Effective story-telling in film relies entirely on two dominant senses, sight and sound. And while a beautiful score and creative sound design pack a punch, I love, love, love the visual esthetics of cinema. My three favorite elements of film are photographic composition, lighting, and, duh, make up! Of course, the story must be told, the writing should be tight, and the cast must emote appropriately, but that is for another blog.
So, here are a few amazing “Make Up Films” where the artistry plays a pivotal part of the story. In each example, I’ve included what made each particular film stand out in my opinion.
The Hunger Games Series: Now I’ve only seen the first two, but I love the fashion of the upper class and the gorgeous make up they did on Jennifer Lawrence when she was on display for the masses. Chunky glitter is not an easy medium and it certainly doesn’t film well. For that reason alone, I want to tip my hat to the make-up artist team. The glorious and rampant use of color is rarely encountered these days in modern movies, especially on the cheeks, lips, and eyes of A-list celebrities such as Elizabeth Banks. It is fun, it’s pretty, and it also further punctuates the socioeconomic injustices that the protagonist faces.
Star Trek (J.J. Abrams): When it comes to alien species and make up, this movie and its sequel are a visual smorgasbord. The practical make up encompasses a variety of media, from airbrushing to prosthetics, and even full body suits. The work is polished, slick, and clean, matching the overall feel of the updated franchise. Seriously, I could stare at Zachary Quinto as Spock for hours. The iridescent gold tint to his skin, the flawless eyebrows, and the delectable nude lips give this little lady nerdgasms!!
Big Trouble in Little China: For 1986, this movie has stunning make-up work. David Lo Pan’s character being the center piece is fantastic as both the decrepit, wheelchair-bound old man or as the pasty and powerful sorcerer reborn. Special effects aside, the general make up is really good. I particularly love early in the movie, when they visit an Chinese brothel. The two elderly madams are sporting the most dead-on 1980’s Asian stereotype make-up I have ever seen and yet it totally works! The cosmetic team here is solid, in every facet.
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade: A Japanese fantasy that revitalizes the Romeo & Juliet framework, I could only describe this film as visually luscious! Truly, an anime at heart, this movie combines breathtaking action, fabulous make-up, gorgeous cinematography, and unique characters to fire up the romantic in you. While there is a lot of CGI support, which is a little spotty at times, there is no denying the cosmetic department pulls through. The anime inspired style calls for each character’s look to coincide with their individual and unique power. This allows the make-up team to actually create a new feel for each character. Usually movies follow a thematic color palette and style for all the characters. The mold is broken with each face in Shinobi, and that’s why I love it! Tensen, The Immortal and Kagero are my personal favorites, but every one of the “Shinobi” looks perfect, just perfect!
Batman Returns: Yeah, everybody had a hard-on for Michelle Pfeiffer in her Catwoman latex, but good lord, Danny DeVito as The Penguin steals the show!!! His look is utterly disgusting, and yet, the fantastic make up and prosthetic work doesn’t limit DeVito’s range of emotion as he works this delightfully grotesque character for the screen. As terrifying as his facial features look, he is still tragically human, pitiful, and vulnerable. The artistic and emotional complexity that his face projects, makes it one of my favorite pieces of work. There rest of the film has solid make up for the time period, but The Penguin is truly a crowning achievement.
Many comic book readers know the old saying, “Nobody stays dead except Bucky, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben.” Well, at least it’s still true for the last one. Editors, writers and many others who work in the mainstream comic industry have called the death and inevitable resurrection of popular characters a central part of the genre.
(Spoilers Below)
Name any superhero or villain and chances are they’ve died at least once. More often than not, they’ve met their demise on multiple occasions. Superman, Batman, Captain America, The Flash, Green Lantern, Thor, Hawkeye and hundreds of other comic book character have died, been resurrected and died again. After so many years of the death/resurrection concept being used, it’s hard to say it’s anything but cheap and takes so much away from the death of characters.
