How to Make Friends at Conventions

   

Maybe meet your soulmate. Cons are a great place to go as a nerd. You have a safe place to geek out and be passionate about what you love. It can be a safe haven. If you go with a positive and confident attitude. If you do not have a good attitude, no one will want to be around you no matter where you go.

  Say hello to everyone. I mean everyone. Make connections with as many people as you can. You never know where your next friendship or relationship might start. you don't know who is going to invite you to the next cool room party. You don't know who can get you behind the curtain to meet William Shatner. So talk to everyone you can. Just say hello to everyone! You don’t necessarily need to have full conversations, it’s ok to just say hello and move on. The important part is that a connection was made and maybe later a friendship could develop. 

Plan Ahead before the con starts

    Get to the convention early. Figure out where everything is located inside the hotel or convention center. Knowing where you are going will be so much easier for you to move around and look confident while doing it.. Do some exploring and reconnaissance. Plan for all the panels and special events you want to check out before the con starts. Figure out where those events take place. If you make your schedule early, you won’t end up feeling lost or bored. (if you are bored at a con, you are definitely doing it wrong. Of course you can always change your schedule when other fun things come up. Having at least an idea of what you want to do will help a lot. 

   Being early is important because the more you are seen on the first day, the more people will recognize you later on at the con. It’s all about making those connections. If people recognize you from before, you already have something in common and it’s very likely that they will want to connect and hang out with you. They want to see people they already recognize. If you show up to a party or a dance on Saturday night, you might recognize people you met from the day before, your connections are already made! 

Go To Panels

   Panels are the best thing ever if you want to meet people at con. If you have nothing to do or you don’t know where to go, just sit in on a random panel. Of course it’s better to plan first to find the ones you are actually interested in. Panels make great ice breakers because you are in a room full of people who are interested in the same stuff that you are. 

   Be a part of conversation at the panel. Ask questions. Talk about why you love the stuff that you love. This is ultimately what a panel is for. Don’t be afraid to talk about your passions. Everyone is in that room because they are excited about the same thing you are! The more you get involved in the panel, the more people will remember you. 

    Say hello to everyone sitting around you. You will have time before the panel starts to meet those around you. Instead of just sitting there waiting, you should be meeting everyone there. It’s easy to say hi. Talk about the panel you are about to see. Or ask about how their con is going. There are always going to be people around you, if you want to meet them, you have to say hello! 

Talk to people in line. 

  No matter what is going on, you will eventually have to stand in line. If it’s for getting badges or going into a panel, waiting for photos, or the bathroom. There will always be a line. Take advantage of this line time. You will be surrounded by people, talk to the people around you in line. It’s a great way to meet people who share the same interest as you. You are stuck in line for an hour, why not make some friends! Geek out together. enjoy the time being stuck in a line instead of staring at your phone the entire time.

You have to be having fun.

"The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself." -Gandalf

  If you aren't having fun, no one will want to be around you. Get in there with a positive attitude. Most nerds have social anxiety, depression or a simple need for escapism. It can be a lot harder to break the ice with a hotel full of introverts. So if you want to meet people, it's up to you.

You can't expect people to approach you if you are brooding in a corner or otherwise falling apart. People will not be attracted to that. If you have something to cry about, go to your hotel room or hide in a bathroom and get yourself together. Do not cause unnecessary drama. Nobody wants to end up taking care of the girl crying in the corner on Saturday night. People come to cons as a vacation. They come to have fun. Nobody will want to babysit your needy little butt on their much anticipated Saturday night.

So have some fun. Look confident. Who would you rather hang out with? The drunk guy who is crying for attention, the girl on the floor in the hallway crying to get attention? Or would you rather hang with the person who is obviously having fun. The person telling stories and joking around with everyone else. Take a good look in the mirror and decide to bring a good attitude. Promise yourself you will maintain a good attitude.

If you are genuinely having fun, people will notice. People will want to be around you. They'll feed off of your good energy and add to it. If you are having fun, you will look so much more confident and attractive than anything else you can ever do.

Take Care of Yourself.

Take a shower. Pop those zits. Shave off your stupid neck-beard. You don't necessarily need to look clean cut, but you need to look like you have a semblance of self respect. No body wants to be around someone who doesn't show respect to anyone, yourself included..This applies to everything in life. Looking good, will make you feel good. Looking good will make you feel confident. Confidence itself is amazingly attractive. So please, take that extra time to clean yourself up a bit. People will be a lot more open to saying hi if you don't look like an ogre on the prowl for fresh meat.

