Every now and then you come across a show or fandom by accident, you hadn't heard much or anything about it but after starting to watch you're hooked. With Stranger Things having come out on Netflix to this kind of response by most (including us) I thought I'd talk about a little Anime which took me by surprise a few years ago and this week I rewatched (binged) it all over again.
Black Lagoon, I cannot express how much I love this show enough, on the surface it's an ultra-violent show about a small crew working out of the city of Roanapur in South East Asia, but if you scratch the surface there's so much more there, I won't spoil the experience for anyone. I'd prefer you all go watch it.
The show overall is about the Lagoon company, a transport/acquisition/mercenary crew based in the city of Roanapur, the city itself is run by several different mafia/organised crime groups yet our crew keep pretty neutral throughout the show.
We are introduced to this world through Roc, we follow him from Japanese business man to becoming part of this 'world of shadows'
Roc's journey is a great story but for me it's the supporting cast who really make this world amazing, the leaders of the gangs (if you could call them gangs) and the other people they meet along their missions. Also almost every woman in these seasons are terrifying, powerful women who take no shit from anyone.
The action in the show is amazing, I'd almost watch it for that alone but the moments of levity and the scripting is just so good as well though, keeping me enthralled even when the shooting stops.
Some of the characters worth a mention - Well there's the Lagoon crew. From left to right - Benny (tech guy), Roc, Revy (hired gun) and Dutch (it's his boat and his company).
Then there's the heads of the organised criminal groups of Roanapur, most notably Balalaika, she's the head of Hotel Moscow, an ex-soviet military unit turned mafia.
It's a great show that I'd love more of if they ever decide to create more, as it is, there are 3 seasons:
Black Lagoon - the first season introduces you to the world and the main players through the jobs taken by the crew.
Second Barrage - the second season focuses more on Roc and Revy, Roc trying to make a difference in the world of shadows he has become a part of, we get a fair bit of growth and character development on their parts. It is a slower season (less missions/ jobs, more just one or two long jobs).
Roberta's blood trail - the third season is shorter than the others but without a doubt amazing. The crew become tangled up in a mess involving a maid, Colombian cartels, the American military, and a high born Venezuelan family and Roc starts coming into his own playing the situation like a game with the people involved being his chess pieces.
Watch and enjoy the show, yeah it is pretty violent but there's a whole lot more as well.
Would love to hear what you all think about it. Comment and let us know!
Last week I found some LEGO I just had to have. I have an unnatural obsession with the Flash so, of course this happened.
I love it. But there is an obvious missed opportunity for any fan of Young Justice or Justice League animated series.
As you can see, Flash is holding a can of "Power Bolt" (and how super cute is Cold holding an Ice Cream!?!?!?!?!).
But as any fan of Young Justice would know, if Flash should be holding ANY can of soda, it should be REACH.... Cue the music.......
Alternatively, they could have skipped the soda altogether and gone with Flash's favourite power bar...
All that said, I'm not disappointed, please see the humour in this!
God I miss these shows...think I'm going to binge watch some Young Justice. If you're not doing that already, you totally should. I hear the US Netflix (immensely superior to Australian Netflix) has YJ and if enough people watch it, they may renew the series for the MUCH NEEDED third season. I named my son Connor after this incarnation of Superboy, so no doubt I'm passionate about this.
So, go binge my friends, sorry to get preachy at the end here!
And Reach for a Reach.....then again, best you don't........
Ok this is going to be long, but it's a discussion Jamie and I had a couple days ago and I'm curious if anyone had any input or thoughts on our idea.
We want more Avatar The Last Air Bender - more importantly more Iroh, and I doubt Nickelodeon will revisit Avatar - The Last Air Bender for another season, but seeing the quality of the DC animated movies, we proposed a three movie mini series of the life of Iroh. We feel it would be a good way of revisiting the world.
-The first movie would be his origin of sorts, Iroh and Ozai growing up together, Iroh looking over his little brothers crib, them playing together as kids.
Their father not completely approving of Iroh's playful nature and skipping meetings where he should be learning about the running of the nation.
Meeting the love of his life, their wedding with Ozai as his best man (making his inevitable betrayal even worse).