Only a few weeks ago, readers witnessed the “death” of one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes. Wolverine, the mutant who possesses the uncanny ability to not die, supposedly passed away in the four-issue mini-series The Death of Wolverine. The series was met with exasperation and derided to be yet another attempt to drum up interest and drama around a character who has spent decades escaping death countless time. While the circumstances surrounding the old Canuck’s recent departure from the living may be more calculated than one might expect (20th Century’s rights to character supposedly played a role in Marvel’s decision to kill, and therefore no longer promote Wolverine), his death is yet another example of a long tired cliché in comic writing.
As many comic readers tend to (or like to) forget, the comic industry is a corporate industry, and profit will always trump creativity. Take Marvel and DC for example. Most writers know that their time spent writing a character for the big two is finite, and that they are essentially borrowing the character to craft a story that has already been pre-approved by their editors. Whether they’ve been writing for their beloved hero for months or years, they know they’ll leave the book, and that most if not all of the changes they’ve made during their tenure will inevitably return to the status quo.
Still, how much of the blame for the “temporary death” really falls at the feet of those working in comics? Yes, the corporate heads make the final decisions, but often their choices are guided by the whims of the customer, and we’ve all heard the saying that the customer is always right. If there is one thing that many comic readers and geeks hate more than anything, it’s the idea of change. Whether it’s changing the costume, love interest or sidekick of a particular character, many readers will typically have a sour reaction to it. Everything from complaining online to outright threatening the lives of the writers and company heads has played a role in the way publishers like Marvel and DC have been presenting their characters for years. At the end of the day it’s totally about the dollars and cents, but fan reaction will always play a significant role in the way most things turn out in the lives of these never aging superheroes and villains.
Just look at how many people reacted negatively to Batman’s “death” a few years ago and Dick Grayson taking over the cape and cowl. Sure, Grant Morrison’s drug fueled multi-death passing of Brue Wayne was as nonsensical and bat-shit crazy as most of his storylines are, but the reaction was overwhelmingly negative not because of the way in which Batman died, but just the fact that he did die. After the publication of books like The Black Mirror and Gates of Gotham, writer Scott Snyder showed that Gotham and the DC Universe could still exist without Bruce under the mask. It didn’t last long though, and Bruce would yet again takeover as Batman.
Thinking back to the mid-2000s, Captain America’s “death” made national headlines in 2007 after the universe wide comic event Civil War. Marvel head Joe Quesada was interviewed on multiple networks like CNN and Comedy Central to report that Cap was actually really dead and that Bucky, another character who was resurrected after a 60-year dirt nap, would be slinging the iconic vibranium shield. Much like Grayson however, Bucky would later return Cap’s patriotic costume after Steve Rogers was miraculously resurrected in yet another universe-ending event.
Sure, there have been pleasantly surprising character resurrections like the previously mentioned Barnes as the Winter Soldier and Jason Todd as the vengeful Red Hood, but even the best resurrections from death can still encourage others to think that anyone deserves to be brought back to life. In the end, Marvel and DC’s habit of being so flippant with death has made the idea of killing a hero or villain completely irrelevant over the years. It lowers the stakes of the conflict occurring in these stories and a sense of tension is all but lost.
Plus, with all these recent miracle revivals of comic book characters, I’m pretty sure Uncle Ben is starting to feel a little lonely up there.
What about you reader? Does death mean anything in mainstream comics anymore? Let us know in the comments below!
My Bloody Valentine’s seminal, revered work “Loveless” is lots of things: a swirling miasma of sonic assault, the birth of the legend of Kevin Shields’ madness (which saw the record make its way through nineteen studios and damn near bankrupt its label), and a layered, and above all, loud approach to song-making. So I guess what it is more than anything is a good story, and we love those.