Take a shower. Maintain a good attitude. Have fun. You got this.

Wreck It Ralph movie review!

Wreck-it-Ralph

Wow. Anything about video games and video game culture I just love. This movie has more heart than most animated features. It is kind of like a Toy Story premise where the characters of the game come to life after people stop playing their video games.

The story starts with Ralph narrating about his life. He lives in a dump right next to a high rise apartment that was built over his land. He plays the character of the bad guy in the game Fix-it-Felix Jr. (the “jr.” is a reference to Donkey Kong of course.) When the narration ends we see that he is actually telling his story to a group called Bad-Anon, support for people who portray bad guys in video games. I love that there is a Beholder attending the meeting!

Since he plays a bad guy everybody treats him like one. Ralph has no friends, and doesn’t even get invited to the party celebrating the games anniversary. This is Ralphs problem. He just wants to be accepted. Ralph crashes the party and ends up making a mess. The citizens of the game tell Ralph that they might like him if he gets a heroes medal.

So Ralph leaves his game in order to find one. He finds himself in a shooter called Heroes Duty, starring Jane Lynch as the female commander. Her character was programmed with the most horrible back-story ever! Lots of fun references to the Aliens movies. Ralph escapes with a heroes medal he plans to bring back home.

Ralph crash lands in a game called Sugar Rush. Everything there is made of candy, even the racing karts. Then he meets Vanellope, Voiced by Sara Silverman, she is the heart of the movie. An orphan girl, trapped in a racing game, but she can’t race because she is a glitch… Vanellope steals the medal from Ralph and uses it to get into a race. Ralph eventually makes a deal with her to help her win so he can get the medal.

This isn’t actually an action or adventure story. It’s what Blake Snyder, writer of the Save the Cat books, calls a “Buddy Love” story. It’s story where two people change and grow because of their relationship with each other. Ralph and Vanellope can’t live without one another, their lives are intertwined and they wouldn’t be who they are if they hadn’t met.

This movie is so much fun! There are great gaming references all over the place, from the Konami code to graffiti sayings like “Arieth lives” and “Leroy Jenkins”. We see a fun cameo by Sonic the Hedgehog at the beginning. They also create some cool video game lore about a game character going “Turbo”, when a character leaves their game making it unplayable.

I also love the romance between Jayne Lynchs’ character and Fix-it-Felix. They are so fun together because she is the hardcore cussing tomboy and Felix is the chivalrous sweet guy who never says anything mean. They’re polar opposites of each other and their courting is great.

Throughout the movie there is a running gag about how bad Ralphs breath is. When Ralph puts on a space suit he says “smells like Ralph in here”. The joke adds to the story when he threatens to put a candy character in his mouth as a form of torture.

Ralphs journey in this movie is wonderful. He leaves his home trying to impress the people he doesn’t care about. He makes friends with the only person he can through Vanellope, both outcasts in their own games. Of course Ralph becomes a hero but it’s not in order to impress anyone. His journey is very real to the characters in their world.

This movie is imaginative, exciting, and creative. The most heartwarming coming of age films I have seen in a long time!

Go see it right now!

A downloadable racing game teaches us how to be financially responsible.

A downloadable racing game teaches us how to be financially responsible.

 

  A simple racing game made for smart phones and tablets, Beach Buggy Blitz, is game that has multiple objectives. Just like real life. It is a multiple choice test. The main objective in the game is to drive as long as you can, as far as you can, while collecting as much money as you can, all before you run out of time.

  The objectives and upgrades in Beach Buggy Blitz cost money. But you don’t earn money unless you play the game. You want to play the game to earn money, just so you can buy more upgrades so you can play the game longer. This game doesn’t even put you in first place, there are other racers, but they only get in the way. You have checkpoints you need to reach in order to get more game time, distance, and money.

What does this have to do with fiscally fit gamers?

   Just like in real life, it seems like we need to get as far as we can with as much money as we can. Usually just to survive in a day to day basis. We get to choose what we spend our money on. Do you buy a TV that’s a couple inches bigger? Or do you use that money for investing? Owning a company? The choice is yours. One of these choices helps us get farther and makes us more money.