Iroh's wife interrupting training for tea and pai-sho, although Iroh thinks it's a waste of time, he still partakes because he loves her. The movie should end with the start of the war with the earth nation as well as the birth of Iroh's son, giving him the motivation to step up join the war and become the father his son deserves, the man his father would respect, the fire lord his nation deserves.
-The second movie should be set years later, his son is on the cusp of manhood, a new recruit in the war joining the siege of Bah-Sing-Sei. Iroh has started a tradition of his own leaving a little time each day for tea and pai-sho, a little taste of home to remind him of what he's fighting for. (or possibly a memorial to his wife who may have passed between movies).
His son meets him for pai-sho the morning before the battle, as his son leaves he tells Iroh he'll make him proud .... that'll be the last time they see each other. During the battle Iroh, being a general, is towards the back directing the forces whilst his son's in the front lines. There is a turn and his son's battalion is cut off from the rest of the army and are being overwhelmed. Iroh wants to send other troops to their aid but is stopped by another general, as it's not worth sacrificing the rest of the army for a bunch of new recruits and Iroh is devastated as the army is called back away from a battle which can't be won. This movie should end with Iroh's loss and the betrayal of Ozai, all culminating in a broken Iroh: lost.
-The third movie should be an adventure or quest, a broken Iroh travels the world to gain some clarity in his life, goes on a journey to defeat the last dragon. But when he finds the sun tribe and is face to face with the 2 dragons who surround him with the rainbow fire he finally reaches inner peace, and in those flames he sees visions of his wife and son, maybe even visions of the future and Zuko's journey.
During his trip back to the fire nation Iroh meets up with other like minded benders and starts/joins the white lotus.
His return to the palace happens the same week as Zuko's Ag-ni-ki with his father. The movie/movies should end with Iroh's decision to mentor Zuko during his banishment with a final scene matching the first scene we see them in Avatar: Zuko training on his ship as Iroh oversees whilst sipping his tea. Perhaps there is a final thought from Iroh, seeing Zuko wishing to regain his honour, that Iroh himself will regain what he lost when he lost his son, by teaching Zuko a better way. Redemption for both of them.
We'd also had another thought of what other stories we'd love to see from the Avatar universe, and the next major story we'd love to see fleshed out in a movie or series would be the story behind the Red Lotus from Legend of Korra.
It'd be amazing to see the four come together, a bit of history of their unique bending techniques, possibly their interactions with the white lotus before they turned to the dark side.
I like to think Zaheer and Iroh would have had great philosophical debates on bending and the Avatar in general. Maybe Iroh was a mentor in Zaheer's spiritual side and Iroh leaving to live in the spirit world might be the trigger that begun the Red Lotus on their quest to capture the Avatar.
The Red Lotus just raises questions that I think would have interesting stories behind the answers, What happened to Ming-Hua's arms, was Ghazan taught lava bending or was it more like Bolin where a need brought it out, How did Zaheer and P'Li's relationship start, and how was Zaheer such a threat before he got his air bending? I'd love to see answers to these questions in the beautiful animation style we've come to love from the Legend of Korra series.
Thanks for listening to our ideas, we'd love some feedback of what people think.
Ever since this official picture of Scarlett Johansson as Motoko Kusanagi was released the internet seems to have blown up with people whinging and complaining about Hollywood 'white washing' a Japanese story by putting a white woman as the lead. I'm starting to find it infuriating though,HOLLYWOOD HASNEVER GOTTEN A LIVE ACTION ADAPTION RIGHT , why do people still put so much stock in them to the point they are offended when it's not cast the way they want, or tell the story true to the source material, or even reference the source material?
Every person who says that Ghost in the Shell is being white washed all have one thing in common
-they all say Rinko Kikuchi from Pacific Rim should play the Major - why? because she's the only Asian actress who has been a lead in a big Hollywood blockbuster in the last decade? That shouldn't be the only prerequisite to playing the role (she is a great actress) but based purely on Pacific Rim, the character she played is nothing like the Major. The Major should be strong and in control in all situations, a woman who can shut up a room full of people with a look or one comment (she should be Batman), not the innocent girl who fought to be counted as an equal in a man's world. The Major dominates man's world. Based purely off performances in Pacific Rim, Idris Elba should play Motoko Kusanagi, lets hear what people's complaints are about that decision. Ok that ends my rant on that.
