Mini-Reviews: 2014 Edition: Part 1

Another year gone; another batch of nerdy pleasures I’ve endeared or endured over. I think 2014 was a better year for me overall not just from an overabundance of amazing geeky products, but life in general. Nothing big has changed, but I feel considerably happier, one suppose. That said, it’s time to wrap up another year by looking at a bunch of other things I never had the chance to review prior (I did one for 2013.) What follows are a selection of things I’ve read/watched/played/etc  that I selected from my list of stuff (Yes, I have a list.) This isn’t even a fraction of the things I’ve done/read/played/watched, but stuff I want to talk about or do a semi-review on. So let’s have at thee.



1. The Big O
The Big O was worth the journey even if the ending is a pile of pretentious crap. It’s a unique, almost unprecedented anime pie, utilizing stylish film noir and character concepts as its setting. The creators admitted the series was made to target the American audiences and its relative success here and near obscurity in Japan proved his prediction. The Big O standard tropes and tone feeds off a western cultural vibe than something outwardly Japanese. With an older-than-shonen-aged-protagonist garbed in a handsome black suit (no matter what Dorothy says) and a dying city of gray, it is essentially Batman with a giant robot. Yet it still carries fundamental differences to understand the inspiration it might have gotten from (I’ve heard it actually isn’t a direct payoff to the Caped Crusader) and play it off as its own thing. Each episode is largely standalone, so one can logically jump in at any point and watch with great leisure. The second season is significantly more story-driven and perhaps loses a bit of charm because of it, but the buildup is something worth gripping onto until the ending fucked it over with its weird-ass ending. The Big O is the kind of show that’s right up my alley and while it didn’t entice me completely, I enjoyed it thoroughly.



2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Winter Soldier is currently my favorite of the post-Avengers era. The entire film is a solid, political thriller from start to finish. The downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D greatly shakes the established status quo and opens up a barrage of questions and new scenarios. The theme of the movie greatly emphasizes secrets and lies; Steve Rogers constantly wonders if his ideal optimism and good-natured personality is outdated in these times of cynicism and paranoia. He is at odds with S.H.I.E.L.D and frequently questions Black Widow and Nick Fury. The beauty of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier is that the movie never compromises who Steve is. They don’t need to make him a darker and edgier character who’s changed because of drastic perception. He can understand and especially adapt while maintaining his primarily philosophy. I think this is important because in the midst of chaotic changes, he remains a visible hope. Steve is an icon we can strive to be and the film perfectly captures that message.

My only complaint is that for a movie subtitled “The Winter Soldier”, we see painfully little of Bucky. I’m aware he’s a setup for something bigger (same for Sharon Carter) since the MCU is one giant universe in itself, but come on, dude’s in the title. Otherwise, it’s a fantastic movie and I’m just blown by how amazingly good it is.




3. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
The first Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movie legitimately surprised me. I went in expecting a stupid movie, but I came out laughing my ass off. The movie is freakin’ hilarious, able to punch out the necessary dialogues and pratfalls with ease. I think that’s what really worked for the film: it used physical comedy as its chief device; the animation is always frantic and unpredictable. Cloudy 2 is more of the same, retaining the same sense of wackiness only now with a mountain of puuuuuns. There’s a bushel of it, both the good and the bad, that I enjoyed more than I probably should. I can’t help it; I have a weakness for puns. The subplots and situations tends to revolve around a bit, but it’s entertaining otherwise.  



4. Daft Punk's Electroma
Electroma is a 30-minute concept extended to a 90-minute movie centering on the Daft Punk duo trying to be humans in a sea of lookalike robots. It’s simple, not quite provocative, but emotionally enticing in spots—specifically the scene where Thomas angrily rips out his ruined human face in frustration while Guy just eyes the mirror after his own human face tears off in utter ruin—and a surprising ending resulting from forced conformity. But the film pads the living shit out as Guy and Thomas just wanders around getting from place-to-place for minutes without ever changing a scene or any other dinosaur-popping scenarios. I’d say give it a try if you’re into Daft Punk, but bring a magazine.



