real soon. Mark your calendar, fans, because it's coming NEXT week on May 19th, 2017. YESSS... Hi-five!!! To celebrate that, Netflix has released the first full trailer for the new season, that comes with a few surprises already. Kimmy is going to college! And the relationships of both Titus and Lillian seems to be in jeopardy. Oh noes!!! Of course, that's definitely one of the major charm of the series. I just love how it continues to progress its characters, taking them in a real life journey both emotionally and psychologically. It's like watching a close friend or family member growing up on screen! Aaaaaw...

Sure, the series might not work for everyone, but to those who were already hooked, it has become addictive in its own weird way. I mean, I've been re-watching the first two seasons in anticipation to the third. And eventhough I've seen these episodes more than I probably should have, dang it... I'm still laughing like a crazy nerd. Honestly, it's not hard to tell whenever a show is simply good or bad. And this one is certainly among the very best of the recent years. At least for me personally. LOL. The writing, the intricate themes hidden within the story, the brilliant and occasionally dumb deadpan humor, the strong comedic timing from most of its cast and guest stars? It definitely has everything that would keep me satisfied for such a long time, it's more than you could ask for! I'm expecting big things for this new season, and I hope it will be as strong or even better than before. Dang it, forget October, even May 19th feels like ages already!!!

Zero Escape

Following the release of "Zero Escape: The Nonary Games" that contains the first two games in the series, fans of the mystery franchise obviously wondered whether its third, "Zero Time Dilemma" would be getting a HD release for a console as well. After all, the game only debuted less than a year ago (precisely in June 2016) for the Nintendo 3DS, and Playstation Vita. Turns out, fans won't need to wait much longer! Aksys Games has announced that a Playstation 4 version is coming really soon. And by soon, on August 18th, 2017. Sure, the company hasn't officially revealed that release date, but Amazon has already listed it as such. Wow, these companies are lacking in synergy, huh? LOL. Just like "The Nonary Games", the graphic will of course be remastered. It shouldn't be an issue though, because a PC version has already been released previously, just not for the bigger consoles. Now I can't help but wonder if the company is preparing a 3-in-1 combo pack in the coming future? That would be more convenient to play with, because you can easily proceed the story in one media.

Pocket Monsters

"Pokemon Go"'s Worldwide Bloom event should be hours away from ending by the time this post goes up. While it certainly didn't feel as big as previous ones, and to certain extent, practically non-existent (no kidding, where are all the promised Grass Pokemon? My area is flooded with WATER ones instead), I have come to realize that there's a reason to this short lived event. What is that? Turns out, Nianti had just held a huge community event in the US on May 7th, 2017 (which is a few hours ago, in their time region), situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. Collaborating with John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, this experimental event closed off car traffic, and promoted various festivities for pedestrians and bicycle users. Basically, a 'Car Free Day' thingy, eh? As a follow up, Niantic will also collaborate with Open Streets 704, to hold similar kinds of celebration in the future.

This is a good sign, because looks like they are moving forward in realizing the promise they've showcased in the App's teaser trailer last year. I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future, Niantic will be holding their first major event that features a Legendary Pokemon, considering those ones have been absent ever since the App was released. Of course, this makes me curious to know, how Niantic will apply the same concept in countries outside of the US. Should they cooperate with local governments? Or perhaps, via business outlets like Starbucks or McDonalds? I can only hope that there won't be any countries being left out in the process. It'll be unfair to its gamers, right?

Assassin's Creed

Before I wrap up this R-N-D, I'm going to talk about one more rumor, namely about the next game in the "Assassin's Creed" franchise. The last core game released by Ubisoft, "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate" took place in a Victorian Era London, featuring twin Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye. According to WWG, the next game will continue its globe-trotting adventure, by taking place in Ancient Egypt. The title is rumored to be called "Assassin's Creed: Origins", and it is expected to be officially announced at E3 2017 that will be held next month. It is also said to be released on Fall this year. Apparently there will be two main characters of different genders once again. Its gameplay will focus more on exploration, and has a huge scope that might consists of the basics of the franchise, naval combats, as well as travels to countries like Greece. Take this with a grain of salt, but this report feels legit, and sounds like an intriguing idea already. I know I, with my love of "Tomb Raider: Revelations" would be thrilled to give this one a shot, knowing the vast mysteries surrounding the region. Of course, we still have to wait and see whether this is true or not. Ubisoft is expected to deliver their E3 presentation, likely on June 12th, 2017, so fans of the franchise can mark their calendar to anticipate any official announcements during that week...

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