Back to my original thought, Hollywood has (and never will) get a live action remake right in a way that'll appease everyone. Their biggest problem is moving away from the original source material, they choose things like comics, or cartoons, or anime, which have a large following (or cult following) and choose to make a movie of it.
Great idea don't you think ..NO... as much as you'd think NO it's a horrible idea, the more money spent on a project the wider the audience Hollywood will want. If you're a fan of the original they already know you're going to see it whether you like it or not. So they start changing the things they think the general public won't understand, rather than use good storytelling to explain.
It's quicker and easier for them to make an easier character to relate to if they put that character in situations you've seen in a million other movies in your lifetime. Suddenly Goku - the little boy who grew up in the woods with his grandpa with no schooling - is having girl troubles in high school, because that's what was great about Dragonball(Z).
Green Lantern, Avatar the last Airbender, Dragonball, Transformers, Fantastic Four, all shows and comics with years of history and great storytelling all thrown away in the expectation that they could make it better, or make it more accessible to the general public. But that's the point isn't it, there is a following already and it's not just because 'bending the elements sounds cool' or 'transforming robots look awesome', it's the storytelling, the character development, the troubles and the triumphs.
Most of that gets thrown out the window when a live action is being written. They ignore (or what I find even worse cherry pick just names or part of an idea from) the great stories already written and give the reigns over to someone who a lot of the time (not always) hasn't ever seen or read the source material.
I actually read in an interview that Warner Brothers asked Geoff Johns at one point if they could make Green Lantern without the ring, and Snyder in a recent interview responded to fan criticism by saying no-one knows Superman like he does. A lot of the time direction misses the point, Green Lantern and Fantastic Four should have been sci-fi. Just because the source material is a comic book, doesn't mean it's purely another superhero movie.
This is starting to turn into a rant again, but as production photos and trailers are released we become more and more excited about a movie coming out, thenwe are resentful when the final product doesn't meet our expectations. But if we want good stories and character development there is one answer .................. go back to the source material, it's why we became fans in the first place, and a lot of the time the original continued like Legend of Korra, the Dragonball Z movies, and comics will never stop being created.
Now I'm going to go binge watch Ghost in the Shell again. All this talk of the new movie has me longing to see the series again (for about the 50th time) because it's soo good
So after a somewhat disappointing Bats vs Supes, I have been worried about Suicide Squad. I am a massive fan of Suicide Squad and of Harley Quinn (yes, even the New 52 Harley, haters. I love her) so I have been scared that the source material wouldn't be honoured. After this trailer, I'm putting most of my concerns to rest.
WOW.
So if you haven't watched it, here's clip, courtesy of the Warner Bros. UK YouTube
I'll leave my ranting and raving about Harley Quinn until last, as that will be a bit of a spiel.
Let's talk about the construction of the trailer. The editors of this and the last trailer (you know, the Bohemian Rhapsody one) are masterful. Ballroom Blitz and You Don't Own Me? Hell yeah, great choices. They've managed to piece together enough action without giving away all the good bits. There's enough character that the general 'movie going public' (i.e. not geeks) will get an idea of the motley crew without us knowing what the entire plot is. Unlike the last DC movies' marketing...sigh.
So, for the geeks in the world, what do we know from this, and previous trailers:
We get a Harley Quinn origin story (*squee*)
Joker is NOT part of the squad
Joker and Harley are probably not on the best of terms at the moment
This is the squad's first mission
What we don't know:
How is Bats involved? Flashbacks only? Helping out the Squad?
How far along Harley's timeline (comics wise) this is
Which Katana mythology they have gone with. Is her power derived from the spirit of her dead husband that is possessing her sword?
Enchantress's story
Captain Boomerang. Has he had run-ins with the Flash? Is he part of the Rogues yet?
We still know shit about Slipknot (potential cannon fodder?)
Will there be the appropriate amount of fan service in this flick? Not just the odd Ferris Air sign or LexCorp logo.
