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Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell is one of the most influential animes of all time, spinning off other movies and anime series and the live action film adaptation in 2017. Weirdly enough, I never watched the anime, instead starting directly with the live action film. As I watched both, I began to see the reach of the influence it’s had on science fiction over the few past few decades.

What’s the same? In the future, technology has evolved to such a degree where people have used cybernetics to enhance themselves, whether on a small level or extreme level. We follow Major Motoko Kusanagi, an officer of Section 9 that deals with cyber crimes. Her and her partner Bato are on the hunt for a dangerous hacker that is screwing with peoples memories and rewriting people. Major is a ghost, a living brain in a full mechanical body. Many of the breathtaking and gorgeous images have been recreated in the 2017 version, as well as the context to both.

What’s different? The anime film was a more contained story where the live action film went into some heavy Blade Runner territory, trying to make it a deeper story and give more answers. In the anime, the adversary is the Puppet Master, while the live film has a more elaborate villain. Major is more coldly portrayed in the film and surprisingly more human in the anime.

Ok, so which do I like better? Though not quite my favorite anime and/or film, I respect both of them a lot. I love the concept and art style of both. I found both fascinating and beautiful but somehow neither grabbed me as much I thought they would. I recommend watching the anime first but I think you’re solid either way. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Daredevil, season 1

daredevil sn1

Just when I thought I had enough of superheroes, Daredevil on Netflix revived my love of the genre. Not to be confused with the 2003 Daredevil film, the Netflix series retells the story of blind lawyer, Matt Murdoch, who fights the crime of Hell’s Kitchen at night with his superhuman senses. On the opposing side is Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of crime, who pretty much wants to own New York.

At first, I expected Arrow (summary review) with a Marvel paint job but that couldn’t be more wrong. First, I have to say the characters are this show’s greatest strength. I love how flushed out and complex they are, and I loved all of the character arcs. Charlie Cox is spot on as Daredevil, while Vincent D-Onofrio is both disturbing and sympathetic as Kingpin. I’d go as far as to say he was the best villain I’ve seen in a while. The show does really well to keep itself grounded to feel more realistic; I love the practical Daredevil costume reveal at the end. In the end, I highly recommend this series for comic fans and TV lovers alike and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies

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Another great WTF story from Seth Grahame Smith, we get a new way to reintroduce the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice, to young folks of this generation. Add ninjas, guns, and a zombie apocalypse and whamo, we have Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies. The five Bennett sisters are divided women, raised to be sophisticated ladies of old time British society by there mother, but there father wants them to be strong to survive the mysterious zombie virus. Because of him, they’ve been trained as warriors. Elizabeth sticks to the warrior life close, not wanting to be a frail lady, but will she be doomed to be alone and unmarried? She finds herself connected to fellow warrior Darcy, but he is most disagreeable; but Elizabeth may be able to meet her hero as her sisters fall off of the path of the warrior…

This is a weird one to review. For much of the book, it is very much Austen’s classic. More experienced, clever readers will notice the transitions between Austen and Smith (I don’t Jane Austen wrote about zombies and ninjas back then.) I will warn people though: it is in old English for most of the book so that turn off quite a few readers. All this being said, it is a cool, if not batshit crazy at times and the illustrations add a nice touch. I can’t say I liked it as much as Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but it’s a fun book. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

abe lincoln vampire hunter

Seth Grahame-Smith: a man who has made so many eye catching WTF titles, I damn near found it impossible not to pick up just on premise alone. I mean let’s be serious for a second, Abraham Lincoln- one of the most fascinating presidents of U.S history and arguably one of the greatest…and we’re supposed to imagine him slaying through the fiends of the dead. I admit, I thought it was going to be a ridiculous comedy but I was pleasantly surprised.

The story flips back and forth between Lincoln’s personal diaries and third person narrative discussing his life, his personal demons and his years hunting down vampires while trying to keep a family and keep to the path we know of in history.

