Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving. It's been a long day but I have a little downtime to write. To be honest, I had hoped to get some podcasts or videos of the above named topics, but the month is coming to a close so I might not be able to get to all of them on the channel. So, just in case, I'll at least touch on them in this little blog. As usual, life has been busy.
I know that Fantastic Beasts had another movie that came out recently. I'm honestly not being a downer, though I feel like I'm often ranting online lately about franchise fatigue, but I didn't have any interest in seeing it. I've heard lukewarm reviews, but I wasn't going to see it in theaters in anyway. This was an slight conundrum for me to ponder about myself, as I was once a very big Harry Potter fan.
Here's where I get sentimental and self-reflective with some history. I haven't discussed the Potter franchise too much but I have very fond memories of it. I read the first book in second grade I believe. My interest in the books peaked around the fourth entry. Then there were longer delays and my hype slowly cooled as I got closer to my senior year. Despite this, Harry Potter was a character who was about the same age as myself. In a sense, I kind of grew up along with him and his friends. Maybe that's why I found the characters so relatable, as I was invested enough with the story to maintain interest between about age eight and seventeen. No other book series has had quite the same hold on me since.
Even when the movies were released, I always professed the books were better. I did watch all the films though, with my interest declining slightly with each one. Despite my love for the series, by the time the final movie was released I felt there was enough Potter for awhile. Perhaps that means I'm not as diehard as some fans, but I always felt that Fantastic Beasts was a bit of a stretch to expand on the franchise. I found the first movie enjoyable enough, but I wasn't overly excited for a whole series of films. Though I enjoy the Wizarding World, Harry and his friends were the ones I was most invested in.
It is possible that my interest changing is simply a byproduct of time's effect on me, but I would probably be more interested in something a little closer to the Potter narrative. I believe the films do add on to backstory of some characters and ideas. Are they going to be compelling enough? I suppose we'll see, but there is potential in that universe for sure. I need to go back and read those books.
I wanted to talk briefly about the Rocky series. Creed is due for a sequel this season after all. While I am not a major Rocky fanatic, I have seen all the movies. One summer I was very bored and had time marathon the first five Rocky films. Balboa I believe I saw in theaters. Ah yes, the memories of free time. Where has it gone? Anyway, with the exception of Rocky V, I honestly like all the Rocky movies. While I wouldn't describe any of them as fantastic, it's a generally fun series with many solid made films. What I might say next is probably a little controversial, but I truly do feel this way. You see, I think Creed is the best Rocky film I've seen.
Now I know most people will say the first Rocky is technically the best movie from a dramatic standpoint. I can understand this. Many others will say Rocky IV is the best due to the over the top nature of the presentation. I can understand this as well. I guess for me, Creed just seems like a wonderful sequel/spin-off of the franchise, but also a truly great film without that legacy. If it were unrelated to the series, I'd think it was about as good. It's a tight drama like the first, with that nostalgic touch to add an extra emotional significance based on that familiarity. For a hardcore fan, it would probably work even better. Plus, I just think it's better acted and shot than the first film. I typically enjoy boxing films, and the fight itself was very compelling to me in Creed. It deals with themes that resonate with the first film. I guess I like my Rocky flicks more serious than campy. Then again, my favorite before Creed was Rocky III. Why? Hmmm. I don't have a particularly compelling argument. I just like Rocky's fall from grace to due pride as an interesting and believable result of celebrity. He's taken place with opposing force of Apollo Creed that he was the underdog against. Plus I think Clubber Lang is a fun, ridiculous and actually kind of threatening villain. Why is he so mad? Tell that guy to relax!
Is it possible to make a good video game movie? I've heard many arguments that it isn't. In fact, I watched a recent video explaining that the most important part of a video game is the interactivity. This doesn't translate to a movie. That certainly makes sense, though the video also claimed that most video game plots aren't very good. Those that are have too much story to be contained in one film. While I mostly agree with this, I have a hard time believing this isn't possible. After all, just about every other medium can be brought to film. I just think we haven't found enough people who care about these properties passionately enough. Most of them are kind of lackluster in one form or another. Of course, I will admit to being mostly a casual gamer and I haven't seen a massive amount of video game based movies anyway. That being said, I'm kind of sad that the best video movie to date is probably 1995's Mortal Kombat. Well, I'm actually not that sad. I like that movie.
I know that bar is low, but it still ranks among the better ones. It's probably due to my nostalgic attachment to the movie, but I still find it to be a fun and campy ride. It also seems to hold fairly true to the game despite the PG-13 rating. This alone is kind of impressive. Actually, the film expanded on the basic story of the game slightly, not having to deviate too much from the tournament fighter. Many of the actors achieved the likeness and personality traits of the characters they represented, with the film replicating the mood through set pieces, music and pretty good choreography. It's campy, but then again so was the game. The story isn't that deep, but neither were the early installments. It hit the right beats and mostly made the fans happy despite the lack of gore. That's pretty impressive. Obviously, not all games are Mortal Kombat, but there may be some lessons to emulate here. I'm not too worried about it, but it would be nice to see some more genuinely good video game adaptations. I have a hard time believing you can't make a decent Hitman movie. He's an assassin who kills bad guys. It's been done before. Why does the brand curse the movies? Alas, I must wait for a good Hitman movie. Or I can just play the games again.
Well, those were my pop culture related thoughts for the evening. When I've had the time, I've been re-watching the Marvel Netflix shows, slowly catching up on My Hero Academia, playing Spider-man and finally checking out the rest of Star Trek: Discovery. Marvel's Spider-man has also been a good show.
I've obviously had plans for the channel, but the year has made it hard to keep up with my own self-imposed schedule once again. The end of the year will bring some movies I want to see, so there may be some reviews with friends. I also may do some more videos or podcasts on related topics if my schedule allows. I have some reviews planned out for the next year, along with some anime and comic book stuff early on. I'll keep you all posted. Thank you for reading, watching and listening. Happy Thanksgiving!