Shane’s sitting this one out with some sort of sickness, which is I guess what happens when your eardrums have been bled clean out and you have to lie down, lest you lose your proverbial shit. In his stead this week is our friend Phil Ajjarapu, who shares a story about eating cheese and crackers with BB King, about the difference between the way we soak things up in our youth (as opposed to when we’ve been worn down over time) and about the influence of this record that seems, in some ways, to be more than the sum of its parts.
Ryan rebounds from last week’s love-in with Yo La Tengo, just in time to wonder if he “gets” this LP, even though Shields’ seems to have recorded with at least one of his heroes, and perhaps more. We even wonder about the phenomenally bad idea of Trey Anastasio’s Phish covering this record in its entirety for Halloween (which, fortunately, didn’t happen), and press on about what makes a song work, and what it must be like to have to try to decipher and catalog lyrics you think you may have heard in a live recording session, and then transcribe so that whatever version of “tortured genius” (if you buy the platitudes) might live on.
That, and we talk about Skee-Lo, self effacing diminutive rap staple.
Somewhere along the way, Phil’s dog Molly eats a pencil in my garage.
Comic events have become a dime a dozen. Every year, Marvel and DC forcefully stop the storylines of their most popular books to insert some random event that overwhelms their characters and universe. Usually used as a soft reset to attract new readers, events are rarely looked upon with much love from veteran comic readers. Even though there have been a few well liked event comics like Marvel’s Secret Wars and DC’s Blackest Night, there always seems to be a general animosity towards these types of storylines.
Well, in a move that is being viewed as incredibly bold and controversial, DC is putting many of its on-going titles on hiatus for two months for there next big universe-wide event, Convergence. The nine-issue storyline, which is being advertised with such words as “epic” and “sweeping,” will be published alongside 40 two-part mini-series. Various artists and writers including Jim Lee, Dan Jurgens, and Scott Lobdell will be involved with the series. Jeff King (White Collar, Continuum), a newcomer to the comics industry, will write Convergence.
After the finales of DC’s Earth 2: World’s End and The New 52: Futures End in April, the Convergence series will cover the fallout of those events while introducing the return of a familiar threat to the DC universe. Brainiac, one of Superman’s most iconic enemies, has gone back to his obsessive collecting ways, and has started trapping cities from various timelines across the DC multiverse. With much malice, Brainiac wishes to bring together these various peoples in a malevolent experiment to see the inevitable destruction they will bring upon one another.
So, there’s a lot to unbox here. First of all, DC putting all of their titles, including Vertigo’s, on hiatus is such a huge risk. Abruptly halting stories in readers’ favorite comics for a big event tie-in is hard to swallow, but completely stopping the publication of a book for two months for the sake of one supposedly “epic” event is absolute madness. Yeah, DC is trying to bill this as an event like no other, but going to such lengths as preventing the publication of someone’s favorite comic book is an overwhelmingly terrible business plan.
Like most events, Convergence will attempt to attract new readers. The confusing thing about it is the overall design and structure of the story. Sure, I don’t know the specifics, but I would think brining together various universes with alternate takes on different characters doesn’t exactly provide an easy to understand narrative for new initiates into the world of comics.
On the more positive side of things, it could be fun to see alternate versions of characters interacting with one another. Although not officially announced, a number of promotional images show characters from such books as Superman: Red Son, Kingdom Come, Flashpoint, Batman/Dracula: Red Rain and The Legion of Superheroes. I don’t know about you, but seeing Mark Millar’s communism-loving Superman fighting against a warlord Aquaman and a mentally unstable Bruce Wayne afflicted with vampirism could be one hell of a ride. Could it be ridiculous to the point of stupidity? Sure, but just think about how cool it will be seeing armies of bloodthirsty Amazons battling the Golden Age Justice Society!
What do you think reader? Is DC’s strategy with Convergence a smart one? Are you interested in the upcoming event? Let us know in the comments below!
Many strange topics on deck for this week’s episode. How did the Cowboys’ social media department fail so epically? Why does it sound like Ken Burns directed Ryan Fitzpatrick’s injury? And how did an Everclear concert get Brett Favre the Something About Mary gig?