I was impressed how grounded the book was and even creepy at times. There is a great sense of tension when Abe is around vampires, and he does get his ass kicked. He’s not a damn superhero as he is portrayed in the film. The book is well paced and as a general reader, the historical context isn’t unreasonable. There really wasn’t anything that made me call Bullshit or anything. I think it’s worth a read and may the gaming gods bring you glory and safe from vampires.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The movie

athf the movie

It finally happened: the Aqua Teens finally face Dr. Weird as we finally discover there origin in this epic feature film. Seriously, this movie sneaked up on me. It opens on a cameo of Abe Lincoln, a trip to the moon, and a sweet nu- metal remix of the theme song. So the plot mainly focuses on the gang getting a new piece of exercise equipment that turns out to be an apocalyptic death machine. If you love the show, you will love the crazy scale of the movie and will appreciate the other cameos throughout (Space Ghost man). I found myself liking it a lot more than I thought I would; may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Boondocks

the boondocks

I just got into middle school when the Boondocks hit the scene on Adult Swim and wow it hit hard. A decade and a half later I’m still impressed with the show’s mix of racial comedy, deep messages, and influences from Hip hop and anime all in one. It’s rare a show can make me laugh hysterically, look at the world a little differently, and even stare in awe at a couple of epic fights along the way. The show centers on two brothers, Huey and Riley Freedmen, who go to live with there Grandfather, a former Civil Rights activist who struck it rich and now lives in a all white gated community. With a list of colorfully strange characters and a cool art style, this show is definitely worth checking out, though I do suggest trying to track the show down unedited because you will hear a lot of bleeps. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Black Dynamite (adult swim)

black dynamite

What can I say, he’s mother f$%king Black Dynamite. Whether he’s kicking a racist Kermit’s ass for trying to hypnotize kids or defeating a racist conspiracy to eliminate legendary black porn stars, and even guarding Richard Pryor, Black Dynamite straight up kicks ass. Through an insane few seasons, I got to say I loved this cartoon based on the exploitation film of the same name. The voice acting is great and the animation is really well done. I love the celebrity parodies throughout, whether it’s a alien Michael Jackson or my favorite, a maniacal Mr. Rodgers. If you are looking for a quick watch full of ass kicking and humor, I recommend checking this show out, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force

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Again, here I was watching adult rated cartoons as a kid when Aqua Teen Hunger Force. In seasons it’s changed names but the theme always kept the same: Anthropomorphic food stuffs Master Shake, Frylock, and MeatWad act as “Detectives” from there New Jersey home and deal with crazy shit like 8 Bit aliens from the moon, giant robots, the robot ghost of Christmas past, and there arch enemy Dr Weird- and occasionally there pissed off, perverted neighbor Carl. With only 15 minute episodes, the many seasons can be eaten up in a flash if you want something quick to watch. I got to give the show credit, it stays pretty damn inventive and never really feels played out. As a childhood favorite, it’s worth looking into if you need something weird in your life. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

AMC Theater Avengers: Infinity War Marathon

Amc

So True Believers, what’s the ultimate way to celebrate the epic event which is Avengers 3? How about a 12 film marathon leading up the climax. When Savior told me about this, I was willing to tell my job to suck my $%^& and run to celebrate a decade of the MCU. Well, as the title of this post indicates, this marathon is at AMC theaters, which before writing this bummed us out mainly because the closest AMC is about an hour away. But Alas, upon further research this marathon will only be taking place in two specific theaters: AMC Empire 25 in New York and AMC Disney Springs 24 in Florida. If you are a Marvel fan in the immediate area, this event seems like the perfect way to celebrate. More info, including the film listing and dates, can be found at AMC’s official website and tickets are still available. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Avenger: Infinity War trailer 2 review

It has all been building to this, and finally we get to see the scale of Thano’s forces as well as the nerdgasmic sight of all the Avengers together. I don’t know what got me more: Spidey meeting Doctor Strange or Star-Lord back talking Iron Man. I pray the sense of dread and desperation the trailers present are true, like watching Cap struggle against the Mad Titan himself. Overall, that’s been my biggest issue with the MCU on the whole: grand, serious, dark stories tend to get watered down with quips and puns. Either way, I can’t wait to see how it all comes together this April. May the gaming gods bring you glory.