This is a never ending list really.
Characters - What We Love So Far Killer Croc The initial "leaked" photos of the croc make up made Mat and I look nervously at each other and think that this might be a very bad choice. I'm happy to report that now, after seeing 3 trailers, that the look of Croc is on point!!!
We are also big fans of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Seriously, if you haven't seen the TV show "Oz", do yourself a favour and binge watch that shit. He's AMAZING.
Rick Flagg Finally, in the 3rd trailer, we got to see some Rick Flagg action. How the hell was it so hard to cast this role? I mean, he's an awesome character, and a crucial part of the Suicide Squad story. I'm hoping the script is true to character for him (and everyone else obviously), but with so many people who reportedly turned down the role as they didn't like the character's arc...
I'm still hopeful.
He kicked ass in this trailer.
Amanda Waller Nobody screws the Wall
Arguably the toughest bitch in the DCU, we were both SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad that the casting rumours about Oprah taking on Waller turned out to be false. In the trailers she looks like the hard ass she really is.
Viola Davis should crush it as Amanda Waller and I hope the filmmakers being the magic of the comic and animated DC Waller to the big screen. This character deserves the proper treatment.
Captain Boomerang Oh Digger, you're so awesome.
It might be my Aussie Pride talking, but I'm so glad Boomer is in this movie. Such a great character. See "Batman: Assualt on Arkham" the animated movie to get a little taste of the humour. Seeing the 'beer cracking' moment in trailer 2 was one of the highlights for me so far. I think I actually snort laughed. I love his little flirtations with Harley and Katana too. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Deadshot He's such a badass. Ok, I'm not a massive fan of the casting here. Not that I hate Will Smith. I think he's awesome. Do I think he's Deadshot though? Nope. Was I convinced by what I've seen in the trailers that he could be Deadshot? Nope. Now, Mat is a little more pro-Will than I am. And I do see his point but I just can't get past the perfect depiction in Assault on Arkham. I've been spoiled by the high quality of Warner Brothers Animation.
Mat thinks that Will Smith is always cast as Will Smith. That's the character he plays. If he was to play Deadshot as a sarcastic version of his character in "I Am Legend", that would be pretty spot on. I was wrong about Batfleck, so maybe I'll be wrong here too and he'll do an awesome job. I hope so.
Enchantress, El Diablo, Slipknot
I know of Enchantress from Justice League Dark, and El Diablo from the New 52 Suicide Squad, but I haven't read anything with Slipknot so I really can't judge him.
Enchantress and El Diablo look freakin awesome. The effects look believable, thank god, and they look very true to character. I feel like I just don't know enough about them to really give an opinion.
Harley Quinn
Ok, brace yourselves. This is my girl, so this might get a bit crazy. Go get a cup of tea. I'll wait.
You good? Ok let's get into it.
I was honestly worried when I saw the first trailer. The accent wasn't Harley, she had a new style, hmmm, I didn't know. But now...my god, Margot looks like she's doing an AMAZING job as Harley. The scripting and delivery of the lines are spot on. I'm fully expecting to see the transition of Harley from Harleen to Harley Quinn with the Joker to Harley Quinn no longer needing the Joker. How they'll achieve that, well, that remains to be seen.
Ever since the movie was announced and we knew that the Joker was going to be a part of the film in more than just an 'origin story' capacity, I've hoped that they are going to tell the Joker/Harley story from New 52 Suicide Squad #15, part of the Death Of The Family arc. It is beyond question, my favourite issue of Suicide Squad. To see those scenes done well in live action would blow people's minds. Including my own.
THIS! This would be EPIC!
A little bit of guilty fan service, but I would be so SO happy if they included Bud and Lou. For those unfamiliar, those are Harley's pet Hyenas. That's right, you heard me. Pet Hyenas. Damn she loves those puppies.
In Suicide Squad #15, she's forced to kill her "babies" as the Joker has transformed them into rabid beasts.
It becomes just another reason she wants to kill her once beloved "puddin".
It's an amazing, action packed sequence that really makes you feel for Harley and the continued torture she endures from Joker.