5. The Disaster Artist
I finally hunkered down and watched The Room this year in spite of its already known notoriety a decade prior. After I sat through quite possibly The Greatest Movie Ever, I picked up the book penned by the actor who played Mark (the male blond cheater.) Greg Sistro tells everything he could say about the making of The Room and it is a doozy. Curious fans of the film must pick up this book and witness, well, the Disaster Artist himself, Tommy Wiseau. The numerous decisions the man has made, the incredibly childish train of thought he possesses, and the dunderhead moves during production are included for all to read. That in itself is mind-blowing; the fact the movie was even made could only be attested through Wiseau's mysterious fortune and elusive past. Greg spends just as much time attempting to decipher the man only for Wiseau to pull another one of his shenengians. The book goes out of its way to point out his eccentricities and the frustrated feelings of those around him while painting him in a possible sympathetic life. Who is this man and what kind of life did he lead? Why did he get into acting? What prompt him to make his so-called magnum opus? Is he an egotistical man who refuses to own up to his actions or a sad, lonely man no one understands whom Greg befriended partially out of pity? Who knows, but it’s an addicting read nonetheless.



6. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete
I swore off everything Square-Enix in 2006 (the only exception I made was The World Ends With You which is amazing and FFXII after a friend’s nudging which was…okay-ish) when I realized that Squaresoft was officially dead. The studio was once a powerhouse of daring, innovative thinking. Their PS1 days were especially heaped with amazing titles, unafraid to challenge themselves with hidden gems like Bushido Blade and Parasite Eve on top of their award-winning Final Fantasy series. Not that Square still doesn’t think outside the table (they do) but the obnoxiously overcomplicated stories, dreamy-eyed pretty boys, and over-the-top overcompensation with their graphics and presentation has turned me off from the company. But nothing stuck out like a dead rat’s ass than the unnecessary Compilation of FFVII. Yes, I’m going to be that grumpy fan because fuck the Compilation.

Advent Children ranks in the same level of money-grubbing nonsense SE’s been punching out for years.The plot is asinine and explains very little of the new struggles Cloud and co. faces; the new villains are bunch of underdeveloped wieners; 90% of the playable FF7 cast are relegated to the background; and the animation is wasted through dull, drab grays and blacks on top of stilted motion capture that sticks out whenever the cast pulls out Dragonball Z-levels of ridiculous battle choreography. It is BAD storytelling if you have to find the answer to the main plot via supplementary materials. The only good thing was Rufus Shinra’s return because Rufus Shinra is a fucking badass. I don’t even like cheap deaths and I didn’t care he was essentially retconned back in; Rufus is boss.

Complete is a 2009 director’s cut of Advent Children, redoing certain scenes and adding new ones that elaborate on the ongoing. It is an improvement and between the two, I would definitely recommend the latter addition to curious viewers, but isn’t it saying something that SE remade the movie enough to actually alter certain scenes a mere three years after the first movie came out instead of say, trying to get it right the first time?




7. Guardians of the Galaxy
GoTG is my second favorite of the Phase Two movies so far, though it falls a bit far behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier. That isn’t to say it’s a great movie, but it does have a troubling ordeal balancing the five main characters. Starlord takes the helm on virtue of being the central protagonist, but the film gravitates between subplots for the rest of the cast. However, it marvelously handles the idea of teamwork and ties of loyalty and friendship. The ending is utter cheeseball, but fits with the underlying themes. There were a few scenes with Gamora that employed negative female stereotypes that I didn’t like (and it employs yet another fridged female to move the male character's dilemma), but they don’t overtake her arc thankfully. This sacrifices any meaningful depth on Rohan and Nebula herself survives just long enough to potentially get a bigger (I hope!) role in GoTG 2, but I’m actually fine with it. GoTG is an introduction for Starlord and pals, thus it’s vital to understand who they are first and above all, even if it takes a couple of missteps here and there.




8. Hotel Translyvania
This movie would have had potential if it wasn’t so obnoxious. I have a soft spot for father-daughter stories even if a million of them tends to focus on what a pwecious little girl she is and oh god she’s all grown up and I won’t be able to protect her with my outdated paternal mindset etc etc. It’s a cute movie, but with a heavy dose of pop cultural miasma and an unrelenting sea of noises (plus an ending that wraps up Dracula’s dilemma too quickly, easily, and unbelievably), Hotel Translyvania’s only redeeming quality is its spunky, fast-paced animation.