All this, plus a recap of the first week of the 2014 NBA season and another visit from our Corner Man!
The goodness is crammed into this episode like sweaty fans in a mosh pit!
Follow us on Twitter, if you don’t, we’ll make this face until it sticks.
Greetings all you lovely readers of and welcome to “Animated Anarchy.” As wonderfully geeky our corner of the Internet is, we haven’t had anyone jump into the goldmine of the world’s history of 2D and 3D animation. So join me, Scott Johnson, as I dive into the inkwell to bring up some of the fascinatingly brilliant, contemplative, weird, and flat out bad cartoons.
From Aardman to Avery or Watanabe to Williams, we’ll cover it all! As Weird Harold would say, “Feast your eyes on the greatest blog on Earth!”
Okay, he didn’t say that, but Fat Albert has covered the dangerous topic of computer hacking and plagiarism.
If you were to ask me what’s the greatest era of network animation, I would honestly have to tell you it’s the 2010s. Don’t get me wrong, I love the 90s era with the rise of Nicktoons, Cartoon Network, and The Simpsons. I love the experimental age of Flash animation and Mature/Adult cartoons during the mid-2000s. And you can’t question the genius of the DC Animated universe from Batman: The Animated Series to Justice League Unlimited. But these days? We have broken new ground again, and again, and again.
We have the madcap, psychedelic energy of someone like Ralph Bakshi combined with brilliant storytelling inspired by shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Many of our cartoons cover every age demographic and genre. If you get tired of Fox’s Animation Block, you can head over to Adult Swim or Disney XD for fun for the whole family or your inner manchild. The new people in charge of animation are hungry with new ideas and many them want to create or nurture the next big phenomenon.
It was difficult narrowing this list down to five choices, but their sharp writing, creative wit and visual flair will make them stand out as pop culture landmarks.
5. Phineas and Ferb
Collaborators of the hysterically bleak Rocko’s Modern Life and The Simpsons have made the happiest kids show in years.
Phineas and Ferb is probably the most questionable pick on this list, but I believe it is essential to what has made this current era of animation so fun and enjoyable. This show is a wonderfully crafted by the Rube Goldberg Machine. It bonds to the status quo like several cartoons, but it’s so delightful to see the plots come together with science, songs, spies, and unbridled positivity. You can’t help but love everyone in the cast from Ferb’s near-mute, straight man demeanor to the surprising depth to the bully Buford and relaxed, easy-going nature of the parents.
What I think the show strikes best is with the character dynamic of Candace. She is intentionally written as a nosy, nagging big sister, but never played off as the good guy because her obsession with her brothers’ inventions is her ultimate downfall (Like a reverse Dexter’s Laboratory). Not to mention, the begrudging rivalry between Perry The Platypus and Dr. Doofenshmirtz is consistently entertaining with the comedic backstories and foiled plans. That’s why I love Phineas and Ferb. You can watch it at anytime with any episode and enjoy the ride for it’s cheerful, all-ages approach.
4. Steven Universe
Can you say Guardians of the Galaxy with the gender ratio flipped? And instead of a raccoon, they have a giant pink lion.
Steven Universe was close to not making the list, but has already developed in a single season as being one of the most engaging, colorful, and endearing shows. First off, the show’s visual style is gorgeous as it takes the best elements of retro anime and splashes it with vibrant shades of pastel colors. Each episode has been very sneaky building up a strong continuity with Steven’s duties and powers as a Crystal Gem. There’s always something new to discover as he follows Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl to fight crystalline beasts across the galaxy or teach them about the modern rules in the fitting backdrop of Beach City.