   In the game I could spend money on buying a new driver, but the racers aren’t better or worse than any other. They just look different. We don’t gain anything from a new driver. There are trophies you can earn but it doesn’t give us more time or money….

 You could spend that money on buying a coin bubble upgrade so that when you run into it you can make more money. This helps you collect as much money as you can.

 Maybe you could buy a checkpoint upgrade so you don’t run out of time as fast. This helps you get as far as you can before time runs out. If you buy another check point upgrade it gives you coins for every second you have on the clock. This helps you make as much money as you can.

  You can spend money on a shield that breaks things, like palm trees, that are in your way. Without the shield you hit a tree and it slows you down forcing you to loose time. This helps you get as far as you can. If you spend money to upgrade the shield again, it gives you coins from everything you break. This helps you get as much money as you can.

 

  You can spend money upgrading your car so it goes faster and doesn’t slow down as much when you run into things. This helps you get as far as you can.

 So the real object of the game is to make money in order to buy things that make you more money.

  Is that the real object of someone who is responsible with money?  

   Let’s overthink this; if you have a job and pay to get training, or pay for school in order to become better at that job, you make more money doing that job. If you own a business, all your profit usually goes back into the business in order to make more profit. If you own a house that you rent out, you put your profit into updating and remodeling the house in order to raise the rent and therefore make more profit. If you have an investment and it makes money, that money is added to the investment in order to make more money.

  According to Beach Buggy Blitz, the object of life is to get as far as you can with as much money as you can. It doesn’t mean we have to become rich and powerful though, it is simply telling us that we are in a social system that requires us to have money in order to survive.  The game is telling us to get as far as we can, with whatever goal or objective we choose.

  So if you buy a coin bubble upgrade in the game in order to get more coins, isn’t that just a metaphor for upgrading anything in real life you can make money off of?

 

  In Beach Buggy Blitz, you need to play more and more games in order to save up money so you can buy the upgrade you want.  In real life you need to save up money to get the house you want, or get the college funding you want.

  The game doesn’t let you get a loan and go into debt, it forces you to save up every coin you have until you have enough to buy what you want. The fact that there is no debt in the game, or any video game that I can think of, tells us that debt is bad. If you have to go into debt, make sure that loan goes toward a real life upgrade that will help you save time and make more money.

   What about saving time? We have to do all this before time runs out!? Sounds like the real life system we are stuck in. We only get about 80 – 100 years, right? How do we get more time in real life?

   Stay active.

   Stay healthy.

   Don’t let your fear stop you from taking action. When fear gets in the way, and stops you from doing what you want to do, it’s just like running into a palm tree on the beach, slowing you down, wasting your time.

   What do we do with the time that we have? Besides playing video games of course, we should put that time to good use. Learn something new. Use your time to train yourself to become better at something you love to do. The better you are, the higher chance is that make money off of it. The farther you get in the game, the more coins are available to you.

 

  Real life is hard. We are in reality that forces us to work in order to survive. Since we have to work, why shouldn’t we find work that we actually want to do? (Like writing articles about playing video games…)

It’s a vicious circle we are trapped in. A circle I learned from a video game that is free to play.

  Or maybe the real goal of playing Beach Buggy Blitz, and living, is simply to get an adrenaline rush before we have to get back to work.

4 Things Hollywood Needs to do in order to Make Better Movies

#1 Hire and keep talented writers

      It makes me angry how many movies have bad storylines. There is no reason for any movie to be made without a good story. There are so many good writers on this planet that I don’t understand why so many bad movies are made. Great writers come from everywhere! Movies, comic books, novels, TV series, anime, and even video games have better storylines than Transformers. Someone had to write all those. A good writer should not be hard to find!

     Think of how much better Transformers would be if there was a writer actually adding good, relatable, traits to those characters. Sure the movie made money and people saw it, but nobody really cared did they? How much more money could they have made if there were a few real characters along with all the mindless action and special effects.  Transformers (or even worse, Battleship) could have lasted a lot longer than the opening weekend if it had a real story to tell.

      Harold and Kumar’s Christmas did it right. It was supposedly a mindless comedy about stoners who go on wacky adventures. Sounds like something just as dumb as Transformers right? Wrong. There were a lot of jokes and some bad humor, sure, that’s what the audience wanted. But it was so much more than that. Harold and Kumar were real characters we could relate to, real people who had problems and motivations and had to deal with their real life situations. I cared more about what Harold and Kumar went through than anyone from the all Transformers films.

