Shmee.Me

October 7, 2014October 7, 2014

Fate/Zero Could Have Been Fun!

Fate/Zero is a Japanese anime made by Ufotable and based off the light novel (short manga series) of the same name, and I think if I was a little younger I would have liked it more then I did now. It can be fun, but it gets caught up in its own mire to let that fun shine through in many of its episodes.

The plot follows seven mages as they battle for the Holy Grail, and to help them they get to summon heroes from the past to fight for and defend them. The Grail is not the normal Grail that we think of but an object made by mages to grant any wish, but since the mages couldn’t decide who got the wish their future families get to fight for it every so often. This battle takes place during the fourth Grail War.

Now the part of the series that really works are the heroes and mages battling each other. I mean who doesn’t want to see King Author duke it out with Alexander the Great, or see mages cast magic spells all over the place, but the problem is they cut away from the fun to show all the suffering these mages and “heroes” are causing. It is like they couldn’t handle just having a fun show about history’s (well historical fiction’s anyway) greatest warriors going at it, so they added in some brutal human suffering to spice things up a bit. It is such a shame because when this show is showing cool battles and hanging out with heroes it is great. It is a waste of the premise.

If you are an anime fan you may like this show. For people that are new to genre this is probably not a great place to start. I wanted to like this show, and when I was younger and more in to anime I may have given it more of the benefit of the doubt, but being older and having less patience I can’t help but see this show as a waste of potential.

October 6, 2014October 6, 2014

Get Tense With Gone Girl!

Gone Girl is David Fincher’s take on Gillian Flynn‘s novel of the same name. Much like a lot of Fincher’s other work it is a slow burning thriller, and he was the perfect man to direct this movie for Fox. The film works well in just about every way, and Fall has its first must see movie of the season (if you are not squeamish and over 18 that is).

I don’t really want to go over the plot because the less you know going in to this movie the better, but I will give you the one line setup: Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) returns home on his anniversary to find that his wife (Rosamund Pike) has gone missing under mysterious circumstances. There, that is all you get, but it is enough. According to my wife, Flynn’s script stays faithful to her book, so if you have read the novel the story will not surprise you as much as it will if you are coming in to this movie blind, but even then this movie was so well done you should still watch it anyway.

If you have ever seen any of Fincher’s other work then you will figure out that this is one of his movies instantly. The pacing is in never in a hurry, but at the same time it never lingers on something too long. The film looks like it was left in a vat of blue ink, so the movie never seems to get quite bright enough, and Fincher has no problems showing every gory detail when the film demands it. So pretty much this script was made for him, and he executes it well.

I don’t talk about music in films a lot, but I think Trent Reznor deservers a shout out here. All the music in this movie adds to every scene so well that you almost don’t hear it. The pulsing and throbbing tones work their way in to every frame, and they just sound like they should be there. I don’t think this is a soundtrack that I would like to own by itself, but it makes the movie better, and that is what the music should do.

Ben Affleck proves once again that he is better actor than a lot of people give him credit for. He is able to be unlikeable yet sympathetic throughout this entire film, and it may be his best work to date. Likewise Rosamund Pike has been acting for awhile, but this is her breakout role. She is wonderful in this film. The other actor who did an amazing job was Tyler Perry. I shouldn’t be surprised, he is usually good when he takes his job seriously, but he spends so much time doing Madea films that I forget how good he can be.

The only qualm I would have about recommending this movie is that it is “R”, and it earns that rating, so if you can’t take high levels of stress, or are squeamish than this film might not be for you. For everyone else this is a great movie, and David Fincher should now be the go to director for thrillers because he once again does an amazing job. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

September 30, 2014

I Don’t Have Words! A Tetris Movie?!

They are making a Tetris movie! Penny Arcade made fun of this notion way back in 2003, but they are doing it for real! I am not sure why, but they are. It might be crazy enough to work, but I am pretty sure this is going to be flaming pile of garbage. We will see though.

September 25, 2014

The Tale Of Princess Kaguya Looks Amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYD0ZXjX6JQ

I know this trailer has been out for awhile, but I have procrastinated watching it, and I really shouldn’t have because Studio Ghibli’s new movie looks like a masterpiece. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is about a girl that grows extremely fast, but what will draw you in is the amazing art. This movie is looking like a must see, and it shows that Studio Ghibli will be fine without Hayao Miyazaki.

September 23, 2014September 23, 2014

Who Will Be Shazam?!

Since Dwayne Johnson threw everyone for a loop when he announced that he would be the villain Black Adam and not Shazam himself that means we need to find someone to do battle with the former Captain Marvel! This one is a little tricky since the actor will need to be older to separate him from the actor that will be playing his child alter ego Billy. But I think I found a good group of guys!

5: Vin Diesel

This one is kind of a stretch because I am sure that he is under contract with Marvel for Groot, and he has been hinting that he will soon be announced as an Inhuman for a future Marvel movie, but audiences would line up to see The Rock face off against Diesel again, or least that is what the Fast and Furious movies keep telling me.

4: Luke Hemsworth

Now I am not sure about the eldest Hemsworth brother’s acting talent, but it would be fun to have a little sibling DC versus Marvel rivalry, and he seems like the bulkiest of the bros. I think it would be fun, and fun is something that the DC movies need.

3: Jon Hamm

He would need to work out a little bit, but what twelve year old boy doesn’t want to look like Jon Hamm when they are older? He has proven with 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live that he could handle this fun character very well.

2: Joe Manganiello

I know I use him a lot, but he is like 6’5″ and has a 36 pack, so I will keep using him in my lists until he is wearing a cape. Plus if they are worried about his acting they needn’t be since with Shazam all he has to do is fight and pose because the younger actor with be doing all the character work.

1: Brandon Routh

I know he just signed on to play The Atom in The Flash TV show, but I think it would be a fun crossover. Plus the reason DC has Shazam at all is because they sued the creator because he looked too much like Superman, so why not have a former Superman play Shazam! It would be fun, and he was not the reason Superman Returns did not live up to expectations.

That is my list for Shazam, and I am sure that they will use none of these actors to fill this spot, but one day they will listen to me! Who would you pick?