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Showing posts with the label plot work

Rebel Mooned, again...

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As promised in my review of Rebel Moon part 1 , I return with a review of Rebel Moon part 2: The Scar giver . So, strap on them Imperium uniforms and prepare for this Space-Viking-cowboy-Nazi-science fiction space opera.  This is the second part, and the thrilling conclusion of Rebel Moon... Wait, what's that, it made too much money, there's going to be a third? Maybe? We don't know yet... um okay. We'll just move forward with this review and cross that bridge when the enemy comes to shoot us all to crap. By now, you might have heard, or at the very least surmised there would be more rebel moons out soon, 4 more if old Zach has anything to do with it. However, I am not so sure the next one, Rebel Moon 3 has been greenlit. There are rumors it has, and also that it will start filming in 2025. If they make it, I will review it. For now, let just focus on Part 2. Don't want to get caught up in the assumption game and get taken out of context. I liked the first one, and

Fallout, a corporate irony...

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I really don't know how to feel about this review. I don't know how I feel about the show I just watched, hopefully, this can help sort it out. The fact that it's Amazon that did made this show, somehow makes it worse. Not sure if they are telling us about how they will manage the apocalypse, if they are just providing entertainment at this point, or if we are the entertainment or both... Anyway, here's an honest review of " Fallout ".  That's right, grab your two headed cow, get all your Stem packs together, and finish off that "nuka-cola", then lets ride out into the atomic sunset together- This week I will be reviewing Amazon's " Fallout " series. Buckle up vault-dwellers, strap on yer' pip-boys and enjoy the show. There is something to be said for the story telling and mastery thereof in certain video games, especially those made by old school "Bethesda". Some of the best story telling came from those early years.

Godzilla minus one...

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(Image credit: JBSommerset Copy write 2024) I was surprised when I first heard about this movie and how good it was. I am a big Godzilla fan, I love watching that monster tear a city down while he battles some ridiculous creature with super weird powers. However, lets face it, no one watches Godzilla movies for the plots and character development. Same with other Kaiju   films such as " Pacific Rim ", and " Cloverfield ". We watch them to see giant freak'n monsters have at one another while destroying everything in their path. Which is why I was surprised to see a lot of people saying that " Godzilla Minus One " was no ordinary Godzilla flick. That is was in fact a masterpiece. I did some research and found out that not only was this movie critically acclaimed, it has a 98% on rotten tomatoes, it's been nominated for several awards, and it's budget was only 15 million dollars. The budget is pretty standard for Godzilla movies. But the rest, ju

Analogue vs. Digital...

Since the invention of the digital format there has been an ongoing argument as to which is better, digital or analogue. Hardcore audiophiles will always argue that old vinyl will always be better than digital formats. Old school artists will always scoff at the digital facsimiles or photoshop drawings. And some writers look down on those who "first draft" on a computer, even though in this modern world most of us will have to type drafts for submission.  I am an old schooler and I see the value of first drafting with pen and paper, but thank god people don't have to read that drivel- I would be embarrassed. That being said, in a world of lazy A.I. driven art, music and writing, there is something very important to be said for original analogue.  The best contrast in this argument is Vinyl versus Digital. My wife and I recently bought some vinyl and a fairly descent record player. I instantly noticed how much better the sound was. I used to be a radio D.J. and I had forgo

Insensed 8...

Last week I went back to watch some old shows while I wait for " Godzilla Minus One " to come to streaming- Which I am really looking forward to. In the mean whiles, I decided to take a break from my murder porn (investigation ID true crime shows) as I am pretty sure the F.B.I. has me on some sort of watch-list by now.  So what else is there to watch when you have watched the good stuff and need a fix? Old shows, re-runs of course, those shows that are sitting on the back burner waiting for another shot, waiting for a second time to shine. Lonely shows hiding in the backs of our playlists, looking for some more love in their forgotten little slots where they are missing the lime-light.  I went through my list of favorites, a not too sizable amount. I looked at my usuals- Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, LOTR, Altered Carbon, Stranger Things, 1899, Vikings, and ad nauseum... I wasn't really feeling any of them. Then, there on the bottom of the play list I saw it. A sh

Showing, not telling...

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Sometimes, it's important to remember that writing is about transmitting ideas and the audience receiving them. If we are writing an academic paper it is best to be technical with what we are saying and concise- to the point. If we are writing an instruction manual it is best to be orderly and descriptive. etc. If we are telling a story, we need to show the audience what the characters and events mean. The reader or the person listening to the story must go on a journey with the characters.  We need to show them, not tell them, telling them takes something away from the journey.  Sometimes in my YouTube wanderings and explorations, I find videos that I see as particularly useful for developing skills. I then sometimes post them so all of you don't have to spend 40 years in the desert looking for a home. I hope this one helps some of you develop your skills, enjoy! Cheers!

I finally did it... and it was meh.