     A good writer can create bad jokes, stupid situations, mindless action, and still have good characters who go through all that. Unlike Transformers, Harold and Kumars’ Christmas is a perfect example of mixing lame comedy and good characters to make a fun movie.

#2 Good Publicity

   Watching previews for Wreck-it-Ralph the audience knew immediately that the movie was going to be good. The previews showed us who the characters were, their motivations, and what kind of journey Ralph was going to go on. We knew what to expect and we wanted to go on that journey with those characters. The audience was relating to Ralph even before the movie was released. Wreck-it-Ralph did not disappoint.

    Compare that to the previews and trailers of Battleship. They were so bad I didn’t even want to see the movie. The previews for Battleship were played and overplayed so often that I didn’t even want to see the preview anymore. Their ads made it obvious that the movie had no storyline, no characters, and proved that they just wanted to make the same money that Transformers already had. They make it look like a movie about killing red shirts with special effects stolen from Transformers. Making a copy of a film that made lots of money is always a bad way to go. Even worse, they wasted way too much money on marketing the film. They could have spent that money on a good writer!

    Learn from Wreck-It-Ralph. They had characters that nobody had seen before, from games that nobody had played before. The audience still related to those new characters, new games, and new situations.

Wreck-it-Ralph proved that you could still make something new and the audience will buy into that world.

It worked because the characters were relatable, and the previews showed the audience who those characters were and what they were going to go through.

   If a preview doesn’t show the audience what the movie is about or who the movie is about, no one is going to see it. Don’t spend millions of dollars to play a preview everywhere if the preview doesn’t show us what to expect.

#3 Get the audience to care.

    The entire plot of the Hunger Games movie was hinged on Katniss volunteering for the games so her sister, Prim, didn’t have to be forced to participate.

    There was not a single thing in the movie that showed me why Katniss loved her little sister, Prim. Or why Katniss would risk her life to save her. They didn’t show the audience who Prim was, and why she was important to Katniss. The film didn’t give us an emotional core from any of the characters. If you didn’t read the Hunger Games books, and knew the characters beforehand, you would never know who these characters were.

    The Hunger Games film didn’t give us any of the character that we loved so much in the books. It just felt like the actors were going through the motions, like robots who were programmed by the Cliff notes based off the book. All the characters in the movie were reduced to stereotypes. Haymicth became the explainer, Effie became the mindless government puppet, Katniss was reduced to just a strong woman, Peeta was the guy with a crush, and Gale became just the best friend. There was no emotional core for any of those characters in the movie.

    I didn’t connect or relate to any character in that movie. I really wanted to care because I loved the books. I loved Katniss and what she went through, and I was disappointed that the movie didn’t show us any of that. I didn’t see any of the emotional turmoil that Katniss went through.

    Are you seeing a theme here? If you can create a good character that the audience can relate to, you have a lot better chance of success.

    The only reason the Hunger Games movie made money was because it already had an audience that loved the books. It was a world we were familiar with and it was easy to escape into it. If there wasn’t a popular book that the Hunger Games movie was based on, it would have failed.

    

#4 If the filmmakers care, then the audience will care.

  If the producers and crew don’t care about what they are making, then you will get crap like Battleship, and the Last Airbender.

    M. Night Shamalan, director of The Last Aribender, took characters from the cartoon, ripped out their souls and anything else resembling human and replaced them with carbon copies of sock puppet actors. It’s a really sad day when characters from a cartoon TV series are more human and lovable than their wooden replacements in the film. The audience knew right away that there were no characters or anything to connect to in the film so they just stopped thinking about it. Same horrible thing happened to Eragon, and John Carter of Mars, Great books, but lame movie replacements.

    Avatar the Last Airbender, animated show, worked so well because the creators and writers actually cared about what they were making! They loved those characters, they loved the world they created and it was obvious how much work they put into it. That work pays off. Fans loved that cartoon. The series was loved so much they made a  sequel, The Legend of Korra. The audience can tell if the writing or directing work is half-assed. Viewers are not as stupid as a filmmaker would like to think.

     Make sure the story is as good as it can be. Spend money on getting the right writers and directors. Spend money only on the special effects that are needed for the story to progress or for a character to learn and grow.

