The IT Crowd gave us a fitting finale – but left us wanting more

Such a good finish, this special episode was hilarious and The IT Crowd totally ended on a high. I will miss this good telly on Channel 4.

 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “Pilot” Review

Howdy ladies and gents, time for my first review of a new TV since the days when I used to review Ultimate Spider-Man TV Series. Today I’m going to give you my thoughts on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the TV show that attempts to connect itself with the Marvel Cinematic Universe by jumping to the smaller screen and focusing on the adventures of the organization S.H.I.E.L.D. with fan favourite, Agent Coulson in the front seat. So how does Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fare? Read on to find out.

This review will be done a little different from the usual structure, I’m just gonna present the plot and then say what I liked and what I didn’t like. Cool? Okay let’s keep moving.

The Plot

Set after the events of The Avengers, the secret organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. puts together a special team, lead by Agent Phil Coulson, to track down a mysterious man with special abilities and the young computer hacker that’s encouraging him to reveal himself to the world.

What I Liked

The plot was good, it had a nice pace to it and there was plenty of things to appreciate. I loved the reintroduction of Coulson and how he goes about forming his team, it was so casual and done regardless of what others say.

Anyone who has been watching the trailers for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will recognize a lot of the scenes and some plot points from this episode, but it is nice to finally uncover some of the mysteries that the show’s been making fans speculate about. As for people wondering how the show would tie into the MCU there are loads of verbal and visual references, some nice expected ones and some unexpected. I won’t ruin any of the surprises but some of the references to Marvel’s other films is right cool!

The cast was all really good and I got to like them fairly quickly. I loved seeing Clark Gregg again as Phil Coulson, he’s still as awesome as ever, his personality is still cool, calm and collected, but very stern and serious when he needs to be. Brett Dalton as Grant Ward is this black ops specialist who is a bit of stiff and isn’t too sociable with people, but he’s good at what he does and I think he’s fun. Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May is probably my favourite outside of Coulson, she can kick ass in terms of martial arts. She also has history that I think we’ll discover the mysteries behind her character over the course of the series.

Chloe Bennet as Skye was good too, while she’s a smart hacker, she’s a bit silly and some of her personality traits and actions are used to comedic effect. Another set of good performances come from Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz and Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons, one is a weapons specialist and the other is works in sciences, they’re a pair and they’re quite good together. And then there’s J. August Richards plays Mike Peterson, I thought he was great. I was wondering how he would tie into the grand scheme of things, but I liked the way his character was used. Also was nice to have Cobie Smulders reprise her role as Maria Hill for the sake of continuity. Oh and lastly I was SO happy to see Ron Glass make an appearance as Dr. Streiten.

And like most good shows that Joss Whedon is attached to, it has his style sprinkled all over the place. You know the There is witty banter and good comedic timing between characters and the plot is not completely straightforward with there being twists and turns and a little bit of foreshadowing which I appreciated.

What I Disliked

The only things I didn’t like were I nitpicks at best. Firstly I have to say I was expecting a bit more epicness, I mean it is only the first episode but I dunno my hyped up feeling for show were proper high. Also I might have wanted a bit more action. And lastly it does kind of feel like unless you’re one of the small minority that haven’t seen Marvel’s Phase 1 films then you’ll be a little in dark about what’s going on which isn’t too good for newcomers.

In conclusion “Pilot” is a good episode, it basically takes all of us Marvel fans from The Avengers to this TV show in a very nice and interesting transition. While the episode lacks any proper high levels of action, “Pilot” does have enough Marvel references and Joss Whedon touches of magic to keep most fans engaged. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. looks like it has potential to become more, I just hope it’ll find a way to cater to both fans and casual audiences, let’s the show continues to get better so  hope word of mouth expands this show’s ratings and reception.

Rating: 7.5/10 (A good start for Marvel’s cinematic universe on the small screen)

So now I wanna hear from you lot out there, How do you think Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fared in its first ever episode? Did it live up to your expectations, were you disappointed or did you expect more? Whatever your thoughts drop them below and I’ll see ya again next week for episode 2! 😀

 

Some Art I Drew From The Summer

Hi ladies and gents, today I thought I’d do another blog post related to my artwork. Strangely enough I have to remind myself and the world that I DO still draw and plan to become an animator and cartoonist in the future. So I decided to show off some of the stuff I did over the summer.