The titular Steven is loveable, capturing the joy and the right amount of assured intellect of an adolescent boy. Not only does he remind myself as a kid, but I wish I was as cool as Steven at that age. He’s charming, he’s funny, he breaks out in catchy songs on his ukulele, and he’s the true heart of the team. The show has also been really emotionally strong when it comes to tackling issues of love, patience, loosing family and trusting friends. At this rate, I believe Steven Universe will be one of our most beloved modern cartoons.
3. Rick and Morty
What was easily the biggest shock this year in terms of new cartoons; Rick and Morty hit the ground running of being Adult Swim’s funniest, perversely creative show in years. Only someone with a jaded obsession of pop culture like Dan Harmon could make a show that hilariously references sci-fi, adventure tropes and skewers them beyond comprehension. This is a show that doesn’t care what you think about it and will go that extra mile be it the powerful ending of “Rick Potion #9″ or the awesome montage of “Something Ricked This Way Comes”.
To me, it’s the type of show Doctor Who would be if written by a strung-out, drug dealing genius with no regards for humanity over the almighty proof of science.
Sorry Doctor, but Rick would have saved humanity AND killed all the Daleks… or reprogrammed them to only serve butter.
Don’t let the bizarre, amateur designs discourage you, this show is much more than a twisted version of Back to the Future. Rick Sanchez and his infinitely unfortunate grandson Morty go on adventures across the universe while balancing the dysfunctional lives of themselves and their family. It’s wildly imaginative every step of the way with great alien concepts and biting, meta-commentary from Rick that has made the show incredibly quotable. It might take you a few episodes to get into it, but Rick and Morty deserves the cult status it has already earned. For a more detailed look at the origins of this program, check out the article written by OneOfUs Illuminati Angelo right here!
2. Gravity Falls
Missing from Photo: Mabel’s pet pig Waddles who may or may not be voiced Neil DeGrasse Tyson
There is no better show out there that understands memes, pop culture jokes, or our love of big mysteries than Gravity Falls. This was made directly for adults who grew up at the turning point of the Internet and kids who love to laugh at the newest Internet joke. The cast is small, but incredibly detailed with the twins Dipper and Mabel, the laid-back Wendy, the goofy Soos, and the clever, endearing-shyster of Grunkel Stan. Each episode is about them dealing with supernatural mysteries that range from funny, scary, silly, and even as gut-busting parody.
Gravity Falls is a beautifully woven tapestry of continuity, covering the phenomenal origins of the small town with creative, intriguing ideas and leaving Twin Peaks-style hints for the audience to decipher and become more invested in the show. But along with the overarching story in place, it still finds time to develop characters and subvert popular myths. Season 1 was super clever at developing great villains while opening the world up to so many possibilities.
Even Season 2 immediately picks up the events of the previous season and tackles issues head on. The minor complaints I would have had about clichéd character moments were automatically addressed in really unique, honest ways for each individual arc. The show leaves you waiting in anticipation to find out more secrets of the townspeople or what creative myths the writers will spoof next. The Pines have made their place in modern day animation and I can’t wait for where the show will go next.
And just as an extra bonus, the creators have produced several mini-episodes to show between episodes and for commercials. They’re funny, they’re adorable, and I have a feeling some of them may play a part in future seasons…
Before we get to the #1 of this list, I want to address a two really fantastic shows that had to be cut after some tough deliberation.
Honorable Mention: The Legend of Korra
Legend of Korra is the true spiritual successor to Avatar: The Last Airbender with the best-animated fight scenes and beautiful, world-building mythology. It’s a shame that Nickeoldeon has so poorly mismanaged the series to being forcibly ended and pushed online to complete its run. What kept this from being on the list were the pitfalls made in the noticeably weaker second season, which to its credit does play a pivotal role in the story and telling the origin we’ve all wanted to know. But any fan will tell you it doesn’t quite grasp the big ideas the original series pulled off.
It was very difficult to cut a show this gorgeous and rich with ideas. But that all might change if the final season gives us the ending we all hope it can deliver.