    Character, plot, and story arcs are vital.

    Don’t spend millions of dollars to play a preview everywhere if the preview doesn’t show the audience what to expect.

    Don’t make something you think other people will like. It will never be as good as a movie you would actually want to see, or a movie you care about because there is a better chance that if you like it, other people will too.

Le Miserables is a Crazy-Epic-Drama-Musical

                                                              

  I watch a lot of musicals (mostly because I am a wannabe actor). It started when I was a kid, me and my siblings would watch Grease and Willy Wonka and of course all the Disney movies are musicals. For some reason I never got around to see Le Mis, until this week. This is the only version I have seen, so I can’t compare it with any other versions of the film.

  This new film staring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and the rest, was pretty epic. I expected Anne Hathaways' character to be in the film a lot longer than she was. I thought she would be more of a main character. It's her memorable song that is why she is so popular. Why did she show up at the end? Was she a ghost, a vision?

Jean Valjeans' journey is amazing. He is a true hero. Probably the most virtuous man I have ever seen in any movie. He fought so hard to help the miserable.

   This film is almost all singing, and it wasn’t a problem. At least it was in English or it would have been one of those boring dramatic operas.

  This movie felt really long. It is sad. Somehow it is sad in a good way, because you end up caring about all the characters and what they are going through.

   There is some good comedy too, thanks to the craziness of Helena Bonham Carter and Sachaa Baron Cohen. They play the innkeepers, Thenardier, and the master of the house song is hilarious. It reminded me a lot of their craziness in Sweeney Todd. I loved their costumes too, they looked like Renaissance festival rejects.

   I like how the story is told through a period of time and through the revolution. We see all this stuff going on in the world around our characters but the characters stay true to themselves and the story still focuses on them.

   I don’t understand why Russell Crows' character had to do what he did at the end. I know he had a moral dilemma going through his brain. All I could think about during this scene was the Joker and Batman, Neither one could survive without the other.

  This is such a popular play and a popular story, I expected the songs too be a little more catchy or memorable. Lots of characters in this film were crying while singing. It makes sense for their characters, but then the songs aren’t as fun. I guess it’s not supposed to be fun though. It’s no Rodgers and Hammerstein.

  Overall, I enjoyed it. The characters are what make this movie good. They were real and the audience cared about their miserable lives. All while they are singing. Without Jean Valjean connecting all the characters together it wouldn’t have made much sense. I feel a little more cultured and classy after seeing this dramatic musical.

Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 Review

Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 Review

   My first thought seeing this movie was, wow, Bella is skinny! At the beginning of the film the story is all about Bella becoming an adult. It deals with the awkwardness of her change. She just became a wife, a mother, and a vampire. She has to learn about Jacob and her daughter’s love affair. Turns out, that is why Jacob has been so attracted to her. Jacobs imprinting on Renesme is really a storytelling escape in order to get rid of the love triangle. Bella also has to deal with what to with her father, all teens lie to their parents right?

  The first part of the film kind of bored me. Bellas’ life is new and awkward. I was hoping for an epic battle between her and the mountain lion but it didn’t happen. I did see Kristen Steward actually show emotion which was surprising. I actually believed that Bella was angry at Jacob for loving Nessie.

  The story doesn’t actually start until Alice has a vision about the vampire leaders, the Volturi, coming to kill their daughter. There is some miscommunication about what Nessie is. She is half human, half vampire and all mcguffin. In order for the vampire family to protect her they gather an army of vampire “witnesses” to meet Nessie and know the truth about Nessies’ harmlessness.

  Of course there is an epic battle at the end of this film, like all the twilight movies. But it just turns out to be a vision that Alice shares with the bad guy in order to scare him off. As an audience member, I always feel cheated when things just turn out to be a dream or a vision or some other plot device. (Like Sherlock and Moriarty in Game of Shadows) I don’t like the idea that these characters didn’t really have to fight as hard as they should. At the same time it is obvious that they would fight if they had to. As I am writing this I realize that is how life is, you are prepared to fight if you have to, but it’s better and smarter if you can avoid it.

 

  The Amazon guy who is half human says he was fully grown when he was 7 years old. Does that mean that Jacob and Nessie are going to get “married” when she is only seven years old? Weird.