Now this picture is technically a cheat because I drew it back in March, but I like it so I’m gonna show it off. These were some alien hand designs I done for an integrated project in university, it was for a 3D animated horror film trailer and I was involved in the earlier stages of production. Annoyingly none of my work was never used but I still liked the stuff I did for it.

This is drawing of Spider-Man that I did for my mate’s 23rd birthday back in June this year. It was technically a copy of a picture someone had drawn on deviantart, but it’d been a picture I’d really wanted to do myself for a while and I think it turned out okay considering the fact that there’s no colour.

This is a sketch of Sonic that I did while I was in London with one my mates I think. July seems like such a long time ago. I like the way this turned out though I think it could have turned out better in terms of the perspective, but it’s not bad considering that its freehand. I think I can draw Sonic from memory with no problem these days.

And with this last picture, this is page full of all my original creations, stuff I’ve been drawing since I was like 10 or 11 up until now. I’m surprised I have so many unique characters considering the amount of stupid doodles that I’ve done. But these are the one’s I’m attached to, everyone from Square Cat to Fire Bear to Apple Man and my Minime character, I love them and will probably take them onto further in future projects.

Well that’s it, hopefully you’ve enjoyed this insight in my world of sketching yo, feel free to comment or critique or whatever. Laters!

 

Two Years On WordPress And Still Rocking!

Hi people of the internet, time for another personal blog post and today is a special occasion as it marks my two-year anniversary of being a member on WordPress! Yay!

Ah WordPress you’ve been good to me for the last two years!

Honestly it feels like I’ve been hanging about on this website longer than two years. I’ve practically spent so many hours of my life on WordPress that it’s all blended into one another. I remember when I made this blog in my first class in university back in September 2011, it was meant for class work and yet I took it upon myself to do what I wanted with it and two years on I love how things have turned out.

This blog was just meant to be something for reviewing films on the odd occasion, but now I’m proper into reviewing loads of things and I even do loads of news-related stories too. I could never imagined that this blog would take over my life the way it did and become as successful and fun as it has. Though I still believe I have a way to go before I become all-powerful, so to all my readers and subscribers I thank you for your support and I hope that you’ll continue to follow my epic journey of blogging and see what the future holds!

So to conclude thanks for reading, happy anniversary to myself and WordPress and let’s hope for several more days of crazy blogging! 😀 😀 😀 😀

From your unnatural blogger Curtman aka the Hypersonic55! 😀

 

Need for Speed Trailer #1 Review

Time to review the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Need For Speed film coming out in 2014. Just a little while ago we got our first look at the film and now we have the teaser trailer that was posted online yesterday. Now that we’ve gotten the introduction out of the way, let’s talk about this teaser!

Here’s the video below:

So what do I think? Well firstly all I have to say is HOLY SHIT! Was not expecting that. This actually looks pretty interesting. Anyone thinking that this’ll be just some Fast & Furious knock-off better think again. This is a different kind of beast altogether. Need For Speed‘s tone is completely different. This film looks like a very dramatic piece of work with a story and plenty of action to go with it. Now regardless of what people say I’ll watch this film when it comes out for one reason, Aaron Paul. Because of Paul’s extraordinary work as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad I have to see how he turns out in this film, I have full trust in his acting talents, I just hope that this film is a win for him and not a failure.

What really sticks out about this trailer is the tone. Holy man is it serious. Granted the NFS series of video games have had their fair share of stories, some of which have been series, but in my experience I have never come across one like this. This NFS film seems to have a very serious and dark tone, from Aaron Paul’s character monologue to the visual imagery of people looking all worried, said and angry to the choice of music, this is just something completely unexpected considering its an adaptation of a video games series about cars.

