Friday, May 13, 2016

The End of CSI

On May 12, 2016 CBS announced the shows they have decided to renew for the 2016-2017 season as well as the shows that they cancelled. Among the shows that were cancelled are Person of Interest and Mike & Molly, but the most important of these is CSI: Cyber after only two seasons. Cyber's cancellation signaled the end of the CSI franchise after over 16 years on the air after the original CSI debuted in 2000. CSI was a show that changed the landscape of criminal procedural television by making a show with the main cast being the scientists who study the DNA, fingerprints, and other evidence to catch criminals. Spawning three spinoffs, all set in different states, CSI was one of the best shows that came out from the beginning of the 21st century. Like so many other shows that lasted for so long, CSI and the franchise it spawned will be greatly missed and will never be forgotten.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Captain America: Civil War

The 13th film in the Marvel Cinematic UniverseCaptain America: Civil War is a direct sequel to both the previous Captain America film, The Winter Soldier, and the last Avengers film, The Age of Ultron. Dealing with the aftermath of the events in Ultron, the world believes that superheroes should take responsibilities for their actions whenever a big event takes place. The main plot involves Captain America, who opposes a new law that tells superheroes when to go into action, trying to protect his friend, Bucky, who is accused of bombing a conference as the Winter Soldier and is being hunted by Iron Man, who feels responsible for past events and supports the law. Civil War is partly based on the Marvel comic book event with the same name, though taking some liberties such as with less characters involved and being more about who heroes report to than revealing their identities. The film introduces both Black Panther, in his first live action debut, and Spider-Man, now co-owned by both Sony and Marvel, to the MCU. It's definitely one of the most fun films ever made, with some great darker moments, and one of Marvel's best films. Chadwick Boseman excels as the African prince turned king superhero and Tom Holland is the best live action Spider-Man, though both Maguire and Garfield were great in their roles, that's ever been put to screen. Chris Evans as Captain America and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man both excel once again in their roles. One of the best moments in the film is the amazing airport fight sequence involving Captain America and his team, which includes Hawkeye, Scarlett Witch, Bucky, Ant-Man, and Falcon against Iron Man and his team, which has Vision, War Machine, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Black Widow. The final fight between Iron Man and Captain America is also a very strong moment with the ending showing how different Marvel can make its films. There are only a few drawbacks in the film, though they don't hurt the film that much and they're a bit minor. One is that though Daniel Bruhl gives a magnificent performance as Zemo and I feel he's one of the best MCU villains ever, especially since he technically won as The Avengers have been split, the fact that there could be another alien invasion never crosses his mind and thus doom the world. Another is the fact that they introduce the Raft, an underwater prison, which is fine by itself but seems unnecessary due to how many villains are killed off. A final complaint I have is that in her previous appearance Scarlett Witch could read minds but now seems to have forgotten. Other than that, the film is awesome as it has great action, introduces Spider-Man in a new and unique way, and the way it ended and how it will affect the rest of the franchise makes me want to see more of the films even more. Over all: 98%
Top list so far:
1. Zootopia
2. Deadpool
3. Captain America: Civil War
4. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
5. Kung Fu Panda 3
6. Hail, Caesar!
7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

An Innocent Guy

The copy of The Killing Joke I bought came with a small little story at the end called An Innocent Guy, which was part of the Batman Black and White limited series back in 1996. This story is about a man who has never done anything wrong but wonders if he truly is a good man in Gotham. He believes that to prove if he's a good man is by committing one horrible act and then not wanting to pursue a life of evil. His act and plan is to simply shoot Batman in the head instead of making some gimmicky plan, leave no trace, and go back to a regular life without so much as a thought of committing another crime. Without knowing anything about this guy, this comic is truly terrifying to read and the main character, who isn't even given a name, is very fascinating. The fact that he believes that the only crime he needs to commit is to kill Batman truly shows what Gotham can do to someone. Over all: 100%
Top list so far:
1. An Innocent Guy
2. Batman: The Killing Joke
3. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
4. Batman: The Long Halloween
5. Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe
6. Crisis on Infinite Earths
7. Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive
8. Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2
9. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
10. The Dark Knight Returns
11. Cartoon Network Super Secret Crisis War
12. Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 1
13. Civil War

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Batman: The Killing Joke

After trying so many times to get it, I was finally ablate find, buy, and read the classic Alan Moore Batman/Joker graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, especially with the new animated movie based on the comic coming out soon. One of the best examples of the Dark Age of Comics and my first by Alan Moore, this is one of the best comics I ever read as well as very surprising for many reasons. Something that really surprised me is that instead of a series of issues the story is just one comic, unlike all the other big events that I read before, thus making it short and simple. The other surprise is the story itself, in which Joker escapes Arkham, shoots Barbara Gordon, kidnaps her father, mentally tortures him all the while telling his supposed backstory, until confronting Batman who throughout the story contemplates how their war with each other will end. What's surprising is that I thought The Joker was in the middle of a crime spree only to be thwarted by Batman and the police for 2/3 of the story and at the last third, as a last minute decision, shoots Barbara and tortures Commissioner Gordon. The whole shooting Barbara and torturing Gordon is the whole story, which I still found fascinating especially in how they delve into the mind of The Joker, contemplating if he truly remembers his past or not. Having seen The Dark Knight, I can now understand what references are made to this comic and hope that the animated film is true to it, which I'm sure it will be now that it's being rated R considering how dark the comic really is. Over all: 100%
Top list so far:
1. Batman: The Killing Joke
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
3. Batman: The Long Halloween
4. Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe
5. Crisis on Infinite Earths
6. Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive
7. Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2
8. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
9. The Dark Knight Returns
10. Cartoon Network Super Secret Crisis War
11. Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 1
12. Civil War