  This film is all about growing up, becoming responsible and doing what you need to do to protect your family. I think its interesting how Bellas’ vamp power is to shield herself and others. It is probably the most nurturing thing a new mother could get, enforcing the Theme of protecting family. Breaking Dawn means a new life for Bella and her vampire family. A new day is dawning.

  This movie is cheap and boring. There wasn’t anything about this film that I cared for. It started slow, and didn’t show me any character or reason to get invested in the characters plight. I think that if this movie wasn’t part of a series it would have bombed horribly. Without the popularity and hype this movie would not do well. The only thing this movie is worth watching is for fantasy escapism. The effects are cool, the fight scenes are good. We all at some point have dreamed about living forever and having special powers. This movie gives us that escape.

Josh’s thoughts on the Hobbit movie

    I got to the theater at 4:00 p.m. to buy tickets for the midnight show. I also got a ticket for Red Dawn and was planning to watch a few other movies waiting for midnight. Then I see a group of nerds dressed as hobbits. No shoes, with hair drawn with marker on their feet, wearing elvish cloaks and nice vests. In their hands were LOTR Trivial Pursuit and LOTR Risk board games. We played games and geeked out, first in line! I had a great time with those nerds and all the other people who got in line behind us.

   The first thing you need in an epic fantasy story is a good prologue, and this delivers well. I loved how it started with old Bilbo telling the story to Frodo. We get his character introducing us to the great back story of Smaug, Erebor and the King under the mountain. It immediately brings us as the audience back into the wonderful world of Middle Earth.

 Martin Freeman as young Bilbo was wonderful, he played awkward and funny and a Bilbo who has never seen adventure before. I am glad they had the dishwashing song at the beginning. It shows the dwarves aren’t that dirty and they do have respect for Bilbo… and his pantry. I don’t understand why Gandalf picks Bilbo as a burglar in the first place. Is it because dragons don’t know what hobbits smell like? Or is it because Bilbo is part Took and he knows Bilbo can handle a little adventure…

 The three trolls were pretty fun. (Troll Bogeys!) In the story I think it’s just a random encounter, they even loot the bodies afterward! I did want to see a little more first level spells by Gandalf. Where was his ventriloquism?

 I am glad they added the whole back story about the necromancer (who is really the dark lord). The ring is really just a horcrux. I think that whole story is an appendix somewhere.

  Radagast the Brown was fun to watch, his giant bunnies were… unexpected. What was on the side of his face? I hope it was mushrooms starting to grow there.

  The meeting with Elrond was pretty good. I don’t understand why they keep saying Saruman is such a great wizard when every time we see him he is being evil? He must be a Sith Lord or something. Galadriel was nice to see, we got a glimpse of how clever and powerful she really is. She does resist the temptation of the ring though, which is pretty hardcore.

  My favorite and most expected scene was of course riddles in the dark, when we get to see Gollum again. The acting for both characters was great. What I liked the most in that scene was how suspenseful it was. Gollum was very threatening and gave an intense life or death situation. In the book we don’t really feel how vicious Gollum really is. They cut a few riddles that were in the book, but it was not a big deal. “It was pity that stayed Bilbos hand”

  I am also glad they added the history with Thorin and the evil pale goblin. It gives the dwarves a relatable connection to the audience and a face to the bad guys. Like how they added Lurtz to the LOTR trilogy.

  I had a lot of fun with the escape from the goblin kings halls. The action got kind of cheesy but it was typical Peter Jackson action. The dwarves all working together was great but not very believable.

  I forgot about the eagles saving the day in the book. I don’t think Thorin had a near death experience there in the book. But for movie purposes it adds suspense and that’s all right with me.

 Overall the Hobbit is awesome. I had a lot of fun watching it, and it was great to get back to Middle Earth. I can’t wait to see what comes next. Especially what happens with The Necromancer at Dol Guldur, Beorn, and Barrels out of Bond should be fun. Or was that Kegs out of capture?

5 reasons why Avengers will be the new “Star Wars”

Star Wars is great even over 30 years later. But it’s not as cool as it used to be… Star Wars used to be the perfect franchise until George destroyed it. Now the fans just tolerate it, like we tolerate Wesley Crusher, and Dawn summers….

 And now we have Avengers, a new blockbuster for a new generation of nerds and inspiring filmmakers.

 

                                      
  #1, Joss Whedon

    Joss’s writing is spectacular. I’m not just saying this because I’m a huge fan of his and a major Browncoat. Joss creates and fleshes out characters so well that we care about them all, even the bad guys.