Honorable Mention: Bob’s Burgers
Sadly, they never made an episode called “Days of Future Tina”
I wish I was the one who coined the phrase “Wes Anderson’s Animated Sitcom,” because that’s what Bob’s Burgers is in spades. It’s funny, it’s shockingly real-to-life, and it captures our love of awkward humor with the right balance of quirky and charming. The Belcher Family have fried their way into our hearts and is keeping Fox’s Primetime Animation Block relevant for the maturing audience. The way they have made such entertaining characters like Tina, Gene, and Louise is an art form in and has been etched into the public eye
Again, it was a hard cut to make. But I had to give all the other shows an edge for taking advantage of the medium. Rarely does something happen in Bob’s Burgers that couldn’t be replicated in live action. And as much as we love the characters, sometimes I feel bad for poor Bob who has to deal with the repercussions of his family’s eccentricities all the time. But covering that, we now move to the final answer of the list…
1. Adventure Time
Warning: Themes of Puberty, Sacrifice, and Nuclear War not explicitly stated.
Some of you are probably going “Yup, saw this coming” and I can’t deny it. Adventure Time is the greatest cartoon on television right now. For this era of animation, it has made the biggest impact, has the biggest fanbase, and is the best show for one specific reason. Adventure Time shattered the mold in a time where nothing else like it was out there in such a masterful way.
It is the new Ren and Stimpy or Spongebob or Avatar if you will. It’s even the progenitor to our level of quality, as some of the alumni from the series have made their own incredible shows. (Like Steven Universe by Rebecca Sugar and Rick & Morty by Justin Roiland, as previously listed)
Adventure Time is that perfect blend of everything that so many creators want to do. It’s an over-the-top, fantasy world with super fleshed out, down-to-Earth characters and relaxed plots. It can be absurd with weird concepts and psychedelic flow, but still logical and downright cerebral with deep messages. Episodes range from being light, episodic fare to complex, season-long story arcs that turn the dramatic stakes and emotional hooks up to eleven. The show can do it all and even throw some catchy songs in too!
Pendleton Ward, with his LSD-powered creativity, has made a significant contribution to animated art. The way we have watched the humble, cool Finn mature into a teenager has been amazing and downright raw with his character development. The more we learn about Jake The Dog, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Princess Bubblegum and Lumpy Space Princess makes us want to learn more about them and see their adventures. What the show did so beautifully is that not only did it show us all of these things in such an original way; it absolutely paid off at the end of Season 2 saying that this show has a bigger story to tell.
It’s deceptively brilliant. The character design, the bright colors, the trademark objectification and signature style of the eyes made Adventure Time stand out amongst the others. And it goes significantly deep with what they’ve shown from episode to episodes. We’re talking beyond morals of being a good guy or telling the truth. Adventure Time has covered topics from Sexual Awakening (Frost & Fire/Breezy), Overcoming Depression (Dungeon Train), Accepting Reality (Puhoy), Diversity (Thank You), and even Libertarianism (Lemonhope).
The show stands atop the world with a magnitude of ingenuity and human emotion that will be hard to rival in years to come and that’s why it is currently the best cartoon on the air.
Thank you all for reading my first contribution into the One Of Us family. See more reviews, lists, retrospectives and coverage of all kinds of animated programs and films in weeks to come!
In about a month, I will say goodbye to a show that has drastically changed the way I watch TV. Seven-ish years ago I discovered this crazy little show about a motorcycle club on a channel that I had never heard of. I honestly have no idea why I started watching Sons of Anarchy, though if I had to make an educated guess it probably had a little (or a lot) to do with Charlie Hunnam. But I was hooked immediately.
I’ll start off by saying I’m well aware that this show is not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s incredibly violent. Women are sexualized in a way that I should probably be really pissed about. And if you’ve never watched SOA and decide to give it a shot on Netflix, it will easily be one of the most depressing and exhausting binge-watching experiences of your life. But I also think you won’t be able to turn it off.