Plus, I just really want to see Harley and Joker kicking the snot out of each other.
I am SO looking forward to this movie and I hope it doesn't disappoint. I also hope there are no further trailers. This is enough to get the fanboys/fangirls, as well as the general public, chomping at the bit. Nom Nom Nom.
After finishing that last post about Dawn of Justice and the DC animated movies I thought it was about time I wrote about how I fell into my obsession with DC and the worlds it has crafted.
I work shift work on an even time roster, which means I have as many days off as on shift. This gives me a lot of free time to watch tv. Young Justice was the first DC show i started watching consistently, it's well written stories filled with amazing character development left me craving more and more. It was devastating when it finished. I ended up searching online for another, any other shows or stories in that world I'd fallen for.
After reading a list of the best animated series on television, I started watching Justice League / Justice League Unlimited it was no young Justice but it was still a great watch with good stories and a lot of unexpected feelsy moments. It gave me a better understanding and respect for the lesser known DC heroes and villains. But when i ran out of episodes of it I was once again left wanting more.
The next tv series I stumbled across was Batman the brave and the bold , a completely different way of storytelling, it was fun and a little campy. After seeing this I realized that there are just so many ways these characters could come alive and I am yet to find one I don't like or haven't enjoyed. I'd now resided myself to the fact I was going to start reading comic books (oh the shame, how will I live down the stigma). But which ones, where do I start.
This is going to sound like an add but it's not, I downloaded the comixology app, it seemed like a good way to start. I decided on Green Lantern as the first series to read, I knew the least about them and was interested to find out if I'd like, I also started at the beginning of the new 52 run, it was the most recent reboot/rebirth point. I ended up loving it, I'd let the stigma of "comics" stop me for too long, I'd started getting hooked on the stories and characters, my regular reading list expanded from one or 2 titles to 34 titles at one point. I even back tracked and read the blackest night story arc in it's entirety, I'd been missing out on so much.
It's been a hell of a ride with DC, so many great animated shows and movies, almost as many good-ish live action shows and movies(will talk about more in another post, this one is getting too long). and an amazing range of characters and stories to choose from. And with the announcement of Rebirth last week, I look forward to many more hours of entertainment.
This week we had a chance to leave bub with the folks and go to the movies. Naturally Dawn of Justice was the pick. Since then each of us have tried to do a movie review of it, but no matter which angle we take it comes across as fan boy petty complaints. So all I'm going to say is we didn't hate it, we didn't love it either, but if you want to know the DC movie we did love this week ..............
Justice League vs Teen Titans - Sooooo awesome, i think the reason we feel let down by the live action movies is because the DC animated movies and tv shows are so great, and this installment has jumped straight to one of the top 2 in the pile.
This movie has everything - Ravens origin, Damian becoming a real boy, and some of the most spectacular fight scenes you'll see between children and their mentors ever.
The stand out for me was unexpected - Damian Wayne - time and time again i want to hate this kid but i can't, he's so full of himself, but his growth of character and the fact that no situation could stop or even slow him down.
Ok now this next bit might have some SPOILERS so be warned. Damian was in all my favorite moments of this movie, I got goosebumps watching him bring down superman, not even hesitating as he stabs superman with a kryptonite shard and ride him to the ground. It's not just the action that made me love this movie though, the carnival scene is almost a montage or Damian and Raven becoming more.... like the children they really are. Plus Dick and Starfires relationship seems real - not too subtle and not a forced, in your face thing.
Ok, NO MORE SPOILERS We had so much fun watching this I could talk about it for hours and hours so I'll just say this is a must watch, especially if you're a fan of any other DC animated tv shows (so many easter eggs and nods to previous incarnations).
If you're really looking for our honest feelings on Batman v Superman I suggest you watch these 3 youtube reviews, somewhere in between all them is where our true feelings on this movie lie.
The action in the show is amazing, I'd almost watch it for that alone but the moments of levity and the scripting is just so good as well though, keeping me enthralled even when the shooting stops.
Some of the characters worth a mention - Well there's the Lagoon crew. From left to right - Benny (tech guy), Roc, Revy (hired gun) and Dutch (it's his boat and his company).