    Anyone can make a mindless action move, but only an elite few can make you care about everything in the film.  After Serenity, Avengers is Whedon’s second movie that he has written and directed.  These characters might be already in our cultural consciousness through the comics and cartoons and so forth, but Whedon brings them to life on the big screen.

    Unlike lame characters in movies like Transformers, we will remember Tony Stark, and Phil Coulson long after the opening weekend. Caring and connecting with characters in movies is one of the most important aspects of story telling. Characters make the movie memorable; they help the audience connect to the film. Especially in a movie with gods and monsters, Joss makes the characters believable, relatable and human.

   Only Joss Whedon could have put so many different characters from different worlds in one place, on one team, and have them work so well together.

    Joss is also the only writer/director who could have made the Hulk beat up Loki like a rag doll and make it realistic enough to be funny without being cheesy.

#2 Agent Phil Coulson

     Phil Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) brings the Avengers together, literally in the story and in the extended movie marvel universe. The audience connects with him even before he is in Avengers because of his appearances in the previous films.

     I should have known Agent Coulson would die. I was hoping this would be the first show Whedon would create without killing someone. Boy was I wrong. He made Coulsons death the entire plot point of the story!

 

     Joss Whedon made us care about him with only a few lines, giving him a first name, making him a fan of Captain America, and creating small scenes with him so the heroes would care to avenge him. His character was so well made and put together in such a short amount of time. It’s amazing that we as the audience did care so much. It would have been easy to make him just another red shirt, without a first name, but we love him. Of course I have to give credit to the amazing actor Clark Gregg who played him so well.

     

#3The Marvel Universe is huge.

     We have a reason to get excited about comics again. Finally they are making movies based on superheroes that aren’t lame! We have writers, directors and actors who actually care about the characters, care about the audience and franchise to make quality movies. They are making movies that people will actually feel good about going to the theater and spending some money on.

     I hated every single Superman movie. I think There is only one Batman worth watching (Michael Keaton), and Green Lantern? Really?! Spiderman was cool for a minute, then his movies got worse, and now the audience is indifferent about him. We nerds try to care so much about new movies with characters we love, just to get disappointed when they come out. The Worst disappointment for me was the Last Airbender (Great cartoon, horrible movie). Avengers is one movie that didn’t let us down.

     Now Marvel (and Disney) have made something the audience actually wants. The Marvel universe from the comics is huge. If they do everything right, Marvel movies could get even bigger than Star Wars! There are so many existing characters, villains, and stories from the comics that they could make movies out of, the possibilities are endless. Just keep doing what you are doing, Marvel!

#4 It appeals to a general audience.

      A comic book movie would usually be criticized about being only for nerds, but I think that stereotype is finally being worn away. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars and even Hungers Games have become so much a part of our culture now that it is acceptable for us to love these books and movies. It appeals to more and more people, and we don’t need to know what the cosmic cube is to enjoy the Avengers.

       Any movie that can be on the level with Star Wars has to have good quotes. In Avengers almost every line is quotable. Movie quotes are such a big part of our culture because everyone can readily connect with them. I could say, “We need a bigger boat” and everyone would know exactly what I was talking about. Every quote in Avengers is fun, memorable and you know right away what character said it.

 

      A major quality of any sci-fi or fantasy film is having a sense of wonder, seeing something we have never seen before. In filmmaking we see new things through the eyes of the characters who also haven’t seen them before. A great example is when we first see the Helicarrier rise out of the water. Since Bruce Banner and Steve Rodgers see it for the first time, the audience is also seeing it for the first time. The audience is just as amazed as the characters. Because we see it through their eyes, and get their reaction, the audience can connect with the discovery and it feels more real. It gives us a sense of wonder. If the audience saw it through Nick Furys’ eye, it wouldn’t have been as effective because he has been there, seen that. The Marvel universe is so vast, we won’t run out of anything new for quite a while.

#5 A New cultural mythology.

   We will grow up with these movies and Avengers will become part of our culture just like Star Wars did when you were a kid. I am happy there is a new movie universe and mythology we can escape into. Thank you, Marvel, for making movies the right way.

   Blockbuster directors like Lucas, Spielberg, and Peter Jackson grew up with the sci-fi serials of the past, and now the new writers and directors of the future will grow up with, and be inspired by watching The Avengers.