While this series nature does throw me off a little bit I do welcome it. I mean if you’re gonna make a film that’s based on a series of video games about cars you better have some sort of focus and it seems like the filmmakers have found a way to create a story while still making the cars relevant.

Oh and speaking of the cars, I’m liking the way they’re looking. Some of these styles of cars and racing scenes look like they were ripped straight from the games. I’m getting vibes from NFS Carbon, Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted, the way the action is shot and the camera angles remind me a lot of the games and as a gamer I appreciate that.

So is there any problems I have with the trailer? I’d say right now they’re more concerns than anything else. We’ve seen the whole revenge story before, there are a few things that I see visually that makes me think that this good just be another generic action film and as much as I like Aaron Paul I’m not sure if his character will be enough to carry the film should it fail. But that’s just minor concerns.

In conclusion Need For Speed is looking very interesting and is far more than I expected from a film that should just be about cars. I like the look and style of this film and I think Aaron Paul has the power to kill it as the main character.You know I could be wrong, this film could suck, it has the potential to do so. I’ll wait until the full trailer comes out before I can get a proper feel for the film but right now NFS has my support. YEAH BITCH! CARS! OH! 😀

So what’s your thoughts on the teaser trailer people? Sound off your thoughts below! 🙂

 

Freshers Week Year 3: I can’t be bothered…

Howdy ladies and gents, today I’ve got another personal blog post for ya and it focuses on the whole first week of university partying known as Freshers Week, and how this year I’m just not arsed about it.

Freshers used to mean everything to me when September came around for the last 2 years but this year I can easily let it skip by.

So yeah for those who don’t know, I’m a 3rd year uni student doing animation in Sheffield. I don’t really care for my course, but I love my friends on the course and I love the nights out, best part about being up here at uni. I honestly love nights out, it is one of my favourite things to do and it totally dilutes all the pain, suffering and drama that comes with university. For the last 2 years I’ve been out during Freshers and had a pretty jokes time. It really is a week designed for first-year students and believe me when I came to uni 2 years ago it was one of the most hectic, crazy and awesome experiences of my life. And even though last year wasn’t as good, I still had a brilliant time with my mates… So again now we’re here, however, this year for some reason I’m not so excited. In fact I could just let this major student week of partying pass me by.

So what’s the deal? Why have I just decided to call it quits on the biggest partying week for students?

Some may blame the fact that I’m 23, I’m too old and above the normal age group to be out with all the youngins, and to that I say bullshit! Honestly I love nights out, I’m probably one of the biggest party animals ever and I’ll probably be rocking for the next 20-30 years if I’m lucky.

I think the reason why is quite simple; I’ve just moved on.

Change, I took it on-board and now I’m doing things differently.

The more I think about it the more I just don’t care about it. Sure its a big week for partying out on the town, but in truth I’ve got plenty of other things that I could be doing instead. I could be playing video games, catching up on all my TV shows or doing blogging online like I am now. But I think the main reason I’m not bothered is because just like all things in life, we go through a period of loving something so much and then as we move on that specific thing just doesn’t have the same effect on you. Then the thing you loved becomes the thing you no longer like.

Here’s hoping there’s some truth to this statement.

In conclusion I’m not saying that I’m giving up the party life, far from it, I’m just saying that it’s not so much of a priority and I’m just gonna be slowing down for a bit. So to whoever’s out for Freshers this week or the next, party hard! Just don’t expect to see me that often, if at all. 😛

 

42 Review

This has been a film I’ve been wanting to watch for a while now, but since there’s a stupidly annoying and unnecessary long gaps between for film released for the USA and the UK I’ve had to wait until September to finally check this film out. So after the wait does 42 deliver the goods on being a good biographical sports film? Well read on and find out!

So the story in this film goes like this:

“In 1946, Jackie Robinson is a Negro League baseball player who never takes racism lying down. Branch Rickey is a Major League team executive with a bold idea. To that end, Rickey recruits Robinson to break the unspoken colour line as the first modern African American Major League player. As both anticipate, this proves a major challenge for Robinson and his family as they endure unrelenting racist hostility on and off the field, from player and fan alike. As Jackie struggles against his nature to endure such abuse without complaint, he finds allies and hope where he least expects it.”

