A Tribute to Wes Anderson
I saw Moonrise Kingdom over the weekend, and it was an amazing film! Definitely one of director Wes Anderson’s best. I would normally do a full movie review, but I’m not scholarly enough in the filmography arts to properly review something as deep as Moonrise Kingdom. Plus I’m trying to keep my blog more in the geeky pop culture realm. But suffice to say, Moonrise Kingdom was an awesome film and you should all go see it. The movie is sweet, adorable, and whimsical in that special Wes Anderson way. If you’ve seen his films, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?
Best non-Avengers movie of the year!
There’s a special kind of happy melancholy in Anderson’s films. A sadness that doesn’t seem sad. A happiness that doesn’t seem all that happy. The humor is deadpan, but wonderful. And the characters, while not larger than life, inhabit a special world all to their own. There’s a magic in Wes Anderson’s filmmaking that is uniquely his own.
And Moonrise Kingdom has all of this. It’s the story of two young kids who fall into the 12-year-old equivalent of love, while living on a serene island off the coast of New England in the mid-1960s. And since both of them are outsiders and ‘troubled youths’, they decide to run away together – to the other side of the island. Meanwhile, the various grown-ups in their lives – as well as the coolest scout troop ever – must organize a search effort, while at the same time try to understand why these kids felt they need to run away.
I cannot recommend this movie enough. I wish more people in the world wanted to go see Moonrise Kingdom than Madagascar 3D.
In place of a full review, I’ve decided to share my favorite Wes Anderson movie parodies from across the Internet. I’ve collected these from different humor websites from different places, each of them wonderfully made and each of them really touching into that Wes Anderson style. I hope you enjoy!
Wes Anderson’s God of War
Wes Anderson’s The Amazing Spider-Man
Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Star Fox
And again, please go see Moonrise Kingdom! If I didn’t love The Avengers so much, this would easily be the best film of the year so far.
Super Soaker: The Movie
The act of turning anything with name recognition into a movie (see Battleship) is getting pretty out of control in Hollywood. However, if someone were to make a ‘Super Soaker’ movie based on this little movie ‘The Thin Wet Line’, I would sing its praises! If only Hollywood had as much creativity as Coworkers.
It’s possible this may also be a commercial…
Miles Morales the Movie!
If you’ve been reading my reviews – including the one I posted earlier today – then you know that I’ve been loving the All-New Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles Morales. That kid is a lot of fun, and it’s most definitely a Spidey story. Apparently I’m not the only fan, because the people at Robot Underdog have actually gone and made a Miles Morales live action short! The special effects are neat, and it’s a well-made project overall. I hope there are more to come!
Review: Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #12
The epic battle between nephew and uncle comes to a grim conclusion this issue, and unfortunately, it’s just not as strong a story as the last two issues. That’s not to say this is a bad issue, by any means, but Ultimate Spider-Man #12 just doesn’t pack the same cerebral or physical wallop that issues #10 and #11 did respectively. The fight between the new Spider-Man and his uncle the Prowler is quite awesome, with one or two cool moments. But there are a couple odd story choices that I think weigh down the overall comic.
I also think this was a less than stellar way to end the battle between Miles and his uncle. Aaron loses all of the moral ambiguity he seemed to have and turns into a total super-villain. Though at least Miles maintains some of that family love.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
I can’t put my finger on it, but this final battle between Spider-Man and Prowler didn’t feel as powerful as it should have. The stories leading up to this confrontation have been great. I’d even go so far as to say Miles’ second story arc is better than his first. But this fight just doesn’t have enough oomph behind it. The two men duke it out on a rooftop, with Aaron going full-blown villain. In past issues, I’ve loved that Aaron still seemed to have an interest in Miles’ well-being, because they’re family. The flashbacks to the two of them in better times were enjoyable. I really got the sense that Aaron was the ‘cool uncle’. Even after finding out that Miles was Spider-Man, Aaron still had little traces of good intent in him.
But when you tell your nephew that you’re going to drop his corpse in his father’s lap, you’re definitely not being invited to Thanksgiving dinner anymore. And that’s probably what disappointed me the most. Uncle Aaron is lost to us in this issue, in more ways than one.
Click the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Necromancer in Diablo 3?
Check out who makes a cameo in Diablo 3!
Lord of the Undead!
Why it’s our old pal the Necromancer from Diablo 2! He was part of a random occurrence/special event that I stumbled across in the desert in Act II the other night while playing on Nightmare Difficulty. Necromancer was my favorite class in Diablo 2, and the first class I used to beat that old game ten years ago. There have been a few Diablo 2 Easter Eggs in this new game that I’ve found (poor Warriv), and this one is so far the neatest.
He’s even got an army of skeletons walking about. The guy looks exactly like the Diablo 2 Necromancer class. I think he even references the previous character.
Here he is hanging out with Djibouti
I just thought this was a neat little cameo to share with everybody. I’m still playing Diablo 3 and am highly enjoying it. And I do have a review coming – more than a month after the game was released. I’m not a big time fancy website, so my video game reviews have to wait until I’ve found the time to beat the game. But anyone who is interested, that review is coming.
For now, just bask in the fun that is the Necromancer! Could this be a hint at what new character classes we might see in the inevitable Diablo 3 Expansion Pack?