 

   Of course Star Wars will still go strong long after Disney takes care of it. I’m glad Disney has it now because there are already rumors about Brad Bird directing. How cool would that be?!! Wait a second… Did Disney just make us excited about Star Wars again? Maybe. It’s like politicians promising us to be excited for their future tyranny. I hope it won’t be a false promise. You hear that Disney?!

Why "War Stories" is the best episode of Firefly

If you haven’t seen the TV series Firefly, this won’t make much sense to you.

   War Stories is the best episode of Firefly ever. I will prove it here. My second favorite of course is Out of gas, and then Jaynestown and Shindig.

   War Stories is the best episode of firefly because of the characters. My favorite scene is of course when Mal and Wash are getting tortured by Niska. Wash is definitely out of his element here, and Mal knows it. So to keep wash focused he brings up the elephant in the room. The tension and insecurities that Wash has are played out and realized in this scene. Mal brings those feelings up on purpose to distract Wash so he won’t give in to the torture.

 

  

   There are actually two scenes going on here: The character and relations between Mal and Wash, and the bigger story about Niska and Mal.  The amazing thing about this episode is that it wouldn’t work without all the characters being themselves and all of them trying to get what they want.

   Wash wants to be a part of the crew besides just being a pilot. He also wants more control in his relationship with Zoe. Wash wants to be part of the action so he can tell ‘war stories’ and fit in with the crew. Wash sees Mal as a threat to their marriage and he is scared of loosing Zoe. She has known Mal a lot longer and has a fierce loyalty to him.

   Mal wants to just get out of the torture situation. He wants to protect his crew also. Mal cares a lot about Wash because he talks about Zoe just to keep Wash’s focus away from the torture. It also helps Wash to talk about what is going on.

    Niska wants to keep his reputation as a bad guy, and wants to use Mal and crew as an example that nobody can cross him. He tries to manipulate Mal and Wash during the torture scene and later when Zoe comes to rescue them.

    Niska tries to manipulate Zoe by making her choose who she should save, but Zoe doesn’t even have to think about it. She knows Mal can last a lot longer in such an intense situation because they were both soldiers in the war. Mal has done this before. Wash hasn’t and won’t last as long. So of course Zoe chooses Wash right away. They are in love. Zoe doesn’t let Niskas manipulation affect her. She doesn’t even react when he cuts off Mals ear.

 

  The torture scene wouldn’t be so amazing without all these character motivations. If Niska didn’t know who Mal was or if Mal had completed the train job for him it would have been a lot different scene. If Zoe was there being tortured with Mal instead of Wash, the scene wouldn’t have been as interesting. If Wash wasn’t there,  he would have felt powerless to save his wife. This is why I love this episode and the show in general. The entire story is motivated by the characters. They are making things happen instead of things just happening to them.

  War Stories also gives us a lot of insights in the other characters as well. We see the whole crew come together to risk their lives to save Mal. Even Kaylee, the most peaceful of the group, is willing to pick up a gun and fight to save her captain. We learn about Shepard Book, who is surprisingly very knowledgeable about weapons and ships. He picks up a shotgun and there is a line about the bible being vague about kneecaps…

Simon is also willing to fight. After Ariel he seems to be an actual part of the crew.

  The biggest reveal though is the scene where River saves Kaylee by shooting three men. Before this we knew she was really smart, crazy, and could read minds. But we didn’t know how good a fighter she is. It also shows us how much River cares about the crew. She has no hesitation when her friends are in danger.

 We learn for the first time in this episode that Inara takes female clients. She has good taste. And “one cannot always be ones self in the company of men.” We see Jaynes’ wonderful reaction to the girls being together. “I’ll be in my bunk”.

  

   I love the part where Mal and Niska are fighting and Zoe tells the crew not to help Mal. It’s a great comedic scene but it also gives us insight into Mal and Zoe’s relationship.  Zoe thinks Mal has so much pride that he needs to defeat the bad guys alone but Mal says he can use all the help he can get. Mal will always fight the hardest for himself and his crew.

   That is why I think ‘War Stories’ is the best episode. There is good action and a great emotional core. Firefly works so well as a show because there are so many characters all working together but at the same time all the characters are very different. Just the characters themselves make so many opportunities to tell different stories. What other TV series do you know of that has 9 lead characters that tell such good tales?