I feel like the story was good and it had some great source material to draw from, but I don’t think it was fully utilized. The whole “first black baseball player” was a big deal and while the film done its best to illustrate most of the struggles and change that came with that revelation it seems like a lot of things were breezed over, in fact a lot of things feel like they’re happening without having enough time to digest it. Other than that, the story works when it matters like when it comes to the onslaught of racism for Jackie Robinson, it was kind of uncomfortable to watch (being a black guy myself) but then that’s the way it has to be, can’t be diluting history now.

As for the cast they were people that kept this film for being just another average biopic as their performances are good, heartfelt and believable for the most part. Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson at first I didn’t like him, he seemed like a bit of a grouch and kind of antisocial, but then as his character progresses and goes through his journey you learn why he is as he is and we get to see the better sides of his personalities. Boseman pours his heart into the role and his acting is great especially in scenes involving aggression and being smug. Then there’s Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, once you get past his extremely gruff voice you can get to really enjoy the character. Rickey is clearly a man who wants the best for Robinson and has a plan for putting a black man in the world of baseball. Ford seems a hell of a lot older than I believe him to be at this point in real life, but I guess that adds to his character and makes him cool to watch,

The rest of the cast does well but don’t do much to stand out, these people include: Andre Holland as Wendell Smith, Christopher Meloni as Leo Durocher, John C. McGinley as Red Barber and Lucas Black as Pee Wee Reese to name a few.

The only other person that stuck out to me was Alan Tudyk as Ben Chapman. I’m a fan of Tudyk from his collaborations with Joss Whedon and I was looking forward to seeing what kind of role he had in the film, but my god he was a monster in this film. Tudyk hasn’t played such a villainous role since he was Alpha in Dollhouse. But anyways in this film his this proper racist guy who really makes trouble for Robinson and Tudyk plays the role extremely well.

In conclusion 42 is a good film, the performances are the strongest aspect of the film and while the film gets its story across about the first black baseball player, it is a little by the numbers and not overly unique but still worth a watch.

Rating: 7/10 (A decent biopic, if a bit too safe and generic at times)

So what did you think of 42? And if so did you think that the film played it a bit too safe and wasn’t epic enough or was the film’s content enough for you? Whatever your thoughts are drop them in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next film review. 🙂

 

Rush Review

Howdy people of the internet, time for another review! Today I’m gonna be talking about one of the most talked about films of not only this season but of the year. I am of course talking about Rush. Now I’d been hearing so much about talk this film over the course of the year and after a while I became curious. The trailers looked pretty cool and this could be the film that could make my man Chris Hemsworth noticed for the Oscars. So after seeing Rush was it worth the wait? Well read on and find out!

So story-wise Rush is about Formula 1 driving, but more specifically the rivalry between to great drivers, James Hunt and Niki Lauda. They’re two very different kinds of drivers but they both want the same thing; success. So this film chronicles their battle on and off of the race track and follows the highs and lows of both their lives which happens over the duration of six years.

I thought the film was really good. It reminded me a lot of Senna (a great documentary I highly recommend), and while I don’t believe that this film is on-par with that documentary (obviously), this is the first film that has taken Formula 1 outside of specific zone and presented to the public in an engaging and cool way. There is a great deal of emotional height to the film, but it doesn’t forget humour as there are great moments of that in this film too. But the key thing that makes the film work is the central rivalry between Hunt and Lauda. These are men from two very different backgrounds, they think and act very differently, its like night and day. And its great to see them go against each other on and off the track for years and see how the battle between them developers and gets more and more complex and dangerous.

When it comes to the cast they’re fabulous offering up some wonderful and powerful performances. Let’s start with my man Chris “Thor” Hemsworth as James Hunt. I absolutely loved him. Hemsworth practically plays the character of Thor all over again as he is this British playboy kind of guy who’s loved by all,  sleeps around with loads of women, cracks loads of jokes and is pretty cocky. But outside of his persona to the public he is a very skilled driver who loves the thrill of the sport and strives for success. Then there’s Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda, he’s the total opposite of Hunt. Lauda is a very calculated kind of guy, he’s brilliant and smart but also very smug and bit of an asshole to the point where he’s disliked by nearly every one, and Brühl is very great in his role. Together Hemsworth and Brühl have great screen time together and their interactions are some of the film’s best moments.