It took me some time, but I finally got around to seeing “ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ”, and I have some thoughts about it. First, let me “pretext” the crap out of this. One of the first movies I saw as a kid was “ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ”. This set the pace for my movie-going experience. Granted, Temple (as it will be referred to moving forward) isn't the strongest of the entries in the franchise. It does, however, have the honor of being one of the originals. As I said, it's not the strongest, but it carries a ton of fond memories. I watched that tape again and again until it broke. That’s right, VHS, not to date myself. a couple of years later I managed to get a boxed set that also included “ Raiders of the Lost Arc ”, and “ The Last Crusade ”, which incidentally come in as the best in the series, at least in my opinion. For years I waited and wished for another film. By the time Starwars came out with its sequels (“ The Phantom Menace ”, “ Attack o

Genndy Tartakovsky, a master of story telling...

When I first saw " Primal " listed on HBO MAX, I didn't realize that it was a  Genndy Tartakovsky  production. If I had, I most likely would have watched it sooner. It's just so damn good. Do yourself a favor, watch it now, here's why... Usually, cartoons don't interest me, so I just pass them by. With the exception: PIXAR . I pay attention to  Pixar  releases because I have a history with them. However, they seem to have gone a little stale over the past few years. What I mean by that is they have found a formula and are sticking to it- make the audience cry. Nonetheless, they still know their craft, but I feel that they have reached a peak. I doubt they will ever come up with another " Wall-E ", or even more poignant, another " Up ". Those risks have been taken, and those stories have been told. The other major animation studios are no different, sometimes they break free of what works and come up with something truly wonderful, but rarel

Mr. Gaiman, redoux...

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There are certain authors I keep coming back to, mostly for the quality of their craft. I have talked about these authors. Much to the chagrin of the people reading this, I keep bringing up creative minds such as  Stephen King ,  Kurt Vonnegut , and Douglas Adams , to name a few. I mention these not because they are classics, plenty of authors are classics, even the bad ones.  I mention them because they resonate with the world. The words they wrote helped shape the world we live in. And even if no one knew who they were they would still stand out as great story tellers. They captured something and made it real, or at the very least inspired someone out there to bring something new into the world and make that thing a part of this place.  So naturally, I study these people, and as always, I keep an eye out for short clips and interviews with these kinds writers. Every once in a while I stumble across one or two I haven't seen before. This week I found a new one written by one of my

The long anticipated Bi-weekly audio book... Sort of.

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It has been a tumultuous month. I wanted to ease us back into the flow with something shorter and more manageable. A short story, or novella. I decided that I would revisit one of my old favorites- Thomas Ligotti . Yep, we are headed back there, to the realm of the creepypasta, before there were the interwebs. So sit back and enjoy. "The Red Tower", by Thomas Ligotti. This one should be very digestible... Cheers!

A different kind of apocalypse...

Well, I'll be a mushroom's uncle, so far " The Last of Us " is a solid show. Good story, good acting, and good visuals. It's still too early in the series to tell how it's going to go, but much like the " Game of Thrones " Spinoff " House of the Dragon " it showed up and demolished the competition. It seems that all the good writers and actors went and got jobs for HBO.  First off, there might be some spoilers ahead... so if that's not your thing, stop right here. Prepare to get infected, but this time it's not a virus or a bacteria, it's a fungus! A gross one too.  Unlike " The Walking Dead ", this show has roots, or mycelium as they are called in the world of molds and spores. The Walking Dead was one of the best post-apocalyptic zombie outbreak shows ever made, but one thing about it always bothered me. The audience never learns what happened, how it happened, and the mistakes that were made. I was okay with this

Back in time, and in style...

Every once in a while I get all nostalgic, nostalgic like a drunk historian under hypnosis. I start reminiscing about my life and how things have gone, thinking about the things that would be different had I made some different choices. Inevitably this leads me down the rabbit hole of old stories and movies.  I was in one such mood last night, a driftless melancholy, a stillness if you will. Usually, when I am in such moods I tell stories that start off with "back in my day", but last night there was no one to spin a yarn for. It was just me and my lonesome, so I did the next best thing- turned on the TV and found a movie that meant something to me. In this case, that movie was a classic from "back in the day", that day was a day in 1985.  You guessed it...  Back to the future .  I watched it, I loved it, then I went to bed missing the old days. But it got me thinking, why was Back to the Future such a good movie? What made it stand out in the eighties, and why does

Avatar, the good, the bad, and the meh.

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( Photo by Pietro Jeng) I usually don't do movie reviews, but I felt this one is appropriate considering that  movies  are a storytelling medium- plus, this movie's made almost 2 billion dollars so far. In other words, it's doing something right. Study up my burgeoning writers, directors, and film majors!  Before I get started, I have to post a short disclaimer here: I am going to avoid major spoilers, however, I might give away some smaller ones. As much as I would like to go in-depth on this one I will abstain and perhaps bring it up in the future.  For convenience I will break this down into five parts; the story, the characters and their development, the use of elements and themes, world-building, and lastly, the visual aesthetics. Hopefully, this will answer the question-  Does it tell a good story and should I go see it ?  Starting off with the story and plot. There's no easy way to say this, the story and plot are the weakest part of the movie. That being said,