The premise is simple. Jax Teller is a young father in Charming, California, looking for a way to balance his humanity with the violent world he was born into. A legacy expected to eventually move to the head of the table and lead the club (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original, or SAMCRO), Jax has to decide what he really believes in.
Jax’s sense of duty to family and club has led him down some terrifying paths over the course of seven seasons. Some of which have admittedly veered off course into the absurd. But for everything it has gotten wrong or taken too far, SOA has also developed some of the most interesting and complex characters and stories I’ve ever seen on television.
One of those characters could have been a huge liability right off the bat. My instinct is to worry when a show’s creator casts their spouse or child on a show. Nepotism can be scary thing. But whatever made Kurt Sutter decide to cast his wife Katey Sagal as Gemma, the matriarch of the Teller family and the club as a whole, I’m glad he did it. My hatred for Gemma is real and it is deep. It started as a mild dislike but at this point she ruins my whole night. And we’re not talking about a love-to-hate situation. She is the absolute WORST. But the reality is the club, and the show, don’t work if she isn’t there being conniving, manipulative and downright evil. And man does Katey Sagal sell it.
In reality, hating Gemma (and everyone else at one time or another) is a part of the deal with this show. It’s easy to find yourself rooting for the bad guy, and not just because that’s your only choice. While the show may have started off with a noble Jax trying to take the club in a new and less violent direction, that dream quickly went up in smoke. Outside forces and internal strife were always going to prevent SAMCRO from becoming the knitting circle he envisioned. But that’s ok. I’ve spent 7 years rooting for them anyway. Hoping against hope that they will do the right thing in the end, but kind of being ok with it if they don’t.
I may know absolutely nothing about television production, but I do know that SOA has been doing its own thing from the beginning. Shots have always been gritty and dark with very little color, letting the bright red of the blood create a maximum impact whenever the action takes a violent turn. It’s a dark and dangerous world and that is reflected onscreen in a way that few other shows have managed to pull off.
For me though, it’s the music on Sons of Anarchy that has always been worth the price of admission. I confess to normally completely missing music on shows. I don’t know if I’m just oblivious because I’m so focused on the dialogue or if it’s because I’m not an innately musical person, but I generally have no idea about the soundtrack of anything I’m watching. I assume all shows have them, but I can’t even be sure about that. But this is different. Because of the free reign SOA has been given with episode lengths over the years, a show that is otherwise chock full of violence and drama can take a 5 minute interlude to feature a haunting version of “Forever Young” or “Greensleeves.” It’s amazing. And I’m not even mad when an episode doesn’t end until 11:45 and keeps me up way past my bedtime.
Like most of the shows I love, SOA is a peek into a world that is completely foreign to me. It’s not that different than watching a crew on a spaceship trying to find its way home from the outer reaches of space. So while I’m under no illusions that our friendly local motorcycle club is working with the IRA (I mean, they’re probably not, right?), it’s kind of fun to imagine that they are. I’ve watched it like Charming is the Wild West and SAMCRO is a new reflection of the idealistic outlaw. There’s nothing else like it, and it’s been a hell of a ride.
In this episode of Digital Noise, Brian and Chris travel to Midian! Sort of. They call Chris’ couch Midian.
In any event, they review a spate of new Blu-ray and DVD titles that include the latest season of Mad Men, the new director’s cut of Nightbreed, and behind the curtains at the world of circus sideshows. Gooble and gobble and whatnot.
Plus, they give away a Blu-ray copy of Begin Again, the new film from the director of Once.
Tune in, turn on, crank up the noise!
Please do use our Amazon links for all your online buying needs. We greatly appreciate it.
Disney and Marvel putting their collective might together to release an animated film based on a comic book? Count us in!
The Unusual Suspects assemble their Big Hero 4 to review Big Hero 6. Brian, Chris, Elliott, and Michael use their powers of observation to scale this movie in a single review.
Would we find it super amazing or would it be the return of Super-Meh? Give a listen and find out!