Olivia Wilde as Suzy Miller was lovely, I liked how her character was one of the key things in Hunt’s life that he cared about outside of the world of racing. Other decent performances comes from Natalie Dormer as Gemma, Alexandra Maria Lara as Marlene Knaus and Pierfrancesco Favino as Clay Regazzoni. Oh and lastly Christian McKay was wonderful as Alexander Hesketh, it took me a while to remember that McKay was in Me and Orson Wells (a film I really liked) and I’m surprised he hasn’t been in more films, he’s a fine actor and does well in this film as the man who supported James Hunt in his earlier days during the 1970s.

One of the film’s other strong points is the presentation. Visually I really like the way the film looks, the cinematography is nicely done with some impressive camera angles and shots of the races which captures the action wonderfully. There are also some great POV camera shot from inside the cockpit, looking at the fire in the exhaust and other parts of machinery of the car moving around. Putting all of that together really helps to engage you. And what really adds to it is the audio. Firstly the score by Hans Zimmer is very good, dramatic and has a much lighter tone that what I’m used to in his other film but I think I could still tell it was him. Also the sound effects in this film really add the extra layer of immersion with the roaring cars, screeching tires and all the other good stuff that happens on the track.

In conclusion Rush is was pretty impressive, some powerful drama and tension in that film through the story along with a great cast lead by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl. This is one of those films I can recommend even if you’re not a fan of Formula 1, it is a fine film that takes a subject matter that only a specific audience like and make it work for more general audience.

Rating: 8.5/10 (Go check it out now!)

So what did you think of Rush? Whatever your thoughts drop them in the comments below and let me know, I love hearing other opinions! Until next time, laters people! 😀

 

Emotions, they can be so troublesome

Howdy people, time for another personal chapter in my life to be told. Now the last time I did something like this I was kind of aggressive and it got me in trouble before, so today I’m gonna be a little more careful how I choose my words.

Anyways today I’m here just to talk about emotions and how they’ve recently gotten me all messed up for nothing.

Emotions, as much as I like them, sometimes they can be really questionable.

Now let’s just talk about emotions, they are the characteristics that make use human and allow us to express ourselves in any way shape or form whether its via physical or verbal means. It is a necessary aspect of our lives and to be honest I dunno how we’d get through this world without them. That being said, emotions, they’re powerful things and it can lead to some explosive results depending on which one’s are used.

For those not in the know I’m a fairly emotional person. Now that doesn’t mean I cry at everything that’s sad or get pissed off about everything, though there are occasions where if I’m feeling some form of happiness or depression I can feel those emotions in full effect.

Recently my emotions have messed up on two recent occasions.

First one is a bit of a doozy. Basically around 2 weeks back when I made two blog posts related to work entitled My First Official Day At Work and Letting The Angry Man Out Of The Cage, in these posts I talked about my first few days starting my job as a kitchen porter and talking about my detest for one of the staff members who was really pissing me off. Let’s just say my words got a fair bit aggressive, and eventually someone from work found it, ratted me out to the manager and that got me dismissed from my job almost 2 weeks ago. Upon reflection I should have just kept the anger inside, but my past has experiences with aggression has always required me to vent the rage out somehow because if it stays locked inside then it’d mess me up mentally. But obviously because of my foolish decision to blog about it completely unaware of the ramifications that would befall me, I am now jobless again. It feels like working there was a short dream that I’ve woken up from because it was so short. But hey that’s what happens when you get angry, I thought I was done with my aggression but I think I still have some issues to iron out.

Anger, its been getting me in trouble since I was a kid, thought I had a lid on it recently but I guess not.