9. The LEGO Movie
It took maybe half an hour before I settled into The LEGO Movie. Like Hotel Translyvania above, there is an obnoxious quality to it that I feared I wouldn’t get into. Unlike HT, The LEGO Movie so embraces its wild and craziness that it somehow works. The amount of tongue-in-cheek plus an ever moving, engaging—and epic—journey with Emmett and pals keeps the film on its toes and the laughter high. It’s the right kind of humor because it so readily takes advantage of its environment.

The infamous ending expertly dissects the concept of LEGO and the very idea that it can be and should be played in different ways; that is the purpose of LEGO. Buuuut I do think it’s a tad clumsy because the film seems to imply the father’s method is inferior to his son’s creativity. Shouldn’t the movie’s message include the father’s organizing train of thought just as much as his son’s? I get the film is attempting to show the father as a strict figure who restrains his child from playing his share of the toy to the point of detriment; I don’t get why his specific method is worse. As someone who’s actually not as creative as I wish I was, I tend to take a straightforward point with the things that otherwise can be built extensively (this is why things like Minecraft, The Sims, or level editors in video games do not appeal to me; it’s just too much freedom that I honestly find boring and unappealing. To me, I need a strictly laid out goal.) Granted, I hate the idea of using superglue to piece the LEGO together because it sounds messy and I don't need that goop on my toys, but other than that it's the only downside of an otherwise clever message.



10. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
I don’t watch a lot of Wes Anderson films, but I remember seeing the ending to Steve Zissou one day on TV and being memorized by the incredible CGI surrounding the crew and the beautiful song playing in the background. I caught the entire film recently and largely came to the conclusion that both the beginning and ending are the strong points and worth sitting through the tedious, slow-paced middle. It's uniquely Wes' own, but I can't say it left an impression on me, though it left something. I see a lot of articles that deconstruct Wes' method of filming that judging only one of his movie alone isn't enough to determine whether his kind of work fits in my weird little pool. Plus, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom sounds interesting. And according to my friend, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a must-watch.



11. The Longest Journey/Dreamfall: TLJ
Growing up with game consoles, PC video games is still a foreign concept to me. My friend Tav however was practically raised by the damn things and is pretty much my source for anything over in that strange land where you have to use your keypads to play; a situation I’ve never been comfortable with (thank you, third party game controllers.) She suggested both The Longest Journey and its sequel Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. Point-and-click isn’t unfamiliar territory, but it’s not something I’ve indulged. I’m aware they vary in difficulty based on a scale of friendly interface and Sierra levels of WHO DOES THIS SHIT!? Fortunately both TLJ and Dreamfall provide the perfect balance of interactivity and weaving narrative.

The story isn’t much to write home of, but The Longest Journey’s strength is in its main character and world building. April Ryan snarks and lampshades the Chosen One status she is slapped into. The game effortlessly uses characters and visuals to give us an understanding of both Stark (our Earth) and Arcadia (our twin planet.) Balance is key in the narrative and everything about it tickets my fancy as people time and again tells the player that both magic and tech can strive in peace instead of ramming against each other. Importantly, you feel for April as she’s thrust from normal everyday life, risking life and death as she loses sense of herself and the world around her. She really goes to Hell and back and though the game has a conclusion (with a neat twist on her destiny), it leaves with the idea that there will be more; that she has another goal to fill.

That’s where Dreamfall comes in, centering on new protagonist Zoe ten years from April’s journey. She, too is forced between Arcadia and Stark. What her importance to the overall story is an even bigger mystery. Unlike April, she isn’t really a Chosen One nor hinted for anything great by the powers that be. Zoe’s situation feels more like she’s unwittingly and possibly coincidentally ran into April’s world and the ties she’s made with various people past and present has a startling affect on her own quest. Dreamfall lacks the point-and-click puzzle in favor of a terrible combat system and some uninspiring stealth mini-games. The combat is so broken that at one point all I did was shove one of my enemies into a corner and pressed the same damn button until he fell. It’s the only downfall of an otherwise lovely game. Dreamfall ends in a frustrating cliffhanger, though I think I’m a lot better off than fans who has played the game since 2000. Two games made within a six year period and the third—and recent addition—only just came out Octorber 2014 must have been frustrating for many fans. And the creators stated they aren't done yet! Goddamn.

Also, the "The Hospital Room" score is freakin' beautiful.

Part 2 coming whenever.
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Discovery (A Transformers Animated Fancomic): Read the entire thing here. Placed there for archival purpose. Recently cancelled.



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