The second occasion was a little less aggressive and a lot more recent, last night in fact. I had gone out with my mates for a night of clubbing and for the most part I was have a good session… Until I saw her. As I was dancing I saw a mate of mine in the crowd and let’s just say I was kind of involved with her and I went through a bit a dramatic episode with back in the summer. While I didn’t sleep with her, I would consider her to be part of an important chapter of my life. Since she’d gone for the summer I never expected to see her at my normal clubbing spot. All those previous emotions came flooding back and messed with my head! I proper felt like a girl in one of those American TV shows that sees one of their ex-boyfriends and starts to get all flustered and asking why are they there and making things feel awkward. I was probably overreacting, but it was the fact that she’d come back and hadn’t said a word to me which bugged me. There was several points when our eyes locked and it felt like she looked right through me, even when we were right next to each other. Bugged me so much and it didn’t help because I’d been drinking in addition to all those emotions floating around in my head. 😦

I think after all this time I’m still lovesick.

In the end I’m starting to think that my emotions are doing me no favours. All they do is bring out sides of me or highlight thinks I don’t actually like about myself. Hoping I get a hold of myself before I fall into a hole that I can’t get out of.

 

First Look at the Need for Speed Movie

Sup ladies and gents of the world, time for some film news and today is the first time I’m actually talking about the upcoming film adaptation of the Need for Speed video game series entitled, Need for Speed. Now I’ve known about this film for a while now but now we actually have some visual material to work with so let’s start talking about this stuff! The following information comes from IGN:

“DreamWorks has released the first two official images from their big screen version of the EA video game Need for Speed, neither of which actually feature cars.

Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul leads the cast, which includes Michael Keaton, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Kid Cudi, and future Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson.

”Dominic is kind of the antagonist of the film,” Paul explains to Entertainment Weekly. ”Dakota is my character’s ex, and now Dominic’s character is the new guy she’s seeing.”

Here’s the official plot synopsis: “Need for Speed marks an exciting return to the great car culture films of the 1960s and ’70s, tapping into what makes the American myth of the open road so appealing. The story chronicles a near-impossible cross-country journey for our heroes—one that begins as a mission for revenge, but proves to be one of redemption.”

Need for Speed, directed by Act of Valor’s Scott Waugh, opens March 14, 2014.

Photos via DreamWorks.”

So yeah now that we have a synopsis and know the cast of the film I have to say my interest has gone up just a little bit. Besides having Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad (the only reason I was going to watch this film), Michael Keaton’s in it too and so is Dominic Cooper too, nice. As for the synopsis it sound a bit questionable, but has the potential to be cool if handled correctly and not taken too seriously, remember it’s based off of a video game series.

Now let’s talk about those images! Firstly you have image number one with Kid Cudi and main man Aaron Paul. What I get from this is that Paul is probably the main character and is probably the best driver around with particular skills, along with his potential token black man friend. I dunno why I get that impression from Kid Cudi, but in these kind of films having a token cool black guy as the friend of the main character seems pretty standard. Now let’s talk about image number two with Dominic Cooper and Imogen Poots. So Cooper’s the bad guy right? So I can assume he’ll be a boss-like man that’ll make trouble for Aaron Paul’s character and possibly do some crazy driving himself. As for Poots, I only assume she’s around to help Cooper with his tasks and since we know that she used to be with Paul’s character at one point that’ll obviously create some tension.

So what are my thoughts on the film as whole? Well I think Need for Speed could be something cool, but it also has me worried. Basically NFS is coming out in a post-Fast & Furious world where those car films have been around since 2001, so it’ll be hard for this film to establish its identity without coming off as a clone (even though the NFS was influenced by the first F&F film, the NFS series preceded the films by six years). NFS just needs to establish itself as something different from the Fast and Furious films and something that is actually worth watching. I think with its video game source material it’s possible, I just hope the writers were aware of what material they were working with.

In the end Need for Speed could go one of either ways; 1) it could be a successful different kind of car film and create its own series and stand alongside the Fast and Furious series or 2) It could be a really generic, poorly written and painful film that just makes the F&F series stronger, I guess we’ll see what happens next year.